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Just then, he thought he heard a voice from farther up the path. He lifted his head and squinted into the rain. The trail curved around a large outcrop of tall spires, disappearing into a ravine before leading the climber higher, past the skirts of the mountain. There, in the mist, he caught movement. Nico reached under his shirt and touched his service revolver, ready to draw it at a second’s notice. A figure careened down the path at breakneck speed, rain jacket flapping out like a sail behind them, backpack bouncing on their shoulders as they took each jolting step.
“Nico,” Lacey called out a warning.
“I see them,” he replied, waving her and the older couple behind him, ready to defend them. Although from what threat, he was still unsure. Then another person came around the bend, this one also running, but at a slightly less reckless speed. Nico’s already overexerted heart began to beat even faster as he watched the first person approach.
It was a man, and as he got closer, Nico could see he was young, perhaps in his early twenties. His face was contorted with fear and effort as he strove to keep his feet underneath him on the rocky path. These men were running away from something. But what?
Two more people came around the bend, jogging fast, but not running flat out like the first guy. Logic said that these people were most likely part of Teresa’s hiking group. But if they were, where were the other two? And where was Teresa? Was she bringing up the rear?
Nico began to wave, to get the man’s attention.
“Help!” the guy shouted when he finally saw Nico and the others. “Help us.”
“What’s the matter?” Nico held up his hands to grab the man, who practically cannonballed into him, almost knocking him into Lacey. But she put a steadying hand on Nico’s shoulder and peered around the side of his arm, desperate to hear what this guy had to say. The man’s wet hair was plastered to his face, and he had to push it out of his eyes, which were wild with alarm.
“There’s a woman up there with a gun. She took our guide hostage, and she threatened to shoot all of us.” The man was gasping so hard Nico could hardly make out what he was saying.
“Slow down,” he encouraged.
“No, you don’t understand,” the other man yelped. “She’s a lunatic. She told us all to sit down on a flat rock and then she started to tie us up. Told us that if we sat nice and still and behaved ourselves, no one would get hurt. But I didn’t believe her. I was sure she was going to shoot us all.” He stopped to drag in more deep breaths. Griff and Mila had come closer, straining to hear what this man was saying.
“It’s okay, we’re police, we’re here to help,” Nico said, using his most calming tone.
“You are?” The young man stopped puffing and his brown eyes went wide. Nico guessed that looking at things from this panicked guy’s point of view, this was probably the most fortuitous thing that could’ve happened.
The second man appeared beside the first, breathless. “Have you told them, Simon? Do they have a sat phone? We need to contact the police straight away,” he said frantically, looking as if he were going to keep running until he came to the nearest police station if he had to.
“They are the police, Jans. Can you believe it?” the man called Simon said with more than a little awe.
“What? How? Are you sure?” The second man eyed Nico and his companions with suspicion.
Nico intervened, trying to get things back on track. “Tell me what happened up there,” he asked. “Where is this woman now? And what has she done with her hostage?”
“I’m not sure,” Simon answered with a touch of shame. “While the crazy woman was tying Shawn up, I decided no way in hell was she getting her paws on me, so I took off like a jackrabbit.”
In other words, the man was a coward. He’d run away and left the others to deal with the situation. Nico tried not to lift the corner of his lip, telling himself these people were civilians. Not trained to deal with violence or danger. Simon had acted like most normal people would. He unclenched his fists and turned to Jans. “Then what happened?” he growled.
“When I saw Simon run, I went for it as well,” Jans admitted. “We were farthest from the lady with the gun. She didn’t even seem to notice when Simon left, she was too busy tying up Shawn. There was a large pile of rocks right near us, so we ducked behind them. I don’t think it was until Tania and Lily took off after us, that she even really knew what was happening, and by then it was too late. She didn’t even bother to shoot at us.”
No, because she had what she’d come for. She had Teresa, and that was all that mattered in Sandra’s eyes. Nico held in a curse.
“So there’re still two more people tied up somewhere on this mountain?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, I reckon they’re still up there,” Jans replied.
“That’s why we were flying down the track. Going to find someone to help. Teresa was the only one with a satellite phone and she was out of reach. And we don’t have any reception out here,” Simon added by means of justifying their actions.
“You did a great job,” Lacey interjected. She must be able to see Nico’s growing frustration and decided it was time to step in. “I think Mila should escort these four back down to Lake Will, don’t you?” Lacey asked, but it wasn’t really a question. He had to give her credit for thinking on her feet, while his mind was occupied farther up the mountain, wondering if they were going to find Teresa dead or alive up there. “They can wait for the backup to arrive in the picnic area.” It made sense. Get the civilians to safety, so they could keep moving. Nico had already called Shadbolt on his sat phone to update him on their situation and ask for more backup. Gorman and Tyrell were still at least a five or six-hour hike away, so two more constables were going to be airlifted into Lake Will—if the helicopter was able to fly in this bad weather, that was. Now they knew where Sandra was, and that she had Teresa, there was no need for secrecy anymore. But the chopper would be an hour away at the very least. And Nico wasn’t waiting that long. He was going to the top now.
“Yes, great idea.” He gave Lacey a brief smile of gratitude. “Griff, would you follow us up and we’ll see if we can locate the other two walkers?” His mind finally kicked into gear just as two females came skidding down the track toward them. If—no, when—they found the other two hikers, Griff could bring them safely down the track, leaving himself and Lacey to continue after Sandra.
“Help us,” one of the girls called in a panicked voice, and Nico felt another surge of anger that these two young men hadn’t taken the time to make sure the others were fine before they hared off down the mountain.
Lacey stepped forward to meet them, holding up her hands to stop their headlong rush.
“It’s okay, Lily, these guys are cops. They’re going to help us,” Simon said from behind Lacey.
“Great,” the other one replied snarkily. “At least there are some people on this mountain prepared to help us. I can’t believe you just left us like that, Simon.”
