Chapter Thirteen
Hidden in the Dust
“He’s becoming more confident,” Ava said when she came back. “Because he thinks we’ll never catch him.” She glanced down at Shadow. The dog met her gaze like a partner, not a pet. “I want to make him regret that cockiness.”
Caleb smiled at the typical Ava confidence he’d known in the past.
Back before Wax, she was assured. Confident but not arrogant. Her work had caught the eye of her superiors who appeared to be grooming her to take over the lead position at the field office.
And then it happened.
Ava was working with a senior agent on the first murder when the second one took place.
The agent in charge agreed to go along with Ava’s theory about Wax.
They’d gone out that night without letting anyone else know their whereabouts.
Wax had murdered the lead agent. Ava was taken and held for days before she managed to escape.
But not before she’d been forced to watch Wax claim his third victim.
He'd disappeared after the murder that had almost destroyed Ava. Everyone always believed it was part of some pattern.
But what if it wasn’t? Maybe fear of being caught before his perfect reveal was ready to unroll had sent him fleeing to regroup.
Caleb shared his concerns with Ava.
“It’s possible he’s more confident. But why wait three years?”
There had to be a reason. Everything Wax did was carefully planned. Finding out what the reason was might help them narrow down the search.
Rachel jogged up with a tablet tight in her hands.
“We have some real-time data coming in from ERT from the second victim’s scene.
A partial print was found on the pawn. Not enough for AFIS, but enough for confirmation if we find a source.
ERT’s analyzing the evidence in the old shack now.
They’re also working on finding the secondary entrance to retrieve the rest of the items from the shaft. ”
A chilling wind sighed through the laurel. Crime scene tape rippled under it.
“We need to get back to the lodge and go over all the evidence coming in. We need answers and we need them now.” Ava looked toward the black sea of pines leading down to the old spur. “He’ll keep moving because he wants me to follow. He thinks I’ll read the script and chase the next act.”
“What if we don’t?” Caleb asked.
A small, tired smile touched her mouth without reaching her eyes. “We’ll follow,” she said. “But not the way he expects.”
“What do you mean?” Caleb asked, arching his brows.
Ava’s voice came out firm and clear. “We go over all the evidence and come up with a coordinated plan before he goes back on the hunt again, if he hasn’t already.
I believe that will happen quickly. If ERT locates the secondary entrance, we’ll assume he’s using it as an access route between his kill sites.
That shaft could lead us straight into his staging ground, or his escape tunnel. ”
Caleb studied the map projected on Rachel’s tablet, tracing the faint contour lines where the mountain folded in on itself. “That entire section is riddled with old mine passages. If Wax knows the tunnels, he could move unseen for miles.”
“Which makes this our bottleneck,” Ava said. “He’s using the terrain as his ally. We’ll use strategy as ours.”
Larabee approached, snow clinging to his boots. “ERT reports progress on the secondary opening. It’s partially collapsed but still accessible. They’ve confirmed heat residuals inside.”
The words hit like a spark. Ava’s eyes lifted to Caleb’s. “He’s here. He hasn’t left the area. Show me. Let’s go,” she said to Larabee who led the way.
Rachel caught up with them. “This is unbelievable. We might actually have a chance at capturing him.”
The excitement in Rachel’s voice washed over him only to intensify Caleb’s misgivings. Too easy. The thought kept rolling through his head. After all the intricate details Wax had given them, would he really slip up and let them get close enough to capture him without a backup plan?
Caleb couldn’t believe it. As much as he wanted Wax caught and brought to justice for everything he’d done to his victims and their families. It couldn’t be this easy.
They reached the clearing where ERT worked to remove clutter to gain access to the tunnel.
Caleb pulled Ava aside. “I don’t like this.” He shared his concerns.
Ava held his gaze. “I agree with you, but if there’s the slightest chance that maybe Wax made a mistake, we have to take it, Caleb. We both know he's escalating. It’s possible he slipped up because he’s rushing through things to get his message across.”
He kept any further concerns to himself because he knew that stubborn look on her face all too well. She’d do whatever was necessary to capture Wax and bring her demons to light. He just prayed it wouldn’t be at the cost of her life.
“Gather around everyone.” Ava turned back to the team amassing from all previous search sites.
She’d called them back because they’d need all the manpower they could get to search.
“We believe there’s a possibility that Wax is still in the tunnel.
We’ll split into two units. Half our agents, half the K-9 handlers and half the search and rescue team will sweep the tunnels from the north slope under Harper’s leadership.
” Ava waited for Harper to confirm before continuing.
“The rest of you are with me, Caleb and Rachel. I want Larabee and Shackleford with us as well. We’ll move in from the lower shaft with Shadow.
If we trap him between us, he’ll have nowhere to go. ”
Unless it was what Wax was counting onHol. Caleb couldn’t let go of the worry. The thought of Ava being captured by Wax again terrified him.
Ava’s eyes landed on him. He believed she read his thoughts clearly. “We make sure whatever Wax is counting on happening doesn’t.”
Wax was a formidable opponent. He’d probably been planning his revenge for years. They were already way behind the eightball.
Rachel handed him and Ava headsets. “Command is on standby for live coordination. Vaughn called in more local deputies to seal off the service road.”
Ava clipped the headset in place. “Good. I want full comm silence until we breach. No chatter unless it’s life or death. We move in five.”
Caleb hesitated, watching the storm show no sign of abating. “I’m worried, Ava.”
Ava glanced toward the dark cut in the ridge. “I know,” she said softly. “But for the first time, we’re close enough to see the edges of his masterpiece.”
Shadow whined low, nose sniffing in the direction of the mountain.
Ava met Caleb’s eyes. “Let’s get the team ready. When the next chapter starts—he won’t be the only one writing it.”
ERT finished clearing the entrance to the lower shaft. Caleb clicked on his flashlight as the pitch-black darkness that overtook them as they moved down the passage became almost tangible.
The team was forced to bend over to move down the narrow tunnel.
Shadow sniffed the stale air trying to pick up a scent.
Sounds became distorted as it bounced off the rock walls.
Caleb had explored several of these old mine shafts when he was younger. There was always something a bit claustrophobic about being down here. Not too much gave him the chills anymore. This was certainly doing it.
Ava tapped Shadow’s back giving him a silent command to halt. She motioned Larabee forward.
Larabee pulled up the tablet and showed it to her. The heat residuals were still there.
Ava gave the command to move forward.
Caleb’s hand tightened on his weapon. These old passages weren’t maintained. Many of the gold mining businesses that worked up here in the past had moved on to greener pastures, leaving behind shafts that were slowly disintegrating.
He pushed those disturbing thoughts aside as they continued moving.
According to Larabee’s map, they should run into the place where they believed Wax was hanging out.
It was strange that he hadn’t moved since the last viewing. Why would he stay in one place?
Swift movement from behind had Caleb turning. Larabee caught up with them.
He brought up the map again. What was there was alarming.
There were now three separate heat residuals. All were heading away from each other.
Ava stared at the screen. Caleb could see her wavering over her decision to send their people into the tunnels.
“What’s the plan now?” Grace whispered.
“It feels like a trap,” Caleb told Ava.
“We can’t afford to abandon our search. He could have other victims.”
Caleb hadn’t thought about that.
Ava assigned teams to head down two of the passages from which the heat signals were coming. “We’ll keep going this way.”
She radioed the change to the second team.
“Copy you,” Harper confirmed.
Ava watched the groups head off toward the heat signals before she faced the long dark tunnel in front of them.
“Ready?” she whispered.
Caleb didn’t hesitate. He’d do whatever was necessary to protect her. Even if it was from herself.
With Shadow leading the charge they kept going. Larabee was with them.
Caleb’s body ached from walking bent over for so long.
Larabee provided updated readings from the heat signals that still weren’t moving.
“Something off,” Ava said, halting Shadow. “He’s not picking up any scent.”
Caleb had noticed the same. It had been a while since the dog had been on Wax’s trail.
“We need to call this off. It’s a trap.” Ava gave the order through the headset.
Larabee headed back toward the location where they’d split off with the others when an explosion ripped through the tunnel.
“Run,” Caleb yelled. The last thing he saw was Larabee running away. Then the dust and debris flew past them, disappearing the park ranger.
Caleb grabbed for Ava. He barely had time to clasp her hand before the dust and debris covered them and the air became so thick with soot that it was a struggle to breathe.
Somehow, Caleb kept Ava’s hand in his as another aftershock landed them on the floor of the tunnel.
Ava coughed, trying to clear her airway. Caleb did the same. “Larabee,” he called out without a response.
“Where is he?” Ava asked before bursting into a coughing fit again.
“I don’t know.” Caleb waited for the world around them to stop trembling before calling out again.
Ava tried the radio. “There’s no response. I think it’s damaged.”
The news was disturbing. The blast had taken out their only means of communication.
“Larabee!” Caleb called out again, still without response.
“Where’s Shadow?” The panic in Ava’s voice was apparent.
Caleb had lost his flashlight in the wreckage.
A dog’s whimper came from close by followed by movement. Shadow inched closer to Ava.
Caleb did a cursory exam. There didn’t appear to be any damage to the dog.
A series of low rumbles continued to haunt the tunnel.
“We’ve got to get out of here before this whole place collapses.” Caleb rose unsteadily. He tried first one leg and then the other before being satisfied he wasn’t injured. “Can you stand?” he still held her hand.
“I’m not sure. I think so.”
Caleb helped her to her feet. “Anything broken?”
Ava did a test and told him no. “Let’s get out of here.”
He kept her hand in his as they started with the dog back down the tunnel. When they’d taken only a few steps another series of rumbles had Caleb reaching to cover Ava with his body.
Shadow whimpered when the ceiling of the tunnel rained down rocks striking them.
“We’ve got to go back.” He clutched Ava’s hand and blindly ran with Shadow. The darkness around them was impenetrable. The air thick and choking.
The noise behind them became deafening as more of the ceiling sloughed off. The world around them rumbled and rolled. Caleb lost his footing and hit the ground with Ava. He became aware of Shadow doing his best to cover Ava’s body. He tugged her and the dog close. Covering them as best he could.
Caleb ducked his head as the thundering around them continued and he prayed this wouldn’t be the end.