When the Wolf Prowls

by Vanessa Prelatte

  As the State Patrol officers began securing the crime scene, Dawn checked out what appeared to be a guest bedroom on the second floor. In the closet she found some women’s clothing – a pretty, feminine blouse and pair of jeans. Embroidered into the collar of the blouse she found the initials ZB.

  Stepping out into the hallway, she called, “Rick, come on up here. I’ve found something you should see.”

  Rick joined her shortly. When she showed him the initials embroidered on the blouse, he said, “Zoe Ballentine. So she was here.” Spying something under the bed, he said to Dawn, “Look.”

  Following his sight-line, Dawn saw the ropes under one of the beds. Together, she and Rick walked over and bent down to examine them.

  Indicating the obvious cut marks on the ropes, Rick commented, “It looks like Luke was right about Danny getting loose. It’s possible that he freed Kit and took her with him as well as Sherri.”

  “Kit. That’s the other girl who’s missing, right?” Luke said from the doorway.

  “Yes.”

  “If she was here, Danny wouldn’t have left her behind,” Luke affirmed. He met Rick’s eyes and said, “I’d like my gun back now, if you don’t mind.”

  Rick shook his head. “Can’t do that, Luke. Can’t afford you going off half-cocked and possibly trying to take justice into your own hands.”

  Dawn, watching this exchange between the two men, expected an argument from Luke. There were twin flames blazing in Luke Coalbank’s steel-blue eyes. After a tense second or so, however, the fire in Luke’s eyes was banked, and he nodded a grudging acquiescence to Rick’s decree.

  “I have to do something,” Luke said. “Give me something, anything, to do.”

  Rick went to the door and called out for one of the state troopers to join them. Then he said to Luke, “Go with Trooper Peterson here and check out the entire house. Keep an eye out for anything that’s here and shouldn’t be, as well as for anything that should be here but is missing.”

  After Luke left with Trooper Peterson, Dawn and Rick continued their examination of the room where they believed Kit and Zoe had been held. However, they did not find anything else of importance.

  When Luke and the state trooper returned, Rick lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

  “The only things I found that don’t belong here are some clothes – men’s clothes – that don’t belong to my brother,” Luke said.

  “Anything missing?” Dawn inquired.

  “Camping supplies,” Luke answered succinctly. “Danny’s backpack is also gone, and so is Sherri’s.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Trooper Peterson said. “They’re on foot, probably heading for town or for the closest neighbor. We’ll have to call in Search and Rescue, see if we can find them.”

  “It will take a while for the Search and Rescue team from the County Sheriff’s office to get here,” Rick informed him. “They’re all the way over on the other side of the county, looking for a lost child. A two-year-old, believe it or not. We’ll have to coordinate with the Pueblo Emergency Response Team in the meantime.”

  Rick got busy with contacting the Emergency Response Team in Pueblo. Dawn took the opportunity to call and report in with her superiors in Mountpelier. They had each completed their calls and were on their way downstairs to examine the ground floor of the ranch house when Rick looked around and said, “Where did Luke go?”

  “He said he needed to take a leak,” Trooper Peterson responded. “I told him to go outside and take care of it so that there was no possibility of contaminating the crime scene.”

  Rick looked at Dawn. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said.

  “Me too,” Dawn replied. “I’ve got a feeling that Luke is up to more than just taking a leak.”

  A search around the premises turned up no trace of Luke. Dawn and Rick did, however, find the path Luke had used to access the property. Rain from the day before had left it soft and muddy. They quickly spotted some boot tracks leading away from the direction of the house. Following the tracks, they discovered the spot where Luke had parked his borrowed jeep. The tread marks left by the jeep were clearly visible, but the jeep was gone. Following the tread marks, they noted that the jeep had been driven off the path to a point where the tree cover was thin. It had then been maneuvered through the trees to a point where the treeline ended. An open meadow lay beyond. The jeep’s tracks cut right across it and disappeared into the distance.

  Retracing their steps toward the ranch house, Dawn and Rick discussed the situation.

  “He’s gone after the kids. No doubt about it,” Dawn said.

  “You’re right about that. He decided not to wait for the Search and Rescue Team. But why did he take off in the direction he did?” Rick pondered.

  “He’s been holding back,” Dawn replied. “He knows something we don’t. I think he has an idea about where they are headed.”

  “You’re probably right. Look, I’m going back to where we left the car. I’ll hop in, drive it over here, and follow the jeep’s tracks. You go back to the house and let the state troopers know what’s going on. You can catch up with me when the Search and Rescue Team arrives from Pueblo.”

  “No. I’m coming with you,” Dawn said abruptly.

  Rick gave her a quizzical look. “You sure you’re up to it? At some point Luke’s going to have to abandon the jeep and go ahead on foot. And that’s some mighty rough terrain up there,” Rick said, waving at the mountains in the distance.

  At Dawn’s raised eyebrows, he said, “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You were raised on a ranch.”

  He’d forgotten, Dawn reflected. How typical of him. And how unlike Ty, who never forgot.

  She suddenly recalled another time, when they’d still been together. Rick had been complaining about his brother. When she’d made a comment about the situation, Rick had brushed her off, saying she didn’t know what she was talking about, since she didn’t have a brother.

  After a stunned second, Dawn had retorted “Not anymore” and stalked off. But not before she’d seen the stunned look in his eyes and realized that he had forgotten all about Josiah. They were already engaged by then. How did a man forget that his soon-to-be wife had once had a brother who had been murdered? It had staggered her.

  She shook off the memory. Facing Rick, she repeated, “I’m coming with you. We can use the car radio to let the state troopers know what we’re planning to do.”

  Together, they made their way back to Rick’s car. After a brief conversation on the radio with Trooper Peterson, Dawn and Rick proceeded to follow the jeep’s trail along the path, through the trees, and across the meadow. It was a bumpy ride, but the car had four-wheel-drive, so they were able to proceed along a route that a less robust vehicle may not have been able to traverse.

  At the far end of the meadow, they could clearly see a track that wound up the side of a hill. Following it, they eventually came upon the jeep. It was empty. Beyond the jeep, the track narrowed to a point where vehicular travel by anything larger than a dirt bike was impossible.

  Rick parked the car behind the jeep, hit the trunk release, and got out of the car. Dawn joined him as he was pulling a backpack and some emergency supplies out of the trunk.

  “Got any extra gear?” she inquired.

  In answer, he pulled out another backpack and a rifle for her. Before Dawn had even had time to put the backpack on, Rick set off along the path. Dawn shrugged her way into the backpack, secured the rifle in its sling, and pressed on after Rick.

  After only a few minutes, Rick pulled out a pair of binoculars. They had an unobstructed view of the path above them at that point. Pointing at a dark blur moving along the path, Rick said softly, “There he is.”

  Rick kicked up the pace. Within five minutes, he and Dawn were within shouting distance.

  “Lucas Coalbank! Stop right where you are!” Rick ordered.

  At first Dawn thought that Luke was going to ignore them. However, after he had taken a
few additional paces along the path, Luke must have thought better of that idea, for he stopped, turned around, and waited for Rick and Dawn to catch up to him. As they neared the spot where he had halted, they noticed that Luke also had a backpack. In addition, he was armed with a high-powered hunting rifle.

  Soon they had caught up to Luke, and the three of them stood facing each other. Nodding at the rifle, Rick said, “Looks like the jeep wasn’t the only thing your friend lent you.” He stretched out his arm and said, “Hand it over.”

  “Sorry,” Luke responded. “You want this rifle, you’re going to have to arrest me. Even then, you’ll have to fight me for it. Once this is over, how do you think that will play in the media? Let’s consider the headlines: ‘Colorado police arrest uncle of two missing children as he desperately searches for them in the wilderness.’” He let that sink in and then added, “It wouldn’t reflect very well on you, would it? Especially if the worst happens and you delaying and disarming me costs Danny and Sherri their lives.”

  As Rick remained silent, Dawn stepped up. Using terminology they were all familiar with, she said, “Lucas Coalbank, will you give us your word as a serving officer of the United States Army that you will not use that rifle except in self-defense or in exigent circumstances that require you to act in order to prevent danger to the life of another?”

  Luke responded without hesitation. “Yes. I do so swear, on my honor as an officer of the United States Military.”

  Dawn looked at Rick. “I can live with that, if you can,” she said.

  “All right,” Rick responded. “But I have one condition.”

  “What condition?”

  “That you tell us everything you know, without holding back, beginning with why you are heading in this direction, along this path. How the heck are you tracking them?”

  “Okay.” Luke took a deep breath. “The answer is that I don’t need to track them. I already know where they’re heading.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because Danny is the one who will be leading the way, and he thinks like my brother – which means he thinks like me. He’s smart enough to realize that Marc would eventually be coming after them, and that the first thing Marc would expect them to do would be to head for town or for a neighbor’s house. So Danny would immediately make up his mind to set out in another direction, one Marc wouldn’t expect. But it would have to be a direction that led to a place where he was sure he could find what he and his sister need most: food, shelter, and a way to call for help. Weapons, too, and a defensible position where he can wait and protect his little sister until help arrives.”

  “And you know where that place is,” Dawn said. It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes. Matter of fact, I do.”

  When Luke didn’t elaborate immediately, Rick prompted him. “Tell us where they’re headed, Luke.”

  “Up there,” he said, gesturing toward the mountains. “There’s a place up there, a cabin built into the hillside. My great uncle built it. He was a sort of hermit. Got that way after he fought in the First World War. After he returned home, he couldn’t stand to be around other people sometimes. He had this place where he could go to be alone when he needed to do so.”

  “Does your uncle still live there?”

  “No, he passed away years ago. But my family still uses the cabin. Sometimes for hunting, sometimes as a sort of retreat. It’s not easy to find, but Danny knows exactly how to get there. It’s stocked with canned and dried food. There are also a couple of rifles, a shotgun, and plenty of ammunition. And Danny knows how to use the short-wave radio we have up at the cabin. He can use it to call for help. That’s where he’s heading, all right. He’ll have worked it out that the cabin is the safest place for them to go. For all the reasons I just listed, and because no one outside the family knows anything about it.”

  “Why are you so sure he’s aiming for the cabin?” Rick interjected. “And don’t give me any bull-crap about knowing the way your nephew thinks. How did you figure it out?”

  “First, there were the camping supplies Danny took.” Luke’s tone was impatient now. “I saw what was missing. He took exactly the supplies we took – he and his father and I – when we’d go up to the cabin together. Things that he wouldn’t have taken if he’d planned just on hiking into town or to a neighbor’s house.”

  “You haven’t been home in a long time,” Rick pointed out. “How do you know it was Danny who took the missing supplies? It could have been Marc himself.”

  “Which leads me to the second reason I know they’re heading for the cabin. When I checked my own room, I saw that all of my things had been cleared out of my dresser, but there were still clothes hanging in my closet. I checked behind them to see if my big camping bag was missing. It was. And I know Danny took it, not Marc.”

  “How?”

  “Where the bag had been stowed, something had been scratched into the wood floor with a knife. A name – Frank. That was my great-uncle’s name. It was Danny’s way of sending me a message. He knew that I was on my way, and he wanted to send me a message that only I would understand. He’s on his way to the cabin. There’s no question in my mind about it.”

  When he saw that Dawn and Rick were still hesitating, Luke said impatiently, “Look, if I’m wrong, the Search and Rescue Team will figure it out when they get to the ranch and start their search. All I’m asking you is to let me go and follow my own instincts. Danny and Sherri’s lives – as well as the life of that other woman you think is with them – could depend upon it.”

  “He’s right,” Dawn said to Rick. “Heading for the cabin is their best bet.”

  “Fine,” Rick replied. He turned to Luke. “If you’re sure, we’ll push on and check out the cabin. Lead the way.”

  “You don’t have to come with me,” Luke said in response. “You’d probably be better off heading back and coordinating with the official Search and Rescue team.”

  “No. We’re sticking with you,” Dawn affirmed. “I can call the State Patrol officers and let them know how we are proceeding. They can coordinate with the SAR team.”

  “You’re going to have a hard time placing a cell phone call from here,” Luke informed her. “This whole area is a dead cell zone.”

  “Not a problem.” Dawn got out her phone and held it up. “SAT phone,” she said briefly, and placed the call.

  After Dawn had finished updating the State Patrol, Rick said, “Now that that’s settled, let’s get moving. How far is it to the cabin?”

  “We can make it there in about seven hours, if we keep up a good pace.” Luke said.

  “So we’ll reach there before nightfall. That’s good.”

  As they proceeded along the path, Dawn, who was following directly behind Luke, asked him, “If it’s only a seven-hour hike, why did Danny need to take all that camping equipment?”

  “It’s a seven-hour hike for an adult in good shape keeping up a good pace in good weather,” Luke replied over his shoulder. “In bad weather, it can easily take twice that long. And Danny has Sherri with him. He’ll have to allow for her shorter stride, just like Ben and I had to do when we started taking Danny along with us to the cabin years ago. The first time we hiked up there with him, he was eight. Took us thirteen hours over two days. Danny will have remembered that and expected to spend at least one night camping out.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but it rained here all day yesterday,” Dawn informed him.

  Luke glanced back at Dawn and nodded. “I figured that, and that’s not good – not over this kind of rough terrain. They probably had to take shelter and wait out any bad storms they ran into. It will have definitely slowed them down. But that kind of weather would also make it difficult for anyone tracking them to follow their trail.”

  Chapter 40

  A person with only ordinary tracking skills would have given up long ago, but Marc’s skills were far from ordinary. He squatted down, scrutinizing the trail. Satisfied th
at the rain had wiped out any signs on the path itself, he sat back on his haunches and considered the environment around him. Unfocusing his eyes, he let them drift where they would. Then he repeated the process, this time focusing intently. It was a trick his father had taught him, and it had always served him well. On the second pass, he spotted the broken twig, the bent-back branch. He smiled inwardly. Now he knew which way they had headed, the trio he sought.

  *****

  Dawn, Rick, and Luke didn’t talk much on their way to the cabin. Luke led the way, keeping up a wicked pace. Dawn, walking directly behind him, found the pace to be challenging, but was determined to hide that fact from the two men. As the hours went by, she thought about asking Luke to stop for a couple of minutes to take a break, but pride held her back.

  Just when she thought she was going to have to swallow her pride and ask for a short respite, Luke halted. Turning to the other two, he gestured to the right of the path, where the terrain plunged down into a deep gully.

  “I’m heading down that ravine next,” Luke announced. “It’s not an easy way, but taking that route will cut a couple of miles off the trip. If either of you can’t manage it, tell me now.”

  Dawn had whipped out her canteen and was drinking thirstily as Luke declared his intentions. Pulling an energy bar out of her pack, she ripped off the wrapper and began scarfing it down.

  “Let me finish this, and I’ll be good to go,” she managed in-between bites.

  Rick had also taken the opportunity to hydrate and gulp down some food. Eying the ravine, he said, “I’ve crossed rougher terrain than this. Lead the way.”

  Luke had already started the descent. Dawn and Rick secured their canteens and followed. Soon they discovered that the ground they were traversing was still wet from the heavy rain showers of the previous day. As Dawn made her way down the slope, the ground turned to mud beneath her and started sliding away.

  Dawn suddenly went down hard on her backside. Turning over, she clawed at the ground, trying to gain some purchase as she slid headlong down the slippery slope. Then Rick was there, grabbing her, arresting her fall. He pulled her to her feet and onto solid ground.