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“Great, I’ll call you later and fill you in.”
“Matt,” Bethany murmured softly as Noah left, “why am I getting a funny feeling?”
“Now I understand why you survived,” he said, lowering his voice. “You have great instincts. I can’t tell you, not yet, but you’ll know soon enough.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
By the time Noah and Ellie made it home, the winds had calmed down and the snowfall had changed from heavy to light. Deciding to unpack her supplies the next day, they trudged across the courtyard and entered the house. Sherlock, thrilled to see them, jumped up and down on the spot.
“I need to walk him and check the horses,” Noah said wearily. “I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. I’m going to take a hot shower and crawl into bed,” Ellie muttered. “I’m exhausted, and I’m still trying to wrap my brain around Bethany’s story and that briefcase full of money.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, but it looks like everything’s comin’ to a head. This will all be history pretty soon. You take that shower and catch your breath.”
As Ellie walked slowly down the hall, Noah opened the front door and Sherlock raced outside. Though the terrier stopped as he landed in the snow, it was a momentary pause and he began barking and bounding across to the barn. After checking all the horses and giving them a late night snack, Noah lifted his phone from his pocket and called Matt.
“Hey, Noah, what’s up?”
“I didn’t want to ask you this while Ellie was around. What is it you want to check out on the trail ride?”
“Can’t you guess?”
“You suspect Michael Aiken followed the trackers and he’s stuck up there.”
“Yep. Bethany told me he’s been MIA and apparently that’s completely out of character. Your place is a just short distance down the road from the trail, and there won’t be any traffic. I thought we could ride down the grass verge. With that storm before the snowfall there are bound to be downed branches, and I don’t think we should take a vehicle.”
“On horseback we can get around them, in a vehicle, not so much,” Noah agreed. “But if Aiken was forced to spend the night up there he could be a block of ice.”
“For sure.”
“Damn,” Noah muttered. “I’ll pack some provisions we might need.”
“I have an emergency kit for a situation like that, but bring whatever you think we might need. Better to have too much than not enough. I’ll call the sheriff in the mornin’ and give him a heads up,” Matt said solemnly. “I won’t tell him the whole sordid story, not yet, but I will let him know there might be someone stuck up there. By the way, I spoke to my FBI contact. I’ll know if those two agents who met with Tom are legitimate soon.”
“That’s good to hear. What time do you want to leave?”
“Plan on seein’ me around ten or so. I have a four-runner so I shouldn’t have any problem gettin’ there.”
“Any idea how far up the trail Aiken might be?”
“Well, if he followed the signal to where I left the tracker, it’s only about ten minutes up, next to the trail that veers off to the left and goes nowhere.”
“That’s not far, even with the snow. Call me when you’re leavin’ and I’ll be ready to go when you get here.”
“Will do. Speak to you then, and thanks, Noah.”
“Hey, thank you, Matt. You marines sure know what you’re doin’. See you tomorrow.”
As the call ended, Noah moved into the supply room and opened his medicine chest. He had plenty of everything, and made a mental note to stuff his long, packable down coat and a thermal blanket in his larger saddle bag. Though he loved the idea of riding up the trail in the fresh snow, he couldn’t help but worry about what they might find.
Calling Sherlock, he made his way back to the house, pulled off his coat and boots, and padded down the hall to his room. Ellie had started a low-burning fire, and its amber glow was the only light. Peeling off his clothes, he thought about standing under a hot shower to take the chill from his bones, but he was suddenly too tired and climbed into bed.
“Hey, darlin’,” he whispered, curling his body next to hers.
When she didn’t respond, he closed his eyes and breathed her in. Regardless of the chaos she’d brought into his life, he let out a sigh and whispered a silent thank you.
* * *
