Page 89 of Cold as Hell

With that, I realized he was even more careful in his choice of location than I thought. He’d needed the clearing to stage the tableau. But once he had Yolanda, he either needed to move her by force or carry her. The other option would be to kill her where he grabbed her, but we already know he likes to take his time. He’s not going to lay a trail that could bring Anders running before Yolanda is dead.

No, after he had her, he needed to move her and hide their trail. Just beyond that clearing, we hit rock, which the wind has swept nearly clear of snow. He was able to avoid the pockets of snow and get Yolanda out of there without leaving a trail.

Or, without leaving a trail that he expects Anders can follow. Jacob and Dalton pick up the signs of passage here and there. But it’s Storm who shines, easily able to follow Jerome’s scent across the rock.

And after all that, the trail heads to the place we would have expected him to take her. The lake. He circled around it, though, coming across the rock to the opposite side. Being careful, because without a snowstorm for cover, he needs to be farther from town.

Is he taking a risk bringing Yolanda to the lake? Of course he is. Anders might skip finding a trail and head straight here, knowing that’s where Lynn died.

Jerome is taking risks because he likes that. Added danger. Added excitement.

We’re already onto him. He hasn’t just happened to kidnap Yolanda at the same time I started getting suspicious. He’dprobably breathed a sigh of relief when Dalton and I left mid-investigation. Then Anders took him off patrol.

Oh, Anders had been careful about it. With Grant grieving, someone needed to do his job, and the patrols were under control, with no sign of trouble. Would Marlon take over Grant’s job, please? Of course. But he’d also gotten suspicious.

There was probably more. Maybe he overheard something. Maybe he just got vibes from Anders that said he was a suspect. So, since it looked as if he wouldn’t get away with killing Lynn, why not take another victim before he escaped? And he didn’t need to worry about Storm being summoned to track him, because he had both satellite phones.

Anders will know who took Yolanda, and when she’s found dead, he’ll know who did it. So Jerome doesn’t need to throw Anders off the trail completely. He just needed to slow him down.

When we reach the lake, the footprints resume, sporadic but clear. He’s pushing her ahead of him. A scuffle. Then blood spatter, as he must have cut or stabbed her to keep her moving. My chest clenches when I see those.

Don’t fight, Yolanda. That might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but we’re on the way. We’ll get to you in time.

I pray we’ll get to you in time.

Is it already too late? I’m trying so hard not to calculate. If they left Haven’s Rock around eight thirty, and we didn’t arrive until nearly ten…

It’s tight. If Jerome moved quickly, it’s too damn tight, and hewillbe moving quickly. Especially if he heard our plane.

Why the hell did I take so long to realize Yolanda was gone? That could make all the difference here. When Anders said Yolanda had the second phone—the one going to voicemail—I should have been more worried than I was.

Storm barks, shattering my thoughts, and I look to see she’s trying to get my attention. Her tail is moving with excitement and she’s looking over the lake to a spot on the ice.

Shortcut! I found a shortcut!

“She smells Jerome and Yolanda on the wind,” I say. “Over there.”

The footprints continue straight, hugging the shore. Jerome and Yolanda headed along it, but they’re over to the right now.

“Split up?” Jacob says. “Eric and I keep tracking while you, Storm, and Will head that way?”

Dalton shakes his head. “If Storm smells them, this is the shortcut. We’re downwind of where she’s scenting. We mark this spot, in case we have to come back.”

“It’s awfully open,” Anders says, shading his eyes against the sun.

I see what he means. If we take the shortcut, it’ll put us out on the ice, where our approach can be spotted.

“And he’ll be armed,” Anders says. “Yolanda always carries her gun, and he’ll have taken it from her by now.”

“The safe path is along the shore,” I say. “There’s cover. But we could be running out of time. He’s bound to have heard the plane.”

“I’ll find us a path,” Dalton says. “Everyone fall in line behind me and keep quiet.”

Dalton picks a path that doesn’t satisfy either part of me—the part that worries we’ll be too late or the part that worries Jerome will spot us and kill Yolanda faster. But there’s no way to eliminate both those concerns, and the route he takes is the bestwe can manage, not quite cutting across the open ice, but not quite hidden in the thick trees either.

We move fast. It’s all we can do. When I can’t move fast enough, Dalton tells Anders and Jacob to go on ahead.

“You can go, too,” I say. “I have Storm.”

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