Page 30 of Coordinates of Death

Fifty minutes later, after fighting the weather and dicey conditions, they arrived at the clearing and caught a glimpse of the small lake through the snowstorm. They reached the edge.

Aurora pointed. “There’s one ice fishing shack out there. Do you think that’s where SBK left his next clue and we have to fish for it?”

“I would hazard a guess that’s the case, but stay back. Let me test the ice first.” Kordell took off his backpack, tucking it beside a cluster of rocks. He inched his way to the lake’s edge and gingerly stepped onto the ice with his right foot, pressing down. The ice held. He added his left foot and bounced slightly, keeping himself low.

The ice didn’t move.

Kordell brought out a pocketknife from his pocket, brushed snow away, and jabbed it onto the surface, confirming Bertie’s assessment of the lake being frozen over. “It’s safe,” he called over his shoulder. “Stay low and follow me.”

“Understood.” She took off her pack and placed it with Kordell’s before heading onto the ice, gingerly making her way to him.

“Thankfully, the lake is fairly small, so the shed is close. Let’s go.” Kordell continued to test the ice as they proceeded to the structure, which they reached without incident.

A shudder snaked up Kordell’s spine. Not from the cold but from the odd feeling that someone was out there.

Watching.

Waiting.

He scanned the trees circling the lake, but nothing stood out.

Kordell turned to face Aurora head-on. “That was too easy. I don’t like it. Keep your eyes open. I know that the visibility is terrible, but I feel like we’re being watched.”

“I have the same sense, Kord. Let’s proceed with caution and see what’s inside, then get off the mountain.” She approached the door and tested the handle. “It’s locked.”

He pointed to a keypad. “Okay, this is odd for a fishing hut.”

“Definitely the work of SBK.”

Something twigged in Kordell’s mind. “The numbers on the map, one zero one one. That must be the code.”

“Let’s try it.” Aurora took off her right glove and, using her knuckle, punched in the code.

The locking mechanism clicked.

“Bingo.” Kordell eased the door open. “Wait. Any significance to those numbers? Why one zero one one?”

Aurora’s eyes widened. “I was born in October and my baby sister in November. I get how SBK could have determined my birth month, but my sister has been gone for years. How did he know that?”

“Good question.”

“This person is good at digging for information. Do you think they could be in law enforcement?” Aurora shoved her glove back on.

“Or a hacker. What Mic can do scares me, and it’s the reason I try to stay off social media.”

“Good point.”

Aurora took a step, and Kordell yanked her back. “Wait, let’s check the entrance for booby traps.” He bent low and fingered the frame, searching for trip wires but found none. He gingerly pressed onto the floor. Nothing. “Okay, we’re safe.”

“Who are you? Indiana Jones?”

He chuckled and entered the shack.

A rush of heat hit Kordell, the scent of firewood wafting in the small one-room building as trepidation ambushed him. “Someone was here recently.” He pointed to a potbellied stove in the corner, the flue stretching to the ceiling and out the roof, with a few wood logs, including kindling, stacked beside it. Matches lay on a small ledge.

“It’s like they knew we’d be here soon.” Aurora’s gaze traveled over the structure. “This place doesn’t look new. Obviously, SBK found it and commandeered it, making the shack his own.”

Two chairs draped in plaid blankets faced the fishing hole. A line fed into a pulleylike system anchored to the floor with a cooler resting to the left.