“I’m going after him.”
He opened the French door, vaulted over the railing of the small balcony, and raced in the direction he’d seen the man vanish. The tracks led him only so far and then were gone, lost in the undergrowth of the wooded area.
He stopped and blew out a frustrated breath that fogged the air in front of him. With one last glance around, he aimed his steps back toward the cabin. Maya was standing on the porch holding a lamp. He raised a brow and she flushed. “It was this or a frying pan. This was heavier.”
He chuckled, then sobered. “Well, you won’t need it. He got away.” He took the lamp from her and hefted it. She was right. Itwasheavy.
She led him back inside, and he put the lamp where it belonged, then shut and locked her bathroom window. When he rejoined her in the main area, she’d pulled two bottles of water from her refrigerator and passed him one. “How did he get in? That’s what I want to know.”
“I can think of a few ways,” he said. “But with the door not being tampered with, I’m wondering if he swiped a housekeeping key card.”
“Management should be able to check the doors and see if someone entered and who the key belonged to.”
“What do you think he was looking for?”
“I have no idea. I don’t have any jewelry worth stealing here.” Her eyes widened. “My laptop.”
“Where is it?”
“In the safe.” She hurried to the bedroom closet, punched the code in, and opened it. A relieved sigh slipped from her. “It’s here.” She pulled it and a stack of papers from the interior and shuffled through them. “Everything looks like it’s in order. I don’t think he got in the safe.”
“You have something on the laptop someone wants?”
“Not that I can think of.” She frowned. “But it’s a high-dollar laptop, and if someone saw me with it in the lodge, they could have decided to snatch it.” She glanced at him. “I took it down there for a few hours after I arrived to work near the fireplace. It’s the only thing of value that I have.” She held up the papers. “These are just plans for the ranch. Notes and whatnot.”
“Did you notice anyone paying undue attention to it—or you?”
“No, but I was pretty focused on what I was doing.” She returned it and the papers to the safe. “I guess I’d better go let security know. Maybe they have some cameras set up and can figure out who broke in.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Gideon led the way out of the cabin and back down the hill, keeping an eye on the surroundings. The guy may have disappeared into the woods, but that didn’t mean he was gone.
The lodge patio was a beehive of activity, the resort’s snow-packed entrance far enough away to allow the pretense that vacation was still a go. However, the evidence of the avalanche on the other side of the advanced ski run was in plain view, and glances kept going to it, accompanied by the question of how long it was going to take for someone to realize they needed help and dig them out.
Gideon wondered that himself. The firepit was huge, with picnic table seating around it, the flames warm and welcoming. Hewouldn’t mind sitting there and having a conversation with Maya once they were finished with the report. They walked up the steps and he held the door for her. She entered the main lobby of the lodge, with Gideon right behind her. They made their way to the registration desk.
“Dr. Sullivan,” the woman said. “How can I help you?”
“Hello, Sydney,” Maya said, her voice low. “I need to report a break-in in my cabin.”
The young woman’s eyes went wide before she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, did you say break-in?”
“Yes. Someone was in my cabin and slipped out the bathroom window. He ran into the trees behind the unit.”
“Um, wow. I’ve never heard of that happening here. Let me get one of the teens to find security and they can take your report.”
Maya nodded and looked at Gideon. “I’m going to get a pretzel or something and sit by the fire.”
“You’re hungry?”
“After that breakfast we had? No. I just stress eat sometimes.” She shrugged. “This situation seems to call for a cinnamon-sugar pretzel.”
“Okay then, you sit. I’ll get you a pretzel.”
She smiled and his heart tightened into a hard knot of ... something. Just like it used to do when they were teens. Seems there were some things one didn’t outgrow. He ignored the sensation and looked at Sydney. “We’ll be outside on the terrace. Can you ask them to meet us there?”
“Of course.”
