After she’d gone about thirty or forty feet, she heard a puppy-sized growl.
“Harvard?” she called, walking deeper into the woods. Her shoes were sliding on the snow, but they’d dry. “Harvard?” she called again. From the corner of her eye she spied him.
“Here, pup!” She picked up her pace, snagged the side of her coat on some brambles.
Harvard barked again. It actually sounded chipper . . . like he had discovered a new game—chase in the snow. Deciding she was committed, Jennifer ran after him again as the snow started to come down even harder.
Maybe five minutes had passed. Maybe only two. Maybe it had been fifteen.
Whatever the span of time, she noticed a couple of things. She was very alone, the mini German shepherd was nowhere in sight . . . and she was hopelessly lost.
Her feet were frozen, the rest of her was pretty darn cold, too, and the wind had picked up. Oh. And she had no purse or cell phone. She’d left those right by Jack’s vehicle.
The only good news was that she wasn’t frightened. She wasn’t hiding, she was trying to help find a puppy. And, though she was in a patch of woods, it couldn’t last forever—they were in Montgomery, not in the middle of the country.
She also wasn’t upset about being alone. Amazing how two years of being basically afraid to see other people made a girl no longer fear walking by herself.
Yes, she’d learned that there were far worse things in life than that.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, the sky had darkened. She’d also managed to sprain her ankle slipping on a patch of ice. Jennifer knew she needed to seek shelter. The snow was getting worse, her ankle was throbbing, and she was getting tired.
She also knew from having a policeman brother that people were easier to find when they stayed put.
Though she still kept an eye out for Harvard, Jennifer also started looking for someplace to wait out the storm. She really hoped she would find that spot sooner than later.
* * *
“Hey, Dylan?” Traci asked as she approached his desk.
“What’s going on?” he asked, not bothering to look up. He was typing up the last of his report about the stop they’d made at a senior citizen’s home that afternoon. Once again, he wished he could not only type better but faster instead of hunting and pecking on the keyboard.
“You need to stop and listen to me.”
Traci’s voice sounded off. Warily, he looked up.
When he saw the expression on her face, he knew that something was seriously wrong. Had there been an accident? A fire?
Getting to his feet, he said, “What happened?”
“It’s Jennifer.”
“What about her?” he asked slowly. Only by reminding himself that she was with Shannon and her sister kept him from jumping out of his skin.
“Well, Shannon just called me. She’s missing.”
“She?” he asked, though it really wasn’t a question. He was just attempting to not freak out.
“I’m talking about Jennifer, buddy. Jennifer is missing.”
And just like that, his whole being went into high alert.
“Why’d she call you instead of me? And what is my sister doing missing?” Not even waiting for an answer, he fumbled for his cell phone.
Maybe Shannon had called him and he’d been so focused on that report that he hadn’t heard anything?
But as he stared at the screen, realizing that Shannon hadn’t even tried to call him, a dozen dark thoughts filled his head. Just as he started pressing apps on his screen, Traci put a hand on his arm.
“Hey, stop for a second.”
“No. I’ve got to call her.”
“Who? Jennifer or Shannon?”
“Jennifer. And then Shannon,” he said impatiently. “Why are you asking me? Does it really matter?”
“I think so. You need to calm down and listen to me before you go off half-cocked.”
Only Traci’s reputation encouraged him to put down his cell and face her. “Fine. What do you know?”
“She left Backdoor Books with Jack Patterson at a quarter to twelve.”
“No.” No way would she have done that.
Traci ignored his protest. “Jack drove Jennifer directly to his house.” She paused, flipped a page in her notebook, and recited the address.
“Why did he take her there?” Already imagining the worst, he blurted, “Did he—”
“Listen to me, Lange.”
Her command pulled him back. That was hard to do, but he nodded. “I’m listening.”
“Shannon said that Jennifer had looked excited. Like she was proud of herself for overcoming her fears. She said that Jack looked like he was willing to take things real slow, too. I guess when they stopped by his house so he could put his dog inside, Jennifer had switched gears. She was looking stressed and had chosen to stay outside and wait for him.”
“And?”
“And that’s where the story gets hazy. Jack told Shannon that he hadn’t put the puppy on a lead. He was going to let it do its business and then take him inside . . .”
“But?”
“But just as it was sniffing around, the dog saw a rabbit and took off into the woods. Jack started running. He vaguely recalls Jennifer offering to help, but he told her to stay warm.
“Then?”
“Then, maybe about five minutes later, just when he was about to give up, Harvard came running toward him,” Traci relayed. “But when Jack got back to his house, Jennifer wasn’t there.”
“He was sure about that?”
“Sounds like it,” Traci said. “From what Shannon told me, Jack said Jennifer wasn’t standing on the driveway, not waiting in the vehicle, where it was warmer, not walking around the yard. She was gone.”
She was gone. Three words that meant anything could have happened. Remembering the scene that had greeted him two years ago, of Jennifer hurt and broken on the ground, he felt sick to his stomach. This was his worst nightmare returning.
This Jack guy could have hurt her. Or, whoever had left that note could have snatched her. Or, she could have run off, or a neighbor could have done something.
Anything could have happened.
Grabbing his coat and a hat, he started walking. “Oh my God, Traci.”
Pure sympathy filled her eyes. “I know, but you need to calm down.”
“This is my sister, and she has issues.” Even imagining how scared and freaked out she had to be practically made tears form in his eyes.