Sharon Dunn - Mountain Captive

The signs indicated that the ballroom was in the west end of the hotel. The room was huge with wooden floors. Two chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Lacey could picture the parties, dances and banquets that must have taken place here.

Now it was completely empty except for a table, couch and comfy-looking chairs that surrounded the crackling fire. The air smelled like wood polish. Another lantern had been set up on the table. Store-bought cookies, cold cuts, cheese and crackers had been set out. There was also a camp stove with a teakettle on it. All the fixings for cocoa and tea sat beside the stove.

A moment later, two men entered the ballroom and found a seat. Lacey’s heart fluttered. Both the men were the same build as the man who had attacked her. Come to think of it, so was Ray.

The older man pointed to the younger. “I’m Eddie and this is my son Jonathan. Looks like we are in for a long night.”

Lacey and Jude introduced themselves.

Lacey grabbed a paper plate and some food. When she sat down in a high-back chair, the heat from the fire calmed her. The men made small talk while Lacey stared at the fire.

Ray entered the ballroom. “Things have gotten even worse in the last twenty minutes. It’s whiteout conditions outside. A man could walk only a few feet, get disoriented and freeze to death,” said Ray. “Until this storm subsides, you cannot go outside. You’d be taking your life in your own hands.”

Lacey’s throat constricted. “So if someone was in the hotel, they couldn’t leave, right?”

“Not unless they wanted to risk death,” said Ray. “Nope, the smart thing to do is to stay put until this thing dies down.”

The cookie Lacey was nibbling didn’t taste so sweet anymore. She stared at all the men. The only one who was off the hook for attacking her was Jude. He’d come to the door and spoken while the other man was running away.

It was possible too that the three men were innocent and the attacker was hiding somewhere in the hotel. Both alternatives sent a wave of terror through her.

As he snacked on his cheese and crackers, Jude noticed a shift in mood for Lacey. She stared at the fire and gave one-word answers when anyone tried to include her in the conversation. She rubbed her feet together as though nervous.

He felt a little restless himself. How was eight-year-old Maria doing? Was she safe? Was she alone and hungry? His only comfort was that if he was trapped, maybe the kidnapper was too. Once the storm broke, he might still be able to search the houses that connected with that road. Maybe Maria had even been in the car when Jude had been shot at. The kidnapper could have brought her down here and was hiding her somewhere. There were too many unknowns. All he knew was that the longer he was delayed, the colder this case got and the less of a chance that Maria would be returned alive.

Maybe Lacey was right. Maybe the kidnapper had an accomplice. Lacey could identify him, but Jude was the one who had been on his tail. Jude figured it was only a matter of time before he became a target too.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Lacey bolted up from her chair. “You know, I think I’ll go upstairs. Are you coming, Jude? I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.” What was she up to?

Jude nodded his goodbye to the other men and then walked with Lacey across the expansive wood floor.

Once they were out of earshot in the hallway, Lacey turned toward him. Desperation filled her voice. “Help me search the hotel.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ray said there was no way anyone would go out in this. Whoever attacked me must still be hiding in this hotel. He must have snuck in before the storm got so bad,” she said. “I want to know what he was doing in my room. And I want to know that it won’t happen again because he’s been caught.”

He heard the fear in her voice. “Sure. It’s not like I have a busy social schedule.” He hoped the attack on Lacey wasn’t connected to the kidnapping. It was a thin hope at best. He didn’t like the idea of Lacey being in danger after she had risked her life to save his.

“Okay, come with me so I can get my flashlight out of my room,” she said.

She headed toward the stairs, moving outside of the cone of illumination his flashlight made.

“I don’t want the others to know we’re looking. Just in case it was one of them who was in my room.” She stepped on the first stair and turned, waiting for him to come toward her with the light.

They hurried upstairs. While Lacey got her flashlight, Jude retrieved his gun from the nightstand drawer. He shoved it in his waistband at the back and untucked his flannel shirt so it would be covered.

Had Lacey been chosen at random to be robbed? Had she been chosen because as a woman she was more vulnerable? Or was this connected to what had happened on the mountain?

They met in the hallway, both of them holding flashlights. “Let’s search this floor first,” she said. “He ran off this way. At the time, I just assumed he took a back entrance and escaped out into the night.”

He spoke in a low voice as they made their way down the hallway. “Is there something controversial about your research?”

She swung the flashlight back and forth after stepping into an area that may have been some sort of meeting place for hotel guests. There was a fireplace in the center of the room and a very dusty-looking oriental rug. A couple of cardboard boxes were stacked in a corner.

“I don’t think there is anything controversial about my research. If anything, it helps hunters and campers. Why are you asking?”

“Just trying to figure out a motive for the attack.” He really wanted the attack to be unconnected to the kidnapping.

“Motive for the attack? You sound like a cop.” She shone her flashlight in his direction.

“I used to be.” The comment was friendly enough, but he could feel himself retreat emotionally. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Sure, Jude.” She swept past him and up the hall, then looked over her shoulder. Even in near darkness her auburn hair had a glossy sheen to it. “I told you everything about my job, but you don’t want to talk about yours.”

He hurried after her. “I said I used to be a cop.”

“So why did you stop being a cop?” She stood in front of an ancient-looking elevator with an out-of-order sign. Her gaze rested on him, waiting for a response.

He reached out and touched the out-of-order sign that looked like it might have been hung during the Carter administration. “Let’s take the stairs.” Jude felt like someone had stirred his insides with a hot poker. Thinking about the past did that to him.

He’d kept all the pain from his past at bay, but here was this redheaded woman showing curiosity about who he was as a man. A part of him wanted to open up to her just to have another person bear the burden with him.

Lacey bounded down two flights of stairs. “He probably wouldn’t hide on the main floor since it is the most used.” At the bottom of the stairs was a large wooden door.

Jude pushed on it. It screeched open, revealing a dark corridor with a series of doors and walls made of stone.

Lacey held the flashlight up to her chin and spoke theatrically. “The belly of the whale.”

He laughed. Her sense of humor was infectious. “You go first, my lady. I’ll back you up.” Maybe too, the humor covered up the fear she must be wrestling with.

They brushed away cobwebs and stepped into the hallway. Their footsteps echoed on the concrete. Each room they searched revealed various items: stored furniture, a broken chandelier and some kitchen appliances. All of it looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Lacey stepped into the room where a stove was stored. She shone a light on the dusty surface. Her body went rigid.