Page 47 of Chasing Creed

Where’d you find this?

Ten feet from the back door of the house.

That could take a dog’s leg off. Hell, it could have taken your leg off at the ankle.

Thankfully, Grace wasn't with me. And I was using Brodie’s pole.

He didn’t mention that the pole hadn’t prevented Brodie from falling into that thorn bush.

Brodie says to be careful. We've stopped for some fast food.

Text me when you get home. Tell Hannah I’m still hoping to drive back tonight.

A thumbs-up, and Creed slipped the phone into his back pocket.

And there it was. In the distance, he heard the first rumble of thunder. Checking out the remaining outbuildings was not worth the risk unless Grace led him there. Someone was using this property and had set up plenty of warnings, from the electric fencing to bear traps. Maybe Sheriff Daniels already knew that. Maybe that’s why he didn’t bother to conduct his own search.

Brodie believed the man had been lying to them. And Creed remembered twice when the sheriff looked spooked. Almost as if he expected someone to be watching. But then he’d quickly lapsed back into a casual “there’s-nothing-to-see-here” demeanor.

With an approaching storm, Creed estimated he and Grace had thirty minutes to an hour at best. He backtracked around the house, staying as close as possible to his own footprints.

Grace was batting at the side window when she saw him. This time her licks were relentless as he tried to prep her vest. The little dog could most likely smell his anxiety, and she was trying her best to make sure he was okay. He let her do what she had to do and waited for a few seconds longer until her tongue and nose were finished with him.

Creed checked his pack for a Naloxone kit with enough of the antidote for both of them. If his instincts were correct, they might run into drugs. He pulled out a fresh canister of bear spray and attached its holster to his belt. If Brodie’s instincts were correct, they would not run into a bear.

Last, he found the sling he sometimes used to carry Grace. He looped it over his shoulder. It wasn’t the most efficient method for scent detection, and Grace begrudgingly tolerated it. But if one of them accidentally stepped into a trap he was making sure it would not be her.

Just as he was ready to head out, Norwich’s SUV turned onto the long driveway. Before she got out of the vehicle, he could see her down-turned mouth. She wasn’t happy about them being back here. She had tried her best to talk him out of it.

“I took an extra turn,” she explained. “I was worried Lydia would follow me. That woman is frantic.”

Creed kept quiet. That feeling was still fresh in his memory. He remembered all too well what it felt like. The urgency to keep looking when everyone else around you had stopped.

Those years he and his mother searched for Brodie were a mix of hope always followed by a gut-punch. They’d get a lead and be elated, riding on a wave of adrenaline. Then the lead would turn to nothing. Panic, helplessness, defeat. As a teenager, he had hoped joining the Marines and going to Afghanistan would quiet that anxiety of not knowing where Brodie was. It did not.

Norwich was watching him. Waiting. He and Grace were ready to go. She pulled on her ball cap and gestured for him to lead the way.

31

David City, Nebraska

By the time Sara made her way inside the café, it had emptied enough for her to grab a table in the corner. It wouldn’t be long before the dinner rush began.

She took the seat that kept her back to the wall. Pushed off her hood. Ran fingers through her hair then patted it down. She dared a quick glance at her reflection in the window, only to make sure she didn’t look as wild and crazy as she felt right now.

Casually, she slipped the menu out from behind the napkin holder, despite already memorizing every item from the café’s website.

“What can I get for you?”

The waitress’ smile was genuine, but her eyes were tired. Sara checked for a name tag. There was none. That was okay. Sara knew who she was. Though she looked older than her years.

“What kind of soup do you have today?”

“Let me check which ones we have left. I’ll be right back.”

Sara’s foot tapped the chair leg. She knew the soups on today’s menu. She didn’t mean to send her away. She hated dragging out a mission once she began. The smell of grilled meat and greasy French fries made her stomach growl. It hadn’t been that long since she’d eaten the burrito. Maybe she needed more protein. Maybe she needed to stop second-guessing herself.

The waitress delivered a platter to another table and was back, “Chicken noodle and house chili.”