Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

I t seemed strange to continue on with life as normal with Caleb missing and Juniper in turmoil, Andi mused. However, the gang had already arranged for the Carswell family to come.

They’d barely had time to squeeze in a quick, late lunch when their guests had shown up.

When the Carswells had arrived, they’d had no idea about everything that had transpired at the camp earlier. Andi didn’t plan on telling them.

The cops had taken over the investigation into Caleb’s disappearance—they had far more resources than the gang did. Ranger and Duke had volunteered to help in the search efforts, and Gibson had agreed.

The rest of the podcast team would talk to the Carswells.

Patricia Carswell had been Anderson’s wife. She was in her fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, a plump figure, and notable circles beneath her eyes. She’d brought her thirty-year-old son, Jay, with her.

They both sat on the couch, Patricia gripping her son’s hand.

Andi’s heart went out to them. Their grief was still raw.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Andi started as she sat across from them, a notepad and pen in hand. “Tell us about Anderson.”

“He was a great family man.” Patricia wiped beneath her eyes, her voice throaty with emotion. “He loved us and would do anything to make us happy.”

“What about his job?” Andi asked. “What did he do for a living?”

“He worked for a garden center. He loved that also. The job didn’t pay much, but that was okay. Some things are more important than money.”

A better picture of Anderson formed in Andi’s mind. “He sounds like a good man.”

“He was.” Jay’s jaw flexed as if he held back emotion. “He was one of the best. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.”

“No, he didn’t,” Andi agreed. “Can you tell us about the day he died?”

Patricia drew in a deep but shaky breath. “I’ve replayed it many times in my mind. It seemed like an ordinary day. There was really nothing special about it. I went to work as a teacher at the middle school as I always do. Jay was living in Anchorage.”

“I have an accounting job at a firm down there,” Jay explained. “Been there five years now.”

“I noticed Anderson was working late a lot recently, but that wasn’t all that unusual,” Patricia continued. “There were things that needed to be done, and he was the type who didn’t leave things unfinished.”

“Not a bad quality to have.” Andi offered a nod of encouragement.

“Not at all.” Patricia paused as if gathering herself. “When Anderson didn’t come home or answer his phone, I decided to go to the garden center. It was closed to the public at that point, but I decided to walk around to see if I could locate him. The store looked empty. But when I reached the greenhouse, I noticed that someone had built a snowman outside by the front door.”

Andi braced herself, knowing exactly what was coming next. “Tell me about the snowman.”

“It was probably four feet tall with charcoal eyes and a carrot nose.” She paused and swallowed hard. “But it was what was on the side of his face that caught my attention. It was an ear. A bloody, human ear.”

As tears began to stream down her cheeks, Jay reached over and took his mother’s hand.

Andi could only imagine the horror. “I’m so sorry.”

“When I went inside, I found him.” Her voice cracked with every other word as more tears fell.

“Was there anything strange about the scene—other than the ear on the snowman?” Andi almost hated to ask the question in the midst of this woman’s pain, but she had to.

“Not really. I mean, other than what you might expect.”

“Dad wasn’t even supposed to be at work that day,” Jay added.

Andi straightened when she heard that tidbit. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, someone called in sick, so my dad went in. I can’t help but wonder if he had said no, if we’d still have him with us right now.”

Andi leaned back in her seat. Interesting thought.

Had someone followed Anderson to work, waiting for just the right opportunity to strike?

Or would whoever had been working at the garden center that night have been the victim?

The question lingered in Andi’s mind.

Ranger drove the UTV down the icy trail, surrounded by snow-laden spruces on either side. Duke sat beside him, scanning everything in hopes of finding a clue about Caleb.

Gibson had cleared them to join in the search and given them a radio so they could communicate with everyone in the process. Three other pairs of searchers on UTVs had gone out, each covering a different section of the camp.

So far, no one had reported finding anything. Duke’s best guess was that someone had a vehicle waiting somewhere outside this forest and that was how Caleb had disappeared. The jury was still out as to whether or not he had left on his own or if someone had forced him away.

The fact that Duke had seen that blood earlier raised all kinds of alarms in his mind, however.

He and Ranger had been out here for an hour so far but had discovered nothing. Not only that, but the temperature was dropping and the darkness was growing deeper. The fact they weren’t familiar with this landscape made everything more dangerous.

He hoped the gang back at the cabin was having more luck questioning the Carswell family.

“Do you think we can squeeze down that path?” Duke pointed to a small opening between the trees. The route didn’t appear to be an official path, maybe a game trail, but he thought the UTV would fit.

“Let’s try.” Ranger jerked the wheel, and they turned onto the path.

This one was definitely narrower and steeper. But he thought the UTV could handle it.

He kept his eyes peeled for signs of anything of interest. Though there were no fresh tracks down this trail, that didn’t mean it hadn’t been utilized recently. A fresh snow had begun to fall.

As they continued down the path, Duke prayed that they weren’t wasting valuable time.

Then something out of place caught his eye. He strained for a better look through the trees. From his current vantage-point, it almost looked like . . . a small building.

“Do you see that?” he asked.

Ranger narrowed his eyes. “It looks like an old cabin.”

“I think we should check it out.”

“I agree.”

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of the place.

Duke got a better look. It was definitely a cabin. The wood covering the exterior was gray and a several pieces were crooked as if dry-rotted. If Duke had to guess, it was maybe four hundred square feet inside.

They climbed off the UTV to take a closer look.

Ranger scanned the building. “I’d guess this place goes back a good eighty years, maybe to when gold miners were out here looking for their next big hot spot. I know there’s a stream not far away. Maybe they were panning there.”

“I wonder if other people are aware this building is here.”

“Hard to say,” Ranger said. “Even if they know, I’m not so sure it would matter. This cabin doesn’t look inhabitable, especially in this cold.”

“It does have a fireplace.” Duke pointed to the pipe rising from the roof.

He noted how the snow right around the pipe had melted.

Was that indicative that someone had had a fire inside recently?

Was that person still here?

His muscles tightened at the thought.

Maybe there was more going on here than he’d initially assumed.

They would need to proceed with caution.