on Shadow Ridge. I’m looking at how human activity might affect that.” She continued to share details about her job. He liked the way she became so animated when she talked.
They continued to visit until most of the patrons had left the café. A silence fell between them.
Jude cleared his throat. “Are you okay with telling me what the man who shot at me looked like?” Though he didn’t like making her revisit the attack, he needed to know if he was to find him.
Lacey stared at the table. “Yes, I can do that. Broad shoulders, built like a wrestler but older, gray-and-white hair, a beard. The expression on his face was...such rage.” She shuddered.
He leaned toward her and patted her shoulder. “I still can’t thank you enough for getting me out of there.”
She nodded before glancing around the nearly empty café. “Looks like we closed the place down. I suppose we should get going. There is only one hotel in town.”
When they stepped outside, it was pitch-dark. The wind had picked up, creating little tornadoes of snow swirling down the street. Jude buttoned his coat up against the cold. “I really want to have a look around this town. If that guy did follow us down the mountain, he probably hid his car, but I could knock on a few doors with some kind of story. Maybe check some backyards. If there is only one hotel, I doubt he’d stay there.”
“I don’t think you would get very far in the dark and cold.”
A gust of wind hit him. His eyes stung from the intensity of the cold. He could only see a few feet in front of him. His jaw clenched in frustration. “Okay maybe you’re right. So, what is this hotel?”
“It’s called the Davenport Hotel,” she said.
“Guess I should stay there too.” More than anything, he wanted to get back to tracking his suspect. Things were more complicated now that the suspect knew he’d been made and could be identified. He feared for the little girl’s safety. If she was being held in one of the houses on that mountain road, would the man just leave her there to come into town after him and probably Lacey?
Several snowmobiles putted by, their headlights cutting through the blackness. Leaning into the wind, Lacey and Jude crossed the street and entered the hotel.
An old man slept in an overstuffed chair in the lobby. “That’s Ray. He’s the manager. Rather than wake him, I think we can just grab a key and leave him a note that you’ve got a room,” she said. “You can pay him later or just leave the money in an envelope by the note. It’s fifty dollars a night.”
“Okay, if that is how it’s done.” The informality of the place only added to its charm. Jude pulled some money out of his wallet while Lacey found an envelope and paper to write on.
A wide sweeping staircase with an ornately carved bannister filled up most of the lobby. Though everything looked dusty, there was still a yesteryear elegance to the place. A huge mural of forest and wildlife, with a train puffing through it, took up one wall. Faded by time, it was nevertheless impressive. The trim on the ceiling looked like it had been carved by hand. The red carpet and matching velvet curtains indicated this had been quite the classy joint at one time.
Lacey walked behind the counter and grabbed a key. “You can have room ten right next to me. I’m in twelve. Some of the rooms aren’t used anymore, but I know that one is.”
They walked up the stairs together. Though frustration over being stranded made his jaw ache, meeting Lacey had been a nice reprieve. Lacey went back and forth between warmth and seeming guarded. Still, having dinner with her had been fun. Fun was not a word that was in his vocabulary much anymore...not for ten years.
She turned to face him. “Ray told me earlier today that two hunters checked in to the hotel this morning. Other than that, it’s just us.”
He touched a bannister, which was dusty. The whole place was probably not up to code. “They’re probably glad to have your business.”
“They gave me a deal since I’m going to be here a while doing research.” She turned her key in the door. “Well, good night.” She entered her room and closed the door behind her.
Jude sat down in his room. Though everything looked dated, it was very clean. He opened the bedside drawer and pulled his handgun out of the shoulder holster. He stared out the window as the snow fell with increasing volume and velocity. He didn’t need to form any attachment to Lacey however temporary. He was here to find a kidnapped eight-year-old girl who was the daughter to millionaire George Ignatius.
Before becoming a private eye, Jude had been a police officer. He’d used his contacts in the department to get a trace of the vehicle that had abducted eight-year-old Maria. The home across the street from where she’d been kidnapped had a camera to record who came to the front door. Jude had isolated the time of the abduction on the recordings. The vehicle that took the little girl appeared in the background.
That trace on the vehicle had led him here. And now he couldn’t do anything. From where he sat on the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees and his hands on the sides of his head. The rising frustration tied his stomach in knots.
This whole investigation might have gone sideways. His phone still wasn’t getting a signal. If there was a landline, it probably wasn’t working either. He couldn’t call George. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to that little girl.
Again, he opened the drawer where he’d put his handgun. He hadn’t noticed the Bible there before. Standard-issue even for this hotel. Not that he would ever open that book again. Not only did not being able to prevent the murder-suicide sideline his career, it stole his faith. He didn’t know what he believed in anymore. That frantic prayer on the mountain when Lacey had shown up was the first time he’d prayed in ten years. And God had answered.
Jude lay down on top of the covers, staring at the copper ceiling, waiting for sleep to come.
He rubbed his chest where it felt tight. Though the kidnapper had not yet made a ransom demand, the clock was ticking for little Maria. A day ago the kidnapper had contacted George to let him know Maria was alive.
This storm moving in would delay his chance to search the residences that were on that mountain road. Even as the wind rattled the window, he could feel his chest tighten. He had to bring the girl home safe. In a way, he felt like his own life depended on that.
With the storm picking up intensity outside, Jude closed his eyes and willed himself to go to sleep. His last thought was of the auburn-haired Lacey. She was a hard woman to read, but she intrigued him. What was her story?
The heaviness of sleep invaded his muscles and he felt himself drifting off. He awoke to the sound of a woman screaming. Lacey was in trouble!
Lacey screamed when she awoke in total darkness, sensing that someone else was in her room. A footstep thudded in the darkness moving toward her.
Heart pounding, she fumbled for the bedside light. It didn’t click on. The storm must have taken out the electricity. Her flashlight was in her backpack across the room. The curtains were pulled tight. She couldn’t see anything. The darkness and being awakened from a deep sleep left her disoriented.
She could hear someone moving around the room.
“Who’s there?” She cleared her throat, trying not to give away her fear in her voice. “What are you doing in my room?”
She swung around and let her feet fall on the carpet. What obstacles lay between her and that flashlight? She couldn’t remember. She took two steps before she hit a piece of furniture.
A body brushed up against her. Terror paralyzed her in her tracks. She could sense someone moving very close to her. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears.
Hands wrapped around