Chapter 3

THREE

The Black Rock Falls Sheriff's Department was on a skeleton crew this weekend. Maggie the receptionist insisted on coming into the office whenever it was open, but either one of Jenna's deputies would be on duty over the weekend. Both had decided to do half-day shifts on Saturday, and on Sunday the office would be closed and anyone who needed assistance would call 911. Deputy Zac Rio, a gold shield detective out of LA, was in the office this morning. He'd moved to Black Rock Falls with his two siblings to give them a better life and to keep them out of trouble. In the three years he'd been working for Jenna, he'd turned their lives around. Rio had a retentive memory, which made him super useful at crime scenes as his mind documented every aspect of the scene.

Nothing was better than Kane's pancakes, crispy bacon, and maple syrup for breakfast. Once her stomach had settled, Jenna had a ferocious appetite. She poured syrup over her pancakes and was nibbling at the bacon when Kane's phone chimed. She raised an eyebrow at him as he lifted it and mouthed the word Wolfe . It was unusual for him to call them this early in the morning, especially on one of their days off.

"Hey, morning, Shane. What's up?"

"Julie's plane has gone down over the Black Rock mountain range." Wolfe sounded frantic. "In case you haven't heard the weather report this morning, we have a blizzard heading our way. We need to be organizing search parties ASAP."

Horrified by the news, Jenna stared at Kane. Her heart twisted at the thought of Julie dying in a plane crash somewhere in the mountains. She pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her anxiety from her son. Julie was like her little sister. The thought of her out there alone cut deep. It couldn't be true, could it?

"Oh, sweet Jesus. Leave it to me, Shane. I'll get everyone organized. Give me the last coordinates and I'll contact search and rescue." Kane frowned. "Not that they'll be able to do anything until the blizzard blows through. The moment we get visibility, we'll get the choppers up. I'll contact Carter and Styles, but their coming here to assist will be contingent on the weather, as you well know."

"I know how bad it is, Dave, I feel useless not getting out there right now to search but it would be certain death by air." Wolfe moaned like an injured animal. "There is one hope. If they ditched in the lowlands, the wireless could be blocked. You'll need to get out a media release so we have people on the ground looking out for the aircraft. Someone might have seen it crash or heard something in their area. Make sure they ask anyone with a snowmobile to assist in the search. I'll contact the snowmobiles enthusiast group in town and ask them for their assistance as well."

"All those planes carry satellite navigation. The control tower at the airport should be able to coordinate the signals and give us a better idea of the location." Kane rubbed the back of his neck and stared at Jenna, his face holding an expression of deep concern. "I'll have everyone on standby once they give us the coordinates."

"You know any survivors won't last long out there in this weather." The pain in Wolfe's voice was palpable. "Help me find her, Dave. I can't do it alone."

"You have my word." Kane stared at Jenna, who went straight for her phone to call Rio. "Jenna is arranging the media report now. Hang in there, Shane. We've got this." He sat down hard in the chair.

"Okay. We need to work out a strategy. Bring Tauri here. He'll keep Anna company, and if he needs to sleep over, he'll be safe here with my housekeeper."

"Okay. We'll see you soon." Kane disconnected.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Tauri licked sticky fingers.

"Auntie Julie is lost in the mountains. We'll need to go and look for her." Kane ruffled his son's hair. "We could take you to Nanny Raya's or would you prefer to play with Anna today?"

Anna Wolfe was the youngest in the Wolfe family of three girls, the eldest being Emily, a medical examiner in training. Jenna waited for Rio to pick up and explained what she needed before turning to Tauri. In situations like this, they preferred to keep details away from their son. She smiled at him. "What's it to be? If we're held up, it might be a sleepover. Would you like that?"

"Yes, I like Anna and she'll be sad her sister is missing but you should call Uncle Atohi. If Julie is missing in the mountains, he'll find her." Tauri nibbled on a strip of bacon.

"I need to make a few calls." Kane stood and left the room, his thumb moving over his phone.

Atohi Blackhawk, a Native American tracker and now very much part of their family, had been the guardian of Tauri and, as a close friend, had been the one who'd brought her and Kane together with him. Their connection had been instant, and they'd made a long and arduous application for adoption. Tauri had officially become Tauri Kane over six months ago, and everyone had told her the moment she'd stopped worrying about becoming pregnant it would happen. Nothing had surprised and delighted them more than to discover Jenna had at last conceived. She loved Tauri with all her heart and welcomed another addition to their family with open arms. Since becoming a mother, her emotions had changed. Now she understood how losing a child would break a person's heart. Now she appreciated just how much Kane had suffered losing his wife and child. During a recent case, she had come too close to losing her husband and son, and her heart ached for the pain Wolfe must be suffering. Nothing could be worse than being helpless to do anything. Unless the blizzard broke, there wasn't a hope anyone could reach the aircraft before the survivors froze to death. She understood the seriousness of the situation and so did Wolfe.

Jenna looked up as Kane's phone chimed again when he walked back into the kitchen. She raised one eyebrow. Since she'd announced her pregnancy, her deputies avoided calling her with bad news. It was as if they figured the shock would harm her. Heavens above, she'd been pregnant when she believed Kane and Tauri had been killed. If she could cope with that shock, she could cope with anything. She looked at Tauri. "Could you do something for Mommy?"

"Yes, I'm big now." Tauri slipped from the chair and looked up at her.

Jenna smiled at him. "I know you are, sweetheart. Go and wash your face and hands and get dressed. I'll be along to pack a bag for you just in case we get held up."

She looked at Kane as Tauri scampered along the passageway to his room. "Why is everyone avoiding me?"

"It's Blackhawk." Kane shrugged. "I'll put him on speaker. Hey, Atohi, how's the blizzard where you are?"

"White and cold, but that's not why I called. I was out tending my traps when I saw an aircraft in trouble over the mountains. It disappeared out of sight and I heard tree branches breaking." Blackhawk took a deep breath. "I figure it crashed some ways between Bear Peak and Bison Hump Bridge on your side of the mountain. I can see no way that you are going to be able to get to the crash site by chopper in this weather. I know people who live out of Bison Hump Bridge. They may be your only hope in this instance."

Trying to keep busy as chaos reigned around her, Jenna cleared the table. "We know about the missing aircraft. Julie is on board. Dave has called in all the emergency services available, but I'll see if I can contact anyone still living there. It's unusual for people to remain in the forest in winter, unless it's their only place of residence. We have issued a media report, so with luck if anyone else saw the plane come down, they'll call it in."

"The moment, I can head in that direction, I will." Blackhawk sighed. "I hope we find everyone alive. I'll call the moment I have eyes on the aircraft." He disconnected.

Saddened, Jenna stood and leaned into Kane. "This is going to be the worst Christmas ever."