Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

TUESDAY

Lying awake waiting for sunup, Julie heard Raven leave the house. She'd seen the glow of lights out in the barn and heard the barking dogs as he headed off. The previous evening had been interesting, to say the least. She guessed living alone could go two ways: either a person would be craving conversation or would shut down communication completely. Raven employed both options and last evening he'd taken the latter when it came to her. It was as if she'd suddenly become a burden or that unwelcome visitor who drops by unannounced and refuses to leave. Although he ignored her, he talked to his dog and had quite amusing conversations with Ben. The dog seemed to understand every word he said and could fetch objects from around the house and bring them to him. Last night, rather than being hospitable, he'd spent most of his time checking his watch and glancing toward the door. Why?

Last evening after returning late he'd been on edge and when she'd asked where he had been, he'd shut down communication with her after supper. As it was too late for him to go outside and remove the snow from the satellite dish, the promise of watching the news was a nonevent. She wanted to know what was happening. Had rescue teams found the aircraft? Was anyone looking for her? Not knowing was driving her insane. After trying to strike up a few conversations with him and failing, she'd hobbled into bed. She'd not taken the meds he'd handed her and dropped them inside a drawer. Why was he drugging her each night? What was he doing when she fell asleep? The need to know gnawed at her. Something wasn't right and she'd connect the dots soon enough.

As light streamed through the window, Julie sat up in bed and pushed back the blankets. She bent and unbandaged her leg. Under the bandages, blue bruising marred her flesh. The dark inky mark ran across her shin and matched a similar lighter mark on the other leg. She wiggled her toes. Her leg hurt but the agony was lessening. Sucking in a breath against the pain as she dropped her feet to the floor, she grabbed her crutches and made her way into the bathroom. The light flickered but then filled the small room with light. She needed a shower and the thought of being supervised by Raven unnerved her. He'd be gone for a time and as there was the luxury of hot water, she'd wash her hair. Being careful not to use too much water, she managed to get everything done in a few minutes. Although she'd have loved to stand under the hot flow, she'd never been inconsiderate. She used the rough but clean towels and managed to get back into the bedroom without mishap. After rebinding her leg without the splint, she dressed and, grabbing her hairbrush, hobbled into the family room. She poked at the fire and then sat beside it, hanging her hair over her face and brushing it so close to the flames the water dripping from the ends hissed in the embers.

After drying her hair, she stared at the front door. She wanted to know more about Johnny Raven. He spent a good deal of his time in the barn. What was there apart from the dogs and chickens that kept him so busy? She dragged on her coat and carefully pushed her thick socks into the rubber boots by the door. Her feet swam in them but her own boots were still drying out beside the fire from her last excursion into the snow. Wearing gloves and a woolen hat pulled down low over her ears, she swung her way outside on the homemade crutches. Cold seeped into her toes, and snowflakes coated her jacket in seconds. The forest was a sea of white with only the blackened trunks of the trees as a contrast. The path had been cleared but her boots sunk in deep as she swung her leg along. Panting out great clouds of steam, she'd made it only halfway to the barn when she heard the dogs barking. Ahead was a shed, set some distance from the barn but she could hide there. She glanced behind her. No doubt he would see her tracks unless the dog team obscured them when they arrived. A shiver of apprehension slithered through her. She'd take her chances.

She slid inside the shed, surprised to see it neat and clean. Since arriving in Black Rock Falls, she'd worked alongside her dad fixing things. He might be a medical examiner but also had field training to fix just about anything on the fly. She recognized spare parts for a snowmobile and the full cans of gas. Why was he using a dogsled when he had a snowmobile? She searched the shed. Under tarps she found plastic-wrapped bags of dog kibble and boxes of supplies, some no doubt taken from the aircraft. He had enough food to last him a year. A meat locker sat in one corner with a padlock. Metal boxes along one wall all had locks attached. What the heck was going on here?

Out back of the barn, she'd noticed two meat lockers, the kind used in winter to store frozen meat. Some people she knew would store an entire elk in one and eat it right through winter. With Raven lurking around outside, Julie couldn't remain inside the shed. Raven would be through settling the dogs and would find her missing. She needed to move while he was busy. Slipping out the door wasn't easy on crutches and balancing on one leg. She listened at the door for any movement, opened the door a crack to peer outside, and then froze. In a cloud of mist, Raven was dragging something wrapped in a tarp alongside the barn. Her heart pounded as he unlocked a meat locker and lifted the wrapped bundle onto the edge. He pulled back the tarp and rolled the contents into the locker. As he stepped to one side to push it over the edge, fear gripped Julie's throat, stealing her breath at the sight of pink skin.

Panic gripped her, and she stepped back inside the shed, heart pounding so fast she couldn't think straight. Had he murdered someone? Where was the snowmobile and why wasn't he using it to get her out of here? Had she become his prisoner? Pressing her eye to the crack in the door, every muscle froze as he turned slowly to look in her direction. He couldn't know she'd seen him. What could she do? She hobbled over to the boxes piled high and scanned the labels. Finding a stack of powdered milk in cans, she pulled one out of the plastic wrapper and then found a stash of ground coffee. Would her excuse for being here fly? As muffled footsteps came toward the door, she held her breath.

The door opened slowly, and she turned to see Raven filling the entrance. "Oh, you're back."

"What the heck are you doing out here?" Raven's steady gaze settled on her face. "If you keep doing this, I figure I'll need to start locking you in the cabin."

You can't reason with a serial killer. Jo Wells' words hit Julie like a sledgehammer. Acting frightened could trigger an attack. She straightened her spine. "I figured I'd make breakfast but I couldn't find the powdered milk. You told me you'd collected supplies from the crash site, so I came out to hunt them down."

"How did you plan on carrying those cans and using your crutches? You'd have fallen and I'd have come home to find you frozen." Raven leaned against the doorframe staring at her. "Don't you want to get better?"

Nodding, Julie clamped her jaw shut to stop her teeth chattering. She met his bewildered gaze. "I figured I'd put them under my coat and inside the top of my sweatpants." She kept her chin high and shrugged. "I feel much better today and planned on doing two trips. I made it here okay and figured I could manage it."

"Sure you could." Raven took the cans from her and placed them back under the tarps. He handed her the crutches. "Hold them in one hand."

Pulse thundering in her ears, Julie did as he asked. What did he have planned for her? The next moment he took her arm and ushered her from the door. He slid the bolt across the shed door and then swung her into his arms. Julie's nose wrinkled at the smell of fresh blood. Trying hard not to panic, she forced her muscles to relax. He was so strong, fighting him would be just plain stupid. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the cabin. Where else? You didn't figure I was going to bunk you in the kennels, did you?" He whistled to Ben and the dog came tearing out of the forest.

Shrugging, Julie swung one arm around his neck. Being held like a baby disconcerted her. "You have places here you've never mentioned and a snowmobile. Where is it?"

"I own a few dilapidated cabins around here." He carried her toward the cabin. "I use them for storage. Nobody goes near them. They're all signposted with trespassers will be shot signs. No one has touched anything yet. I built safe places for my dogs there, so I can use them as outposts. As in, I can leave the dogs there with food, water, and shelter and take the snowmobile in an emergency or when the going is too difficult for the sled. Before you ask, the reason I don't use it all the time is the gas. The dogs are renewable energy. Sure I have kibble, but every day I collect fresh meat for them by trapping critters. Gas means I need to drive into town. FYI, I have a trail bike and an old truck on the other side of the avalanche, plus another decent cabin. It was owned by an old man who died. I claimed it."

Interested, Julie clung to him as he climbed onto the stoop. "So once we can get through the avalanche, we can drive into town?" She clung to her crutches. "Don't worry about the gas. My dad will make sure you have a full tank before you leave."

"That's good to know." He shouldered open the door and lowered her gently to the ground, supporting her as she removed her boots and coat. "You mentioned something about cooking breakfast? The dry milk is on the counter along with the coffee." He snorted and grabbed a towel from a peg to rub down Ben. He gave her a side-eye as he worked. "You don't need to head outside the moment my back is turned, Julie. I'd be happy to show you around—but not today. I'll be heading out again as soon as the dogs are rested. I have things to take care of."

Gripped by terror, Julie shuddered. I just bet you do.