Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

N ot being able to visualize their footing in all the snow complicated an already difficult descent down the mountainside. Thanks to her earlier life in a homegrown terrorist cult, Katie had trained to climb and repel down a cliff side in very similar conditions. The crazed leader had drilled the younger members in outdoor survival tactics in all kinds of extreme weather. The key to today's mountainside adventure wasn't speed, despite Zoe being trapped below. Safety was more important.

The flair Dave tossed down earlier still highlighted the area around the rear of the car, but the front end was hidden by all the low-hanging branches of the three evergreens surrounding it and preventing the car from going further down the mountainside. The SUV sat at an odd angle with the driver's side wedged into the trees. The passenger side more accessible.

Pausing to catch their breath, Katie and Luke studied the scene before them.

"The passenger door looks weird." Luke pointed that direction.

"I don't see anyone inside," Katie said. "At least not sitting up. Do you think she got out?"

Luke gave a doubtful shake of his head. "I didn't see anything that looked like her body on the way down the mountain. Did you?"

"No. At least nothing obvious. All this damn snow isn't helpful. If she did get out, tracking will be a bear."

She and Luke both stood scanning the area around them. No sign of a body or lumps beneath the snow resembling one in the area.

"I don't see anything around the SUV either," she said. "You?"

"Nope." Luke shook his head, his face stoic and concerned. Something she rarely saw in her brother-in-law during missions, unless it involved his wife. "Let's get closer. I'll take the driver's side."

Katie nodded, then closed the distance to the vehicle's bumper. Once she was standing next to the SUV, she untied the rope and gave it a significant tug, the sign to Matt it was his turn to climb down. Fighting the urge to stand and watch to be sure her husband descended the slippery snowy side of the mountain without incident—his safety and those of their twins, were the most important things in her life—she focused on scooting the slight decline from the rear of the car to the passenger side door without falling. Even with her hiking boots, her traction on the snowy ice was precarious at best.

"This side's locked," Luke said across the SUV. He was busy scraping the window as Katie grabbed onto the passenger side door. "There's snow inside the front seat, but no Zoe."

"Was the windshield broken in the slide down the mountain?" she asked, pulling firmly on the door handle. After a few tugs, the ice on the door gave way and it fell open.

"Holy shit," Luke muttered.

"What?" she asked, peeking around the passenger side to see what had him cursing.

"The window didn't break coming down the mountain. There's two bullet holes in it."

"Someone shot it?" Matt said right behind the SUV, having followed in their footsteps, so he'd made the trek down faster.

"Looks like it. Both right at the driver's head."

"Zoe?"

Luke shook his head. "Not inside."

"I think she went out this side," Katie said, squatting down near the inside door handle. "There's blood here."

"How much?" her husband asked coming to stand beside her.

"A significant amount." She stood and moved away so he could get a closer look. Taking out her flashlight, she started searching the area to the right and south of them.

"Maybe we missed her body on the way down the mountain?" Luke asked. Matt hit the unlock button so he could open the driver's side.

"No. We didn't," Katie said, slowly shining her light on the deciduous tree trunks.

"How do you know?" Luke asked.

"My stepfather's cult had a graveyard, but none of the graves were dug very deep, so in the winter you could see the mounds in white. There wasn't anything like that on our trip down here. Nothing beyond down there, either," she said flashing her light on the snowy area she'd been searching.

The radio on Matt's hip buzzed.

"What did you find?" Dave asked on the other end.

"Zoe's car. Bullet holes in the windshield and blood on the passenger side door," Matt answered.

"Zoe?"

"Not here. Not on the way down."

"You think whoever shot her took her?" Dave asked.

"They were shooting to kill," Luke said from the driver's side. "One bullet is lodged in the headrest. The other is in the rear seat behind it." He shifted so he could sit in the driver's seat, pushing the button to move it back and fit his legs. "I think the shooter aimed for her head first. Knowing Zoe's quick reflexes, she probably dove to her right. That's the bullet hole in back." He made the same maneuver, going sideways. "The second one would've been the one hitting the headrest dead center."

"With the blood on the door do you think she was shot at a third time here?" Matt asked, standing just outside the passenger side door.

Katie and Luke both shrugged.

Luke shifted in the driver's seat. "I don't think she came down the mountain in the car. I think it was pushed down here."

"Why?" Dave asked over the radio.

"SUV's not in drive. Someone put it in neutral."

Matt climbed out and walked to the back of the vehicle, scraping off the snow on the bumper. "Yeah, someone hit the bumper, just hard enough to push the car, but not do any real damage, but they did crash into the driver's side at some point. Enough to impede the direction she was headed. Probably trying to stop her."

As a former Highway Patrolman, Matt had the most experience when it came to car accidents.

"So, what happened to Zoe?" Dave's angry voice sounded over the radio.

Silence filled the air as Luke and Matt exchange bewildered and sad looks.

"I think somehow she got out of the car and went further down the mountain," Katie said.

"How?" Matt looked at her with that quizzical expression he gave her when he knew she was on to something, but hadn't caught up with her yet. She always loved the way he trusted her instincts. "Whoever shot her and pushed the car certainly would've made sure she was dead."

"I think she may have gotten out before he pushed the car," she said, pointing her flashlight back at the passenger side door. "That looks like a partial handprint. And over that direction," she shifted her flashlight to a tall walnut tree about ten yards west of them. "There's some shiney blue material snagged on that tree's bark."

Matt laid his hand over hers and shifted the light up a foot. "That looks like blood staining that grey bark."

"Let me get these slugs and we'll shift over and see if we can track her at all," Luke said pulling out his knife and digging at the bullet hole in the headrest. "Got an evidence bag in that kit?"

Matt opened his pack, pulled out a role of zip-locking bags and handed him two. Then offered him a pen to label where each bullet was found. Once that was packed up, he joined Matt and Katie on the other side.

"Here," Matt said, handing Katie the other end of his climbing rope. "Let's not take any chances that one of us slides further down this mountain."

She met his gaze, reading all the love and respect he had for her in his eyes. That was one of the things she loved about him. He wasn't like all the men she'd grown up around. Her skills and common sense weren't a threat to him. To him, they were partners in all things. She could lean on him for support just as he could do the same with her. He trusted her to do what needed to be done, but loved her enough to want her to come out of whatever mission they were on unharmed. Every day she thanked God for sending him into her life.

"We'll go slow and follow whatever trail Zoe left for us," she said with a slight nod that she wouldn't take any unnecessary risks.

"Dave," Matt said into the radio. "We found some blue nylon and a blood stain on a tree. We think it's Zoe's and we're going to have to go further down this mountain."

"Okay, I'm throwing a third rope down to you, shorter than the one Luke has. Have him tie onto you guys with it, I'll pull this other one up until I know you're coming back up the mountain."

Before they knew it, a bundle of rope came flying over the side of the mountain to land a few yards above them. Neither brother was surprised by his accuracy or the distance he'd tossed the rope. Dave played centerfield in high school and college with a wicked arm. He could've gone pro, except he'd already decided on the police academy instead.

Once they were ready, Katie led them over to the tree where she found the blue bits of nylon stuck to the bark and the blood smear above it.

"We were lucky to find this," Luke said as they studied them. "It's almost covered by the snow."

Katie squatted parallel to the tree and angled her flashlight beam down the mountain. "Look at that tree." She pointed the light at a small sapling. "It looks like it's been bent in half and part of it broken off."

"Like something tumbled into it at a good force?" Matt said as they stood.

Katie met his gaze and nodded. "This is what I think happened. For some reason, Zoe stopped on the road above and someone shot at her through her windshield. She had enough warning or instinct to doge to her right when the bullet came at her. The shooter realized he'd missed."

"He didn't miss by much," Luke said behind them.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"The bullet I pulled out of the head rest had black hairs stuck to it."

Matt nodded. "So, he winged her."

"I think so."

"Either way," Katie continued. "If it were me, my first instinct would be to get out of the car where I'm a sitting target. The shooter quickly shot again, this time catching her in the shoulder."

Understanding filled her husband's face. "So she managed to go out the passenger side."

"Which was on the side of the road along the mountain's edge."

"If she did get winged, she might've been dizzy with pain and blood loss," Katie said.

"And instead of running down this mountain, she stumbled or even rolled," Matt added. "Or the third shot sent her tumbling over the edge."

"Which explains why all the markings are barely two feet off the ground." Luke huffed out a sigh. "Zoe is down there somewhere."

At that moment the radio buzzed. "Did you find her?" Dave asked on the other end.

"Not yet," Matt answered. "Katie's found her trail and we're pretty sure she went further down the mountain."

"She walked?"

"More like stumbled or rolled. She's injured for sure."

"Okay, let me know what you find. Get a move on it. You don't want to be trapped down there when the sun goes down."

Matt and Luke exchanged no-duh eye roll looks at their big brother's bossiness.

"We'll keep you posted," Matt said and pocketed the radio. "He just can't help himself."

Katie laughed. "You'll always be his little brothers, you do know that, right?"

"Let's go before he decides we need his help down here," Luke said then laughed. "You know he's biting at the bit being up there cooling his heels."

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, while we're down here having all the fun."

Picking up the trail at the nearly mangled sapling, they descended further down the mountain. The wind had blown snow up against the trees in areas, so Katie looked for clues like chunks of bark missing on one side about two feet up or more blood smearing. Every so often they'd find another bright blue thread.

She stepped on what she thought was solid ground and her foot fell completely through some dead branches hanging off the edge of a cliff.

"Whoa!" Matt said, grabbing a hold of her and pulling her back up into his arms. He moved them both a few steps back. "I gotcha," he murmured in her ear as she hugged him tight.

He always has me. From the first time they met. He'd found her asleep at a stop light in her car after working a grueling night shift. He'd given her hot chocolate and a warning. The next time they'd met a sniper had shot out her tire, only she hadn't wanted to admit it to him. The third time, he'd come to her rescue when her car blew up in the hospital parking lot and she'd threatened him at gunpoint to get her out of there. He did, without question. And she loved him for it.

"You okay?" He asked.

She leaned back and smiled at him. "Yes. Just faulty footing in the snow, I thought it was solid."

Luke, who'd stretched out on his stomach to peek over the edge or the cliff, whistled. "There's a flat ledge of rock about twenty feet or so below."

"Do you see Zoe?" Matt asked.

Luke shook his head. "Not out on the ledge, but there's an overhang blocking my view. Maybe she crawled under it?"

"I can go down to take a look," Katie said as Luke stood, all of them a few feet safely back.

Matt considered her suggestion. He knew she could repel the cliff without difficulty. Something he'd learned when they finally took down the Prophet's hitman. He was simply weighing his concern for her safety and the need to find his cousin.

"We have to be sure she isn't down there," Katie said patiently.

"I know. Luke or I could go down."

She fixed him with her best don't-pull-the-big-bad-man-card-on-me stare with one brow arched. "We don't know how much weight that rock will hold. I'm the lightest of all of us."

"You're right." He picked out a tree not too far back, unhitched his rope to loop it around the tree, then back onto his own harness and joined her and Luke near the cliff's edge. "Let's take it slow. There are bears in these mountains and that might be what's hiding behind that overhang."

Ah, now she understood his concern. It wasn't her ability he was questioning. It was the unknown dangers he couldn't protect her from.

"We'll go slow and I'll be careful." Then she turned to Luke. "Can I have one of those protein bars in your pack and some water first?"

"That sounds like a good idea." He broke out one for each of them.

As they ate, Katie looked around the mountains and trees surrounding them. "This would be a beautiful place to hike. Well, except for all the snow."

"I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian trail," Matt said. "Maybe we can do some family hiking."

Luke snorted out a laugh. "You might have to wait until the twins are out of diapers, don't you think?"

Matt shot him a look and Luke took a step back. "I'm just saying. Hiking would be a great family outing. Remember when we all took a family trip to the Grand Canyon with Grandpa Zach and Grandma Sophie?"

Matt laughed. "Yeah, and you and Zoe managed to get lost. Again."

"We were panning for gold."

"Whose suggestion was that?" Katie asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Zoe's. She did have a way of making everything an adventure." He said with a smile, that slowly disappeared.

They were all thinking the same thing. Maybe this was one adventure too many.

"I'm ready," Katie said, handing her empty bottle and wrapper to Luke, who slipped them into his pack once more. He held her hand as she squatted, then lowered her bottom half over the rocky edge, holding onto the rope with one both hands, her flashlight clipped to the front of her coat for easy access.

Matt let out the rope and she slowly descended down the cliff, using her feet against the rocky mountainside to steady her pace. One foot at a time, she went lower until she reached the outcropping just above the slab of rock sticking out of the mountain. She wiggled her feet over the rock until she hung just below it and her feet about six inches from the ledge. Holding onto the rope with one hand, she turned on the flashlight and searched beneath.

"There's nothing here," she called above. "No Zoe. No bears."

"Okay, we'll bring you up," Luke called down.

Her flashlight caught on something dark just under the outcropping, but not covered with snow.

"No! Lower me down to the ledge. I just saw something."

The brothers didn't argue with her and a few moments later she stood on the slap of granite. She gave a little bounce to test its sturdiness. Nothing moved. She knelt by the dark spot and shined her light on it. Blood. Then she saw some of the vines she'd passed on her way down the mountain lying on the ledge, along with a strip of cloth, and just off the ledge a sapling that had been snapped off stuck out of the mountainside.

"Matt!"

"What did you find?"

"She was here. And she wasn't alone."