Down and Dirty(49)

He relayed that to Galen who, to his credit, didn’t ask why he was with Cat so early in the morning. “They have five guys from the precinct there now,” Galen said, “but the rest of the volunteers are neighbors and family, so I know they’ll appreciate your expertise.”

He gave Shane the address and they disconnected. By the time he got his socks and shoes on, Cat was coming out of the bathroom fully dressed.

“Make sure you put on snow boots.”

“What about you?” she asked, peering down at the dress shoes he’d worn for his date the night before.

“No time. I’ll be fine.”

She looked like she wanted to argue but then nodded. “Let’s go.”

The twenty-minute ride felt like an eternity, and in spite of her efforts to fill the heavy silence, he could feel the rising tension between them. He wished he knew why, or how to stop it, but right now, every ounce of his energy needed to be focused on Grace Abbott. Gracie, Galen had called her.

Gracie, whom they would find alive and well.

“It’s this left,” Cat said, pointing to a narrow, snow-covered road marked Pawtuck 7-15.

He made the turn and pulled up to the small house where a dozen people stood in a half-circle around Rafe, who was handing out sheets of paper.

He and Cat exited the car and approached the group.

“Thanks for coming, guys, much appreciated.” Rafe gestured for Shane to stand next to him, and Cat moved to line up with the other civilian volunteers.

Shane scanned the group, taking in the expectant faces pinched with worry. His old friend continued in an authoritative, steady tone. “This is Shane Decker. Shane is a specialist and has traveled all over the world developing search-and-rescue procedures for government and private organizations alike, as well as spearheading rescues for countless global disasters. We’re very lucky to have him here today to help us find little Gracie.”

He turned to Shane and handed him a map. “We have one group out now—ten people including the parents—with our field officers, and a three-man crew of park rangers from the fish and game department. They’re focusing on the perimeter of the lake.”

The group was dressed appropriately, thank God, and seemed highly motivated and ready to listen. He took a long look at the map before addressing them.

“That’s a good start,” Shane said with a nod. “If she’s already gotten to a main road, which seems unlikely, there’s a better chance of her being found or seen. So, for now, we’re going to start with the three square miles of wooded terrain surrounding the house. If we work in ever-widening circles around the lake rather than taking a few square acres at a time, we’ll form a virtual net of eyes and ears. That way, if she’s still on the move, it will minimize the chance of her always being one section ahead of or behind us.”

The volunteers murmured and nodded.

Several officers exited the cottage, and an older woman followed to stand on the porch. Her arms were crossed over her chest tight, and her face was a mask of grief.

Rafe followed his line of sight and pursed his lips. “That’s the grandmother, Maggie Abbott. She’s not in the best of health but wanted to come and help. She’s going to stay at the house and wait in case Grace finds her way back.”

“Cat, can you go with Maggie and see if the two of you can set up a hot drink and food station for the team? It could be a while and in these temperatures, people are going to have to rest, warm up, and refuel. Maybe also see if you can dig up spare sets of gloves, hats, and scarves in case things get wet or lost?”

Cat’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded briskly and crunched through the snow toward Maggie. He watched her receding back, saying one more silent prayer for Gracie. He’d sent Cat to be with the grandmother partly for the reason he’d said, and partly because Maggie Abbott clearly needed a strong shoulder. But if he was being honest with himself, there was a far bigger reason.

He scanned the volunteers and swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. One of these people would find Gracie. He knew it as sure as he knew his own name because he wouldn’t sleep until they did. What he didn’t know was whether she would be alive or dead.

Sometimes he fucking hated this job.

“Okay, team. Here’s how we’re going to do it.”

…

Cat stared out the window while stirring the pot of hot chocolate on the stove. It had been three hours, and soon, another major storm was set to pass through. The teams had made a full pass through the woods to no avail, aside from a tiny red boot that had been found on one of the trails an hour before. Shane had doubled the number of people searching that area, but so far, they hadn’t heard any news.