Page 44 of Midnight Secrets

After watching the windows for several minutes, and still seeing no signs of life, I pulled my rifle around. I left the safety on but kept it at chest level. Cautiously, I approached the cabin door.

Standing to the side, I rapped my knuckles on the door. “Warren Hammond! It’s the police. Open up.”

I waited about fifteen seconds, then tried again. After the third time and still no answer, I tried the doorknob. It turned freely under my hand.

Heart thumping, I pushed the door inward. It creaked on its hinges as it opened.

“Hammond, I’m coming in.” Raising my rifle, I rounded the doorjamb and stepped over the threshold.

Blinking to make my eyes adjust to the dim interior, I scanned the tiny one-room cabin, noting the twin bed along the left wall, the couch in front of a small table in the middle, and the two-person table jammed into the corner to my right at the edge of the minuscule kitchen space. The woodstove stuck out in the middle of the wall to my right.

I walked over and held a hand out, feeling for heat. When I felt nothing, I removed my glove and laid my hand on top. It was stone cold.

Opening the door on the front, I peered inside. It was clear of ash. Taking a quick glance around, I noted the absence of wood inside the cabin. Even the floor was swept clean. It was like someone winterized the place and hadn’t been back since.

“Damn.” I rubbed my forehead, perturbed by the lack of progress in this case. Every time I turned around, I hit another dead end. No one had been here in months.

After rummaging through the cupboards and checking under the bed and mattress foranythingthat might offer a clue, I left empty-handed and with just as many questions as before.

CHAPTER 15

Claire

Straddling the ATV, I watched the forest where Ozzie disappeared close to thirty minutes ago. I knew it would take some time for him to reach the cabin, search, and then walk back—even more if he found someone or something—but my anxiety ratcheted up with every passing minute.

Had he found Warren? Alive? Was he in a stand-off right now with the man? Or the person who killed Marie and possibly Warren?

Had he run across a moose?

With a huff, I looked away, scanning the rest of the woods. Ozzie might have been joking about keeping the grizzlies off his back, but having one stumble across us was a possibility. Most of them were still hibernating, but there were always some that didn’t follow the rules. Honestly, though, I was more concerned about moose. They could be just as nasty as the bears. Especially if it was a mama with a baby.

Movement in the distance caught my eye. I stilled, hoping if it were a moose or a hungry, fresh-from-hibernation grizzly, that it would walk on by without paying me any heed.

But it only took a moment for me to recognize Ozzie. The deep, rusty red hat on his head stood out against the pale bark of the bald pines.

The air left my lungs on a relieved breath. He was safe.

But he was also alone.

“Nothing?” I asked as he approached.

He shook his head, removing his rifle as he reached his ATV. “Not a damn thing. The place was winterized and doesn’t look like it’s been touched in months.”

I wrinkled my nose. That’s not what I’d wanted to hear. “So now what? Do you have any other leads on Warren?”

“Nothing concrete. An assumption he left the area.” Unzipping the scabbard secured to the ATV, he stowed the rifle.

I could see the frustration that clawed at him. It was in the stiff line of his shoulders and the set to his jaw.

He pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Do you know of any other properties they owned?”

“Not that they disclosed. The credit check I ran only showed the mortgage on their house.”

“There’s no mortgage on the cabin?” He hooked a thumb toward the trees.

“No. Warren said he paid cash for the land.”

Ozzie hummed, staring off into the distance. “Did either of them mention a place they liked to go? For, like, vacation, or to visit family or friends?”

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