Page 88 of Fire Peak

Finally he was able to form a word. Or at least three letters.

“FBI,” he blurted. “We need to call the FBI.”

“I don’t think there’s an FBI office out here. The closest one is probably in Anchorage.”

“The sheriff. Police. We need to get a swat team out here to search the woods.” He grabbed the phone again. “Trees. We need to find those trees.”

“Nick.” Her firm tone cut through his panic once again. “The photo isn’t real.”

“What do you mean?” He stared at it again. It sure looked real to him.

“Trust me, I know about this stuff. It’s been photoshopped. Look at Elias’ head. That fuzzy bit? They had to rush it, didn’t have time to clean up the edges.”

Now that he looked at it more closely, he could see what she was talking about. The fog of fear cleared, at least for a moment. “So they haven’t been kidnapped?”

“I don’t know. They might be trying to send us in the wrong direction to search. Maybe they’re in a house, not the woods, something like that.”

He muttered a string of curse words. “They sent us a proof-of-life photo that offers no clues.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I can triangulate where the photo was sent from. They haven’t sent any demand yet. If I was them, I’d change location before sending something else. Then we can see a pattern.”

He wasn’t going to wait around until they sent something else. He headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Charlie limped after him.

“Our cabin. Hailey might be there, this could be a fakeout. If not, look for leads.” In other words, he was going to investigate.

“But I don’t have Wi-Fi in town. And they sent the photo to me. They want something from me. I need to stay reachable.”

He stopped at the threshold of the door. Damnit, she had a point. But he needed to search for Hailey or he’d lose his mind. “I’ll be back in an hour. I have to see what I can find. Maybe two hours, given the drive.”

“Okay, but…whenever you have a Wi-Fi connection, check in. The Fang, the store, wherever. I might get another message from them.”

He nodded.

“And don’t do anything reckless. Whatever’s going on here, it’s not what it seems. If they’re going to photoshop a picture, they might be up to other tricks.”

Maybe they were. If so, it was working. Taking Hailey was the one thing he couldn’t ignore.

Silently, he strode back to Charlie and wrapped her in his arms. “Don’t leave the lodge until I get back, okay?” he murmured in her ear. “Be careful. I—I need you.”

He wasn’t sure exactly how to describe the emotions churning through his being right now, but “need” would do, for now.

He started at the cabin, where he found a broken-down four-wheeler and a note from Hailey. That sent him to The Fang, where he learned from Bear that Hailey had never made it there.

As they were talking, Lila came through the door that led from the dimly lit bar to the tiny kitchen prep area. She stopped dead at the sight of him.

“It’s Hailey, isn’t it?” she asked softly.

“We think she’s missing. We got a photo. I’m trying to retrace her steps. Any chance you…” He paused, not sure how to delicately ask if she had some kind of psychic insight she could share with him. Charlie had said Lila didn’t want people here to know about her abilities, but this was a crisis.

“I haven’t seen her.” She glanced at Bear. “Is it okay if I take a short break? I uh…have something that might help.”

If Bear thought it was odd that Lila could be of help, his impassive face didn’t show it. “Long as you want. Nick, you call on me for anything. I can round up a crew of searchers, backup, whatever you need.”

They shook hands over the bar. Nick would have hugged him if the bar hadn’t been in the way. Knowing that he had muscle to call on if necessary helped…a lot.

Outside, Lila blinked in the bright sunshine.

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