Chapter Thirty-Eight #2
The cameras around the hotel were all down. There were only black screens. Probably thanks to Kessler. He would have the power
to get them shut down. Even more proof that he knew where she was and her partner was out of the loop. But there were a few
screens that were active. They were out on the trees. She’d seen the pictures in the lobby the lodge put up daily for the
tourists who’d be excited about seeing a bear walk through at night. Or a mountain lion. Or whatever. It didn’t matter to
Abigail because she saw what she wanted—Maya, Juniper and Josh heading her way.
Maybe her plan wasn’t done after all.
As they crept along, Maya worked to keep an eye out for the wildlife cameras. She’d spotted a couple. The camouflage color
made it hard to see them. Would Abigail even happen to look at them? They had to assume so. Just as Maya had that thought,
she realized they had walked right in front of one.
“Great,” she said, pointing out the camera to Josh. “What do you think? Should we keep going?”
As Josh was getting ready to answer the wind picked up and the smell of smoke wafted their way. Maya couldn’t see the fire. Based on what she’d learned from Kessler, it was probably burning in the area behind the ridge and they couldn’t see it because of the lodge.
“I think we should keep going, but assume she saw us,” Josh said. “At least see if we can spot Hope or Juniper can figure
out where she is. Even if we have to retreat and let the HRT guys come in, we can give them a direction. But that fire is
close.”
“It is,” Maya said, glad that Josh wanted to keep going. Even though she’d asked, it would have taken a lot for her not to
continue. “And we should assume Abigail saw us. Let’s go in via the employee entrance. There’s no staircase there like the
front entrance. Less of a chance for Abigail to be able to ambush us.”
“Good idea,” Josh said.
They continued to the back of the building. Maya could feel the tension building in Juniper through the leash. Juniper was
ready to work. The heat didn’t seem to be affecting her at all. They came up to the building, trying to stay as flat against
the outside wall as possible. All tactics seemed worthless because Abigail knew standard operating procedures. If she saw
them there was a chance she’d shoot right through the next window. Luckily, the building itself was solid with thick walls.
It would be harder for a bullet to penetrate and get them, although Maya knew it was still possible.
They paused at each window. Maya would check that there was no one there before they continued.
The old glass made everything inside distorted and Maya could only make out shapes of things like furniture and a fireplace.
So far, she hadn’t seen a human shape and there didn’t seem to be anyone waiting for them.
Maybe they’d been lucky and hadn’t been spotted.
Or maybe Abigail was being patient and letting them come to her. They arrived at the back door.
Maya slowly opened the door that had been left unlocked so the firefighters could have access. She let Juniper go in first.
Juniper had no reaction such as hackles going up, so Maya felt like it was safe to continue. She nodded at Josh and he nodded
back in acknowledgment.
Step by step, they worked their way in. When Maya thought they were in a safe spot, she took out the scent article and let
Juniper sniff. This time, she used a hand signal to tell Juniper to search. They’d been working on that in training and Juniper
responded beautifully. She put her nose up in the air, twitching it slightly.
The nice thing about the fire evacuation was that the ventilation system was shut off. That meant there was a lot less airflow,
which would help Juniper. Airflow in buildings could be as difficult as windy days. Juniper caught a scent and shot forward.
Maya was ready for her and had the leash a little tighter. In this case, she didn’t want Juniper to be too far out in front
of her until they cleared each area. Josh had his gun drawn and ready.
Juniper went down a hall and then turned toward the front entrance. Maya was glad to be out of the hallway. That was a death trap with no place to take cover. It was as fatal as a doorway if Abigail had wanted to ambush them there.
When they came to the front area, Maya pulled Juniper up and then peered around the corner. It appeared empty, but it was
hard to tell. The grand main entrance opened to a staircase that led to the first-floor rooms. There were large open wings
off the front doors that extended to both sides of the hotel, with various couches and sitting areas. The check-in desk was
in this area too. There were good places to hide and ambush them.
Juniper surprised Maya by wanting to turn and leave the front area. Instead, she wanted to go to a ballroom that was just
past the hotel restaurant. Every New Year, Halloween and Christmas, there would be large masquerade balls held there. Maya
had never been to one, but she knew they were quite the events. Would Abigail have Hope there? If so, then Abigail was deliberately
leading them there. She would never normally put a hostage in front of a window.
Maya’s stomach flip-flopped. Josh was waiting. It was her call. She trusted her dog. They would clear the ballroom and go
from there. Maybe Juniper would take them to another part of the hotel. But if Hope was being held hostage in the ballroom,
that meant that Abigail was putting her out in the open. And in that case, this was definitely a trap.