Carla Neggers - Cold Pursuit

Maybe she’d spotted Devin, too.

Hiking straight up to the summit of Cameron Mountain and back down again could be done in a day. The main trails were well marked and well maintained. But leave them, either for a less popular trail or to go off-trail altogether, and even experienced hikers could end up lost in the miles of woods, cliffs, hollows, streams and steep, unforgiving terrain. In his first days back home, Elijah had fetched a pair of lost honeymooners from Boston off the mountain. They were in one of the few spots with cell phone service and were able to call the lodge for help.

He’d tried calling Devin’s cell phone but didn’t get an answer.

Elijah adjusted his daypack, which he kept in his truck at all times, and hoofed it up a near-vertical incline of rock. At the top, the trail leveled off for about three feet then switchbacked on up the mountain.

Devin was directly above him, climbing over a spruce tree that wind or an ice storm had dropped across the trail. The densely wooded hillside was littered with fallen trees.

“Hold up, Devin,” Elijah said calmly. “I want to talk to you.”

He stood up, gripping a thick walking stick, breathing hard. “Leave me alone, okay? Just go back and stack some more wood.”

“Wood’s stacked. What are you doing up here?”

Devin ignored him, wiped his brow with his sleeve and continued on his way.

Seeing how the shortest distance between two points was a straight line, Elijah left the trail and pushed uphill through dead leaves, pine needles and rocks, emerging on the other side of the fallen spruce.

Devin faltered for a half beat, looking uncertain, then pivoted and kept going.

“You’re wearing the wrong clothes,” Elijah said. “You’re not carrying a pack. That means you have no water. You’re asking for dehydration and hypothermia.”

Devin glanced back, sullen, his ball cap low over his eyes. “Did my sister sic you on me?”

“I’m here on my own, but if she’d asked me to find you, it’d be because she’s worried.”

“Hannah worries too much.”

“Maybe so, but she has good reason-”

“Not on my account.”

Elijah climbed over the fallen spruce, mindful of dead, sharp branches and sticky pitch. Seven months ago, picturing himself out here had kept him going through grief and rehab-and anger. “Are you on your way to meet Nora?” he asked Devin. “Her stepfather was killed this morning in Washington. She took off suddenly. If you’ve talked to her you could help reassure the people who care about her.”

“And who would that be?” Devin spun around and glared bitterly down the trail at Elijah. “Her father doesn’t care about her. Her mother, either. They’re into their own lives-they don’t care about Nora. And her stepfather. She didn’t tell me about the hit-and-run. Hannah did. I’m sorry he got killed, but he never wanted anything to do with Nora.”

“Is that from your own observations, or what she told you?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It’s easy to feel alienated when you’re trying to figure out your life.”

“Go to hell, Elijah.”

He’d have responded the same way at eighteen. “Nora isn’t used to being out here the way you are.”

“She just wants to clear her head and to practice what you taught her. I tried to tell her the same stuff you did in that class, but she had to hear it from you.” He raised his chin. “The big Green Beret.”

Elijah let that one go. “Any idea what route she took? There are a lot of ways she can get lost or into trouble out here. Does she have a cell phone, GPS?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me her plans.”

“Is she avoiding you, Devin?”

“Get off my case, Elijah. I know you and A.J. think I’m no damn good. Tough.”

“If you don’t know where Nora is, then hike back to the lodge with me. Let’s sit down with A.J. and figure things out.”

“You go back to the lodge.”

Elijah felt like wringing Devin’s neck. “Why are you so combative?”

“I don’t like being under the Cameron microscope. I found your father’s body, and what thanks do I get?”

“Did you expect thanks, Devin?”

He paled slightly, seemed to realize he’d gone too far.

“For two cents,” Elijah said, “I’d throw you off this damn mountain. Hell, I’d do it for free. If you see Nora, let her know that she’s not alone.”

“She is alone.” Devin stood in the middle of the trail, his cheeks red with the cold and emotion as he hooked his walking stick under one arm. “We’re all alone when it comes right down to it.”

Elijah couldn’t argue with him on that score. “You’re a lot of fun these days.”

“I’m a realist.”

“Devin, if you need a hand-”

“I don’t need anything.”

“Money’s missing from the lodge,” Elijah said quietly.

Devin stared down into the dense evergreens and seemed to take a moment to collect himself. “I don’t steal,” he said. “Not from anyone.”

“You’re short one day, cash is sitting right there…”

“I didn’t take anything from A.J. or the lodge. If either of you had any evidence against me, you’d call the police.”

“Not necessarily.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” He spun back onto the trail, set his walking stick on a soft spot and moved forward. “Camerons don’t do favors for anyone but themselves.”

Elijah stayed within ten feet of Devin, and he wondered how fast Jo was gaining on them. He still didn’t want to talk about missing money in front of her. “What about Nora? She’s used to having money. She’s probably had quite a wakeup call being on her own.”

“She doesn’t steal, either.”

“Think you might impress her if you had some extra cash to toss around?”

Devin humped it up a rock face in the middle of the trail. Short of wrestling him to the ground, Elijah had little choice but to let him go. “Take your time,” he said. “Don’t trip on a root or a rock and split your head open. I’m not going to follow you. If you want to talk to me, you know where to find me. Anytime. Day or night.”

No response.

“Where will you be if I want to talk to you?”

Devin raised his middle finger without so much as a pause in his step or a backward glance down the trail.

Message received, Elijah thought.

He started back down the trail, not taking his shortcut this time. A cool breeze floated through the trees, bringing with it the acidic smell of the pines and spruces. He could camp up here for the night. He didn’t have to go back.

But Jo would be gaining on him. He kept going, rounding the hairpin turn, then dropping off the thick roots of a giant spruce tree, landing in front of her. “Agent Harper,” he said amiably. “Nice day for a hike, but watch out for wet spots this time of year. We don’t want to contribute to trail erosion.”

She wasn’t breathing all that hard for someone who’d hiked up the mountain as rapidly as she had. She looked past him. “Where’s Devin headed?”

“He didn’t say. Why? He hasn’t done anything to alert the Secret Service, has he?”

Jo ignored his bantering tone. “What about Nora Asher?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

“Has Devin?”

“Didn’t say.”

“Is he meeting her?”

“Likewise, he didn’t say.” Elijah noticed the color high in Jo’s cheeks-wind, exertion, irritation. A sense of purpose. “Getting banished to Vermont must be rough when you have an ambassador turn up dead in Washington. Nora taking off into the woods by itself isn’t a big deal, but it reminds you that you have nothing to do. So you turn it into something-”

“Elijah.”

“So intense, Jo.” He grinned at her. “Damn, but you have pretty eyes. The copper highlights bring out the turquoise.”