“I see where I am in the order of things,” she said with a laugh and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
“Just woke up from his nap,” Minnie said.
Sean turned around slowly, examining the houses and street around them. He was searching for any movement, any sign they’d been followed. “Do you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?”
Minnie arched an eyebrow. “Am I a suspect now?”
Ivy laughed, pulling Dylan into her arms and snuggling her cheek against his. “No. We just need to know if you recognize someone.”
The babysitter led them into a kitchen decked out in cow-themed decor. A canvas at the far edge of the room featured a smiling cow whose eyes appeared to follow him with every move. “Dylan loves this house,” Minnie said. “My friend Charla said we can use it all week if we need to.” She reached out and squeezed Ivy’s wrist. “For your sake, honey, I hope that’s not true.”
Sean held up the printout of Francine’s photo. “Do you recognize her?”
“Oh, yes.” Minnie squinted and stared at the ceiling. “Her name’s on the tip of my tongue. She came to town a while back, can’t say for sure how long, though. At least a few months. Saw her at one of the town meetings. She was asking around for seasonal work. Struck me as a snooty city girl at first, to be honest, but she said she had dredge experience. Was willing to do the cleaning and work her way up.” The older woman shook her head and whistled. “Hard work, that job, and the least glamorous to volunteer for. You can’t help but end the day soaked to the bone and covered in mud when you’re first learning the ropes. And even then, it doesn’t get much better.” Minnie walked across the kitchen, opened the top of a cookie jar and waved at it. “Want one?”
Ivy shook her head. “Is that all you remember?”
Minnie’s exhalation carried a hint of sadness. “I’ve seen loads of desperate hopefuls come around here searching for gold and find themselves exhausted, cold and dirty, with little to show for it. But she—oh, her name will come to me—she seemed ready to work. Demonstrated more knowledge than most who try to characterize themselves as experienced.”
“Do you know if anyone hired her?”
Minnie finally selected a cookie from the jar and took a bite. “If she was still around, I imagine someone did. Most people know you, Ivy. They’ll talk to you.” She gave a side-eye to him as if to say, Avoid bringing the stiff.
Sean fought against rolling his eyes. He would do anything to keep Ivy safe, but the last thing he wanted to do was ask for her help in this case. Again. He held up the photo again. “Was she with a man?”
Ivy shot him a surprised look.
Minnie tapped her chin. “Maybe. Um...”
Ivy set Dylan back down next to the diaper bag of toys, but the boy reached for Grace. The K-9 sat down without Sean’s command and allowed Dylan to pat her head, a bit intensely. Sean took a knee to make sure the pats didn’t turn to pulling out fur.
Minnie shrugged. “Having a hard time remembering anything about a guy.”
Ivy blinked rapidly and straightened, lifting her hand above her head. “Was he about this tall and auburn hair—”
“Sorry, no. At least, I never saw her with anyone like that.” An electronic buzzing filled the room. Minnie set down her half-eaten cookie and picked up the phone from the counter. “I don’t recognize this number.”
To Sean’s surprise, she still answered it. “Hello?”
The woman had the volume of the phone on high, because the caller’s deep voice rang through the room. “Good afternoon, ma’am. I’m an Alaskan State Trooper calling on behalf of Ivy West. She’s running late, answering questions after today’s incident. She would like you to bring Dylan and meet her—”
“Oh, is that right? She does, huh?” Minnie’s outraged voice practically shook the walls. “That’s funny since she’s standing right in front of me! How dare you try—” She pulled her chin back. “He hung up!”
Sean scooped up Dylan, lest there be any fur pulling while he wasn’t looking, and crossed the room in two strides, taking the phone from Minnie. The sound of a disconnected line hit his ears.
The older woman crossed her arms across her chest. “Can you believe the nerve?”
Sean hit the button to look at the list of recent callers and took a heartbeat to memorize the number. He clicked the radio at his shoulder. “I need a trace.”
Helena answered his call and took the number. A few moments later, she was back on the line. “Must’ve been a burner phone. Got nowhere.”
He looked toward Ivy. Her skin had turned paler than a piece of chalk, and she grabbed a chair to steady herself. “He’s after Dylan now,” she whispered.
With all his precautions, his worst nightmares were coming to life before his eyes. Even though he hated it, deep down he knew it was time to go to the bunker.
* * *
Ivy rushed forward to hold Dylan. Sean’s eyebrows rose, as if he’d forgotten he was holding him, even as the toddler repeatedly smacked the shiny name tag above Sean’s uniform pocket. She wrapped her hands around Dylan’s waist and pulled him to her.
He whined, which prompted Grace to mimic the whine. Dylan laughed so hard his forehead hit her chest hard. But physical pain was welcome compared to the chaotic thoughts running through her head.
“We need to know how he found out about Dylan, got Minnie’s number...” he began.
“My phone. He used my phone.” Her mouth went dry, imagining that man sifting slowly, methodically through every text, email and photo. “I wasn’t sure it was real but had a vague memory of him using my thumb to touch something. He could’ve turned off the lock screen then and wouldn’t need a cell signal to go through everything. Easy to take that information and use a different phone.” She should’ve thought of that before. She’d let her hopes get up that Helena and the team would be able to track her phone down. “He already knew about Dylan because he saw him in the B and B. A quick read of my texts and anyone would be able to figure out Minnie was his sitter.”
The store break-in was nothing compared to a murderer having access to what amounted to her digital diary. She imagined the auburn-haired man yanking Dylan from her arms. A chill went through her. Then her mind darted to the memory of the woman’s fingers sticking out of the rolled-up rug, and she nearly keeled over.
Sean reached for her, his strong hands on either of her arms. “I think you need to sit down and eat that cookie Minnie offered, whether you want to or not. You haven’t had anything since breakfast.”
She’d eaten a huge breakfast, a rarity for her, so she didn’t think that was the cause. The weariness in her bones kept her from arguing. She sat in the kitchen chair and allowed Dylan to go back to toddling around the room. He gave chase to Grace, who trotted just out of reach, then waited. Within seconds, the boy and the dog were in an epic game of keep-away.
She was watching something hilarious, something she’d love to remember someday. But her mind refused to cooperate and revel in Dylan’s delight. She took shallow breaths as she nibbled on the cookie Sean had placed in her palm. A cookie! This was no time to be eating a treat when someone was intent on taking her son from her. Maybe he wasn’t officially her son yet, but...
Her eyes burned and she placed her tongue firmly against the inside of her teeth to keep from crying. How would this affect the adoption? At the very least, she had to let the social worker know that the gunman was after Dylan. There was no time to allow herself to be scared or angry or even violated, despite being hit over the head with all three...
Sean clicked the radio, but his eyes didn’t so much as flicker away from her face. “Any progress on pinging Ivy’s phone?”
“Double-checking,” Helena answered.
He crouched in front of Ivy and held her hand. “I know this is difficult, but we need to be careful not to make any knee-jerk rea
ctions. We can’t even assume it was the murderer on the phone.”
“It was him.” A cold sensation trickled from the top of her head and worked its way down, as if allowing her body to go numb.
Sean frowned and pulled her hands together, placing his other hand on top of hers, while two fingers slid to the inside of her right wrist. “Take deep breaths for me, Ivy, before we discuss this more. Your heart is working so hard right now you might be going into shock.”
Shock would be welcome compared to the sensation before. Still, she needed her wits right now. Ivy knew she wouldn’t be any use to Dylan if she succumbed to fear. So she pulled her hands from his and forced herself to eat the stupid cookie. Minnie rushed to the kettle and had a cup of tea in her hands three minutes later.
“You’ve got a little color again,” she commented, nodding.
“Why’d you have to taunt him, Minnie?” Ivy’s question slipped from her mouth without a filter. “We might’ve been able to keep him talking, trace him, set up a trap...”
The woman took a step back, hand to her reddening neck. “I wasn’t trying to taunt him. I was furious he would even—”
Ivy set the tea down. Of course she didn’t mean to. She dropped her forehead into her hands. “I know.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of trying to keep him talking.”
“Please forget I said anything. I didn’t even think of it until now.” All threads of civility had begun to unravel after the day’s events. If she didn’t get some time to herself soon, she feared what she might say next.
“I really am sorry, hon.” Minnie reached for her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t lose hope. God is with you. Even now.”
Ivy flattened her lips together and avoided eye contact as she nodded.
“You don’t want to hear it now. Understood. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but knowing He’s with you is everything. Believing isn’t a onetime thing. And you need that faith more now than ever, even when you can’t see Him working.”
Her eyes stung with hot unshed tears. Sean’s phone rang and they both swiveled in his direction. He answered and mouthed Helena’s name. “Okay,” he said into the receiver. “No big surprise since so much of the area doesn’t have a cell signal.”
In other words, Helena wasn’t finding any leads on her phone. Despite Minnie’s encouragement, Ivy couldn’t stay put anymore. Being kidnapped and shot at was one thing, but now the killer was after her son. She scooped up the diaper-bag strap and lifted it over her shoulder. “I need to go.” She shifted Dylan to her left hip and walked out the door.
Grace ran in front of her path and stared, a challenge in her eyes.
“Seriously, Grace? He didn’t tell you to protect.”
“I think she’s taken it upon herself to protect Dylan,” Sean said softly. He nodded at Minnie. “Block that number. I don’t want you answering again if he calls. And we need to discuss your safety. Maybe stay with your daughter tonight.”
Ivy’s gut grew hot. She hadn’t thought of Minnie’s safety.
“I think I’ll do that,” she said. “You two go on. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll let the officer know to stay here and follow you to your daughter’s.” Sean shook a thumbs-up sign at Grace. She ran around the back of Ivy’s legs and moved to his side. They walked down the porch steps together.
Sean reached across her to open the door. “I know you’re upset—rightfully so—but at least he doesn’t know where we are.”
“Let’s keep it that way. Tell Helena if she wants to come with us, she needs to meet up with us at the hospital.”
His eyes narrowed. “Your head injury? You have been looking really pale.”
“I’m fine. The hospital is on the outskirts of town and the easiest place to meet up before heading to the bunker. I’m not giving directions over the phone. Not after what happened earlier.”
“If you’re worried about him following us, we are trained to spot—”
She held up a hand, fighting to keep a tight rein on her emotions. Like a frayed rope, the rein was barely intact. Before she could explain herself, Sean waved her to the SUV. “Helena says there are a couple of unmarked SUVs in the garage. How about we use those for extra protection. Then you don’t need to worry that someone will recognize our trooper vehicles.”
Nothing other than that creep being behind bars would help the worry go away, but she forced herself to nod. Ten minutes later, they hit the road in the two black SUVS. While better than having trooper logos on the side, two black vehicles still seemed suspicious in her mind.
They headed northeast toward Anvil Mountain, directly for the White Alice antennae, a now-abandoned and obsolete communications system the air force built during the Cold War in the ’50s. There were apparently thirty other stations like it throughout Alaska, but Ivy was only familiar with this one.
The four antennae that made up White Alice stood massive in size, their own Stonehenge in appearance. The SUV bounced from side to side on the rough gravel road, lulling Dylan to sleep. Her own eyes grew heavy the farther they drove from town, but she was the one who needed to give directions. Just as they neared White Alice—which caused Sean to whistle low in appreciation—she pointed to what would easily be mistaken as an animal-trampled path to the left.
“That’s not a road,” he said.
“I’m aware, but it’s flat and solid and you’re already in four-wheel drive.” In fact, no one could make it this far in a normal car, as the road wasn’t maintained.
Sean made the sharp, bumpy turn and drove in between two hills. Only then could Ivy see the front of the bunker. The stairs led to the open tunnel near the top of the hill. The bunker had been built within the hill but had to be high enough to avoid getting buried in the snow during winter. Permafrost prevented anything from getting built underground. If a wayward backpacker came this far, they’d likely think the tunnel to be old and abandoned.
Dylan stirred in the car seat. Grace leaned forward and casually licked the top of his hand. “No. Doggy wet!” But judging by his smile, he was quite pleased the K-9 had licked him. If their caseworker said she could stay with him here on a more permanent basis, what would raising him in a bunker be like? This wasn’t how she wanted to raise her own child, even though there was a lot she loved about survivalist living.
She’d been young, having just started middle school, when her parents hastily packed her and her siblings in an RV two days after a bombing in New York City. They’d traveled cross-country to the West Coast. From there, they took a boat to Alaska.
She stared back out the window at Anvil Mountain once again. At least she didn’t have to run away to the other end of the country. But had she taken Dylan far enough away to keep them safe?
NINE
Sean cringed at the echo each step created. It was like walking inside a corrugated tin can that once had held baked beans. “Was this really the type of place you grew up in?”
Ivy shrugged. “The one we grew up in was built prefab. My parents had this one customized. I would say this one is a little better.”
He tried to keep his jaw from dropping but couldn’t. This was nicer than the one she’d been raised in? Ivy reached for the rust-covered door handle and pulled on it without using a key. “You don’t lock the door before you leave?” They might have different definitions of what constituted as safe. He looked over his shoulder to see Helena mirror his apprehension. The hard cots at the trooper post were sounding better all the time.
The door creaked open and revealed another more modern white-covered steel door. Ivy flipped open a black lid above the doorknob, typed in a code, reciting it aloud for Sean and Helena’s benefit, and pressed Enter. The sound of hydraulic locks opening preceded her shoving open the door with her foot. A gleaming white hallway with shoe cubbies, coat hooks and mats greeted them. Surprisingly modern.
“This wasn’t at all what I expected,” Helena said, dropping her travel bag on a dining room chair and spinning around. “I feel like I’ve stepped inside a futuristic home. This isn’t what comes to mind when I think of survival bunkers.”
“The size of everything, including the toilet and laundry, is smaller and works a little different than what you’re used to, but it’s relatively comfortable,” Ivy murmured. “My parents purchased a luxury model. This is on the lower end of that spectrum. I’d keep your coats on for a little while. The heat should catch up soon.”
“What would be on the higher end of luxury bunkers?” Sean asked.
“Some millionaires have ones with aquaponics, fitness centers like rock walls, movie theaters, pools and...” She placed Dylan down on the rug and put a hand on her head. Her eyelids drooped. “Um...”
Sean rushed forward and placed his hand on her back. “I think it’s time for you to take a rest.” At least she wasn’t as sickly white as she’d been back at Minnie’s, but the exhaustion still strained her features.
Helena nodded. “Yes, the doctor said you should avoid too much excitement and concentrated focus. We’ve inundated you with both in one day.”
“But I need to take care of Dylan and make dinner and...”
“We’ll take care of both of those,” he assured her. “I saw you struggle to stay awake during the drive. Take a short rest.” When they were dating, they often took short day trips on his day off. Ivy had always been a night owl at heart, something that probably helped her in Alaska during the months when the sun never set. He’d taken it as a compliment when on their third day-trip date she’d fallen asleep while he was driving. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist, so he wasn’t offended, but he’d seen it as an indication she felt safe around him.
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