Chapter 2
TWO
Rain sprinkled out of the dark sky as Lydia kept pace with Officer Jameson and his dog. A chill settled on her skin as her light spring jacket got wet. She didn’t care if she was soaked to the bone, she wasn’t leaving this forest until they found Elsie.
When she peered over her shoulder, three other dogs and their owners were headed in the same general direction they were going.
One of the dog handlers wore a gun belt and a police uniform.
The other two, dressed in street clothes, must be search and rescue volunteers.
Officer Jameson had phoned one of the searchers and told them to stay behind and watch the parking lot.
There had been two other cars besides the bus.
That was smart. It could be that the kidnappers had parked on a turnout down the mountain road, but if whoever had taken Elsie had parked in that lot, they wouldn’t be able to get to their vehicle without being spotted.
It would be far easier to catch someone fleeing on foot.
Officer Jameson seemed to think of everything.
His yellow Lab never lost concentration as they hurried through the trees on the other side of the meadow.
They headed down a grassy hill. Lydia’s feet pounded the ground. Up ahead, she could see a shallow river.
When they arrived at the creek, the yellow Lab stopped. The K-9 raised her nose in the air then sat down on her haunches.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” said Officer Jameson. “I think she lost the scent.”
“Because of the creek?” She tried to keep the rising panic out of her voice. Elsie was here. She had to be.
He shook his head. “A trained nose can follow a scent through water.”
“The rain maybe?” She scrambled for an explanation.
“It just started. It can’t be more than forty minutes since…since the incident. The scent would still be red hot.”
Lydia felt like she was falling down a cliff all over again.
“Then what?” She appreciated that Officer Jameson was sensitive enough not to use the word abduction when speaking about what had happened to Elsie.
Still, her mind raced with images of what might have happened to her precious daughter, her world.
The other dogs arrived at the creek, demonstrating a similar reaction.
A lump formed in her throat.
I’m not leaving these woods without my daughter. She has to be here.
“I’m not sure.” River stepped toward one of the other volunteer searchers, a stout, forty-something woman dressed in workout gear. Her German shepherd sat at attention beside her. “Did you bring the ball cap?”
“Lenny has it.” She gestured toward an older muscular man with a border collie, another of the volunteers. The blond woman wearing a gun belt was with a golden retriever. She wore a dark green windbreaker with a tan logo that said COK9TF. Officer Jameson was wearing the same type of jacket.
River got the ball cap and placed it close to Frankie’s nose. The dog put her nose to the ground and moved in a circle, but her tail never wagged.
The blond woman stepped up to Officer Jameson. “There’s a road over there. Maybe—” The blond officer glanced at Lydia.
Something in Lydia’s demeanor must have communicated that she was the distraught mother without introductions having to be made.
River shook his head. “The dogs would have picked up the scent and gone toward the road if there had been a car waiting there and Elsie was put in it.”
The road did explain how someone could have gotten to the cliff without being spotted.
“We have to keep looking, Officer Jameson,” said Lydia.
“Call me River. We’re not giving up.” He reached out and squeezed her forearm. The kindness she saw in his blue eyes was comforting. His voice had a calming effect on her. She needed to brush away any dark thoughts. Elsie was okay. They were going to find her.
The other dogs were exposed to the ball cap again. River directed Frankie toward the road. The K-9 lowered her nose to the ground, took a few steps and then looked up at River. It was clear she wasn’t picking up on anything.
Lydia fought off the sense of despair she felt. River returned to her while the other handlers led their dogs around the area where the scent had gone cold. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know what was going on. It appeared that her daughter had vanished into thin air.
Her phone dinged. She pulled it out. The text was from Angel.
She read the text. “It’s from my co-teacher. They had to take the other kids back to the school before the parents showed up. She’s going to come back up in her car to take me home.” She rested her palm on her chest as her voice faltered. “She asked if Elsie had been found.”
“I can take you home.” River’s voice flooded with compassion.
None of the dogs had picked up on anything. There must be something else they could do.
She turned to face River. “Has this ever happened before with the K-9s? Be honest with me.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on. Frankie’s nose is second to none.
” He pointed at the blond woman with the golden retriever.
“Officer Reynolds’ K-9 is trained to track in all kinds of conditions.
I’ll see to it that choppers are called in to continue the search.
We’ll keep going through the night. Let me take you home first, though.
I’d like to get some more information about Elsie that could help the search. ”
Her whole body tensed. The scent was gone. Would they just be running around in circles?
She nodded as numbness set in. She just couldn’t process that her daughter had been abducted. Who would do such a thing? “I need to text Angel.”
The phone screen blurred as she pressed the buttons.
No sign of Elsie. I have a ride home.
The answer came back a second later.
So sorry. Call me. I have something to tell you that might be important.
Hope glimmered for Lydia as she pressed Angel’s number. River was standing close. “She has something to tell me that might help.” She pressed the speaker button so River could hear, too.
Angel’s voice came across the line. “Lydia. I’m so sorry this is happening.”
Lydia cleared her throat. “Thank you. What is it you had to tell me?”
“Miles said when we sat down to have our lunch, he saw an old lady’s head pop up from behind the bushes over by the trees.”
Lydia could feel her hope deflating like a balloon losing air. Four-year-old Miles had a habit of making things up to draw attention to himself. She whispered to River. “Miles is one of my students.”
River leaned toward the phone. “Officer Jameson here. Did the little boy give any more details?”
“He just said that the lady had white hair.”
“Thank you, Angel.”
“I’ll keep praying, my friend,” said Angel. “Don’t you worry about your class. I’ll take care of things. I’m sure the school will understand that you need time off.”
“I appreciate that.” Lydia pressed the disconnect button. Her voice gave away the level of despair that she felt.
“Something wrong?” River was still standing close to her.
She shrugged and shook her head. “It’s just that Miles tends to tell stories so he can be in the spotlight.”
River nodded. “Okay. It could be he made it up. It could be he did see someone, and she had nothing to do with what happened here today. We’re just gathering information at this point.
” He squeezed her arm above the elbow. “I’m going to call my supervisor to see if I can take lead on this investigation since I was first on the scene. ”
Lydia nodded. That he wanted to be in charge suggested that he felt a strong connection to Elsie’s case. He stepped way to make the call and then returned to her.
“Let me give the others instructions and then I’ll take you home.” With Frankie heeling beside him, River gestured for the group to come toward him.
She was shivering by the time they headed back through the trees toward the trail. They stood at his patrol car. A news van had pulled into the parking lot. Being interviewed was the last thing she felt up to doing.
“I can handle them, if you want me to. It would be good to have Elsie’s face on the news,” said River.
“Thank you.” She handed River her phone with Elsie’s picture on it.
River spoke with the news crew and then returned to where Lydia waited.
“Why don’t you take that wet coat off? I have a blanket for you.”
She got into the front passenger side of the patrol car, holding the wet coat in her hands. River loaded Frankie into the kennel in back, reached for something on the floor of the back seat and then opened the driver’s-side door.
He handed her a blanket still in the plastic wrap.
She opened it up and placed it around her shoulders.
Though River only wore a dark green windbreaker, he didn’t appear to be affected by the rain.
The windbreaker had a tan logo on the back that read COK9TF, the same as the woman River had called Lizzie. She wondered what it meant.
As they headed down the mountain, River radioed for more ground searchers and helicopters. He put the radio back into its slot. “I have some police business to take care of in town and then I’ll go back and help with the search. Text me so I have your phone number.”
She pulled out her phone, and he spoke his number.
A silence settled into the car. She could see the outskirts of Ridge up ahead.
River cleared his throat. “I have to ask. Is there anyone who would want to take your daughter?”
The question was like a spike being driven through her heart. “I have an ex-husband who wasn’t happy about me getting full custody of Elsie. But he’s in rehab right now.”
“Still, something we need to check out,” said River. “What’s the name of the rehab?”
“Second Chances, in Boulder. His name is Sloane Caldwell.”
“That boy said the woman was old with white hair. What about your ex’s parents?”