Chapter 52
Mylie felt like she might vomit. Her stomach roiled as they sailed toward the trail near the bridge over the lake that led
to the hunting cabin. It felt so far away. If the girls had run into Robbie, it wouldn’t have been good—not after he’d been
drinking on that boat all day. Not when he realized Cassie was Mylie’s younger sister.
Mylie could kick herself for not being more suspicious when Robbie didn’t show up at the weighing station and that she hadn’t
realized that small fish weighing so much was a clear sign that something wasn’t right.
“We’ll find them,” Ben said to her. He wrapped one arm around her middle as they plowed ahead on the water.
Mylie tried to nod. It was starting to get dark. Maybe Robbie didn’t know where they were. Maybe this was all a misunderstanding.
That was possible, wasn’t it?
“The fish were full of lead pellets,” Granny said grimly.
“They checked them?” Mylie asked.
Granny nodded into the fading daylight. “I just got a text from Louise. No sign of Robbie, either. I’m going to lose reception
soon.”
Granny pointed ahead of them. “It’s just up there,” she said. She pointed to a shallow embankment ahead of them. “That cabin
isn’t more than a few hundred yards from there. You can’t see it from the shoreline, but it’s there.”
Mylie took a deep breath. And then another. Ben kept her anchored there to him, and she was grateful for his warmth right then, despite anything else going on between them. Right now, nothing else mattered but finding those girls and finding them before Robbie did.
The boat was barely to shore before Mylie jumped out, her shoes hitting the water. Ben was close behind her.
“I want you to stay here and wait for the sheriff,” Mylie instructed Granny.
“Like hell I will.”
“Please,” Mylie said, reaching out and touching her grandmother’s arm.
Granny sighed. “Fine. But if I don’t see you coming back with those girls in ten minutes, I’m coming up.”
“Okay,” Mylie said, knowing that was the best compromise she’d get out of Granny.
Mylie looked down at her cell phone. No reception. She’d never minded that before—being out in the woods or on the lake always
meant spotty reception for calls and texts—but right now, it made her furious.
“Take a left at the top of the trail,” Granny called after them. “You’ll see it.”
Mylie headed up the trail. It didn’t take long to get to the top. Ben beat her by a few paces, and he waited for her at the
fork so they could continue moving left. In the distance, just beyond a cluster of trees was the tiny cabin.
“Just up here,” Mylie said, breathless from the hike and anticipation of finding Cassie. They had to be here. They just had
to be.
“I can see it,” Ben said to her. “I don’t see anyone outside.”
There weren’t any lights on in the cabin, and Mylie scanned the area for Robbie. She didn’t see him. Maybe he was gone. Maybe he hadn’t found them at all. Maybe.
As they neared, Mylie heard barking.
“That’s Stanley,” Mylie said. “He won’t let anyone get near them, especially someone he doesn’t know.”
She ran up the steps and tried to open the door before Ben could tell her to stop. It was locked. She shook the handle. When
it didn’t budge, she put her ear up to the door, straining to hear something, anything.
Mylie could hear muffled voices. She opened her mouth to yell, but Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Don’t say anything,” he breathed. “He’s in there with them.”
Mylie’s heart pounded in her chest. “How do you know?”
Ben motioned to the windows on the left-hand side of the cabin. “I saw him.”
He led Mylie around to the side. She could barely see inside, but she could hear Robbie. She could hear his sneering voice,
like sandpaper sliding against wood.
“I won’t hurt ya,” he was saying. “Come out now, girls. Let’s chat.”
Mylie got up on her tiptoes to get a better look. She didn’t see Allie or Cassie anywhere, but she could hear Stanley’s continued
barking, which meant they had to be hiding in another room.
She also saw the glint of steel in Robbie’s hand. It was a fish fillet knife, the kind nearly everyone in Clay Creek had,
the kind of knife used to gut a fish. She sucked in air and crouched down, pulling Ben with her.
“I can go in,” Ben said to her. “I can distract him while you get the girls out.”
Mylie thought about it. They didn’t have much time. They couldn’t wait for the sheriff. If Robbie had spent all day drinking in his boat, he was at least a hundred times meaner than normal. And if he thought Cassie and Allie had seen him cheat, that would make it even worse.
“Okay,” she said at last. “If you can get in the front door, I can sneak around to the back.”
Ben nodded, and Mylie slipped off around the side. There was a small window at the back, and Mylie peered inside to see Cassie
and Allie huddled together, Stanley with his nose to the door, blocking where she knew Robbie stood.
She tapped on the glass as quietly as she could.
Cassie turned around and the relief on her face made Mylie all the more desperate to get them out. She motioned to the window,
and Cassie hurried over.
“Can you open it?” Mylie mouthed.
Cassie tried. It cracked just enough that Mylie could wiggle her fingers through and grasp Cassie.
“It’s okay,” Mylie said. “Try again.”
This time, both Cassie and Allie tried to open the window. It slid open enough that they could fit through, and Mylie helped
them out, both girls sobbing with fear and relief. Even Stanley was able to make it through the window with all three of them
helping.
Inside, Mylie could hear Ben’s steady voice and the surprise in Robbie’s when he realized Ben was there.
“Run around to the front and find Granny,” Mylie said to them. “Be quiet. The sheriff is on his way.
Mylie ran around to the front of the house, where the door was now wide open. Granny was farther up, pointing to the cabin,
while Sheriff Oakes said something into his walkie. When Granny saw them, she ran toward Cassie and Allie and gathered them
into her arms. Stanley danced around them, clearly happy to be out of the cabin.
“Ben’s inside,” Mylie rasped, pointing toward the cabin door that now stood wide open. None of them could see inside. It was too dark, too far away.
“Stay here,” the sheriff ordered. He began to stalk toward the cabin, where the voices coming from inside were getting increasingly
heated.
Mylie followed him from a distance, ignoring the pleas from Granny and the girls to stay with them.
“Come on out now, Robbie,” Sheriff Oakes called. “It’s over.”
Mylie could see Ben begin to back out, but he turned in the doorway to face the sheriff, and that’s when Robbie pounced. He
came at Ben like a semitruck, tackling him to the ground.
Ben writhed against him, and they fought. Robbie still had his knife and angled it toward Ben’s neck as the sheriff yelled
for Robbie to stop, his gun drawn.
Even from where Mylie stood, she could smell the whisky and anger wafting off Robbie and toward them, stifling them.
Ben had one hand gripped on Robbie’s forearm, barely keeping the knife from slicing him. Mylie let out a yelp as it nicked
Ben’s neck, but Ben was faster than Robbie gave him credit for, punching Robbie in the face with his free hand.
Before any of them could stop him, Stanley had dashed inside, barking. As Robbie lay back on the wooden floor, holding his
face, Stanly nipped at him.
Robbie let out a yelp and scrambled to escape, which gave Ben enough time to move away and for the sheriff to have a clean
shot.
“Don’t move,” Sheriff Oakes said in a more authoritative voice than Mylie had ever heard. “I will shoot you.”
Robbie spat blood onto the floor, but obeyed.
Mylie ran to Ben, kneeling down on the ground to inspect him. “Are you okay?”
Sheriff’s deputies surrounded the house, but Mylie couldn’t see anything other than Ben splayed out beneath her.
“I’m fine,” he grunted, sitting up. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his neck. “It’s just a scrape.”
Stanley licked Ben’s face.
“Thanks for the help, Stan the Man,” Ben said.
“You’re such a good boy,” Mylie said to the dog, rubbing his ears. “Such a good boy.”
Together they watched as Robbie was tackled and cuffed, the fillet knife kicked to the side where he lay. Behind them, there
were shouts and cries of thanks from Granny and the girls. Mylie stood and helped Ben to his feet.
“I didn’t do anything!” Robbie was yelling. “I didn’t do anything!”
“They’re going to want to check you out once we get back to town,” Mylie told Ben. She slipped her hand into his. “Thank you.”