Page 28 of Not Our Daughter

The flashlight finally left his face, hit the passenger seat.

“Who you looking for?” Cole asked, as casually as possible.

“Couple of dangerous individuals.”

“Really? Here in the valley? That’s crazy.”

“You don’t even know the half of it. I need to peek in the back, if you don’t mind.”

Cole felt fear grip him. He set his foot lightly on the gas pedal and squeezed the steering wheel in his right hand. Thinking fast, he said, “Sure. But just to warn you, it’s disgusting back there. Had to deal with the worst sewer backup situation I’ve ever seen this evening. Spent three hours up to my ankles in poop water. Worst part of the job.”

The officer flashed his light on the side of the van. “You work for Teddy Gunderson?”

The van had previously belonged to Gunderson Family Plumbers. He went with it. It was a last desperate effort to keep their feet beneath them. “Yep.”

“I thought he closed up shop years ago.”

“He did. But we’re up and running again.”

The officer nodded, pressed his lips together. “Well, tell the old man I said hello. He and my pop used to go hunting together back when I was a kid. Teddy’s a good man.”

“He is a good man. I will definitely tell him.”

“All right, you have a good night now.”

The officer stepped back, casually waved Cole to turn around. It seemed the small connecting point was enough to keep him from getting the back of the van searched. Cole quickly turned the vehicle around in the street, eased forward back toward town. He didn’t take another breath until he was a hundred yards down the road.

“You can come out now,” he said, exhaling.

He watched in his rearview mirror as both Lisa and Jade pulled the blankets off them.

“That was way too close,” Lisa said, matching his shortness of breath.

“Wow, Dad,” Jade interjected, a touch of excitement in her voice. “You wereso coolunder pressure back there.”

“Well, it wasn’t my first time.”

Jade tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“We were just fortunate.”

“So where to now?” Lisa asked, her voice rising. “We’re going to have to get off 40. I presume they’ll have the other way blocked by now as well. And maybe even the side roads. There are not a lot of routes out of this area, Cole. We could be stuck in this valley.”

“We have to find a way.”

“Any ideas?”

“Not yet. Let me know if you spot a helicopter somewhere.”

This time she didn’t offer him a smile. He couldn’t blame her. This was a dire situation. They drove all the way back through Winter Park, again slowing in traffic around the park, before eventually reaching the other side of town. Cole then passed through Fraser and got out onto the open highway again. He passed by a couple of isolated county roads he knew would get them through the mountains and out safely on the other side. But as expected, both were now blocked by police officers. They crossed all the way through the town of Granby, and then he noticed traffic beginning to slow up ahead. A major roadblock on Highway 40. Two police vehicles. Instead of getting in line again, Colequickly turned into a gas station parking lot. He stopped the van at the edge and tried to give himself space to think.

“This is bad, Cole,” Lisa said, up next to him again.

There was so much desperation in her voice.

“I know,” he agreed. “I didn’t expect them to be able to block the roads so fast.”

“Maybe we should hide out somewhere overnight. Hope they clear the roads in the morning. Try to make our way out then.”

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