Chapter 34
He touched the bird down so lightly Erin wasn’t even sure they had landed until he ripped off the headphones and reached for the door handle.
She echoed his action, on instinct alone hanging on to the binoculars.
By the time her feet hit the dirt beneath the helicopter’s skids, Blaine was already running toward the car parked almost hidden under what she could now see was a live oak.
There was no sign of any other people close by, kids or adults.
She bent a little as she followed, not even sure if she needed to dodge the rotor but remembering one of Blaine’s earliest lessons.
She tried to visualize the map, estimate how far they were from the park entrance and the more frequented areas.
She thought a long way—enough to make it a good place to hide—but the rolling hills made it hard to judge.
She got to the parked car just as Blaine, who had been walking around the area next to the half-hidden vehicle, crouched down beside what looked like a roughly made firepit.
She glanced at the car, saw there was a bumper sticker on the left rear.
Something about coexisting, ironically. But it made it even more likely that the scratched and dinged vehicle was the one they’d been looking for.
A quick glance showed her there was nothing immediately visible inside, at least in the way of clothes or backpacks—Ethan’s backpack in particular.
She turned just as Blaine straightened up. He was brushing ash off his fingers. As if he’d actually stuck his hand into the pit. As it struck her why he’d probably done it, he spoke, proving her right.
“Slightly warm, way down. I’d say a fire going last night, burned out this morning.”
“But where did he—they—” she needed to remember her boy wasn’t likely alone “—go, and leave the car?”
“Don’t know.” He turned and walked over to the car. Tried the doors, which were apparently locked. Stood there, considering.
“Thinking about breaking a window?”
He shot her a sideways look. “Definitely under consideration. I want a look at the glove box and the trunk.”
Her brow furrowed. “But you do think this is the car, don’t you?”
“Yes. But there’s some sign there might have been a tent pitched over there,” he said, nodding toward the other side of the firepit. “And I want to know if they took it with them.”
Understanding hit her. “Because if they didn’t, they’ll be back here sooner. Not camping out somewhere else tonight.”
“Yes. And if they didn’t, that might indicate they plan to vacate this spot soon, otherwise why bother to take it down.” His mouth twisted slightly. “Not like they could have expected an aerial search with Ms. Eagle Eye on watch. That was a good spot.”
She couldn’t begin to describe how that made her feel. She’d felt up until now that she’d been useless, practically in the way. “Thanks,” she said, meaning it rather fiercely. This was the Blaine she’d known and loved since she was seven years old.
Turning her head so he wouldn’t see the moisture pooling in her eyes, she murmured, “Where would they have gone? Hiking? If this car is their only transportation…”
“No idea. But,” Blaine added as he turned to look at something she hadn’t even heard, “I’ll bet he can tell us.”
She spun around just in time to see Cutter, unleashed, break through some underbrush, heading toward them. Close behind him was Rafe, unexpectedly geared up with a backpack and…
A rifle.
Rafe the sniper.
Her heart slammed in her chest. She glanced at Blaine, but he didn’t seem to have reacted to the presence of the weapon. Of course, he was a lot more used to such things, saw them every day.
She did not.
Rafe came to a halt beside them, and Blaine quickly gave him a summary of what they’d found since they’d spotted the car, which Blaine admitted wasn’t much.
“A lot more than we had,” Rafe said. And then, clearly having noticed her glance at the weapon strapped to that backpack, he met her gaze. “A precaution, Erin. For Ethan’s sake. We don’t know for sure somebody isn’t armed.”
“Oh.”
Since there had been no weapon used at the convenience store, she’d assumed, sillily perhaps, that they didn’t have one. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have one now. Or more. That older kid, the one who had gotten so angry when he couldn’t get the register to open…
She noticed Rafe was doing something at the car door, and when it swung open a moment later she realized he was somehow opening it. She saw him slide a small case of something back into a side pocket on the pack, and guessed they should be grateful the old car had the kind of locks you could pick.
Blaine was already inside, reaching over to the glove box. He pulled out some paperwork, glanced at it, started to reach in further, then stopped.
“I see some weed, and a little baggie of pills. Figure I’d better not touch it.”
“Good call,” Rafe agreed, while Erin tried to process the presence of drugs without freaking out.
Blaine found the right latch and popped it, then got out. Rafe was already at the back of the car, lifting the trunk lid. A sudden horrible image hit her, born of dozens of movies and television shows, of people unsuspectingly opening the trunk of a car to find a body. She slapped it down, hard.
No wonder Blaine doesn’t want you involved. You aren’t equipped for this, mentally or physically.
But she had found the car. She’d done that much at least.
…Ms. Eagle Eye on watch. That was a good spot.
His words played back in her head, and did more to calm her than any self-recrimination could.
“No tent,” Rafe said, straightening up. “But a tarp that looks like it might be a rain cover for one. And a couple of spikes.” He looked as if he were about to say more, but stopped. Erin wondered if she’d imagined the slight ramping up of tension.
“So they took it with them,” Blaine said.
“Maybe they wanted a camp spot farther in, away from where cars could reach.” Or helicopters. She glanced at Blaine. “Good thing we came in on a tourist-looking thing, in case they saw us.”
He nodded. “Good cover.” He shifted his gaze to Rafe. “Which I’ll thank you again for later. After,” he added, rather tightly, “you tell me what you found in there that ratcheted up your alert level.”
So she hadn’t imagined it.
Rafe remained silent, but he held something out to Blaine. It looked like a small, flattened cardboard box. Blaine took it, looked. His gaze immediately shot back to Rafe.
“Crap,” he said.
“Indeed,” the other man agreed.
She held out a hand, and without comment—or, thankfully, hesitation—Blaine handed the thing to her. And she read, with dismay, that she was holding what had once held fifty rounds of 9mm ammunition.
They all turned to look when a short, sharp bark, came from the trees toward the front end of the car. Cutter stood there, looking back at him with obvious impatience.
“He’s got the scent,” Rafe said. “We’d better move.”
And now, Erin thought grimly, they weren’t just looking for some kids hiding out on some crazy adventure. They were looking for some kids with lousy judgment and misguided ideas, who apparently had a gun.
But they were closer to Ethan than they’d been in more than ten days, and she’d risk a lot more than confronting those kids to save her son.