Page 103 of Shadow Sabotage
“You called it,” I murmured, judging the size of the print. It was small, about the size of Claire’s boot. “She tried to take the shortest route.”
“Maybe,” Claire interjected. “We don’t know that those prints are hers. Could have been another hiker who stepped off the trail to pee.”
“Could be. But you don’t think so.” I shot her a look.
She nodded, sighing. “Yeah, unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s hers. All too often, people take the shortest route possible without knowing what they’re getting into.”
“Is this path really more dangerous than the rest?” I stood, studying Claire’s eyes the best I could in the dark.
Claire shrugged. “Depends on how you look at it, I guess. There are a hell of a lot of ways for a person to get in trouble out in the wilderness. But the ravine’s tricky. Lots of loose rocks, uneven terrain, and steep drop-offs. Plus, there’s the rattlesnakes. They like the way the rocks heat up in the sunlight.”
“Shit. That doesn’t sound fun.” I was starting to feelveryout of my element.
Claire didn’t seem fazed. “Flag the spot. I’ll radio it in.”
I pulled the flagging tape from the pocket of the bag and wrapped a piece of it around a branch beside the prints while Claire made the call. Then she gave me a quick nod of approval and headed off the trail into the darkness.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Claire
Our progress wasslow moving through this part of the woods. The vegetation was a lot thinner than the lower forest where I’d sent King and the others, which made it look like the easier path. But the closer we got to the ravine, the worse the ground became for walking. It was the kind of rocky ground where you could twist an ankle no matter how careful you were.
Not to mention everything else that could go wrong out here off the beaten path.
I didn’t have Cheyenne’s intuition, but the farther we went, the more certain I was that we were following Robin’s footsteps. The signs were few and far between, but there were enough disturbances to tell me someone had come through here recently. And who would have done that other than Robin?
Unless she wasn’t the only amateur investigator with the bright idea of trespassing into the campground.
The thought made me groan, but it also gave me hope. Hope that, unlike we had initially feared, this wasn’t a second victim.And hope that, if multiple people had been pulling this kind of thing, maybe the trail disturbances were from someone else. For Robin’s sake, it would be much better for her to be slowly trekking her way home on the long loop trail, exhausted and hungry—but safe.
If she was in the ravine, this could end very badly
We never give up hope.The words came to me in Cheyenne’s voice, the way they always did on a search. It was practically her tagline. Even now, I missed being on horseback with her and Rhett, trading jokes back and forth as we worked the search.
Everything was changing, and things would never be the same again. I was tempted to take comfort in the fact that Vance was with me, that my new partner had my back here the same way he had it everywhere else.
But this partnership was temporary, too.
It would end the day he left for New York.
It was nearlymidnight when we made it to the edge of the ravine. Rhett and Cheyenne had radioed in, telling us they had come up empty on the loop trail. Same news from the team that had done the hasty search at the campground.
I scanned my flashlight into the darkness, calling for Robin. My voice echoed. But there was no answer.
Vance came up beside me. “What are you thinking?”
The words squeezed at my heart. They were the ones I usually asked Cheyenne at this point.
I turned to Vance, struck with a whole new appreciation for him. Exhaustion was written all over his face, but he was calm and steady. He hadn’t complained once, even though I’d pushed him hard.
It made me like him even more.
I pulled off my heavy pack, dropping it to the ground. “Well, I have some bad news for you.”
“What’s that?” He brushed his hair off his forehead and dropped his bag onto the ground beside mine.
I gulped down some water. “It’s late. We’re exhausted, visibility sucks, and the risk of injury is too high for us to move forward. But it would waste too much time to turn back.”
