Roger gave him a nod of greeting. “Let’s go. No time to waste.”
“Sorry I couldn’t make it sooner.” Aries remained by his side as he and Roger strode toward one of the snowmobile trails leading through the forest. Roger’s own dog Brutus paced next to him.
“Sorry you didn’t get much of a vacation.”
“It’s all right. I have a few weeks off.”
“Knew we could count on you. It was either pull you in or someone from down near Denali.”
“I was closer. It’s no trouble. Is everyone already on the mountain?”
“Yeah, us and Rachelle’s unit.”
Hunt waggled his brows. “Oooh, Rachelle. How’s that going?”
The red knit hat he wore only emphasized the red in his face that the wind hadn’t put there. “Let’s just say she’s eager for a second date.”
“Damn. I’m happy for you.”
“I keep worrying that if things don’t go well, working together will be difficult.”
“You’re both adults. You can be professional. Besides, you can’t think about that. You just started dating.”
“You work with Viv without issues.”
“Yeah…” Weeks ago, any mention of Vivian would make him tense up, but now he felt very far away from the time in his life when he’d crushed on his best friend.
His mind shot to Freya. Of what she was doing right now. If she thought badly of him for taking her body like that and then running out.
They threw themselves into the search. Hours passed and neither he, Roger nor the dogs tired. They ran across a couple other groups on the search and compared notes.
All of this brought to mind his cousin, Derrick, from long ago. No way would Hunt let another family’s holiday be forever ruined the way his aunt and uncle’s was. Now they celebrated quietly in January to avoid the worst week of their life.
He stopped to pour some water from his canteen into a collapsible bowl for Aries. The dog lowered his head to drink but suddenly jerked it up, nose to the wind.
“What do you smell, boy?”
At the same time, Roger’s dog stiffened.
Hunt gave the command, and both dogs took off into the snow, noses to the ground. Roger grabbed his radio and reported that they were on to something. One of the groups closest to them would circle back to the trail to meet up on the search.
The familiar shot of adrenaline had Hunt tingling. He’d done this enough to know when they were close to saving someone. It happened when he found Freya.
Deep snow had drifted over, blocking part of the trail, but the dogs bounded through it, leaping high. Roger’s dog shot off to the left, but Aries stopped and backtracked.
Hunt and Roger traded a look. “What do you think is tripping him up?” Roger asked.
“I’m not sure,” Hunt said, though deep down he was worried about his dog. First he went off on uncharacteristic searches around the cabin, and now it seemed Aries couldn’t stay on the scent.
He sniffed all around the area, tracking and backtracking. Suddenly, Roger’s dog ran back and seemed to let Aries take the lead while he followed.
Roger and Hunt caught up to the K-9s. When they spotted a boot track in the snow, they saw what had the dogs lingering here.
Hunt crouched next to the track. Then his skin prickled, goosebumps traveling up the length of his spine.
“He’s here somewhere. The snow drift—it buried him!”
Both dogs went stiff in their pose, indicating they’d found the victim. Roger and Hunt reached for their packs and the small collapsible shovels they carried to dig people out.
God, how long had this guy been buried? Without oxygen? Surely hypothermia had set in by now. He carefully removed the snow one layer at time so as not to hit human flesh he couldn’t see.
When Roger unearthed a hint of fabric, he gave a shout.
The rest of the group came into sight, and Hunt yelled, “Here! Help us! He’s buried!”
With all those hands hard at work, they discovered the man in short time. He was unmoving, blue.
Visions of his aunt and uncle passed through Hunt’s brain. He had to make this right. This was not going to be one of those sad stories, not on his watch.
He ripped off his glove and felt for a pulse even as he leaned over the man to feel for a breath.
“He’s got a pulse. Slow. No breaths.” He tipped his head back. Someone handed him a resuscitation mask and bag. Others got the thermal blanket spread over the man while two others had a stretcher at the ready.
Tense moments passed while Hunt forced air into the man’s lungs. On the fourth attempt, he gasped and choked.
“Get him on the stretcher now! Rog, radio for the chopper!” Hunt and everyone sprang into action.
Once the man lay on the stretcher, he opened his eyes. Relief pounded through Hunt’s veins. He gripped the guy’s arm. “Merry Christmas. You have your life.”
“Thank you.” Hunt only saw the mouthed words before the wind snatched the sound.
With the others carrying the victim down the mountain, Hunt hung back, needing a minute to collect himself. Every single rescue, Derrick came to mind. But this one was so similar, from the timing to the circumstances. The only difference was this victim had been hiking when the storm overtook him, while his cousin had been skiing.
This was a happy ending.
His phone vibrated, and he removed it from his pocket. He only glanced at the screen before he clapped the device to his ear. “Cason.”
“It’s Penn. Some word on your missing woman just came up.”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s word of a missing woman last seen at a grocery store twenty miles from Tippin.”
His heart flipped. “Go on.”
“A tow truck driver went to the cops after he was called to tow a vehicle back to an apartment. He found blood in the car when he looked inside.”
“Jesus.” Hunt’s head whirled with a sudden wave of dizziness even as his muscles coiled to take off in a dead run.
“When the police started digging, they found the car is registered to a woman named Freya Fuller. She matches the description you gave me. Did you know there are four other women named Freya in this county?”
“Yeah. Cora said.” He pressed a fist to his lips to stop the roar of rage from emitting from his mouth. “Is it foul play? Did somebody hurt her?”
“The cops took prints, and yeah, it looks like there was another driver in the vehicle with her. They didn’t find a match in the system, but in a town of that size, it’s easy to trace someone. They caught her on video entering the grocery store the night you found her.”
“And what about leaving?”
“The power cut in the store, and the video went black.”
Hunt’s guts churned. Someone had stalked her into that store. This other driver Penn mentioned had hurt her and then what? Threw her out in the snow and called for a tow truck to keep himself from becoming a suspect?
The gaps in Freya’s story were closing. Hunt would find this guy and wring every last bit of information from him.
Right before he wrung his neck.
“Was there anything else found in the car?” he asked Penn.
“Her purse with her ID and a gift bag with a Santa figurine in it.”