Deep as the Dead

by Kylie Brant

  Alexa wondered now if she’d underestimated just how seriously the vigil scene had affected him. Tillman couldn’t believe that Ethan would allow her to be traded for Patrick.

  So, he had something else in mind. And whatever it was, it’d be far more dangerous for the boy than a simple trade.

  Alexa opened her eyes, disoriented. It took a moment for comprehension to filter in, snippets at a time. Darkness. She blinked a few times. Recalled she was in bed. In her room. Alone.

  There was a flash of disappointment, quickly elbowed aside. Patrick. She sat straight up in bed as she remembered the boy. Tillman had Patrick.

  A sound emanated from the tablet she’d laid on the bedside table, and she came totally awake. Alexa snatched it up, her hand shaking a little as she logged in. Checked her email.

  Seeing the message in the inbox, she jumped out of bed and raced across the hall to Ethan’s room.

  The speed with which he opened the door told her he hadn’t been asleep yet, although his shirt was hanging unbuttoned and loose from the waistband of his pants. She pushed by him without a word, noting the clock on his bedside table. It was only midnight. She’d slept for less than an hour.

  “There’s a message?”

  Nodding, she sat on the edge of the bed and opened it. Ethan sank down beside her. Neither of them spoke until she’d clicked on the image in the body of the message.

  “Oh, God.” Alexa clapped a hand to her mouth. It was critical to remain objective, to keep her mind clear, but seeing the picture of Patrick sent objectivity up in flames. The boy’s eyes were wide and frightened. There was duct tape over his mouth and wrapped around his body, securing him to a straight-back chair.

  “Why has no one recognized the car he’s driving?” She set the tablet aside and bounced from the bed, striding to one end of his room and back. “What good is the damn BOLO alert if no one can find the damn him?”

  “I’m guessing he changed vehicles.” Ethan’s voice was expressionless. He had the tablet in his hands and was studying the photo. “Maybe he switched plates. He could have gotten tipped off that we’ve ID’d him, but I don’t think so. He’s probably just that fucking cautious. He was driving that rental when he went to Truro last time. Perhaps he was afraid it’d be recognized.”

  His calm defused her sudden burst of temper. She crossed to the bed and sat beside him again, reaching for his hand. His fingers linked with hers and Alexa leaned her head against his shoulder, dread pooling nastily in her belly. Because there was more coming. Whatever Tillman had been planning the last couple of days was about to come to a head.

  Minutes later, when the tablet sounded an alert, she was proven right. As she began reading the email message, her stomach dropped in freefall.

  Alexa. I didn’t have a chance to tell you how much I appreciated your words at the press conference. I think you are coming to know me. Not as well as you will, of course. And I have come to know you. Infanticide is an ugly sin. The worst there is, perhaps. She gasped, her hand clutching more tightly to Ethan’s as pain speared through her. But there is no sin too great to be forgiven if the sinner is sincerely penitent.

  I’m offering you a chance for God’s mercy. Confession. Penance. Redemption. You can save this boy and receive forgiveness for the child you murdered. But if you don’t follow directions exactly, you’ll doom him to a grave like the one in which your daughter resides. And doom yourself to the fires of hell.

  You have six hours before the boy dies. Get in the car and take highway 102 to Truro. Come alone. I’ll be in touch soon.

  “When we find Tillman…and we will find him…” Ethan’s voice was deadly. “It’s going to take every ounce of self-restraint I have not to hurt him.”

  His response had the darts of pain inside her morph into fiery sparks of fury. “You and me both.”

  It was with a feeling of déjà vu that Ethan nosed the car onto the highway that would lead to his hometown. It wasn’t quite one a.m. Traffic was light. And while he was all too aware of the timeline, there had been arrangements to make. He sure as hell wasn’t going to allow Alexa to follow the bastard’s instructions alone. He suspected Tillman knew that, too.

  He sent Alexa a sidelong glance. She was staring straight ahead, silent. Stony-faced. Not the mask she’d worn yesterday when the image of Olivia’s grave had nearly unraveled her. No, now she was cool. Self-possessed. While he’d roused the other men, and come up with a quick plan, she’d showered, changed into black jeans, a matching long-sleeved blouse, and tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a braid. She looked a bit like a warrior princess, ready for battle.

  “You didn’t bring the tablet.” Instinctively, he lifted his foot from the accelerator.

  “I switched the alert for incoming email to my phone.” Her voice was matter-of-fact. “No need to worry about him somehow gaining access to my cell at this point. This way I’ll always have connectivity for when the next message arrives.”

  Because there would be another one. That was certain.

  He looked in the rearview mirror. Knew the headlights close behind him would belong to the car carrying the other officers. An ERT team wouldn’t be too far behind, along with a crisis negotiator. They hadn’t known what awaited them, so when he’d met Captain Sedgewick at RCMP headquarters, they’d prepared for a little of everything.

  He hoped he had whatever they needed to get the boy away alive.

  “Six hours he said.” She turned to look at him. “It doesn’t take six hours to get to Truro.”

  “He isn’t there. He’ll jerk us around some. Keep us off balance so we can’t predict our destination.”

  “Whatever it is,” she said with a thread of quiet determination in her voice, “I’m ready.”

  Tension settled across his shoulders. He’d give just about anything to figure out a way to leave her out of what was coming next. But he knew that wasn’t possible. Tillman’s obsession with Alexa wouldn’t allow it.

  They were still ten minutes outside Truro when the second message arrived. Alexa read it aloud to Ethan.

  I hope you haven’t dawdled. It would be a shame if you were too late to save the boy. Onward to Antigonish.

  Ethan pressed the speed dial number for Nyle and relayed the information to him.

  “Antigonish? Are we just staying on the Trans-Canada Highway then? That would take us all the way to Cape Breton Island.”

  “Unless we drop down from there…” Ethan tried to recall the provincial geography of his youth, “…to Sherbrooke. There’s a road there that would lead back to Halifax.”

  “You think he’s taking us in circles?”

  “Wouldn’t put it past him.”

  “How far behind us is the ERT team?”

  “They haven’t contacted me yet. So, at least an hour.”

  Nyle swore, and Ethan silently agreed with the sentiment. But organizing a call-out for an Emergency Response Team wasn’t something that happened quickly. And Ethan couldn’t wait until they were mobilized, or he would risk missing the timeline Tillman had set. He suspected the offender realized that, too. They’d wondered what the man’s intentions were since the press conference.

  In another few hours, they were going to find out.

  “I’ve alerted the Cape Breton Island RCMP Ingonish detachment that we’re here.” Ethan slipped his cell in his pocket and turned to look at Alexa. The first smudges of light were piercing the sky’s gray veil. “I told the officer I spoke to that we’d be outside the Cape Dauphin area. When we reach our destination, he’ll send someone local who knows the area. He says there’s a popular landmark nearby. Glooscap Caves. But past that, there’s also the Devil’s Fingers Caves. And he warned us away from that spot. It’s not open to the public.”

  “Caves?” Her voice sounded thready. Alexa cleared her throat and tried again. “Surely there’s more to the locale than that. Or maybe Tillman will have us keep going to the other side of the point.”

  He rolled his sh
oulders. “We’re already close to the timeline,” he reminded her. And he was ready to face the man who’d played God for too many years. When the alert for another message sounded, a thread of adrenaline entered his veins. He wanted this to be over. And Ethan wanted to be the one who would end it, once and for all.

  She read the message aloud.

  By now, you should soon be on the final leg of your journey. You’ll have to leave the car behind at Vector Mountain. You’ll follow the path, which I’ve marked for you. I’ve provided everything you’ll need from here.

  Patrick says hurry. Alexa’s voice shook a little bit on the final words before she visibly steeled her spine.

  “Vector Mountain?” Ethan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he swore silently. That’s where the caves were that the RCMP officer had warned him about. How had Tillman become familiar with the area?

  As if plucking the thought from his mind, Alexa mused, “Maybe he lived near here when he was a kid. After his father died, he would have stayed in the child welfare services system until he aged out. There’s no telling what part of the province he might have lived in during that time. Or those he visited. We can be sure of one thing, though. He’s returning to something familiar to him. He wants that edge.”

  After another twenty minutes, the road suddenly ended. Ahead was only grass and rock. Ethan braked abruptly. Then sat for a moment, his jaw clenched. “Whatever he has planned, I won’t risk you.”

  “Before you promise that, we need to see what he’s got in store for us.” She met his gaze head-on. “We can’t risk Patrick, either. We’ll figure something out. But we’d better make it quick.” She pointed to the clock.

  He stared at the hands on it, transfixed. Their time had just about run out. A sneaky chill of dread shot down his spine. Without another word, he got out of the car and approached the vehicle coming to a stop behind them. He drew out a cell to call the RCMP officer back. They were going to need that local he’d promised, so they weren’t at Tillman’s mercy. Now that they could guess what the man had in store for them, it was time to plan a few surprises of their own.

  “And I’m telling you, it can’t be done.” Jackson Weaver, a man who lived nearby, shook his head emphatically. “Most adult males can’t even move inside these caves. Every single branch is a crawler, and when the space does open up in a few areas, there are keyholes to watch out for on the floor. It’s hazardous in there. There’s a deep lagoon inside, with treacherous undercurrents. I could get you to it from this side of the cliff. But there are a hundred different passageways that lead to and away from it, all around this bluff.”

  Which was why, Alexa thought, Tillman had brought them here.

  She stared at the jagged side of the cliff that the men were arguing over. They were close enough to make out the dark entrances dotting the stony bluff. None of them were more than a foot and a half wide. The thought of being inside one of those tunnels with glacier-carved rock all around her, made her flesh crawl.

  “We know he meant for me to be the one to go in after Patrick.” Alexa surprised herself with the steadiness of her voice. The climbing shoes he’d left were close to her size. The helmet with the miner’s light attached were too small for any of the men. The knee and elbow pads, the gloves…everything had been chosen for the one person in this party that they’d fit.

  And the hand-held radio left with the clothes would be her link to the killer.

  “No one’s going inside there without proof of life first,” Ian declared. With his hands on his hips, he surveyed the bluff before them.

  “Damn straight,” Ethan agreed. “We have to know the kid’s here before anyone goes in after him.”

  “There are openings on the seaside of this bluff, too,” Jackson said. “Three people have died in the last thirty years trying to scale that cliff from there. Lost their balance and fell to their deaths on the rocks below.”

  “Maybe the folklore could wait until later,” Alexa suggested. Her heart was already thumping. Her palms were growing damp. She knew how this was going to end, even if Ethan refused to admit it. Patrick was here. Tillman wouldn’t have left him behind. The boy had been taken for one purpose only—to set up this moment.

  “Alexa.” The radio crackled. A chill broke out over her skin at the sound of the disembodied voice. “I see you disobeyed me. I expected you would. No matter. You’ll soon learn discipline. Let’s get started, shall we? If you look up to your right, you’ll observe our young friend peeking out of one of the entrances. Do you see him?”

  Nyle peered at the towering bluff through a pair of binoculars that had been among the equipment they’d hauled from the trunks of the vehicles. He motioned to the others. Pointed.

  Alexa looked upward. She saw a flash of white. It still wasn’t light enough to make out the shape that far away. She took the binoculars from Nyle and looked through them. And felt a curdle of fear when she recognized the mop of blond hair. The pinched face stamped with fear.

  “I think I could make it through the caves,” Steve Friedrich said. Everyone stared at him. “I’m long but I’m wiry.”

  “You’re too tall,” Weaver responded. “The tunnels would be too cramped for you to maneuver the hairpin turns.”

  “We’ve wasted enough time.” The result was certain, and Alexa was suddenly in a hurry. Sighting Patrick had ignited a sense of urgency that wouldn’t be denied. “I’m going to be the one to go in. We all realize that. Figure out a plan and do it fast.”

  “No.” Ethan’s voice was emphatic. “I’ll call the local RCMP detachment again. They can round up an officer who’s the right size.”

  “Another stand-in?” She cocked a brow. “That went over so well the last time.” And then she jumped when a high-pitched scream of pain split the air. It took a moment for her to recognize that it, too, came from the radio.

  “I’m afraid I’m becoming a bit irritated with the delay.”

  It was all the impetus she needed. Alexa sat down and donned the clothes Tillman had left, her hands shaking.

  “Ethan.” Jonah drew his attention. “She’s right. We’re out of options here.”

  His jaw clenched so tightly Alexa feared it would shatter. For long moments, he stood there, and she knew he was grasping for an alternative. She was also aware that there weren’t any. Finally, he squatted down and started sorting through the equipment they’d brought along. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

  Ten minutes later, Alexa was nodding. “Yes. I’ve got it.” The plan had been polished, re-arranged and then perfected again. She was anxious to get started; to avoid hearing a second scream coming from the radio. Ethan grabbed her arm and walked her several yards away, positioning himself in front of her, his back to the others.

  “Remember, you take no chances. Don’t deviate from the plan at all. The cellphone we’re sending with you is Bluetooth capable, but it won’t work when you’re deep in the caves. Don’t hesitate to use one of your weapons. And if it looks like you can’t save the boy, get the hell out of there. I’m serious, Alexa.” His expression underscored his words. “We both know who Tillman is after. Patrick is bait. If you can get to him without going near Tillman, fine. If not, we’ll find another way.”

  But she knew there was no other option. She suspected he did, too. “This will work,” she said with far more certainty than she was feeling.

  “It’d better. We’ll have a police presence all over the mountain. He isn’t getting away this time.” Ethan took her face in his hands and kissed her hard, with more than a hint of desperation. “I don’t want to lose you again.” He turned and strode away. Despite the gravity of the situation, his statement had her knees going weak. She took a moment to savor his words. The emotion behind them. And then she started to climb, heading toward the cave Patrick had disappeared into.

  “Were you wishing her good luck?” The words drifted up to her. Steve Friedrich. “I want to wish her good luck, too.”

  Ale
xa smiled at the bit of levity. Whatever awaited her in the caves, it’d help to remember those who awaited her outside them. She wasn’t alone. And soon, Patrick wouldn’t be either.

  She stayed in decent shape. Raiker’s training courses were brutal, otherwise. But she wasn’t a rock climber, and the bluff was steep, with loose rocks in some areas that made the ascent even more difficult. The utility belt around her waist weighed her down. The radio Tillman had left was clipped to the front of it. An extra flashlight and a bundle of ChemLites to the back. She was panting by the time she got to the narrow opening through which the boy had disappeared. It was marked by a torn piece of white cloth held between two rocks. From Patrick’s T-shirt? Alexa paused to switch on her helmet lamp. She checked the length of rope wrapped around her waist. Readjusted the belt. Dropping to her hands and knees at the mouth of the cave, she threw one last look over her shoulder at the men below.

  And then Alexa turned to face the yawning dark entrance. She hauled in a deep breath and plunged inside.

  Almost instantly, she experienced a clawing sense of panic. She stilled, allowing herself time to become accustomed to the rough-hewn rock pressing in all around her. The beam of light from her hard hat lit the way but showed only inky blackness ahead. She took one of the green ChemLites from her belt. With a few deft moves, she bent, snapped and shook it to activate the illumination and set it next to the cave wall. The sticks would serve as her trail of breadcrumbs so she could find her way out again. Ethan said they lasted up to twelve hours.