Searching for Anna, Jenifer Carll-Tong [cheapest way to read ebooks TXT] 📗

It had been an unusually dry November for the Upper Peninsula, which made tracking the car even more difficult than usual. Had there been more snow this month, the ground would have been wetter, softer, making obvious tire imprints inevitable.

Trying to follow such a ghostly trail was most likely a fool's errand, Will told himself. Phoebe was safe. She had to be. She had simply made her decision - she had chosen Parker. Hadn't she? Will's misgivings about him were probably just jealousy, he knew.

But still…

Will couldn't shake the memory of the creepy feeling he'd had the first time he'd seen the way that snake looked at Phoebe. True, she hadn't argued with Parker when he'd said they had plans, but what about the plans Phoebe had made with Mary?

Phoebe never forgot her appointments, as Mary had confirmed. And why leave behind her coat and hat in this weather?

But what if she did go with him willingly? Will asked himself. What would Phoebe say to him when he finally tracked them down? She'd say he was meddling in her life, among other things, he was sure. He should just turn around and head back to town. Shouldn't he?

Will bowed his head. "Lord, I don't know up from down right now. I think I should turn around and head back. If you want me to continue, you're going to have to throw me a bone."

A cold wind blew down the tree lined road. Will flipped the collar of his coat up to cover his neck. "One more mile, then I'm giving up."

As he finished speaking, something cold and wet fell on his hand. He lifted his eyes toward heaven. Snow. A thick, heavy snow that was quickly covering what trail might have been left.

"Well, I guess that's your answer." He turned Tolly back toward town.

One more mile.

Will stopped. He had made that commitment, but that was before the snow promised to make his search even less fruitful than before. However, he had learned not to question God's still, small voice. He turned his horse again.

The wind blew hard against him, making it hard to see at times, but he pressed on. One mile wasn't much, even in a storm like this.

Then, as quickly as the giant flakes had appeared, they vanished, along with the wind, leaving a light dusting on everything. Even Tolly's mane was covered, making him look oddly camouflaged amongst the snow blanketed cedar and fir trees that flanked the road.

Will tapped his horse into a trot to cover the distance quicker since he was no longer searching for a trail. He had just about covered the promised mile when something caught his eye down the road. He pushed a little further past the mile he had planned, and there they were…tire tracks. The car must have still been traveling when the squall hit.

He followed the tracks in the snow until they turned down a narrow path in the woods. Will might have missed the turn off in the dense woods, especially with nightfall quickly approaching, had it not been for the tracks left in the fresh snow.

He had asked for a bone, and the Lord had given him the entire cow. This was no fool's errand.

Gregory Parker roughly shoved Phoebe through the door of the old, run-down cabin. The building was larger than Phoebe's own home, but the thick layer of dust on everything made it far less appealing.

"Get a fire going," Parker barked at Rogers. "It's freezing in here."

He finally released the grip that he had maintained on her arm the entire car ride from Iron Falls to this cabin in the woods. Phoebe had tried desperately to keep her eyes on the passing scenery so as to find her way home, but the cold barrel of the pistol Gregory kept shoved against her neck coupled with the dwindling daylight made it impossible to keep track of all the twists and turns the car made along the heavily wooded journey. But, if she could get away, she'd take her chances of getting lost over whatever Gregory Parker had planned for her.

She rubbed her arm where he had held her. Gregory holstered his gun back under his coat and reached for her.

"Dearest, have I hurt you?" He slid his hands gently up and down her sleeves.

Caught so off guard by his sudden change in demeanor, she found herself momentarily speechless.

"Here," he said, guiding her to the only cushioned chair in the room. "You should rest."

He dropped to one knee in front of her and leaned in, his face only inches from hers. "You know, I could have loved you," he said, his right hand coming up to play with one of the tendrils that had come loose from her bun. "I still could." His eyes grew soft as he ran his knuckles along the line of her jaw and down her neck, stopping just short of the top of her breast. "I really could, Phoebe. I could love you so much more than that constable of yours." He let his fingertips trail a little lower.

Phoebe jerked her body away from his touch and her movement broke his trance. Fury once again burned in his steel-colored eyes.

"Your choice," he said, standing up. "But I'll have you either way. I do think you would have enjoyed it much better had you been willing, but to be honest, I think I'll enjoy it better this way."

Before she could respond, his fist came down with thunder against her cheek. The blow sent her flying out of the chair as the pain of a thousand knives exploded behind her eyes. She rolled to her hands and knees in an attempt to rise but slid prostrate on the wooden planks as darkness closed in around her. As she lost consciousness, the sound of laughing men swam in the circles of her mind.

Will tied Tolly to a tree deep into the woods then crept behind the log cabin to peer through the window. Why hadn't he gone for backup before heading out? Because he thought he was acting on jealousy rather than instinct, that's why. But there wasn't time to go back now. If Phoebe truly were in trouble, time would be of the essence.

The window was filthy, but the firelight from within was enough to make out at least two men, Parker and another, standing bent over a table near the hearth. Unfortunately, the fire wasn't bright enough to illuminate the entire room. Will couldn't be certain that there weren't more men, but more concerning to him was that he couldn't see Phoebe.

He crouched down and leaned his back against the building's exterior. The blanket of snow that had led him here also covered heavy tarps flung over something piled behind the building. Carefully, Will inched his way to the piles, careful to stay out of the moonlight. He lifted one tarp corner. Crates full of bottles were stacked under the tarp.

Rum runners.

He left the window and kept low as he edged himself toward Parker's car. He quietly opened the door. Phoebe wasn't there. He saw no sign of blood, but that brought him little comfort.

He hid behind the car as he weighed his options. He could disable the vehicle, maybe by slitting the tires, then return to town for help. But what if they had Phoebe somewhere else? He would need to be able to follow them to her, so slitting the tires was out of the question, for now at least.

He could break down the door and bank on the element of surprise being in his favor, but without knowing exactly where Phoebe was, or how many men were inside, that didn't seem like a logical plan, either.

As he contemplated his options, he heard another vehicle approaching. He quickly slid back into the woods to where Tolly waited.

Through the pines, he saw a second car pull to a stop and a hulking figure step out. This man entered the cabin as well. That made three men, as far as Will could tell.

He kept low as he headed back to the window. He slid behind the second car, and as he did, he looked at the back tires. One was nearly bald. The other three were brand new.

Will's gut twisted. This was the car that had left tracks at the scene of the Richardson boy's murder. That meant that the murderer was now inside the cabin with Parker. But the only piece of information he truly cared about was the one piece of the puzzle that was still missing. Where was Phoebe?

He crept back to the window. Parker and the other man still stood over the table, but he couldn't see the third man he knew to be there. This only confirmed Will's fear; there could be any number of men hiding within the dark corners of the cabin. There was only one thing