CHAPTER 12
Wyatt blewout a breath as he considered his answer to Kori’s question.
“We ran the phone number through the system—the number that text to your sister came from,” he finally said. “It’s just as I thought—it was a burner phone.”
A frown tugged at her lips. “What about the symbol on that man’s jacket?”
“I made some calls last night and did some research. No one recognized it.” He paused. “That doesn’t mean it won’t help us. It just means nobody I called has seen it before.”
“Okay, let’s talk about something practical then,” she said. “The trail. Twelve inches of new snow. What does that do to a search?”
“The snow will make it harder to hike, that’s for sure. It will cover the trail, making it harder to see where to go.”
“So how will we stay on the trail?”
“Thankfully, I know the route pretty well. And if all else fails, we use our compass and some common sense.”
“Got it.”
“We’ll need to watch out for some things. The snow can cover hazards like fallen rocks and trees. Snow can even cover a creekand create hidden drop-offs beneath the surface. I’ll need you to stay behind me and try to step where I step.”
“I can do that.”
He slowed for the turn onto the forest road and switched on his four-wheel drive. Making it up this road would be tricky, but it was possible.
“The snow also means if Mackenzie—or anyone else out there—made any recent movements, we might be able to track their steps,” he continued. “New snow shows disturbance.”
“Makes sense.”
He drove the next several minutes explaining how things would work. Who would be with them. What she should expect.
The forest road climbed steadily, dark tree trunks crowding both sides. His headlights cut a pale tunnel through the dark.
Finally, the trailhead parking lot appeared in the headlights.
A truck belonging to Jake Mercer, the other SAR ranger, was already there, his bloodhound, Moses, visible through the rear window.
One other vehicle was in the lot—a small SUV mostly covered with snow.
Kori went still beside him.
Wyatt knew who that vehicle belonged to—Mackenzie.
So she had been here.
What would they find inside?
Kori recognized the SUV the moment Wyatt pulled into the lot. Though snow covered part of it, the trees overhead had protected some of the vehicle.
Kori could see the faded Virginia Tech sticker in the corner of the back window. The dent above the rear wheel well froma fender bender four years ago during a trip to the amusement park Busch Gardens when someone rear-ended Mackenzie in the parking lot.
As soon as Wyatt put his truck in Park, Kori climbed from the vehicle and crossed the lot without a word.
She paused at the driver’s side of the Forester and brushed snow from the window with her sleeve. Cupping her eyes, she looked through the glass at the small artificial succulent hanging from the rearview mirror.
Regret and grief panged inside her. This was definitely Mackenzie’s. She hadn’t gotten back to the trailhead and gone somewhere else. She’d left her vehicle here when she started her hike, and now she was gone.
Kori turned back toward Wyatt, not bothering to hide the emotion on her face. “This proves Mackenzie was here.”
