Chapter 38

THIRTY-EIGHT

In sheer terror, Carolyn plunged into the deep snowdrifts and lay still as the sound of the engine got closer. She realized after a few minutes that the sound was coming from more than one snowmobile. They rumbled to a stop and she chanced a look at the cabin. Frozen with fear, she covered her mouth with her scarf to hide the steam from her panting breath. The man could easily be her captor. Maybe he'd brought back a few friends with him. He'd proved untrustworthy, with a weird side she couldn't explain. The idea it might be him frightened her and she hid behind a tree. One of the men climbed off his ride and went to the door. He spoke for a few minutes to the occupier, before returning to the snowmobile and then they turned around and headed back the way they'd come. Heart pounding and too afraid to move, she watched them disappear into the wall of swirling white, If that wasn't him, had she missed the chance of escaping the forest?

She made her way across the clearing to the cabin. On the mailbox was the name Brindley. She pounded on the door. The door opened and two whippets stuck their heads out, tails wagging. A blonde-haired lady gave her an astonished look. Carolyn smiled at her. "Mrs. Brindley?"

"Yes, I'm Martha Brindley." She stared at her and then blinked. "Are you the missing girl?"

Sagging with relief, Carolyn pressed one hand against the wall of the cabin. "Yes, that's me. Can I come inside to get warm for a time?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Martha waved her into a mudroom. "You can hang your wet clothes there, but bring your boots inside and set them beside the fire in the kitchen."

Unable to control her emotions, Carolyn burst into tears. "I've been walking for hours. I figured I'd die out there. Do you have a phone? I need to call my folks."

"There, there. You're safe now." Martha put one arm around her shoulder. "People are out searching for you. I wish I could let them know you're okay, but in this weather I can't get any bars, I'm afraid." She walked into the kitchen. "I have fresh coffee and muffins. I bet you're starving."

Glad to be inside the neat, warm home, she peeled off her coat and followed. The dogs sniffed her and wagged their tails. "I love your dogs."

"They are great company but they don't like the blizzard either." Martha took down two cups and poured coffee. "When you've rested up and had a meal, you'll feel better. Later, we can try and make it down to Nancy Marin's cabin. She isn't far and has a CB radio, but I'm not venturing out in a blizzard on foot. I don't have one of those snowmobiles. When it's snowing, I stay home or wait until we get a turn of the snowplow so I can drive my truck."

Exhaustion dragging at her, Carolyn nodded. "I don't believe I can walk another step right now. Thank you so much for taking me in. I really appreciate it." She inhaled the aroma of fresh-baked muffins and dropped into a chair at the table.

"I'm glad of the company." Martha placed the coffee fixings on the table and two plates. She added a plate piled with blueberry muffins. "Help yourself."

Trembling, Carolyn added fixings to her coffee and took a sip. Everything seemed surreal, as if she'd fallen down the rabbit hole. Was she really in a kitchen with a lovely woman, sipping coffee and eating muffins or had she fallen asleep and was slowly freezing to death? She took a bite of the delicious muffin and allowed the taste to explode across her taste buds. It was the best muffin she'd ever tasted and the coffee was like nectar of the gods. She ate slowly, savoring every bite, her eyelids grew heavy. Drained of energy and now in a warm cozy environment, all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Oh, dear, don't fall asleep at the table." Martha stood and walked around the table to grab her arm. "My spare room is made up. You'd better rest before you venture outside again." She smiled at her. "Get out of those wet clothes and I'll dry them for you."

Totally exhausted, Carolyn dragged leaden feet along a passageway to a beautifully furnished room. She pulled off another layer of sweaters and her damp pants and lay them over the back of a chair. "Thank you so much."

"It's a pleasure to have you." Martha pulled back the thick comforter and plumped up the pillow. "Lay your head down. You're safe now."

The bed looked so inviting. Carolyn sat on the edge of the bed, and by the time her head hit the pillow, sleep surrounded her in a warm hug.

Disorientated, Carolyn opened her eyes. It was still daylight and she glanced at the clock beside the bed. She'd been asleep for two hours. Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed. She needed to get a message to her folks and the sheriff to tell her about what had happened to her. She made her way out and back to the kitchen. Her clothes were hanging on a rail in front of the fire and Martha was knitting in a rocking chair. "Thank you so much for letting me rest but I must get a message to my folks."

"Oh, I understand, my dear." Martha pushed to her feet. "Have a cup of coffee and some cookies before you brave the cold again. It won't be an easy walk to Nancy's but you'll make it."

Nodding, Carolyn pushed her long blonde hair from her face and gathered it into a ponytail, securing it with a band from around her wrist. "Thank you, I'd appreciate it."

She drank the coffee and ate the cookies and they chatted about the dogs. A short time later, she stood and gathered her still damp but warm clothes and pulled them on. Bundled up against the cold with a pair of thick woolen gloves Martha had offered her, Carolyn pulled on her snowshoes and stumbled out into the blinding-white vista. She bent her head against the onslaught of snow driven by wind that swirled the flakes in all directions, making it difficult to see the trail ahead. Even with the snowshoes her feet sank into the powder coating and each step became harder than the next. When she noticed the outline of a cabin in the distance, she punched the air with excitement. She'd made it and soon she'd be safe. She stumbled to the front door and knocked hard. When a woman opened the door and stared at her wide-eyed, Carolyn pulled down her scarf and smiled at her. "Nancy? Martha sent me to ask if you could send a message to get help."

"Oh, my. You're the missing girl." Nancy waved her inside. "Wait right there in the mudroom, I'll get you a towel and then make the call." She hurried away and disappeared into a back room. Carolyn looked around the neat cabin. It was very cozy, and heat radiated from the wood fire burning in the hearth in the family room. It made her want to own a cabin but maybe one not so isolated. Within minutes Nancy came back carrying a towel and handed it to her. She dabbed at her face and hair. "Thanks."

"The snow tracks are everywhere." Nancy smiled. "You get off those wet clothes and I'll contact search and rescue and they'll be right along. You'll be back in town before you know it. The snowplows have been clearing the fire roads to give people access to their cabins. There are quite a few of us who live here permanently." She turned away and hurried along the passageway.

Carolyn stiffened at the sound of a snowmobile. She peered out the side of the drapes and gaped in disbelief at the sight of the man nightmares were made of heading toward the cabin. His blue snowmobile had a bright yellow stripe down one side and his helmet resembled a skull. It was clearly visible even through the curtain of snow. Panic gripped her and she fled through the cabin, her snowshoes clattering on the polished wood floor. She reached the back door and Nancy came into the passageway.

"What's wrong?" Nancy stared toward the front door.

Heart racing, Carolyn turned and looked at her. "A man is chasing me. I have to hide. He'll see my tracks and come here."

"He won't get inside my cabin." Nancy stared at her. "I have a shotgun and I know how to use it."

Carolyn shook her head. "He's dangerous. I can't risk your life. Get help and I'll run."

"If you must. I've cleared the path to the woodshed." Nancy pulled open the back door. "It has two doors, hide inside or run into the forest from the other door. He won't see your tracks. Click the lock on the door before you leave. It will need a key to open it. If he goes inside, he won't think you went out the other door. Head north toward the mountains, and I'll tell the rescue crew when they arrive."

Carolyn stared out into the blizzard. "He'll know someone has been here."

"I'll hold him off." Nancy patted her arm. "Trust me. I can do this. If you get the chance to double back when he's gone, come here and wait here for search and rescue. I'll go and call in an update and get the sheriff out here."

Nodding, Carolyn ducked out the door. She didn't want to involve Nancy in her troubles and she could avoid the man chasing her for a little longer. Help was on the way, she just needed to survive until the sheriff arrived. Heart hammering, she dashed across the yard and into the woodshed. The snowshoes, like flippers, hampered each step, but she edged around the piles of split firewood and dragged open the door. She opened the lock and fell out the door and rolled into a massive snowdrift. Struggling to her feet as the sound of the snowmobile grew louder, she lifted her knees and pushed through the freezing white until the trees broke up the drift. A blind man could find her from her tracks, but she turned away from the fire road and zigzagged through the trees until she came to a trail. The freezing air cut into her throat and lungs with each step. The brightness made her dizzy but she kept going. She had to get away. It was her only hope. The longer she could run the more time she gave the sheriff to save her. How long would it take them to get here? She let out a sob and pressed one hand against a tree, gasping the freezing air. A gunshot blasted the silence. Heart racing, she turned to look behind her. Had Nancy shot him? Trembling, she waited, listening. A few minutes later the roar of the snowmobile started again and it was getting louder by the second.

Ahead, the trail spread out white and pristine, there was no way he wouldn't be able to follow her. At the speed he was traveling, he'd mow her down before she got far. Frantic, she searched ahead and, seeing overhanging branches, ran at them and leaped into the air. Her hands locked on the bough of a large pine. In desperation, she swung her legs back and forth. On the upswing she let go. The momentum swung her away from the trail and into the forest. Miraculously she didn't hit one of the trees but fell between a space and landed flat on her face. Winded, she staggered to her feet and ran wildly away from the oncoming noise of the snowmobile. The snowfall wasn't so deep here, but she kept zigzagging between the trees and trying to head in the same general direction.

As she ran, she searched around for deep undergrowth. Lungs bursting from overexertion, she kept moving. She must find a place to hide. It would be impossible to outrun him on a snowmobile and hiding in the undergrowth was her only chance. Maybe when he went past, she could risk trying to get back to the cabin. Trembling with terror, she grabbed a fallen branch and dragged it across her footprints and then rolled beneath a dead bush. With luck, the heavily falling snow would cover all trace of her. Heart threatening to burst from her chest, she curled into a ball on the frozen ground. The noise of the snowmobile was getting louder by the second. He was coming.