“So what’s next?” Max asked.
Sheriff Sutherland glanced at the back of the property. “I want a second set of eyes on this place. My other deputies are wrapped up with a hunting accident on the other side of town. Let’s check the yard for any clues about where they might have gone.”
Max nodded. “Got it.”
They paced around the perimeter of the cabin. Max’s gaze swept the ground as they walked, and he was careful where he stepped.
The back of the property opened into a small clearing. He paced it, searching for anything that might tell the story of what happened here.
A few minutes later, something toward the back of the property caught his eye. “Sheriff Sutherland.”
The sheriff turned. “What is it?”
Max pointed toward the ground near the edge of the clearing. “Back here.”
Sheriff Sutherland stepped up beside him, and they both stared at the ground.
Two sets of tire tracks cut through the snow.
One was deeper, clearer—recent.
The second set crossed it at an angle. These tracks were fainter and partially covered.
Sheriff Sutherland crouched, studying them without touching.
“This one—” he nodded toward the deeper tracks “—matches what we pulled from the first cabin. Same width and tread pattern.”
Max’s spine straightened. “It’s probably from Kenny’s truck.”
“Exactly.” Sheriff Sutherland studied the second set. “But this one . . . I have no idea.”
Max followed his gaze.
The second set didn’t match the first.
It had a different tread and spacing.
If these tracks didn’t belong to Kenny, then who?
His jaw tightened as an unwelcome thought formed. “What if Kenny’s not doing this alone?”
He hadn’t even considered that possibility.
Sheriff Sutherland didn’t answer right away. He stared down at the tracks instead.
If Kenny had help, that would explain so much.
How he’d stayed ahead of them. How he kept moving before they could find him. How law enforcement kept missing him.
Max straightened and glanced toward the forest.
Lyndee was somewhere out there, and she was in danger.
They had to find her.
The rest of Hadley’s day passed in a blur.
Appointments kept coming. Not as many as she’d normally expect, but enough to keep her moving from one exam room to the next without much pause.
