Page 96 of Midnight Creed

“I don’t understand what that means.”

“Sheriff!” One of the crime lab technicians yelled to Norwich, and everyone stopped. All movement came to a halt. Even the dogs went still.

Taylor held her breath. A few minutes ago, she was prepared to walk right up to them. Demand what they knew. What they were seeing. But now? She doubted her knees would hold up that far.

Norwich and the technician were silhouetted against the beam of light. Their heads came together in conversation. There were no gestures. No body language for Taylor to read. Then Norwich turned, said something to Ryder and Brodie and started toward Taylor and Jason.

This was news she had to deliver herself.

The sheriff’s face was shadowed. It was impossible to see her expression. By the time she got close enough to speak, Taylor felt a sheen of cold sweat sliding down her back.

“He’s not in there,” Norwich said, hurrying to close the distance between them.

“Oh, thank God!” Jason’s arm looped around Taylor’s waist before she realized she was falling. He held her against him, keeping her upright.

“They’re still checking to see if any of Will’s belongings may have gotten tossed inside. So far, it looks like the dogs alerted to Will’s bicycle.”

The relief lasted only a few minutes. Taylor found her footing and asked, “Why would he leave his bicycle like that?”

She looked from Norwich to Jason, then pushed away from him enough so she could watch his face and Norwich’s when she asked, “Do you think someone took him?”

“At this point,” Norwich said, “We have to consider every possibility.”

“The man in the blue pickup.”

Before the sheriff could answer, her radio came alive.

Taylor didn’t recognize any of the codes they used. She wished she hadn’t been able to understand the rest of it. Wished the words had been garbled or the static so pronounced she might have mistaken what was said. But that wasn’t the case. The voice came strong and clear.

“We have an alligator sighting in the area,” a man said.

Even Norwich’s eyes went wide when the voice added. “And it was dragging something large.”

64

Creed insisted Jason and Scout stay with Taylor and ride back with Norwich. He suggested the volunteers’ tent at the neighborhood’s entrance. Norwich agreed. Said they had coffee and food. Creed told Jason that he and Brodie would join them after he let Grace check out the woods behind the Dumpster.

He told Jason they wouldn’t go far. It was probably easy for Jason to believe him, since he knew Creed didn’t like the dogs out in the dark. And knowing there was an alligator running around out here, he couldn’t believe he wasn’t following his own instincts.

But what if Will had ditched his bike and ran into the woods because some guy was chasing him?

That’s what Grace seemed to be telling him. Now that she knew Creed was ready to go, she pranced and tugged, leading him around the length of chain-link. He slowed her down, wanting to wait until Norwich had driven away and the CSU technicians were out of earshot. Then he turned to Brodie, who was still watching the SUV’s taillights disappear around the block.

He pulled at his daypack and his fingers dug around inside. He brought out a flare gun. Being at the edge of the spotlights allowed him to see a cannister was loaded in the gun, and the safety switch was in place. He tucked it into one of the outer pockets, leaving it more accessible.

“Are you worried we’ll get lost?” Brodie asked, noticing the flare gun.

“No, Grace can always get us back to where we started. Have you ever heard one of these?”

“No.”

“It’s pretty loud. Has an annoying scream. I’ve never used one to scare a bear or an alligator, but I’m guessing it might do the trick. If I need to use it, you and Hank need to be fast and high-tail it in the opposite direction.”

She stared at him, and he waited. But instead of nodding, she said, “You were right about the dark. It makes everything so much scarier.” Then she asked, “What about our bear spray?”

“I have no idea if it works on an alligator.”

The idea of an alligator, whether it was dragging a kill or not, worried Creed. Not because it could be Will. He couldn’t even go there. He had to stay positive. But alligators were quick. People thought the reptiles moved slowly because their legs were short and they slithered on their bellies. But they were actually very fast in short bursts. And in the dark, if they didn’t see it coming, an alligator could snatch Grace in just a few seconds.