Page 35 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

“Sounds good.”

It wasn’t as if she had any other ideas to escape this place. She strained to catch any hint of the scraping sound, but all she could hear was her uneven breathing. Oddly enough, focusing on her breath calmed her just enough to move toward the left passageway.

“Got you,” Sylvie whispered to herself as a subtle glint reflected off something near a stalagmite about ten feet away. She cautiously made her way forward until she was able to drop to one knee. Ignoring the cold bite of the cave floor through her denim, she picked up the sketchbook, relieved that it was still tucked inside the protective plastic.

Sylvie stood while tucking the evidence under her arm. She was getting colder by the minute, and her fingertips were practically numb. Not that such a natural phenomenon wasn’t beautiful—it certainly was—but she would prefer the experience of an ice cave to be intentional rather than accidental.

The walls shimmered with a captivating blend of ethereal blues and pristine whites. Each surface displayed the intricate handiwork of time and the elements. A delicate lattice of frosted patterns appeared with every sweep of the flashlight’s beam. The patterns weaved through the walls like the finest lace, shifting with every motion.It was utterly beautiful.

Sylvie hadn’t heard Theo return from outside, so she found herself curious now that she had ventured a bit from where she had fallen through the floor of the cabin.

If Jacobhadbeen the one to discover the ice cave and create another way out of the cabin, how deep into one of these passageways would the exit be located?

It couldn’t hurt to explore a bit deeper. She would be careful not to stray down any other tunnel. The ice cave was like a corn maze, and as confusing as a hall of mirrors.

Had Jacob investigatedallthe passageways?

She wondered how deep the corridors extended inside the mountain and recalled her geology class. If she remembered correctly, some ice caves spanned an entire mountain. If that were the case with this particular ice cave, could that explain why Jacob had led Brook and the others to the opposite side of the mountain? Such a trek would take at least eight to ten hours, depending on the curvature of the cave.

The longer she considered such a theory, the more uneasy she grew about the idea. If Jacob knew those passages thoroughly, he might use that knowledge to escape custody. She pressed her arm tighter against the sketchbook. Was he trying to return to retrieve it? He would have had eleven years to do so, unless he somehow got word that the owner of the land was considering a sale.Maybe Mekhi was wrong about the landowner not selling anytime soon.

Theo really needed to hurry with those long planks from the outhouse. A few of those boards had to be sturdy enough to hold her weight.

Just as Sylvie turned around, the beam of her flashlight swept through the darkness, catching a vague shadow that flickered about twenty feet away. She refocused the light, trying to discern the oddly shaped object.

It took a moment for her mind to process what was in front of her.

She parted her lips, but her voice couldn't produce any sound. She stood there, temporarily frozen, just like the human head that had been perched atop a stalagmite.

The face was mutilated beyond recognition by the assault of a sharp blade. Beneath the damaged flesh, bone was exposed, and the hair, clumped with congealed blood, offered no clue to its natural color. The mouth, contorted in a silent scream, was only evident because the jaw dangled limply from one side.

This was the final piece of the puzzle.

Shewas the reason Jacob wanted to return to Alaska. The anniversary of her death was in June. She was the one victim whose death had changed Brook’s life forever. The final piece of his shattered psyche, hidden away in this glacial vault, and he couldn’t wait to share it with his sister.

Jacob had even carved the young girl’s name into the rock and ice above the shrine—Sally Pearson.

18

Bobby ‘Bit’ Nowacki

June 2025

Wednesday — 1:16 pm

Several voices echoed through the dense Alaskan pines, bouncing back hollow and distorted.

“Kavik!”

“Nanuq!”

Bit instinctively jerked to the side when a branch of leaves brushed against his face. A smaller twig snagged on his knitted hat, and he reached up just in time before it was yanked off his head. He was far more comfortable in front of a computer and couldn’t fathom why anyone would choose to be out in the wild among blood-sucking insects and animals that might consider humans a main course in their daily meal.

Making his way back to the clearing, he figured the others could continue their search. He checked his phone for the fourth time in fifteen minutes. Theo and Sylvie still hadn’t contacted him, and every call Bit initiated went directly to voicemail on both their phones. He would give them one more hour before he raised his concerns and requested that the chopper make a detour to the other side of the mountain.

As for Nathaniel, he had been gone for over an hour. It was understandable that the search warrants being carried out in Baltimore would take more time, but one hotel room in Blackpeak?

Bit pulled his beanie down further to shield his ears from the biting cold. The overcast sky made the fifties feel much colder than it had been earlier. Most of the Kalluk family had joined the search effort, but standing at the back of the open SUV was Lusa’s grandmother. She wore a thick coat and had her arms crossed over her midsection as she anxiously gazed in the direction where her son and daughter-in-law were helping search for Nanuq.

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