Page 106 of Fallen Creed

“Okay. But stay put. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Pakula, I’m not staying put. Meet me at the Spencers.” She hung up before he could argue. She tapped Nora’s phone number, listened to the volley of unanswered rings, then kicked at the snow when the voice messaging prompt came on.

“Nora, it’s Maggie O’Dell. Call me back. It’s urgent.”

She headed to the Jeep just as Jason looked over his shoulder and waved to her. He was ready to go. Seemed they all had the same idea.

As soon as they came around the curve and passed the last stand of trees, Maggie could see the Spencers’ property. She pointed it out, but Jason had already noticed. He’d been careful on the snow-packed roads but speeded up at the sight of the farmhouse. The Jeep fishtailed, slinging them against their seatbelts. He slowed down, maneuvered back to the middle of the road. Frustrated, he slapped the steering wheel with his mechanical hand.

“You’re doing a good job,” Brodie said without a glance.

Maggie stared at her from the backseat. She couldn’t believe how calm Brodie appeared. Back at the grave in the cornfield, Maggie expected Brodie to be upset. But true to her nature, she showed little emotion. A grimace. Her brow furrowed. The only thing she said was, “It’s not Ryder.”

Her denial sounded so certain it sparked hope in Maggie, until Maggie reminded herself that this young woman had survived for sixteen years by denying her reality. Was it only a coping mechanism?

The only vehicle parked outside of the house was a utility van. There was nothing else different. And yet, Maggie was unsnapping her holster and reaching for her weapon.

Before Jason put the Jeep in PARK, Maggie had her door open. She restrained herself from running to the house. The sunshine had transformed snow into icy sludge. There were two sets of footprints. The larger set had trudged from the van to the house and back. The smaller set hadn’t left the house.

Jason and Brodie were behind her. She shook her head at them and put up a hand for them to stay back. She should have taken a minute to devise and share a plan. Instead, she gestured at the footprints, and Jason nodded. Then he turned around and headed to the van taking Brodie with him.

That’s when Maggie noticed Brodie’s gloved hand gripped around something. She recognized it was one of the canisters of bear spray Ryder often kept in a holster on his belt. Maggie felt an unexpected wave of relief. She didn’t need to worry about these two. They weren’t just tag-a-longs. Both of them could take care of themselves.

Maggie didn’t knock on the door. She suspected it was unlocked. She gripped the doorknob in one hand and her service revolver in the other. One last glance over her shoulder, and she saw Jason and Brodie heading to the barn. It looked like they were following a set of footprints.

Maggie eased the front door open, then pushed it wide as she stayed back behind the doorjamb. A scuffling sound came from down the hallway. Just before she entered the house, she heard sirens in the distance.

The scuffling noise continued, and Maggie followed, keeping close to the walls. It was coming from the last door on the left. It was already open a crack. She kicked it to swing in and led with her weapon.

“Nora!”

The woman was soaked in blood. What looked like her own. Bloody fabric was tied around her neck and arm. She sat on the bed with a landline phone next to her. Across the room, a young woman was tied to a straight-back chair with duct tape.

“A man. He’s in the barn,” Nora told her. “Go. Please. I heard gunshots.”

Maggie’s pulse had already been racing. Now her heartbeat threatened to gallop out of her chest. She ran down the steps and got to the utility van when she skidded to a halt.

Jason was coming out of the barn’s breezeway, his arm wrapped around and holding up Ryder. Brodie had Grace in her arms. Another young woman was close behind. When she saw Maggie, she trotted toward her, gesturing to the house.

“Nora?” she called out. “Is she okay?”

Maggie nodded. She didn’t trust her voice. And now that Ryder had seen her and caught her eyes, she didn’t want to take hers off of him.

The sirens were louder. Close.

The woman ran around Maggie and into the house. Maggie started across the yard, knees wobbling, pulse still racing. He was alive! Grace, too.

Finally, she stood in front of him, and despite the grimace of obvious pain, he smiled at her. His arm was looped around Jason’s neck, and she knew he couldn’t stand on his own.

She ruffled her hand over Grace’s head. Then carefully she came in close on Ryder’s other side. She tried not to think of the massive blood stained on his coat. One on his side. Another on his shoulder where a patch of the coat was gone.

Without a word, he raised his arm as much as possible, and she slipped underneath so he could drape it over her shoulder. She could hear his breathing and hated how labored it sounded. She looked up and his face was close enough that his bristled jaw brushed against her forehead.

A Clay County sheriff’s SUV trailed Ted Spencer’s truck. Behind was a rescue squad vehicle, a State Patrol vehicle and an unmarked SUV. Pakula had brought the cavalry with him.

—86—

Monday, October 11