Page 22 of Deadly Past

The female voice on the phone was a surprise. “It’s not Amos; this is Cathy, his daughter.” The edge in her voice caused him to stop walking. “I came here a little while ago with my father. He was worried the storm was damaging his boat, so he went to check on it. It’s been almost an hour. I’m worried, and I didn’t know who else to call.”

Declan knew where Amos docked his boat, but the house had been vacant a few hours earlier. “When did you say you arrived?”

“About two hours ago. We almost didn’t make it with the storm following us the whole way. Dad didn’t feel well and wasn’t sure he could make the trip until the last minute. He refused to wait until daylight.”

That certainly tracked for Amos.

“Please, can you help?”

Declan didn’t hesitate. “I’m on my way.”

“Thank you. I knew I could count on you.”

The call ended. Declan reached the front door and knocked. “It’s me, Wynona.”

After a brief hesitation, locks disengaged, and Wynona’s troubled face appeared through the swirling snow.

“Did you see anything?”

Declan hurried inside and closed the door brushing off snow. “There’s no sign anyone has been out there.” He told her about the call from Cathy. “I have to go. Lock up behind me once more. I’ll take the snowmobile to make better time. Hopefully, Amos is home by now or close.”

Before he could step out, Wynona grabbed his arm. “Declan, I don’t like it.”

He did his best to reassure her. “Everything will be okay. If you feel worried, call me. Cell phones appear to be working.”

She slowly removed her hand. “Okay.”

Her troubled face was the last thing he saw before he closed the door.

Keep us both safe, Lord, and help me find Amos okay.

He braced against the screaming wind and made his way carefully around the side of the house to the small garage holding the four-wheeler.

He fired its engine and left the protection of the garage. Declan ducked below the windshield as he worked his way over to where Amos would have moved his boat.

When he arrived on the spot, there was no sign of the boat, and no indication Amos had been here tonight. He panned around the countryside. Nothing out of place. Declan hurried back to the four-wheeler and tried the place where Amos would normally dock.

The boat was still there. It didn’t appear as if Amos had made any effort to move it recently. Had Cathy been wrong?

Declan drove up to Amos’s cabin. The lights were on. Perhaps Amos had a change of heart and decided to wait out the storm before moving the boat.

He knocked a couple of times. Footsteps headed his way. The door opened. A woman who appeared to be in her fifties stared out at him with a wary expression.

“Cathy?” He waited for confirmation that was slow to come.

“Yes, I’m Cathy. You must be Declan.”

He confirmed with a nod. “The boat’s still where Amos would have left it earlier. Did he make it back?”

Cathy nervously clutched the top of her sweater. “Yes, he did. He said he thought the boat would be fine after all.”

Strange. Amos usually wasn’t so wishy-washy. “Can I speak to him? If he needs me to move it, I’d be happy to.”

Cathy quickly shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s not necessary. It’ll be fine, and besides Dad wasn’t feeling so good. He decided to go to bed.”

“He did?” Declan couldn’t keep the doubt from his tone.

“Yes, I’m afraid the trip over from the island was harder than he thought, especially at night. But thank you for coming over.”

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