Page 83 of Mountain Void

“What did he look like?”

The young woman paled. “Normal. A bit out of breath, perhaps. A bit nervous, but I thought that was due to the family emergency.”

“What was he wearing?”

“Jeans, I think. And a dark jacket. Black, or very dark blue.” She paused for a moment. “I wouldn’t … I wouldn’t have let the boy go if I’d thought—”

“It’s okay, Mademoiselle,” Beau said kindly. “Everything you’ve told us will help. Now, if you can just wait here, the gendarmes will take your contact details.”

“That took some balls on Pelletier’s part,” Beau said, once the woman was out of earshot.

“He probably saw his chance and took it,” Lorenz said. “But there’s no way he walked.”

Beau looked down at his phone. “I agree. We need to find the car.”

Charlie walked up to them. “Is it okay if Rennie leaves?” she asked.

Beau nodded. “Of course.”

“I’m not leaving,” Charlie said mutinously, glaring at Beau. “I can help.”

Beau considered her for a long instant before replying. “I wasn’t going to ask you to leave, Charlie.” It looked like he was going to say something else, but by then Ry was jogging towards them.

“The father’s not picking up the phone, and he didn’t show up at work this morning. Nobody’s seen him.”

“Shit,” Beau said.

“The colonel’s sending someone to his house now.”

“We need to search nearby traffic cameras,” Lorenz said.

“Vincent’s team’s already on it. If Pelletier drove out from here, we’ll know soon.”

“And the mother?” Charlie asked. “You need to find her as well.”

Beau nodded. “We can’t assume anything. Until we know more, we search as if they are still in the forest. We’ll split into two teams. Ry, Lorenz, and Charlie, the three of you go together. Hugo, you’re with me. We sweep in parallel lines and keep comms tight. Is that clear?”

Lorenz knew Beau’s words were meant for him, so he replied in the affirmative. He wasn’t going to do anything to interfere with the search. But he wasn’t leaving Charlie alone for an instant. They’d tear the mountains apart to find the missing boy, if necessary, but her safety was paramount to him.

25

Charlie

The weather turned on them fast.

One moment, the light filtering through the trees had been thin but steady—the kind that made one think there was still a lot of daylight left. But, as they climbed, and the forest around them became thicker, the clouds swallowed the sun, dragging the temperature down with it.

Charlie felt it immediately—the cold, slipping through the seams of her jacket, tightening around her chest as she struggled to get air into her lungs.

“Storm front’s moving quicker than forecast,” Ry said beside her, glancing up through the branches. “We’ll lose light early if that thickens.”

His tone stayed even, but he adjusted his pack higher on his shoulders. Charlie prayed he didn’t intend for them to speed up. She didn’t think she could move any faster than this.

Lorenz didn’t answer. He was a few steps ahead, scanning the ground, the slope, the gaps between the trees, with a rhythm that never seemed to break.

She was so focused on keeping up, she lost sight of the ground beneath her. Her boots slipped on a damp patch of leaves, her weight pitching sideways before she could correct. For a split second, the world tilted. Then instinct kicked in. She dropped her center of gravity, one hand shooting out to catch the closest tree trunk, boots scrambling for purchase. She stayed there a moment, braced against the bark.

“Charlie?” Lorenz asked, coming back for her. “Do you need a minute?”