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They needed to get there before the bunker was sealed, that was clear.
"I'll try," Chloe said, and took a shuddering breath. "But it was underground. Somewhere deep in the woods. There was only one entrance, and we were kept locked in. I know it was a real bunker because there'd been some kind of construction work done. I saw concrete pillars. And there was a generator that we had to get our power from. It was very cold, and we had to stay wrapped up to keep warm. The lights worked sometimes, but they were very dim."
A survivalist bunker. A doomsday survivalist. That's what they were looking for, May realized.
"It was dark when I escaped, and I had no idea where I was. I ran through the woods for ages, I was so lost, I was panicking he'd catch me again. My feet were hurting. I worried I was going in circles, and I'd end up back there!"
"But you didn't. You got away."
"I used the moon to guide me. It was all hazy through the drizzle, but I could see where it was in the clouds. I kept it on my left so that I didn't circle. And I came out of the woods near the Cedar Walk trail head."
May raised her eyebrows. That was the closest trail head to Fairshore.
"I decided to run straight to the police, because I didn't trust that maybe he was friends with people. I had this worry in my mind that I'd arrive at a farmhouse, and it would be someone he knew."
"I'm so glad you did. It really helped us." May squeezed both her hands gently. "You're going to be okay now. You'll be safe."
"I hope they catch him," Chloe said, sounding much weaker than she had before.
And picking up the change in her voice, the nurse moved forward inexorably.
"That is most definitely enough now," she said. "The patient needs rest."
"Thank you," May said. "I hope you feel much better soon, Chloe. You've been such a help."
As May left, her mind was working overtime, putting together what Chloe had told her. Based on the fact she'd exited the woods at the Cedar Walk trail head, and that she'd kept the moon on her left, May thought she could probably narrow down the area where she'd been kept. It was still a big area. She had no illusions about that.
But at least, now, it wasn't the whole of the woods.
She headed out of the hospital, got in the car, and drove straight to the Fairshore police department, through the now-brightening early morning.
Owen wasn't yet there when she arrived, and she felt a rush of relief. She was not ready to speak to him again yet. She was still far too mad at him.
Had last night broken things between them irreparably? May didn't know. She guessed time would tell.
Sheriff Jack's car was there, and May rushed in to share her findings with her boss.
"Morning," she said, hustling into the back office. "I spoke to Chloe."
"Did you get anything we can use?" Jack said eagerly. Already, he was calling up an area map on the big screen computer.
"Yes. She was kept in a bunker with other women. I have their names. Some of them were from outside Tamarack County. She escaped and exited the woods at the Cedar Walk trail head. And she had the moon on her left. So where does that take us?"
"That definitely narrows it down."
May scooted into the seat behind Sheriff Jack and called up the times of the moonrise and moonset on her own computer while he navigated the map.
After plotting the two together, there was a rough circle in place. It comprised the forested area where this bunker must be based on the information they had been given.
"This is the area we need to search," Jack said.
"It's not a small area," May said hesitantly.
"No, it isn't. I'll get a police officer to correlate the names and see if we can link up cases. And I’ll personally coordinate the search and get as many officers from other police departments as I can. It might take us days, and I don't doubt this bunker is very well hidden, but a good, thorough search should get us somewhere. And in the meantime, there's something else that we should probably take a look at, because there’s a recent case linked to it."
His finger rested on a point right on the outskirts of the circle.
May narrowed her eyes. "That's at the end of Laramie Road. Jack, I remember something about that. It's been on the case report recently. Laramie Road. Why's it familiar?"
