Page 3 of Their Frozen Bones

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 overthe 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.”

FOUR

At an almighty crash and the gunshot splintering of trees, Johnny Raven ducked for cover and peered out between the branches of the pines heavily bent with snow. The ground shook under his feet and a ball of smoke rose into the air. Moments later charred fragments of flaming debris rained down onto the pristine snow-covered slopes. He ground his teeth and fought the flashbacks of war. It had been a time but loud noise and the smell of acrid smoke awakened memories he’d rather forget. His dog, Ben, an Alaskan Malamute, was never far from his side and whined, pushing against his leg. “That can’t be good.”

He picked up the frozen critters he’d collected in his traps and hurried back to his cabin. He didn’t have much time if he planned on saving any survivors. The blizzard was setting in and visibility would soon be down to less than a foot in front of him. He had a good idea where the aircraft had hit the mountainside. He had often seen small aircraft coming through the pass on the way to Black Rock Falls Airport. Most flights would take the scenic route but in winter a blizzard could render the visibility to zero in a matter of minutes. He’d listened to the weather report before he’d set out to check his traps and there had been no mention of a blizzard heading their way. Such wasthe crazy weather fluctuations of late. He’d never seen storms of such magnitude or variations of temperature to such a degree as he had seen in the last three years. Winter had come late this year, with snowfalls barely reaching the towns until after Thanksgiving, but they had sure made up for it now. He had woken a week ago to drifts of six and eight feet blocking his front door. He’d needed to dig his way out and was glad that he’d made sure his dogs had suitable accommodation for the winter.

Without delay he packed his dogsled with medical supplies and blankets and drained the coffee pot into two Thermoses. He’d filled his pockets with energy bars and then headed out to the kennels. Housed inside a barn, the dogs had access to a large yard. These dogs he’d rescued and trained. Most of them were mixed breeds, strong and resilient with thick winter coats. He’d trained them to pull his sled in winter and to hunt with him, but he chose others to become personal protection dogs. It had become a lucrative business since Black Rock Falls had become Serial Killer Central. Not that he ventured into town often. He had a friend at the animal shelter who contacted him when a suitable stray was available and acted as a go-between if he needed to sell a dog. He preferred the solitary life and enjoying his own thoughts. His life in the military, and the discharge clutching his Purple Heart, seemed a lifetime ago. He’d retreated as far away from people as possible for three years before venturing into town and discovering his pension had been accruing in the bank. He’d purchased tools and other things he needed to extend his cabin and build the accommodation for his dogs.

The dogs were eager to be up and away. They enjoyed a run after being cooped up for a couple of days. He attached the harnesses, and with Ben bounding along beside him, they headed toward the downed aircraft. The trails on this side of the mountain were more familiar to him than the lines in the palmof his hand, although traveling through the forest in a blizzard was like living inside a snow globe. The dogs bounded over the snow, barking and creating a cloud of steam. Raven ducked the low branches weighed down by the snow and icicles. It was as beautiful as it was deadly. He needed to be on his game or he’d be knocked from the sled and out in the forest he’d die a fast and miserable death. Although he doubted Ben would leave his side. He’d trained him as K-9 from a pup during his rehabilitation and he’d become his constant companion.

Out with Ben one day, the dog had led him to a deserted cabin with a large mixed-breed dog chained outside. The dog was thin but had survived due to a drip-feed water supply from the adjacent river. Inside the house Raven discovered the body of a very elderly man and searched the place for any signs of friends or family. Finding nothing, not even one scrap of paper giving the man’s name, he’d taken the dog and headed back to his cabin. The next time he’d ventured into town, he’d told his friend about finding the old man and ask her to notify the authorities, but no one had come by to claim the body. Months later, he’d returned, gathered the dried corpse, and given it a decent burial. Maybe someone would return the favor for him one day.

The dog had been the first personal protection canine he’d trained in Black Rock Falls and had started his lucrative business. He’d signposted the cabin and filed for possession. The cabin, a very old forest warden’s dwelling, wasn’t owned by the old man, and forestry had sold it to him for the filing fees of the paperwork. The old place had a good solid barn and a garage stocked with tools. He used the garage to store his truck over winter and to repair his snowmobile when necessary.

The smell of fuel and burning flesh seared his nostrils as he rounded a bend in the trail. The forest floor was littered with debris and he left the dogs to venture closer to the wreck on foot.The aircraft had hit the mountain and broken in half. The front section had burst into flames and the back section had slid down the side of the mountain in the thick snowdrift and was buried, the broken section opened to the elements. Bodies, some burned beyond recognition, lay half buried in the snow. One man had been thrown out of the back section, and although he appeared to be unconscious when Raven checked his vital signs, he’d died. Baggage was strewn all over. A set of pink suitcases caught his attention because all the people he’d examined so far resembled males.

Somewhere in this horror was a woman. He went to the back section and, glad of his thick leather gloves, grabbed the ragged edge and pulled himself up to peer inside. His gaze fell on a young woman with long blonde hair still strapped to her seat. He dropped back to the ground. She looked so still and waxlike but he needed to check life signs. Getting inside would be a problem. After gathering up the luggage, he piled it up alongside the aircraft and used it to climb over the edge. Once inside he kicked open the door. Immediately snow drove into the small area making the floor slippery. He slid down to the woman, removed his glove and pressed his fingers against her throat. He heaved a sigh of relief when a flutter pressed against his fingers. He removed his other glove and checked her for injuries. She seemed okay until he moved a large piece of the wing section that had cut through the side of the plane and covered her. The piece of metal had held her in place, but he suspected her leg had a clean break. As a medical doctor, the scene brought back memories of his time in the medical corps and flying into a battle zone. He’d need to splint the leg before he attempted to move her. He went back outside, hunting the wreckage, and found a piece of hard plastic, likely from a suitcase. He dragged the medical kit from the wall of the aircraft and used the bandages and plastic to splint her leg.

Before he moved her, he checked her again, lifting her eyelids and running both hands over her neck. She was bundled up in layers and wore a long sheepskin coat and a white knit cap. With care, he lifted the hood of her coat over her head. Her skin was so pale and her lips had turned blue. She resembled an ice queen. Like someone straight out of a fairy tale. A Nordic princess maybe. He guessed her age at maybe eighteen or twenty. Frightened he might break her, he lifted her with care and headed for the door, slipping and sliding on the snow-covered floor. He trudged through the snow and, reaching his sled, bundled her up in the blankets and then covered her with a foil blanket he’d retrieved from the first aid box. He ordered Ben to stay with her and went back to the aircraft, making many trips back and forth. He gathered the pink luggage and the first aid box and took the boxes of supplies the plane was carrying. No one would get to the plane before the melt, and the wildlife would devour everything edible by then. He could make use of everything, especially with another mouth to feed. With his sleigh packed, he made his way slowly back to his cabin. Tremors shook the ground and he stared at the mountain as snow shifted and slid down toward him in a wave of white dust. An avalanche would isolate him from the outside world. It had happened before, and of late, the seismic tremors had increased to frighteningly dangerous levels.

The intense blizzard was pelting the crash site with snow so thick and hard the charred bodies would be covered within the hour, maybe less. He shook his head, as emotion for the lost lives engulfed him. Tears stung the backs of his eyes. Families would be waiting for their loved ones to return home for the holidays. This young woman would be missed. He wiped a hand over his face. He had no form of communication at his cabin. He wanted to be incommunicado and deal with people under his own terms and when able to do so. When he wanted to speak to BredaArnold, the woman at the dog rescue center, he walked to the dead man’s cabin and fired up his CB radio. He’d purchased a battery and solar panel. There was no way he could risk the trail down the mountain to the old man’s cabin. If he didn’t make it, the young woman would die along with his dogs. He had no choice. Taking her home and nursing her back to health was his only option. The wind increased and snow fell so hard he couldn’t see Ben running alongside him. He called to the dogs, encouraging them to keep going. They knew their way home. He looked at the blonde hair flowing from under the blankets. He’d find out her name and get a message to her family as soon as possible, but first he’d try and save her life.

FIVE

Smothering gut-wrenching grief, Jenna kept the conversation general as they traveled to Wolfe’s house. She needed to chat about anything but what lay ahead. She glanced at Kane and raised both eyebrows. “Is it true that you will be replacing the Beast in the new year?”

Kane’s tricked-out black truck had been supplied to him by POTUS and was literally bombproof. It had so many gadgets and other paraphernalia she couldn’t imagine it being replaced by anything else. It had saved their lives so many times.

“I didn’t plan on replacing the Beast. The decision was out of my hands and it’s being replaced by something far superior. It wasn’t my choice, it was an order.” Kane turned slowly onto the highway. The Beast had a snowplow attachment on the front and towed a snowmobile trailer, hitched carrying their two vehicles and supplies. “It will still be my Beast and this one we’ve come to love will be returned to whence it came.”

Frowning, Jenna appreciated just how much Kane loved his vehicle. “You’ve worked on this truck for years, making it better each time. Why would they want to replace it now?”

“It’s over five years old.” Kane flicked her a glance and shrugged. “There have been many improvements in motorvehicles in the last five years, Jenna. If we’re going to constantly put ourselves in danger, we need an upgrade. The new one will have everything we have now but with more technology. I was asked for what certain specifications I require and everything will be included. I’m looking forward to it.”

Trying to keep her mind on anything but the plane crash, Jenna nodded. “When I lived in DC, I had a hankering for a Mustang.” She sighed. “I’m not too sure it would go very well out here.”

“In summertime it would be great to be tearing along the great stretches of highway we have in this state.” Kane suddenly gave her a smile. “I figure you should have one. After all, I do have my motorcycles. You should have something for yourself that you will enjoy too. Everyone needs something nice in their lives. What is the point of working all our lives and not enjoying the fruits of our labor? We have more money than we need. Maybe it’s about time we spent some of it on ourselves rather than constantly giving it away to charity. Surely one indulgence won’t hurt?”

“I’m getting a mustang after Christmas.” Tauri scratched Duke’s ears. “Uncle Atohi told me it would be very gentle and we could all go riding together. We gave her the name Firebird. She is a mustang, and she’s going to be mine.”

Jenna bit back a grin. “The Mustang I was speaking about is a vehicle. A fast car.”

---