Chapter Five
A Trail of Shadows
Caleb did his best to stay close to Ava, but it was difficult given the weather conditions and the almost non-stop trek they’d been on since leaving the crime scene.
They reached the black pine grove.
“There’s no cell service,” Rachel said after trying repeatedly to make the call for backup.
“Here.” Caleb tossed her the sat phone. “Use this. Call the first number. It’s for Ranger Larabee.
He can radio our location to your people.
Tell him we’re north of the Hidden Lake Trail just off Going-to-the-Sun Road, approximately a mile and a half upslope into backcountry terrain.
Have them station at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. ”
She conveyed their location to Larabee and Caleb’s suggested staging point. After she’d finished, she held the phone away from her ear. “I lost the signal. I sure hope he got enough of that to find us.”
“Larabee knows the area well. He’ll get help rolling our way.” Caleb accepted the phone back and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.
As they entered the thick woods, a piercing darkness overtook them. Caleb clicked on his flashlight and shone it down the path where the dog was working. He noticed Shadow appeared to be circling. “What’s going on? Did he lose the trail?”
Ava shook her head. “Wax is deliberately trying to confuse him.”
Caleb searched the ground with his trained guide’s eye. A set of footprints covered the fallen snow. “He’s heading uphill toward rocky terrain. Once he reaches the boulders, we’ll lose his tracks.”
The frustration on Ava’s face was unmistakable. “We can’t let that happen. This is as close as we’ve ever been to capturing him.”
When she would have kept going, Caleb stopped her. “It’s too dangerous. It’ll be completely dark soon. Exhaustion and stumbling around in the darkness will get us killed faster than Wax.”
Her frustration made it clear that falling back was the last thing she wanted to do. Shadow barked, breaking the tension between them. The dog pulled Ava toward one of the nearby pine tree trunks that glistened faintly.
“What is that?” Rachel asked as they neared.
Waxy residue streaked the bark. Caleb’s stomach churned. Ava was right. Wax was playing with them.
Shadow nosed at something else near the wax. He focused the light on a scrap of paper folded and pinned beneath the wax.
Using her gloved hand, Ava carefully peeled it free and unfolded the paper. A shocked gasp escaped as she scanned the words.
Caleb leaned over her shoulder. “You disappointed me once, Ava. But this time, you’ll be perfect. My saint eternal.” His blood ran cold. Wax made his intentions clear.
He was coming after Ava, and this time, he didn’t just want her to be part of his sadistic games. He wanted her dead.
The weight of the words was undeniable. The monster who had destroyed her life once now wanted to end it.
And for Caleb, it confirmed his worst fears. Ava was in the crosshairs of a deviant killer. If they continued to chase him now, they might be playing right into his planned ritual.
Shadow growled low once more, his nose lifted to the wind.
A prickle of unease sped down Caleb’s spine as though he sensed eyes on them once more.
“If we stop now, we might not ever get this chance again.” Ava stared up at him, her eyes pleading.
Caleb didn’t voice his fears because she was right. Yet the thought of losing her to this monster was too great. If Wax captured her again, she might not survive.
“I know how you feel, but we can have backup meet us past the ridge.” What he didn’t tell her was that if Wax made it up to the ridge before they did, he’d probably have a vehicle waiting. He’d be long gone before they or their backup reached him.
“You're right,” she said with a weary sigh. “Let’s keep going for now until our backup reaches us.”
A small amount of relief at those words was soon shattered when the sat phone didn’t pick up any service.
“The mountain and the weather must be blocking it.” He glanced around at the gathering darkness.
Everything about moving forward without the certainty of assistance coming to back them up was frightening—just the three of them and the dog against a killer who had planned this entire outcome.
Ava gave the dog some freedom as they continued through the black pines. Eventually, the woods faded, and the rocky terrain he feared even more came into view.
Still, Shadow didn’t let up.
The boulders were covered with ice and snow making it difficult to traverse. Caleb took the lead, knowing the terrain better. Several times, he was forced to find a different route up.
“This is getting too dangerous,” Rachel said after Ava almost twisted her ankle. “We need to take cover and wait.”
Caleb agreed. “There’s a sheer drop off coming up. One false move and we’re dead.”
Ava’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. We shouldn’t take that risk.”
Caleb was relieved she saw the truth for herself. “There’s an alcove over there that will get us out of the elements and should protect us from the wind.”
More weather was moving in. The sooner they were off the mountain the better in Caleb’s mind.
The wind continued to howl through this barren space like a rabid animal.
Caleb kept close watch over Ava and Rachel as they slowly worked their way to the rocky alcove using the flashlight as the day’s ambient light faded.
Though he knew both women were highly trained, and Ava had once been as familiar with these woods as he, this was dangerous territory, and the snow and ice weren’t helping the situation.
Caleb brushed the snow from a narrow opening and flashed the light inside. “It’s deep enough to keep us out of the weather anyway.”
He bent over to enter the space. Ava followed along with the dog and then Rachel.
Shadow suddenly stopped dead. His hackles raised. A loud growl echoed off the stone walls.
Caleb’s pulse kicked in hard.
“What is it, boy?” Ava asked, her concern was obvious.
The dog’s attention was locked on the growing darkness beyond the rocks as he continued to growl.
Caleb angled his light toward where the dog was focused and froze.
On the face of the rock was a symbol that appeared to be drawn in fresh blood.
“Oh, no,” Ava whispered at the cross intersected by a circle. “That’s Wax’s calling card.”
And pinned beneath it was another scrap of paper.
Ava reached for it with a trembling hand.
“Don’t,” Caleb warned because he didn’t want her to deal with another one of Wax’s taunts.
The note unfurled in her grip, and Caleb read the words over her shoulder:
“You’re already too late.”
“He has his next victim,” Ava said in a flat voice. “If we don’t catch him soon, she’ll be dead in twenty-four hours.”