Drew Matthews stared out his kitchen window. “Did you see that?”
His wife, Kristy, lifted her head from the screen of her laptop. “See what?”
“I could’ve sworn there was someone out there.” He continued to search his wooded backyard.
“Maybe it was maintenance.” She returned to her laptop.
It was Saturday. He’d never seen anyone from the development working on a weekend, unless it was on the golf course. Hell, he rarely saw his neighbors. Other than the family of deer that lived on the property, no one came around much. They’d chosen Sierra Heights to be close to Harper. He got her on the weekends, but the four-hour drive each way to the Bay Area was a bear, so he and Kristy opted to get a second place in Nugget.
The developer, who was friends with Emily and knew Harper’s story, had given them a great deal. The house was palatial compared to what they had in Palo Alto, and Harper was looking forward to the community pool in summer. Having his daughter back after seven years of not knowing whether she was dead or alive…well, it was a miracle. And everyone agreed that her transition would be easier if both sets of parents lived in the same town, even if Drew and Kristy were only part-time. They were both lawyers in Silicon Valley, 276 miles away. So they tried whenever possible to work four days in the office and telecommute the rest of the week from Nugget.
The situation had worked out well with Harper, but it had put a significant strain on his marriage. Not the part of having two residences. Kristy had instantly fallen in love with Sierra Heights and their home, a rustic chalet with an open floor plan, walls of windows, a chef’s kitchen, and an en suite master bedroom as large as half their Palo Alto home. She liked inviting their Bay Area friends up for weekends and using the community’s state-of-the-art amenities, including a fully stocked gym. But living only a few miles from Drew’s ex had proven awkward for Kristy, and the complexities of reintroducing Harper to life after abduction were beyond difficult. And then there was the constant tension of trying to get pregnant. After three rounds of IVF, nothing.
Kristy felt like a failure, and Drew felt helpless in convincing her otherwise.
“Or a trick of the light,” he said, returning to the odd sense that someone was back there. “Nonetheless, I’m going to take a look.”
“Okay,” she said, distracted by the case she was working on.
He grabbed his jacket off a peg in the mudroom and called to the breakfast nook, “What do you think of having lunch at the Ponderosa later?” Harper was going to a wedding with Emily and her family, so he and Kristy had the day to themselves.
“We’ll see.”
He sighed and shut the door behind him to explore the backyard. The house sat on an acre of land, which was defined on one side by his garage and the other by a split-rail fence, shared by him and his closest neighbor. The back was wide open, ending at a greenbelt, which fronted another row of houses. There was a good chance that one of his neighbors had innocently wandered onto his property to chase a ball, a dog, or whatever. But having his daughter snatched from his and Emily’s backyard seven years ago had made him hypersensitive about security, even in a small, relatively crime-free town like Nugget.
Drew walked the perimeter, the cold lashing through his thick jacket. He dug in his pockets for a pair of gloves and pulled them on. They’d only had the house less than a month and hadn’t yet acclimated to the change in weather from the Bay Area. So far, though, he was enjoying building fires and snuggling with Kristy and Harper under a mound of throw blankets.
The sun filtered through the gaps in the trees as he walked to the greenbelt without finding anything amiss. Like he and Kristy, most of the residents were part-timers, who came up on weekends and holidays to golf or take advantage of the ski resorts only thirty minutes away. After Christmas, though, the place had cleared out and felt a little like a ghost town. Drew assumed they’d be back soon for Valentine’s Day.
Feeling silly, he started back when something shiny peeking out from under a tree caught his eye. He walked closer to get a better look. Someone had left a ragged army green backpack with tarnished silver buckles lying on the ground. A closer inspection revealed a canteen less than two feet from the pack, which made Drew think that whoever left it planned to come back.
It could’ve been hikers or campers who’d wandered off the trail. The development was surrounded by state park land. It was nothing, he told himself. But by the time he got inside the house, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something about it was odd.
Perhaps he was making a mountain out of a mole hill, but he dialed the police anyway.
“What’s going on?” Kristy found him a few minutes later in the mudroom. “I heard you on the phone.”
“It’s probably nothing, but I found a backpack and canteen in the yard. I’m pretty sure it belongs to the person I thought I saw.”
“But you didn’t see anyone when you were out there?” He shook his head. “Did you check the pack? Maybe it has identification in it.”
“I’m leaving that to the police.”
“That’s who you were on the phone with? Seems like overkill, don’t you think? It’s just a backpack, for God’s sake.” She laughed. “Unless you think the Taliban planted a bomb in Sierra Heights.”
He pinned her with a look and she immediately became contrite. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me, but…”
“But what? You think I overreacted because of Hope…Harper? You’re damned right.” He walked away, because he didn’t want to fight with her.
She didn’t follow and he heard the bedroom door slam.
Fifteen minutes later, the police chief pulled up. Drew had only met him a few times and knew Emily thought the world of him. Even so, Drew prepared himself for what he knew was coming. It was a small town and the chief had to appease the citizens to keep his job. But he’d passive aggressively let Drew know that he’d wasted his time. Seven years of dealing with law enforcement while searching for Hope had taught him that.
Drew got off the couch and opened the door as Chief Shepard came up the slate walkway. He wasn’t in uniform and Drew noted that he had a sports coat on. No jacket. “Thanks for coming.”
The chief nodded. “Nice place you’ve got here.”
“Thanks.” He ushered Shepard in. “It’s around back.”
The chief wiped his boots on the mat, took a curious look around, and followed Drew to the kitchen.
“I was getting a glass of water here when I saw…a shadow, I guess. I can’t say for sure whether it was a person.”
Shepard joined Drew at the sink and peered out the window. “How far away was it?”
“Near that tree.” He pointed at the grove. “Not much light comes in there, so it’s hard to see.”
“But you thought it was a person? Man or woman?” There was nothing flippant in the questions, at least not that Drew could detect.
“Difficult to tell,” he said. “The knapsack is over there.” He motioned to where he’d found it.
“Let’s have a look.” Shepard waited for Drew to lead the way.
They walked through the yard together, leaves crunching under their footsteps. The chief was taller than Drew and broader through the shoulders. His gait was brisk and efficient, making Drew wonder if he was in a hurry to get this over with.
“Did you touch it?”
“No. Look, I know this seems crazy. It’s a planned community for God’s sake. But…”
“You don’t have to explain.” The chief stopped and turned so he faced Drew. “People should follow their guts.” He continued to the spot where Drew had found the pack.
As they came up on it, the chief stuck his arm out to stop Drew from walking, pulled out his phone, and snapped a few pictures, first of the backpack and then of the canteen. He hiked around the area, checking the ground and the trees. Then he slipped on a pair of latex gloves and proceeded to rifle through the bag’s contents. Drew wondered if it was an elaborate charade to mock him.
Shepard circled the site and snapped a few more photographs.
“Do you think there is something sinister here?” Drew asked, feeling stupid for having gotten the ball rolling in the first place. He was starting to wonder if the chief was a nut.
“Not necessarily. You were smart to call, though.” He picked the pack up by its strap and grabbed the canteen. “I’m going to take these with me. You’ll call again if you see anything suspicious.” He didn’t pose it as a question, but Drew nodded anyway.
Instead of going through the house, the chief walked around the side of the garage to the driveway, where he opened his tailgate and dropped the items in his trunk. “You take care now,” he drawled in an accent that seemed to come and go. Maybe the south, Drew couldn’t tell. And with that, Shepard drove off.