Then I asked Rodgers if he would continue on with us. “We need you to keep looking for signs indicating what direction Gerard took. We know that you’re not a cop. If you’d rather not, we understand.”
Our tracker put his hand on his side and patted his firearm. “I’m coming.”
The opening in the woods slender, we formed a line. The trees spread out around us. We carried our rifles at our sides, and more soft morning light filtered through as the sun rose higher. Off and on Rodgers made us retrace our steps, readjusting. “I’m not seeing much, but I think this is right,” he said. “A few broken branches, and where the ground is soft enough some partial prints that could be from the horse. I don’t have a clue how old they are though. What if it’s not them?”
Max told him, “Joe, don’t worry. None of us can do any better. Just keep looking.”
We kept angling up the mountain, bearing slightly east. Off and on I whispered to Stef. “Headed in the right direction?”
“Yeah. That looks like it might work. The spot where you want to come out is just a little to your left,” she said.
The trees thinned, the sun climbed higher, and the heat built.
We marched slowly forward, weaving around trees, following Rodgers, who kept his eyes on the ground, charting our course based on a few snapped branches thinner than a pencil.
Time passed, and we covered more ground. My legs burned from the climb, steeper as we hiked higher. Our binoculars around our necks, I sometimes gazed through mine, searching for anything that looked out of place, anyone hiding in the woods. I wondered what lay ahead. I worried about what we might find.
Where are you, Delilah?
I’d told myself for the last decade that no one listened when I prayed. But in that moment, I needed to believe someone with power watched over us. God, keep my sister safe and help me find her. Please.
An eagle flew overhead, screeching, as if to greet the new day. I instinctively glanced down at my sleeve. Hidden underneath, my good luck charm reminded me of where I’d come from and all I’d endured. Perhaps it was more a testament to my journey, and that the pain and disappointments of my past had made me stronger.
Forty-Nine
“How much farther?” I asked.
“Slightly to your right, maybe two hundred feet up the mountain, and you’ll be halfway between the hump and the peak at the tree line.” Stef’s voice rose an octave. “Detective?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you don’t want a chopper? The sheriff thinks it’s a good idea. The SWAT team can drop down to help.”
As reassuring as that sounded, I thought again about the chopper’s noise, and that Gerard, with a bird’s eye view from his cave, might shoot at the officers as they rappelled down the ropes. If he had advance notice, Gerard could use the girls as shields. “We can’t risk it,” I said. “We have to take him by surprise.”
“You got a plan?” Max asked.
“I do,” I said.
“Let’s hear it,” Mullins said.
“Rodgers, you’ll stay here,” I said. He looked relieved. “Take that gun out of your belt and keep watch. Before you pull the trigger, though, you need to make sure you know who you’re shooting at. It could be one of us falling back. But be ready in case it’s Gerard. Understand?”
“Got it,” he said. “If it’s one of you, wave at me or something. Give me a sign. Okay?”
“We’ll try, but you watch for us, too. Don’t be trigger-happy. Okay?” I took a slight bob of his head as agreement.
I scanned the other faces, Max, Mullins, and the kid, Conroy. They looked as tense as I felt. Even my teeth were nervous. These were the bad moments, the ones before we put ourselves aside and took action, when we had time to consider what could go wrong.
Everything.
“We’ll take it slow. There are four of us, so we have him outnumbered and outgunned. We’ll spread out, stay in contact with our mics,” I said. “Anyone sees the cave, Gerard, Delilah, or anyone else, radio us your location, and wait for backup. Unless you have to, don’t try to take Gerard alone.”
“Okay,” Max said. “How about Mullins swings far left, Conroy far right, and you and I track up the center?”
“How far apart?” I asked. “I’m thinking maybe a hundred feet between each of us?”
“Yeah,” Mullins said. “Depending on the woods, we might be able to see who’s next to us. That way, we can signal, if we have to, instead of use the mics.”
“Okay. Keep the noise down. Careful where you walk. When we get within fifty feet of the tree line, everyone stops and gets low, stays hidden but puts on binoculars. Look for the entrance to a cave. For any signs that someone is in the area. I don’t think Gerard is stupid enough to leave anything out in the open, but we can hope.”
Almost in unison, the four of us moved forward and fanned out. I couldn’t see Mullins on the far left, but had eyes on Max closer on my near left, and Conroy just visible through the trees on my right. As we climbed higher, we became increasingly careful, tried not to step on branches, anything that would make a noise, but we couldn’t hide the crunch of our feet on the dry grasses. When I saw bright sunlight ahead, the trees thinning out and the mountainside becoming clear in front of us, I knew we were close. By then, I’d lost sight of the others.
“Slow and easy,” I whispered into the radio. “Anyone see anything?”
“Not yet,” Max said, and then the others repeated his news.
I searched through my binoculars and saw nothing that resembled a cave. I worried that by basing everything on Sadie’s diary, I’d led us astray. That we were wasting our time, while Gerard had his hostages acres away in a cave we’d never find.
