Arctic Witness

by Heather Woodhaven

  Helena pointed to the road. “From the deck, I could see a path through the grasses from here to the road.” She pointed at the muddy areas. “It’s more obvious with a view from above, but there were three people total. Whoever did this dragged two people to a vehicle and drove through the grasses, likely on an ATV of some sort.”

  Grace dropped the toy and strained her nose east. Bear sniffed Ivy’s jacket and immediately turned to the first spot of blood, not the second. Two different sets of blood meant there was still a chance his ex-wife was alive. “Best-case scenario, she’s still with a murderer. We need to go now—southeast, it appears.”

  Helena studied the two men and nodded. “Someone needs to stay here and process the scene. You go ahead.”

  Sean fought against running through the grass to get to the car faster, as that might disturb the crime scene. He scooped up Grace’s toy and moved to go. The dog stopped midgallop, sniffed something on the ground and sneezed. Sean leaned over. A pepper-spray can. He recognized the pink holder Ivy kept attached to her belt loop.

  Helena grabbed her phone to start the lengthy process of photographing every angle and piece of evidence. “I see it. Go.”

  Sean ran the rest of the way to his vehicle and opened the door for Grace. He rolled down the window in the back seat to let his K-9 partner stick her nose out as they drove. It was unlikely she would catch scents while he drove at high speeds, but not impossible. She could smell a drop of blood from a long distance.

  Miles of coastline shifted into miles of tundra. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but land and grazing animals. No sign of any humans or ATVs. Grace continued to strain her nose forward, sniffing wildly. In the rearview mirror, he could see Bear doing the same out the back of Gabriel’s SUV.

  A line of trees rose up out of the vast expanse of nothingness. Sean slowed down as the road disappeared. He bumped over the dirt, pressing onward. The tree branches brushed up against the sides of the vehicle. In front of him, a river rushed over rocks and boulders.

  No bridge. A dead end.

  He hit the steering wheel in frustration and Grace barked, her eyes squinting and her ears pointing in opposite directions, like she was asking him, What’s your problem? His shoulders sagged as he waited for Gabriel to park behind him.

  When Sean first took the job in cadaver detection, he focused on the noble act of bringing people much-needed closure, the type of peace his mom had never received when his uncle went missing on the Pacific Crest Trail. He kept the rest of the implications about his job at the back of his mind, never letting it grow louder than a dull hum. But now...

  He couldn’t find Ivy dead. He’d never recover. Please...please let her be alive.

  Sean stepped out of the vehicle to face Gabriel. “Don’t suppose you have a boat handy?” His teammate offered Bear a smell of Ivy’s jacket. The Saint Bernard rushed forward, nose to the ground, through the tall grasses close to the first set of tree trunks.

  Grace lunged forward and blocked Bear. She uttered a low growl, staring right at Sean. His mouth dropped. She never acted like that unless—

  A click sounded. Two logs swung from opposite standing trees and smashed into each other, just above Grace’s head. Sean crept forward, bending over until he saw the trip wire resting against the front of her legs.

  “She was trying to warn us. Someone really doesn’t want us to be out here,” Gabriel said.

  Sean blew out a breath, never more grateful for Grace. Because of the types of jobs they worked, she was trained to avoid a variety of dangers, usually wildlife and hunting-related. “Traps or not, we’re Ivy’s only chance.”

  * * *

  Ivy’s fingers moved and something soft brushed against her ankles. Weird physical sensations demanded she make the extra effort to open her eyes. A rotting wooden ceiling above her. A husky with a gray widow’s peak stepped into view, looking down and sniffing her face. Ivy tried to twist away and sit up, but her hands refused to let her.

  Her wrists were tied to a pole. Her heart jolted and her eyes widened, suddenly fully awake. She couldn’t think clearly with the way her head throbbed. The husky shifted next to her. She managed to sit up and found herself staring into dark eyes surrounded by a black mask.

  “So you’re finally up.” He was hunched over, his arms around a rolled-up rug. She didn’t want to think about what was in the rug. The man dropped the rug and the tips of his fingers flopped over the edge. Ivy held back the scream building in her throat. He stepped forward and grabbed the collar of her sweater, pulling her close, her arms twisting against the pole. He studied her face.

  She squirmed, trying to avoid looking into his eyes, to get away from his touch. The friction of the rope against her wrists burned.

  His eyes crinkled as if he were smiling behind the mask. “She gave you something, didn’t she?”

  “What? No. I didn’t know her.”

  His eyes narrowed, maybe at her confusion. “I think you’re lying. Just like she did. You can either talk on your own or be made to. Is that what you want? To end up like her? I’ll give you a minute to think about it.” He released her and straightened. The bottom of his boot connected with her chest, sending her backward.

  Her head hit the floor, straining her right shoulder socket as her hands remained attached to the pole. She closed her eyes, fighting against the waves of pain firing in her temples, neck and arms.

  “Come,” the man said. The sound of a dog’s paws against the floor followed with a door slamming, then silence.

  It was now or never. She had to escape. Dylan had no one else in the world but her. She gripped the pole and hoisted herself up. A moment later, her eyes adjusted to the dim light streaming through the front slats of the poorly constructed shack door. The man had tied her up with bowline knots.

  She grabbed the spot to break the knot with her teeth while tugging on the loop with her strained right hand. The ropes fell away. The stiffness in her back and legs fought against her intention to jump up and run. She hobbled to the front of the shack, shaking the feeling back into her legs, and peeked out the door. Without a weapon for self-defense, she needed to be fast if she ran.

  Tree branches hung down low, almost blocking her view of the husky and the killer’s back. Trees! There were no trees in Nome unless someone counted the Nome Forest, a name jokingly referring to the pile of used Christmas trees collected in January. The permafrost prevented trees from growing deep enough roots. The closest place with trees was either Pilgrim Hot Springs or the Niukluk River. Pilgrim Hot Springs took hours to get to, so she would guess she was closer to Council, an abandoned townsite across the river. Still, miles away from her place. Even if she sprinted her heart out, she couldn’t last long. She bit her lip to keep hopeless tears from rushing from her eyes.

  Her racing mind could only settle on one prayer. Help! She nudged the door open a little wider. Her abductor hunkered over a metallic boat. The husky looked back at her and her breath caught. The dog jogged to the front of the boat, vocalizing a solemn warbling moan at the man but pointing in the opposite direction, almost as if creating a distraction for her.

  He stood. “What? What is it?” The husky continued to make noise. “Stupid dog!”

  Ivy pushed open the creaking door, hoping the husky’s song covered up the noise. She ran around the backside of the shack with a quick look over her shoulder. The killer spun around, no longer wearing a mask. Their eyes met. Towering at roughly six foot three with auburn hair and pale skin, he lunged for a gun resting on a nearby boulder.

  She screamed and darted into the tree line. Something snagged at her foot and she tripped. When she jumped up, she spotted a rope on the tree ahead, and another rope from a nearby tree. She grabbed a rock and tossed it forward. A ball made of spiked branches swung down, right where she had been about to run. She twisted and sidestepped the trap, her heart pounding in her
throat. She had to keep moving or die trying.

  Footsteps crunched over leaves behind her. If she ran much farther, she’d be out in the open again, an easy target for shooting practice. She dropped low, crouching behind a crowded grouping of trees. Maybe she could hide and wait until the cover of darkness. Footsteps grew closer. She held her breath, not daring to move a muscle.

  A hand closed around her nose and mouth. “Shhh.”

  She flinched and struggled to breathe. If she could just lift her foot and strike the instep of whoever had grabbed her... A fox-like beast stepped into view. It couldn’t be. Grace? She relaxed. The hand dropped and arms spun her around to face—

  “Sean.” She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him tight. “But how? How’d you—”

  He patted her back. “Get behind me, Ivy. We’re not out of danger yet.”

  TWO

  Sean pointed at Ivy. “Grace, protect.” He stepped around her with a hand on his weapon and gave a nod to Gabriel, who was peering through the trees. “What do you see?” His first priority was getting Ivy to safety. The shadow of a man filtered through the thick section of tree branches.

  “Alaska State Troopers. Hands up!” Gabriel shouted.

  A dog or wolf in the distance howled. Footsteps could be heard, but he couldn’t get a visual. The trees and brush were too thick to see far here. Were there wolves in there?

  “It’s a Siberian husky,” Ivy whispered.

  Neither Grace nor Bear were trained in suspect apprehension, but even if Helena had come with them, she wouldn’t have been able to send Luna through the woods after the suspect with possible traps hidden in the ground and trees. A splash sounded, followed by a boat motor revving. A few moments later, silence draped over the woods. They remained at the ready, a few minutes more, until absolutely sure it was safe.

  “Did you get a look at your kidnapper?” Sean asked softly. Now wasn’t the time to reflect on the way she’d felt in his arms. He could feel her quivering hand at his back as she stayed close.

  Her breath rushed past his neck. “Yes. Roughly six foot three, auburn hair, fair skin, maybe a little younger than us, but not by much. And he had a boat, but you probably figured that out by the sound of things.”

  “Was there only one man?”

  “Yes. I mean, he was the only one I saw.”

  Gabriel blew out a breath and dropped his hand away from his weapon. “I think it’s likely he just gave us the slip. Where does this river go?”

  “It splits off into roughly sixteen creeks, but they get narrow pretty fast and some are dry by now.”

  “Your description will help a lot.” Sean turned back around to face her. “We’ll pass it to the troopers, the police—”

  “The village safety officers,” Gabriel interjected, swirling his finger around in the area like a lasso to indicate how far-reaching the description would go. There were so many native villages that a village officer was recruited at each one to keep in communication with state troopers.

  “There are traps hidden around here,” Ivy said. She pointed in the direction of the river. “I could show you where.”

  Sean had first met his ex-wife at a wilderness survival course. She’d been the instructor, and after the other participants had gone home, she’d run him through extra drills and answered all his questions. Traps were never part of the curriculum, but he believed in her ability to help find them. “Thankfully, Grace spotted something amiss on the way to find you and we missed one trap already. We’ll catch this guy, Ivy.”

  “Sean, she’s still bleeding.” Gabriel took a step forward and peered around at the back of her head. “Ivy, we also found your blood back at your place. Did that man hit you?”

  Fury radiated through his bones. He should’ve noticed she was hurt by now. It was his job to keep her safe, and he was failing her. Again.

  She reached for the back of her head and groaned. “I think he hit me with a gun or something. I’m not sure. I blacked out, and when I woke up, my head was killing me.” She pulled her hand back around, covered in fresh blood. “Must have reopened the wound when he kicked me down.”

  The pink-and-green flannel shirt his mom had given her for a birthday a couple of years back had bits of weeds and dirt all over it. Now it had blood on the shirttail as she tried to clean off her hand. Her hair, in a low ponytail like she had on their first date, was also streaked with red.

  He should ask more questions. Instead, his face grew hot. He searched the woods behind him for any sign of life, any clue. The monster who had hurt and kidnapped Ivy needed to be thrown in jail. Now.

  “How long do you think you were out?” Gabriel asked.

  “I...I don’t know.”

  Not a good sign. Sean focused on the ground for a moment before he faced her. Ivy’s health was the most important thing now, and he shouldn’t need a fellow officer to remind him of that. Anytime a person lost consciousness from trauma for more than a few seconds, there was the possibility of complications, which meant the man could’ve killed her. Grace sidled up to her and pressed against Ivy’s leg, as if trying to support her. Many dogs could tell if a person were about to have a seizure or a diabetic crash. Grace wasn’t one to seek out attention or someone to pet her. What if the K-9 could tell Ivy was going to die soon?

  “Hospital, now.” He reached for Ivy’s hand. Cold and clammy. “We can get you there faster than waiting for an ambulance.”

  “Agreed,” Gabriel said. “We’ll return tomorrow at first light. Might have some more troopers available by then to cover more ground.” He twisted and headed in the direction they’d come. “We’ll lead the way.”

  “Remember, I can help you look for traps.” Ivy’s voice was uncharacteristically faint. “If we step out of the line of trees, we’ll need to focus only on the ground instead of both ground and branches. The farther away from the shack, the safer it gets, I’d imagine.”

  Sean moved her hand to his arm so she could lean on him for support. “He had you in a shack?” His words were clipped, and judging by the way her eyes widened, she could read his emotions. He stared ahead and made his expression blank. The last thing she needed to worry about was him. If they hadn’t found her in time...

  Gabriel waved them forward. “We’ll come back and investigate the shack tomorrow, then. Let’s get her that medical attention and get back to the SUVs before dark.”

  Ivy remained quiet as they walked. He had so many questions to ask, but he held his tongue. Gabriel would make sure to get the description of the suspect to the region’s law enforcement. All the other questions could wait until Ivy was treated and feeling better.

  They followed her advice and stuck to the tundra, far from the tree line and river. They weren’t moving fast enough for his taste, but unless he was willing to ask Ivy to let him carry her, he would need to trust they’d get there in time.

  The moment he spotted the cruiser, he rushed ahead to grab a blanket and some first-aid gear from the trunk. He ran back to Ivy. “Do you think you can add a little pressure to the back of your head while I drive, to slow the bleeding?”

  “Probably a good idea.” She seemed paler than she should in early fall, after a summer of enjoying nature. At least, the Ivy he knew would spend most of her waking moments outdoors. He helped her into the passenger seat and waited until she had the gauze and ice pack situated behind her head before turning his vehicle around. Gabriel set the pace in front of them. Within minutes, they’d hit the highest speed they could safely maneuver.

  The only sounds in the vehicle were the occasional crunch of rocks underneath the tires. “I was surprised to see you,” she said. “Happy but surprised.” Ivy offered an encouraging smile in his direction.

  “Same, but I’m not too fond of the circumstances.” How many times had he almost taken a plane to Nome to see her but chickened out? He’d usually replay
some of their most-repeated arguments in his head until it was no longer a temptation. Time and space were supposed to make her absence easier, but instead, his heart had never felt so raw and vulnerable. “Listen, uh, after we get you treated, I’d like you to take the first flight to Anchorage. You’ll be safe there. You can stay at our place, our old place, I mean. At least until we catch this guy.” He took a deep breath to slow the stammering.

  “I can’t, Sean.” Her eyes were strained. Against pain, maybe?

  “After you’re feeling well enough to travel,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the couch.” He’d overwhelmed her, then. “If you’ve seen the guy’s face, you’ll be much safer somewhere else. Doesn’t have to be at our old place.”

  “Even if I wanted to, I can’t. I have...” She worried her lip. “I have responsibilities here.”

  “The mission? I’m sure the nonprofit can find someone else to run the store.” His peripheral caught her grimace. “I’m not saying you’d be easy to replace,” he added with a quick side-glance. “I know that your survivalist expertise is sought—”

  “Sean,” she said again, this time her voice urgent. “It’s not that. I have a child now.”

  He fought to keep his face neutral again, his focus on the road, even though his gut felt like it’d been used as a punching bag for half the day. She had a child? Since when?

  He studied the road. Unless she’d changed personalities, Ivy West would not have moved on that fast with someone else. They’d signed the papers twenty-two months ago. People could change after divorce, though. He certainly had. A child, though?

  Divorce had been the end of their marriage. But moving on and adding a child to the mix was like slamming the door on any potential hope for a rekindled relationship. Not that he had such hopes. He gripped the steering wheel and moved his foot from the gas to the brake as they crossed a bridge. So, she was taken. It’d take some getting used to, but the bottom line was he had a job to do. He could remove the personal nature of their relationship out of the equation. The bomb she’d just dropped changed nothing. He wasn’t going to leave town until he knew she was safe.