Page 43 of Fallen Creed

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This time it took Maggie over an hour to drive the twenty-five miles back to Grand Island. She seriously thought about finding a hotel in Hastings to avoid the return trip, but she was anxious to get back to some normalcy, a hotel room with her meager travel items. And she found herself eager for the companionship of Pakula and Lucy Coy. The three of them were the only out-of-town team members who wouldn’t be able to be home with their families.

Though the snow had let up, the wind had not. Traffic had been a crawl in a swirl of white, interrupted only by the red taillights to follow.

With dusk came a new dread. Branches heavy with snow and ice began to break, taking electrical lines down with them. By the time Maggie pulled onto the last street, she released a huge sigh of relief to find the surrounding businesses and her hotel with the lights still on.

She waited patiently as two pickups with front blades pushed snow across the hotel’s parking lot and entrance. They were remarkably fast and efficient, shoving and adding to an already tall ridge at the end of the lot. The wind continued to blow and drift snow back over their fresh paths.

Maggie barely parked and her phone began ringing.

Please let it be Ryder.

Her stomach flipped as soon as she saw the caller I.D. It was Hannah Washington, Ryder’s business partner. The exhaustion of the day threatened to dismantle Maggie’s resolve. How in the world could she explain Ryder’s disappearance? Then it occurred to her. Maybe Hannah had heard from him.

“Hey Hannah.”

“I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time. It looks like y’all are in the middle of a blizzard.”

“It’s a lot of snow in October.”

“Is Rye there with you? He hasn’t been answering his phone.”

“Actually, I’ve been trying to get ahold of him, too”

“I hope he and Grace aren’t still out looking for that poor young woman.”

Maggie leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. Her nerves felt like they were tangled together in a knot between her shoulder blades.

“Maggie?”

“I’m sorry, Hannah.” She swallowed hard. She didn’t know what else to say.

“You don’t know where they are, do you?”

“I’ve been leaving messages for him all day. His phone battery may have died. You know Ryder better than anyone, Hannah. He must be taking shelter somewhere. He has to be.” She bit her lower lip before she added all the other possibilities her FBI profiler mind could imagine. “He has to be, right?”

“When I talked to him late this morning, he told me they were going to search a little more then head back.”

“Did he mention where he was or if he was having any problems? With his phone? The snow? Getting lost?”

“Rye getting lost? I can’t imagine that. He did say they were getting ready to cross the river. I remember that.”

“The river?”

“I asked how they were going to cross the river in the middle of a snowstorm. He said there was an old bridge.”

Maggie tried to conjure up an image of the Spencers’ property. There were cornfields and woods, but she couldn’t remember seeing a river or going over a bridge.

“Maggie?”

Hannah’s voice had taken on a solemn tone that Maggie hadn’t heard before.

“Rye wouldn’t appreciate me telling you this, but under the circumstances...”

“What is it, Hannah?”

“Last June, the incident in Blackwater River State Forest. I know you didn’t see him much over the rest of the summer.”