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“I was hoping to talk to Grayson Garrison.” He paced his bedroom not wanting to alert Becky to the possible trouble just yet.
“I’m sorry, he had all his mobile calls forwarded to the office as he plans to be unreachable until next Monday.”
“This is about his sister Cate. You must have some way to get him on the line.”
“Let me take your number, and someone will return your call immediately.”
His heart raced as he left his phone number. Dropping to the bed, he stared at the ceiling and lifted up a prayer, but before he could say amen, a call came in. “Hello.”
“This is Gavin Garrison. You were trying to reach my brother about Cate.”
“Yes. This is Malachi James. Cate and I have been seeing each other. I know it’s only been a few hours, but something tells me that she’s in trouble.”
“Back up. You’re not making any sense.”
“Cate sent me a text this afternoon saying she was in the area. She planned to hike out to the location she’d been given of a bear den. Once she finished her work, she wanted to grab dinner with me before she returned to State College.”
“By herself? She was hiking to a bear den alone?”
“That was my understanding. Besides the possible danger with wildlife encounters, there are a few places in Loyalsock with sheer cliff drop-offs. And the temperatures can drop significantly in the elevations this time of year.”
“You didn’t try to stop her?”
“I didn’t know she was going until it was too late. Besides, would she have listened?”
“What time did you get the text?”
“That’s the strange thing. It didn’t come through until four in the afternoon. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say she mustn’t have had service when she sent the text, but I can’t say for sure. Maybe she started her hike that late.”
“Doesn’t sound like her.”
“I didn’t think so either.”
“If Cate thought you didn’t get her message, she might’ve headed home.”
“I tried her cell and her landlady. It might be too soon to worry, but I’m afraid something may have happened.”
“Do you have the coordinates for the bear den by any chance?”
“I don’t, but I may be able to get them. Cate’s supervisor is a woman named Virginia Vaughn. I’ll give her a call. She’ll probably have that information or be able to get it for us.”
“Do that. What’s your address?”
He rattled it off.
“I’ll be at your house in about thirty minutes.”
“Take your time. You wouldn’t want to hit a deer.”
Gavin made a non-committal sound and disconnected the call.
Malachi stared into the darkness outside his window and wondered if he’d made the right decision calling in Cate’s brothers. When Kevin had left the office, things between them weren’t great, but Malachi knew he could count on his fellow ranger despite that. He sucked in a breath to steady himself and called Kevin’s cell. The younger man answered with a “Yo.” Malachi blinked away his annoyance at the kid’s lack of telephone manners.
“Hey, Kev.”
“What’s up?”
“Do you think you can get me the phone number for Virginia Vaughn? She’s with the Game Commission.”
