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The internet could have gone down—which could have included Craig’s phone reception. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Coldfoot had gotten internet in the area several years ago, and anyone living within fifteen miles of the town could also get it.
But he knew Simmy wouldn’t be at peace until she knew for sure that Craig was okay.
“Maybe you should wait in the car.” He glanced at Andi. He wasn’t sure what he’d find inside.
Her expression hardened. “No way are you leaving me out here. I’m going in with you.”
Duke knew when he heard Andi’s Southern accent come out that she meant business, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .”
Best-case scenario was that communications were down and Craig was okay, probably just annoyed that his defining episode had been interrupted.
But the worst-case scenario . . . well, Duke didn’t want to think about that.
He and Andi climbed out, and their boots crunched on the snow beneath them. Huge snowdrifts loomed on either side of the house.
He paused when he spotted a set of footprints leading away from the front door.
They had to be fairly fresh because they hadn’t been covered yet by the falling snow.
Were they Craig’s footprints?
They were large with deep grooves—boots, he would guess.
However, there were no tracks leading back to the house.
Duke liked this less and less all the time.
Andi walked behind him as they climbed the steps.
At the top, he knocked.
No answer.
Instead, Duke grabbed the front doorknob, fully expecting it to be locked.
It wasn’t.
Maybe people who lived in the middle of nowhere didn’t feel they needed to lock their doors.
He hoped that didn’t turn out to be a deadly mistake for Craig Rogers.
“Hello?” Duke called. “Anyone home?”
No answer.
He stepped into the place, which looked straight out of the seventies. Yet it had a warm and cozy vibe to it. A dying fire still burned in a freestanding stove in the corner, its scent filling the room.
“Hello, Craig?” he called. “We’re here to do a wellness check.”
There was no answer.
Duke crept farther into the space, Andi behind him. He observed the small living room and kitchen. The whole home couldn’t be more than nine hundred square feet.
He headed toward the bathroom and peered inside.
Nothing.
