Chapter Fifteen
The Whisper in the Pines
“Hold up,” Devlin said after Ava told him about the lodge. “We need to make sure you’re both alright, before you go anywhere.”
Caleb shook his head. “There’s no time. We’re fine. Finding Agent Pierce is critical.”
Devlin disagreed with the decision. However, he raised his hands in defeat and stepped away.
“How far is the lodge from here?” Ava asked while the team of searchers gathered around. Those who had gone through the collapse were covered in soot, yet no one opted out of the search for one of their own.
“Half an hour’s hike.” Caleb spotted the smoke plume rising on the ridge above them. “But it won’t be an easy hike. That’s a hard climb for experienced climbers and the snow up there will be deep and almost impossible to traverse.”
Ava pinched the bridge of her nose. “We need choppers right away.” She found Agent Novak and gave the order. Novak appeared in shock that his partner was missing.
“Novak, I know this is hard,” Ava said gently. “But I need you to focus.”
He snapped out of it and retrieved his phone. “I’ll make it happen. We’ll make better time by air.”
Ava smiled. “Thank you, Dominic.”
Caleb glanced at the sky and realized they had maybe an hour before darkness made the search even more difficult.
“Two choppers are on their way here now,” Novak assured Ava. “Ten minutes out.”
Ava nodded. “Great. That’s good news.”
Yet ten minutes of wait time felt like an eternity in Caleb’s mind.
Devlin came over to where they waited. “We’re searching the last known location for Rachel that Grace pointed out. If she’s trapped inside, we’ll find her.”
“Thank you.” Ava’s smile appeared forced. “Let me know what you find.”
When it was just her, the dog, and Caleb, he did his best to assure her they’d find Rachel, but he felt anything but positive.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Ava said in a whisper. “I can’t tell Rachel’s family she’s dead at the hands of this monster.”
“Hey,” Caleb whispered when he spotted the tears that revealed a crack in her resolve. “We don’t know anything yet. This could be just another one of Wax’s sick games.” He gathered Ava close and she clung to him.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me.” She looked up into his eyes, hers shimmering with unshed tears. “I don’t think I could do this without you.”
He held her. “You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere. You know I still care about you, Ava. That hasn’t changed and it won’t.”
She smiled. “I feel the same way. I want this to be over so that we can talk about us, but right now, all I can think about is Rachel.” She sighed wearily.
“We haven’t had a second to breathe, much less analyze all the new evidence coming in.
And my parents.” Her voice broke. “They don’t know what’s happening.
If they did, they’d be worried. After the last time... ”
He held her closer. She didn’t need to finish. During those gut-wrenching days Ava was missing, her parents had flown into the area and stayed with Caleb. He’d witnessed firsthand their fear of losing her.
“As soon as we have Rachel, I’ll speak to them about the poem Wax left. Maybe they’ll be able to shed some light on it.”
Or Wax was toying with her.
“I almost forgot about the ring.” Ava handed it off to Devlin.
As the helicopters approached their location the sound of chopper blades grew louder.
Caleb shielded his eyes as the first chopper landed. Once it was on the ground, he and Ava, along with Shadow, Grace, and Novak, climbed onboard. The rest of the searchers would be riding in the second chopper.
Once they were seated, the pilot lifted off and headed toward the smoke billowing on the ridge.
“Is fire rescue up there yet?” Ava asked Novak.
“Heading toward the blaze, but the road leading up there is closed. It will be difficult for the truck to get through.”
“Nothing about this is adding up,” Caleb said once Novak finished speaking.
Ava gave him her full attention. “What are you thinking?”
“The obvious. Wax had never used fire to kill his victims before. He wants them displayed in wax where they can be found. My gut is telling me this is some diversion.”
She watched him for a long moment before her eyes widened.
“He wants us away from the mine site.” Ava leaned forward speaking to the pilot.
“Have the second chopper return to the mine right away. Tell them the search for our agent is at the mine and not the lodge. We’ll check it out quickly and return. ”
The pilot appeared shocked but radioed her command. Soon, the second chopper banked hard to the right and headed back to the mine.
“I’m calling Devlin.” Ava grabbed her cell phone and dialed the ERT agent. “We believe she’s still in the mine somewhere.” Ava shared Caleb’s theory. “I’m sending the second chopper back to you. He wanted us to be distracted. My team will check out what’s happening here.”
“We’ll keep looking. If she’s not in the mine, I’ll have the extra manpower spread out around the area to see if we can find how he escaped with her.”
“Good thinking. Coordinate everything through me, though.”
Devlin confirmed and signed off.
As the chopper neared the blaze consuming Hunter’s Lodge, Caleb tried to figure out how the letters might fit into anything. Wax kept using them. They were important somehow, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure it out.
“Fire’s really blazing. We’ll have to put down some distance from it,” the pilot announced before banking left.
The inferno lit up the area around them. Everything in the house was gone by now. Which meant, the fire wasn’t the clue but something else. “What is he trying to tell us?” Caleb’s words slipped out.
Ava reached for his hand. “I don’t know, but there’s something.”
The pilot touched down a little way down the mountainside. “This is the closest I can get you.”
“It’ll do.” Ava thanked him as Shadow and the team exited the chopper, keeping low as the blades kicked up snow, ice, and debris.
“Where do we start?” Novak asked as they were nearing the fire.
“The lodge is only important because its name matches the initials Wax keeps throwing at us. Fan out—he left something. We can’t dismiss its importance.” Ava held the piece of cloth under Shadow’s nose. “Hunt, Shadow.”
Shadow kept his distance from the blaze watching it carefully. After what Ava told him about what the dog had gone through, Caleb certainly understood his fear of fire.
Even though the fire helped light up the area, in the fading light of day, the shadows were everywhere.
Soon, the smoke became cloying. Caleb’s eyes watered. He covered his nose and mouth.
Ava waited for direction from Shadow.
The dog sniffed the air somehow discerning the scent above the smoke. He headed toward the woods that were in front of the lodge.
“Stay close,” Ava told her team as they moved toward the target location.
Caleb could feel the tension tightening between his shoulders as they entered the woods. “I don’t like this,” he whispered to Ava.
“I feel the same way.”
Shadow homed in on a particular tree. Caleb’s flashlight picked up the iridescent glint of wax down its trunk. “He’s been here.”
Shadow sniffed the base of the tree before sitting.
Ava eased next to him and glanced down. There, in the snow-covered ground, was another glob of wax holding something.
Using her gloved hand, Ava lifted the wax and studied it.
Caleb leaned over her shoulder. “What is that?”
“I can’t tell.” Ava shook her head. “We need to go back to the mine site. I want to be part of the search.”
“Why don’t Larabee, Grace, and I stay here and keep looking for other clues?” Novak suggested.
Ava shook her head. “There won’t be any. This was what Wax wanted us to find. “I’ll send the second chopper up with ERT agents to search the area. Let’s get back down the mountain.”
Once they reached the chopper, Ava loaded Shadow then the rest of the team piled in. As soon as they were airborne, she called Devlin and gave him the coordinates to the crime scene.
“So, a distraction and a clue. What is he trying to tell us?”
Ava held up the wax blob. “I don’t know.” There was too much wax to make out what the object was inside. “We’ll see you soon.” She ended the call and turned to Caleb. “Whatever he’s trying to make us understand, we’d better figure it out soon. Rachel’s life is on the line.”
The fear in her eyes rolled over him in waves. She’d witnessed firsthand the pain Wax inflicted on his victims. The thought of her friend going through that torment was too much.