Denny touched one finger to his bruised eye. “I had too much to drink at a client dinner and tripped and fell. It doesn’t have anything to do with Jackson.” He leaned forward, fingers gripping the back of a chair. “We’re always security conscious. We have a good alarm system at home, and I’ve taught Jackson not to talk to strangers or to go with anyone he doesn’t know. I don’t understand how this happened.”
“Do you have cameras around your house?” the sheriff asked.
“Yes. More than one.”
“We’re going to want to see all the footage, as far back as you’ve got. The person or persons responsible for Jackson’s kidnapping may have been watching you for a while now.”
Endicott straightened. “I thought he was safe here at the resort,” he said.
“We’ve turned over all our surveillance camera footage to the sheriff’s department as well,” Doug said. “We’re also gathering data on every skier whose ticket was scanned yesterday. Something like this never should have happened.”
“We’ve asked for assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation as well,” the sheriff said. “We’re putting as much manpower as possible on this.”
Endicott turned away from them. For the first time, he noticed Lily and Scott on the sofa. “You two were out searching last night, right?” he asked.
Lily took off the knit cap she had been wearing and stood. “Hi, Denny, it’s me, Lily Alton.”
“Oh, Lily. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.” He swiped a hand over his face. “I’m operating on not much sleep.”
“It’s okay,” she said. His normally full and open face looked thin and drawn, deep lines on either side of his mouth.
Scott rose and came to stand beside her. “We were out searching for Jackson last night,” he said. “We followed ski tracks we thought might be his for a long way. He was by himself, and then he wasn’t.”
“Where did the second set of ski tracks meet up with him?” Doug asked. He walked to a color map of the resort and the surrounding national forest that took up much of one wall of the office.
Scott and Lily moved to the map, along with the sheriff and Endicott. “Right at this second clump of woods.” Scott indicated the spot on the map.
“We found a camp,” Lily said. “Where two people spent the night. There was a fire and a shelter.”
“Where was this camp?” the sheriff asked.
Scott and Lily studied the map. “About here, do you think?” Lily pointed to a location, and looked to Scott for confirmation.
“Yes, I think that’s right.” Scott moved his finger a few inches south and west of the spot she indicated. “We spent the night somewhere in here, I think.”
“You’re sure the camp was recently occupied?” Doug asked.
“Positive,” Scott said. “The fire was still smoking.”
“There was a shelter there, made of branches and a tarp,” Lily said. “I’m sure someone spent the night before last there.”
“There were two indentations in the shelter, like two people slept there,” Scott said.
“Jackson and the kidnapper,” Denny said.
“We don’t know that for sure,” the sheriff said.
“But who else would be out there in a snowstorm?” Denny asked.
“We followed the tracks as far as we could,” Scott said. “Until the snow obliterated them.”
“What’s out there?” Denny asked. “Where would they be headed?”
“That’s all designated wilderness,” Doug said. “There aren’t any roads.” He frowned at the map. “The kidnapper might have arranged for a helicopter to pick them up, but we’re not aware of any flights into the area except our own helicopter.”
“We’ll follow up on that,” the sheriff said.
“Someone could have picked them up in a snowmobile,” Denny said.
