“Hey,” Caleb whispered when he spotted the tears that revealed a crack in her resolve. “We don’t know anything yet. This could be just another one of Wax’s sick games.” He gathered Ava close and she clung to him.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me.” She looked up into his eyes, hers shimmering with unshed tears. “I don’t think I could do this without you.”
He held her. “You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere. You know I still care about you, Ava. That hasn’t changed and it won’t.”
She smiled. “I feel the same way. I want this to be over so that we can talk about us, but right now, all I can think about is Rachel.” She sighed wearily. “We haven’t had a second to breathe, much less analyze all the new evidence coming in. And my parents.” Her voice broke. “They don’t know what’s happening. If they did, they’d be worried. After the last time...”
He held her closer. She didn’t need to finish. During those gut-wrenching days Ava was missing, her parents had flown into the area and stayed with Caleb. He’d witnessed firsthand their fear of losing her.
“As soon as we have Rachel, I’ll speak to them about the poem Wax left. Maybe they’ll be able to shed some light on it.”
Or Wax was toying with her.
“I almost forgot about the ring.” Ava handed it off to Devlin.
As the helicopters approached their location the sound of chopper blades grew louder.
Caleb shielded his eyes as the first chopper landed. Once it was on the ground, he and Ava, along with Shadow, Grace, and Novak, climbed onboard. The rest of the searchers would be riding in the second chopper.
Once they were seated, the pilot lifted off and headed toward the smoke billowing on the ridge.
“Is fire rescue up there yet?” Ava asked Novak.
“Heading toward the blaze, but the road leading up there is closed. It will be difficult for the truck to get through.”
“Nothing about this is adding up,” Caleb said once Novak finished speaking.
Ava gave him her full attention. “What are you thinking?”
“The obvious. Wax had never used fire to kill his victims before. He wants them displayed in wax where they can be found. My gut is telling me this is some diversion.”
She watched him for a long moment before her eyes widened. “He wants us away from the mine site.” Ava leaned forward speaking to the pilot. “Have the second chopper return to the mine right away. Tell them the search for our agent is at the mine and not the lodge. We’ll check it out quickly and return.”
The pilot appeared shocked but radioed her command. Soon, the second chopper banked hard to the right and headed back to the mine.
“I’m calling Devlin.” Ava grabbed her cell phone and dialed the ERT agent. “We believe she’s still in the mine somewhere.” Ava shared Caleb’s theory. “I’m sending the second chopper back to you. He wanted us to be distracted. My team will check out what’s happening here.”
“We’ll keep looking. If she’s not in the mine, I’ll have the extra manpower spread out around the area to see if we can find how he escaped with her.”
“Good thinking. Coordinate everything through me, though.”
Devlin confirmed and signed off.
As the chopper neared the blaze consuming Hunter’s Lodge, Caleb tried to figure out how the letters might fit into anything. Wax kept using them. They were important somehow, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure it out.
“Fire’s really blazing. We’ll have to put down some distance from it,” the pilot announced before banking left.
The inferno lit up the area around them. Everything in the house was gone by now. Which meant, the fire wasn’t the clue but something else. “What is he trying to tell us?” Caleb’s words slipped out.
Ava reached for his hand. “I don’t know, but there’s something.”
The pilot touched down a little way down the mountainside. “This is the closest I can get you.”
“It’ll do.” Ava thanked him as Shadow and the team exited the chopper, keeping low as the blades kicked up snow, ice, and debris.
“Where do we start?” Novak asked as they were nearing the fire.
“The lodge is only important because its name matches the initials Wax keeps throwing at us. Fan out—he left something. We can’t dismiss its importance.” Ava held the piece of cloth under Shadow’s nose. “Hunt, Shadow.”
