Page 8 of The Ice Sisters

Derrick thanked them, then looked up to see Cord coming down the stairs. “She’s not here. I’m going to hike to the falls and hunt for her.”

“I’m going with you,” Derrick said.

Cord gave a nod, and they went to his truck to retrieve their hiking gear. Always prepared, Cord also grabbed a backpack full of emergency supplies. He’d taken one of Ellie’s ski hats from her room; he let Benji sniff it, then Cord and Benji set off to lead the way.

Derrick admired the way Cord and the dog seemed to be in sync as Cord guided them onto the trail. The wind hammered the trees, roaring like a wild animal. Snow swirled and created a thick blanket of white on the ground, covering the fall leaves and flowers in the garden area. Derrick spotted deer running through the forest as they followed the trail, pushing at brush and weeds along the way.

Icicles were starting to form like jagged knives from the tree limbs that were already bowing from the weight of the snow. Twigs and sticks cracked, limbs breaking off. Derrick adjusted his ski hat, battling the freezing temperature and scanning every direction for Ellie.

He and Cord shouted her name over and over, using flashlights to peer through the snowy branches. A mile in, then they veered left. Benji barked and took off running, sniffing the ground as he trotted.

Derrick and Cord followed, Derrick’s heart racing. His boots dug into the snow as they hiked another half mile before he heard the roar of the falls as the water spilled over the rocky ridge.

Although the scenery was majestic, Derrick couldn’t enjoy it for the fear pressing against his chest.

Cord threw up a hand as Benji came to a stop. “The pond is frozen over although ice in that section is cracked so we need to go around.”

“There are footprints near the edge,” Derrick said.

Cord walked closer and examined them. “Look about the size of a woman’s boots.”

Cold fear washed over Derrick. Ellie was tough and tenacious. But… what if she’d fallen into the pond and drowned?

NINE

Cord shined his light into the pond but the water was murky and dark. If Ellie was injured and had fallen in, she could have died from hypothermia. His heart gave a terrified pang. What would he do without her?

Focus, McClain. If she was gone, you’d know it.

Latching onto hope, he shouted her name and crept closer, then spotted more footprints on the other side leading toward the falls.

Benji darted toward the falls, then under the overhang, barking wildly.

Cord’s breath huffed out as he closed the distance to it himself. Benji had found something on the ice.

He darted behind the waterfall and went still when he spotted Ellie on the ground unconscious. Heart pounding, he ran to her and knelt to check her pulse.

“Over here!” he shouted to Derrick. Horror shot through him as he realized she was slumped over two bodies on the ice.

Two little girls. Dead.

And Ellie was so damn still. Seconds ticked by. Cord pressed his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse and leaned closer tolisten for a breath. Her face was ghostly white and ice crystals clung to her eyelashes. A long, drawn-out minute slogged by.

Finally, he felt a faint pulse.

“McClain?” Derrick asked, his voice thick.

“She’s alive but probably hypothermic. Clothes are soaked.” He glanced back at the pond. “She must have fallen in.”

Derrick muttered a curse.

“Look at this.” Cord indicated the little girls Ellie had obviously tried to cover with her body as if to protect them. In vain, since they were most likely dead when she found them. But that was Ellie.

He eased her body away from the girls so Derrick could see them. Sorrow for them welled in Cord’s chest.

“Hell,” Derrick muttered. He skimmed his gaze over the bodies. The girls lay face down, blood on the snow behind their faces. The legs of one girl were twisted sideways and one arm on the other looked broken.

“I’m calling for help,” Derrick said, then began stabbing numbers on his phone.

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