Chapter 31 Lauren
Lauren
Lauren stepped into the house and shoved off her coat. A faint dusting of snow had covered it on the short walk from her car to the house, and that was only a sample of what was to come. News reports had been blowing up all day about the winter storm coming.
She checked her watch on her way to the kitchen. Zach wasn’t off work at the ranch yet, but if he didn’t leave soon, he’d be stuck in Silver Falls. After starting a pot of coffee, she called him.
“Yes, angel?”
“Hey. Where are you?” she asked.
“On my way home. Why? You need something?”
“Actually, I was just wondering if you’d be back before the storm starts.”
“Yeah. I should be home. Are you in for the night?”
“Yes, and probably for the next couple of days. It’s going to be a big one.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Zach said. “Snow won’t stop me. You got it?”
Lauren had gotten over her fear of being alone years ago. At least, she thought she had. Being snowed in alone felt more like being trapped than peaceful solitude. Knowing Zach was close meant she could rest a little easier. “Got it. Stay safe.”
As soon as she ended the call, Asa’s name flashed on her phone screen.
“Hello.”
“Hey. Are you prepared for this storm?” he asked.
“As prepared as I can be. Jugs of water. Propane heater. Hot chocolate… What about you?”
Asa chuckled. “Lyric and I have been snowed in together before, but I’m on the clock this time. She’s at home with Mom and the kids.”
“Please be careful.”
“Oh, I will. Listen, I’m calling because someone else claimed they spotted Anthony.”
Lauren froze, gripping the handle of the coffee carafe. “Not the same person?”
“They gave a different name, at least. This time, the sighting was in Blackwater. Close to the town limits.”
Her heart pounded against the walls of her chest. Anthony was in Blackwater. “That’s good news. Oh my goodness, Asa! That’s…Wow!”
“It’s not great news. If he’s in Blackwater and didn’t try to contact you, that means he doesn’t want to be found.”
Lauren’s blood ran cold. She’d known there was a chance he was still wrapped up in things that were illegal, but she’d been hoping he would be found alive and free of the mess he’d fallen into.
“Lauren, if we find him, it might not be under the best circumstances. You have to prepare yourself.”
She brushed strands of hair out of her face. “I know.”
“There’s more. We caught him on the traffic cams by the Kellerman Hotel. We have a tag number, but the vehicle isn’t registered to him.”
“What?” Lauren braced her hand against the counter. There hadn’t been this kind of breakthrough in the years since Anthony had gone missing. “Where was the other sighting?”
“Not in the best area,” Asa said.
“Tell me, please.” She’d take any scrap of information about Anthony. This was the kind of news she’d been hoping to hear for a long time, and she wanted to hold on to every word.
Asa sighed. “Near an old warehouse on Sumpter Road. There’s nothing else around, so I’m not sure how the witness could have seen him there.”
She vaguely knew the area, and Asa was right. The road was flanked by forest on both sides for miles. “How long ago?”
“Minutes. I called you first thing. I know how invested you are in this search. We’ll send someone out there as soon as the storm passes.”
“Why not now?”
“Our officers are already spread thin. There are traffic incidents all over town with people rushing home.”
“But what if that’s too late? We could miss him!” They had precious moments to find Anthony before he became a ghost again.
“Lauren, you have to trust me on this one. I’ll investigate it myself, but—”
A dispatcher was talking through Asa’s radio. She said something about an incident on Eaton Avenue, but Lauren wasn’t paying attention. She’d latched onto the hope of finding Anthony, and she couldn’t let it go.
“Sorry. I’ve got to run. I’ll call you after the storm and let you know what we find,” Asa said.
Lauren ended the call without a goodbye. Asa was busy, and she had to get going. Leaving the warm coffee, she rushed back to the door. She grabbed her keys and coat on the way out.
Anthony was in town. What could have brought him back after all this time? Whatever it was, she was going to find out. If he was running with the old crowd, maybe she could talk him out of it. He’d always listened to her when they were growing up. He was so smart, and he had so much potential.
Flurries of snow skated over her windshield as she started the engine. She had to work fast if she was going to beat the snow. Drive by, look around, and come back.
It would be smart to call someone and tell them where she was going, but anyone she called would talk her out of the quick trip. Anthony was potentially a fifteen-minute drive away, and she would not miss the opportunity.
Her whole body shook as she drove down the dark road.
It was either the cold or the adrenaline, and the shivering wasn’t letting up.
When she turned onto Sumpter Road, the night got darker, and the snow grew thicker as it rushed through her headlights.
She could make out the tree line and slowed to check out both sides of the road. There wasn’t anything around.
A reflection in the headlights drew her attention to the right side of the road, and she eased on the brakes. After making sure no one was coming, she shifted into reverse and turned slightly. An old, gray sedan was parked about twenty feet into a small path in the woods.
Lauren checked the road ahead of her and behind before pulling into the path.
Scrambling, she wrote down the tag number and a brief description of the vehicle.
There weren’t any houses around, and there was a good chance this was the one Asa mentioned.
A thin layer of snow covered the ground beneath the car. It hadn’t been parked here long.
She reached into the console and pulled out a pair of gloves. If she’d come this far, she might as well look around a little more. The snow was light beneath the thick canopy of the trees, and there wasn’t much wind. Hopefully that meant the storm was moving slowly.
After rummaging in her glove compartment, she found a flashlight and checked the battery. She could do this. Look around and head back home.
The sole of her boot crunched the old snow as she stepped from the car.
Branches rustled above her, but there weren’t any other sounds of movement in the dark forest. Her breath billowed in a white puff in front of her as she approached the vehicle.
The snow on the trunk and hood had melted into a sheet of ice.
She placed her hand on the driver’s side door. Still a little warm.
Lauren shone the light in a wide arc around her. The car was parked in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t any houses around, and the path continued into the foreboding woods.
She moved the light over the ground at her feet. A set of large footprints led from the driver’s side down the path ahead. Looking at the sky, she listened to the wind. The ache in her forehead said the temperature was dropping rapidly. How much time did she have before the storm?
Tucking one hand under her arm and pointing the light ahead, she followed the steps. Twenty paces. That was how far she’d go before turning back.
Ten steps in, the prints she’d been following veered off the path to the left, disappearing into the thick woods. Stopping here was the rational thing to do. She had to get home before the storm, but leaving now felt like losing her only lead.
Her teeth chattered as she stepped to the edge of the path. The icy wind froze her lips. She hadn’t thought to put on proper layers before rushing out of the house.
The land dropped off to a steep slope, and the trees tilted with the uneven ground. She reached for a tree trunk and braced her hand against it, leaning forward to shine the light down the embankment.
Her weight pitched forward, and her hand slipped off the bark of the tree.
Grabbing for limbs and trees, there was a breathless moment where she hung in the air before hitting the ground hard and rolling through scratching branches.
The pain in her arm radiated throughout her body as the stitches ripped open.
A sharp strike to her back stopped her and pushed the air from her lungs. The searing pain left her paralyzed and gasping in the pitch-black woods.
When the shock began to subside, she slowly rolled onto her stomach.
The pain in her arm and back left her with shallow, ineffective breaths.
Pushing up onto her good hand, she gently lifted one knee and winced.
Her right ankle pounded with a dull ache.
She’d never be able to put pressure on it to climb back up to the path.
How far had she fallen? It was impossible to know which way was up in the darkness.
She tried again to raise up, but her injured arm was dead weight. Icy cold seeped through her thin coat and sweater as she dug her fingernails into the ground and fought to pull herself toward the path.
Her lungs ached as her heart pounded. She’d be covered in snow if she didn’t get out of here soon.
Giving up on dragging herself out, she lay down and wiggled until she could get her good hand to her pocket. The cold wetness seeped into her hair as she found her phone and pulled it out. Her entire body convulsed as she scrolled for the number she needed and prayed he could make it in time.