Valerie reached for her sister’s hand and quoted Guy. “And this guy can’t be carrying a kiddie toilet around with him. Can he?”

  May drew a ragged breath. “I guess not. But Lizzie won’t like it. She’s so proud of having grown-up panties. Oh, God, she must be so scared! Hating it all. Wondering where I am and why I don’t come for her!”

  There was no way to dispute that. And no way to evade the likelihood that once they got Lizzie back she was going to be scarred. Maybe for life.

  Valerie shoved that aside. Years of counseling might be ahead for Lizzie but all that mattered right now was getting her back healthy and safe. The only thing that mattered.

  Molly spoke. “May, wherever Lizzie is right now, she knows you love her. She hasn’t forgotten that.”

  “But she must be wondering.” May dropped her head. “I can’t take this anymore. Lizzie probably can’t either.”

  Molly answered. “Children are a whole lot more adaptable than adults. More accepting of the way things are. You’re probably having a far worse time than she is.”

  Valerie looked at Molly, thinking the pastor couldn’t possibly know that, even if it sounded likely given that the kidnapper was taking care of Lizzie well enough to have provided and changed diapers.

  But they were apparently the right words for May. She lifted her head. “I hope so. Oh, God, I hope so.”

  * * *

  GUY ARRIVED A short time later, looking like a man who was pushing past the limits of fatigue. His voice, though, was as strong as ever.

  “A new search party is gathering,” he told them. “We’re going to have a hundred people or more with horses and ATVs arriving soon, along with a bunch of experienced hikers. And Connie Parish is taking the warrant and a team to the hospital. Administration will begin searching records.”

  “Oh, thank God,” May whispered.

  Guy turned to Valerie. “Want to come to the staging area with me, or would you rather join the team at the hospital?”

  Valerie didn’t hesitate. “I’ll go to the staging area.”

  * * *

  OF COURSE SHE’D come to the staging area. There’d be more action out there and she couldn’t bear the thought of shuffling through mounds of paper, looking for a needle in a haystack. Even though that was often a part of her job, it was a part she didn’t want to do just then.

  Lizzie was out there. If she took Gray Cloud at his word, as Guy apparently had, then east was the best place to look. Guy was right about the paper search, too. The kidnapper was hiding and a name wouldn’t help them much. They still had to find him and Lizzie.

  The ibuprofen had begun working and she carried a small bottle of it with her. In case she needed to move quickly, she couldn’t afford to be hampered by aching muscles. Although if adrenaline kicked in for some reason, she’d move anyway. And fast.

  The staging area took her breath away. It was already a jumble of horses and riders, ATVs and backpackers, all apparently waiting for directions. It wasn’t long before Guy had the terrain maps laid out on a long folding table, and with men and women around, separated by means of transport, he began pointing out the directions he wanted them to take.

  Valerie got the feeling that these searchers knew the area well enough to simply nod when Guy told them where he wanted them to head.

  Valerie turned around slowly, surveying the land she could see. Here the rolling hills that filled most of the county had grown much steeper as they butted up against the mountain. Still full of woods. Ravines and gullies sliced through them. The seemingly gentle roll of the land was deceptive only because the slope of the mountain itself looked so much more treacherous.

  As groups of searchers began to spread out, the police K-9s arrived along with Kell and his dog Bradley. Only a few dogs when all was said and done, probably because the sheriff couldn’t afford to have very many. K-9s were expensive.

  No, not very many K-9s, but each would be an important help. The dogs were assigned to mounted groups, which might easily miss something. Their handlers mounted and went with them.

  But the ATVs went alone, something that worried Valerie. If they moved too fast, they could easily miss something. Then there were the hikers. How much terrain could they cover?

  Still, the group was impressive in its size, and Valerie tamped down her worries. She was impressed that so many had turned out to help, taking themselves away from other duties and pursuits. All of them set out for rough terrain, places where a child or an ATV could be hidden.

  Except that Lizzie was so tiny. And what if the kidnapper had abandoned his vehicle?

  It didn’t bear thinking about.

  Coffee urns had been set up, plugged into the generators, and mounds of dried foods had diminished as the searchers stuffed them into their saddlebags, backpacks and ATV compartments. Then Valerie watched as they disappear over hills and into woods.

  So many of them. She still felt a sense of disbelief. And she desperately wished she was physically capable of going with them.

  Then Guy nudged her. “Look.”

  A new group of at least a dozen mounted men approached, among them Jimmy Two Hands and Gray Cloud. Gray Cloud drew rein in front of Guy. “We’re not the only ones among us who are searching. Where do you most need this group?”

  Guy looked up at him. “Where are the others?”

  “We’ve been combing the reservation since yesterday morning. Dozens of us. But this team? Where would we be most useful according to your plans?”

  Gray Cloud needed only the quickest look at the map and where Guy pointed. With a nod he heeled his horse. With him, fifteen men rode away.

  “I can’t believe...” Valerie started to say, then sank onto a folding chair.

  “What? That so many people give a damn about what happens to a small child they don’t even know?”

  She shook her head. She didn’t know how to explain her incredulity. It was amazing. Overwhelming. Something she had never expected to see and would probably never see again.

  Guy disappeared into the operations trailer while Val remained outside. It was a beautiful morning, crisp, clear, perfect. An army had just headed out in nearly every direction to seek Lizzie. An army of volunteers.

  The only reason she was sitting here rather than going out with one of the groups was that she’d killed herself riding yesterday. She couldn’t mount a horse yet. She doubted she’d do more on an ATV than hang on and groan. As for hiking...well, she was still limping.

  Maybe she should have gone to the hospital after all. Reading through patient records would be more useful than where she was now. She hated the feeling of uselessness.

  Guy eventually returned and sat in a folding chair beside her. “How are you holding up?”

  “Angry that I got so saddle-sore yesterday that I’m no help today.”

  He shook his head a bit, adjusting his tan uniform Stetson on his head. “There are plenty of people out there. You wouldn’t be able to add a thing. Anyway, the cordon is starting to narrow. Nothing yet.”

  Valerie wasn’t surprised. She would have expected him to burst out of that trailer if there’d been any news to share with her.

  “If they don’t find her...” She let the words trail away. They were obvious.

  “Connie says they’ve managed to get a few names out of staff members and their files are being examined.”

  Valerie sighed. “Like you said, how much good will that do?”

  “Depends,” was all he answered.

  Eventually she said, “I’m sorry I doubted that Gray Cloud could understand the thunder.”

  He turned his head, looking at her. “What brought that on?”

  “A story Pastor Molly shared with me. Maybe more importantly, something she said along with it.”

  His gaze grew more intense, those dark eyes pinning her. “Which was?”

  “She believes the wind whispers and the trees creak, and those with ears to hear understand. Like you said.”

  “Anything else?”

  This seemed important to him and she understood why. She had doubted his cultural beliefs and now he wanted recognition from someone outside it. “She said it’s all God’s creation and asked who are we to limit the Almighty?”

  Guy nodded and returned his attention to the forest that reached up above him. She noticed for the first time that the evergreens cradled hardwood trees that were just beginning to burst with spring life.

  “Life,” she said, her mind wandering as it noted the trees, “is both important and precious. All of it.”

  “But right now Lizzie is the most important of all.”

  Tears pricked her eyes but she didn’t give in to them. “I can’t thank you enough, Guy. I really can’t.”

  “No need. Look at all the people who are trying to help. Every one of us wants to find that little girl.”

  “I see that.” Her heart nearly burst in a way very different than from grief and fear and anguish. “I don’t think I’ve ever been filled with so many conflicting emotions.”

  “You’re on one hell of a roller coaster ride.”

  He offered a hand and Valerie took it, nearly clinging to the comfort of his touch, feeling less alone, less tossed on a stormy sea.

  Guy glanced at her repeatedly from the corner of his eyes. She was nearing something, he thought. Nearing a breakdown? Or something else? All he knew was that he was worried about her. The rapids they rode in this river could crush her. No amount of experience and training could overcome how personal all of this was to her.

  He squeezed her hand gently but didn’t let go. If she needed a rock to cling to right now, he would be that rock for her. Whatever it took.

  “Lizzie’s safe,” he said presently.

  “I haven’t heard the thunder.”

  He eyed her sharply. “I just know it, Val. I feel it. Whatever is going on, this man doesn’t want to hurt her. Those diapers prove it, but you don’t need me to tell you that.”

  “No,” she agreed quietly. Once again Guy was right.

  “So she’s safe,” he said. “Alive and well, although she’s probably not happy right now. She’s being sheltered by a sick mind but sheltered regardless.”

  The wind quickened suddenly and she looked up for the first time. “Oh, God.”

  Guy followed her gaze. “A storm. A freaking storm.” Overhead, gray clouds roiled, coming nearer.

  “That’ll end the search.”

  “I doubt it. I seriously doubt it. Those folks out there are determined.”

  This time she could only hope he was right. “How are the searchers being tracked? Or are they?”

  “In this part of the world, satellite phones are common. We’re tracking them.”

  She nodded, hanging on to the reassurance. What else did she have?

  Thunder rolled down the mountain and he heard her catch her breath. Rain couldn’t be far behind and would chill the kidnapper and his precious burden if they had no shelter.

  “God,” Val said. “Can it get any worse?”

  It could. Guy knew that and was sure she did as well.

  He stared up into the boiling clouds and wondered if Gray Cloud heard anything this time. He hoped so.

  * * *

  A COUPLE MORE hours passed fruitlessly. Then Guy’s radio crackled. It was Connie.

  “We’ve got a dozen names, Guy,” she said. “I’m sending people out to question them now.”

  “Read me the names,” he said to her, and listened to the list.

  Then she said, “Margolis. Phillip and Etta Margolis.”

  Guy rose instantly to his feet. “The Margolis place is closer to us than to you, Connie. I’m heading that way.”

  The rain began to fall, just gently. It was going to get worse.

  As if summoned, Gray Cloud and his pinto emerged from the growing mist of rain. Guy waited impatiently for the elder to draw close.

  Sitting straight in his saddle, Gray Cloud pointed. “That way. One of us found the ATV in a ditch hidden beneath tumbleweed. The girl is alive.” He slid from his saddle and approached the maps that were still laid out on the table. He bent over them, studying them, then pointed to a spot with his index finger. “Here.” Then he mounted again and headed in that direction, off the rez into a world more hostile to him.

  Guy’s heart sank. That wasn’t in the direction of the Margolis place. Gray Cloud had indicated ranch land, wide-open spaces of brush and greening grasses.

  For once he chose to ignore Gray Cloud. He poked his head into the ops van and said, “I’m going to be away from the staging area for a while. Radio me.” Without another word, Valerie in tow, he headed for his Suburban.

  They had to start somewhere and the mention of the Margolises might be the only concrete information they could get.

  He knew exactly where the Margolis couple lived. In the past he’d been called out there several times for domestic disturbances. Phillip Margolis was a slimeball.

  * * *

  ETTA MARGOLIS SAT at her kitchen table, a cold cup of hot chocolate in front of her. She didn’t want to walk to the mailbox, fearing another note from Phillip. Instead she used the growing storm as her excuse. When rain started to fall, her excuse became a good reason.

  She had long since grown to distrust her ex-husband. Over the years she had learned that he was willing to lie and cheat, and that he could become violent, oftentimes with little reason that she could tell.

  She was well rid of him. She never wanted to see or hear from him again.

  But those notes niggled at her. What the hell was Phillip up to now? And how did it involve her?

  That stuff about having found a kid for them increasingly bothered her. Surely he hadn’t done something wrong. Not something like that. Beating her, throwing things, cussing, conning, stealing when he could, justifying every horrendous thing he did? Yeah, that was Phillip.

  But she still believed there had to be some things he wasn’t capable of.

  They had already lost one baby. Etta didn’t want another.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Guy and Valerie reached the end of the forest service dirt road and turned onto a county road that was in little better condition. County funds had managed to pave a lot of outlying roads, but maintaining them was expensive, too. Guy had to steer around a lot of potholes, the result of winter, slowing the trip more than he would have liked.

  Valerie spoke as they jolted along. “What’s with the Margolises? Why did you jump into high gear when you heard the name? It’s not just that it’s closer for you to reach, is it?”

  He gave a slight shake of his head as they rose over another sharp bump. “I know that couple in all the wrong ways. Too many calls for domestics.”

  “Hell,” Val said quietly. “So they’re dangerous?”

  “In this way? I don’t know. I’m sure it’s not Etta, but her husband, Phillip? I’m not as sure about him.” He paused, steering them around a pothole. “That man is violent and it doesn’t take much to set him off, near as I can tell. Full of rage.”

  Valerie didn’t speak, but a glance at her told him she had paled.

  “Listen,” he said, “this is probably a wild-goose chase, but I can get there faster than anyone else. Keep in mind that whoever has Lizzie is taking care of her. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I just want to clear the plate of this one item. That’s it.”

  “I understand. And then?”

  “Then we’ll see.”

  * * *

  VALERIE STARED OUT the Suburban’s window at the countryside that jolted by. They were leaving behind the location where the search was ongoing, and driving away from the area that Gray Cloud had indicated. Had the kidnapper really moved again? Now Gray Cloud and his team had found the ATV. Why was Guy ignoring that?

  Was she clinging to the thinnest of straws, a man who heard thunder speak and said Lizzie was alive?

  She turned her head to look at Guy. His strong face had settled into lines of stone. He was holding himself in tightly.

  Guy was a cop, she thought. Following the most important hard evidence rather than his elder. She judged the tug between two worlds must be hard for him, but he still chose the path of a true investigator.

  The gentle rain was falling here, too, enough of it to make Guy lean forward to see obstacles in the road. She heard another roll of thunder and wondered almost wildly if that would change the direction of the search again. She felt as if she were becoming untethered from reality and tried to convince herself it was just stress and lack of sleep.

  Then she looked again at the man beside her and realized that Guy was firmly tethered to reality, even if they were two slightly different realities. She gazed at him, envying his strength. He straddled such a fine line while remaining steady. Steadfast.

  She wondered what she would have done without him.

  The wipers continued to thwap and the rain grew heavier. Lizzie was out there somewhere. In the cold and wet. She could only hope the SOB had her inside and protected.

  When she saw a few flakes of snow begin to drift down, she nearly wanted to scream. Did it have to keep getting worse?

  “Not much farther,” Guy said almost abruptly.

  He seemed to be getting angry.

  “Do you think Lizzie will be there?”

  “I don’t know. I’d like to think Etta would have acted if Phillip had showed up with a kid. But I don’t know for sure. He damn near killed her a couple of times.”

  Val knew such situations intimately. “She’d be terrified.”

  “She’s lived terrified. Never could get her to press charges, though. I tried. Kerri Canady tried. It seemed all she wanted was to put an end to the abuse, temporarily anyway. But fear still held her prisoner.”