Avalanche Of Trouble

“It’s still too dark out to see much,” Paige said. “And do you even know how to get there?”

“Gage took me there last night.” She sipped her coffee. “And I can follow directions, if someone tells me which way to go.”

“You might as well wait for Gage,” Paige said. “He should be here soon.”

“He probably has plenty to do besides babysitting me,” Maya said.

“He probably does,” Paige said. “But that’s the kind of guy he is—a real gentleman. I know it’s an old-fashioned word, but it’s true. He really cares about people. It’s what makes him good at his job.”

Maya shifted in her chair, curiosity warring with embarrassment. Curiosity won. “Are you and Gage involved?” she asked.

Paige laughed. “Oh my goodness, no. What made you think that?”

“I know you went down to talk to him after you showed me to my room. I just thought...” She shrugged.

“No. Gage and I are not involved.” Paige pinched off a bite of muffin. “Neither one of us is interested in getting serious,” she said. “It’s easier.”

“I know what you mean,” Maya said. “I’m not seeing anyone right now, either.” Though she couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be to have someone she could lean on. She pushed the thought away. She had been standing on her own two feet for plenty of years—no reason to stop now. “How did you end up in Eagle Mountain?” she asked.

“I came here on vacation and fell in love with the place,” Paige said.

“Where did you live before?” Maya asked.

“Portland, Oregon.”

“This is certainly different from Portland,” Maya said.

“Different was what I needed at the time. I was coming off a painful divorce, and both my parents had died in the three years prior to that. I had a little money my aunt had left me, so I used it to buy this place and fix it up.” She shrugged. “At the time, I thought maybe I would stay a few years then move on, but I got involved in life here and I love running the B and B. It’s a good fit all around.”

“I think small-town life would bore me after a while,” Maya said.

“There’s plenty to do here if you know where to look,” Paige said. “Maybe not as many choices as in the city and we’re low on anything resembling the club scene, but I’ve made a lot of friends here. I care about this place and it feels like home.”

The doorbell chimed and Paige scraped back her chair. “That’s probably Gage.”

Maya told herself her heart beat faster because she was hoping for news from Gage about her niece, but she had to admit to the thrill of attraction that ran through her when the sheriff’s deputy stepped into the dining room. “Good morning,” he said, and nodded and touched the brim of his hat.

The courtliness of the gesture moved her. He looked tired, and there was a heaviness about his eyes that heightened her own sadness. “Did you get any sleep last night?” she asked.

“A little.” He accepted a cup of coffee from Paige, and pulled out the chair next to Maya. “I had a late call. Break-in at the high school.”

“Kids?” Paige asked.

“Maybe.” Gage sipped his coffee.

Maya thought of the students in her classes—a mixed bunch of good and bad. “I guess even little towns like this aren’t immune to that kind of thing,” she said.

“Kids get bored and in trouble everywhere,” he said. “Though we like to think in Eagle Mountain there’s a little less trouble for them to find. No gangs, anyway. Drugs are always a concern, but there’s not as much of it here. And people in smaller communities get involved—if they see a kid up to something, they don’t hesitate to call it in.”

“I guess being nosy has its upside,” Maya said.

“It can.” He helped himself to a muffin. “We can go whenever you’re ready.”

“Let me grab my backpack.”

She waited until they were on their way before she asked the question that had been foremost in her mind all morning. “Have you heard anything from the other searchers?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. No.” He glanced at her, then back at the road. “Have you thought about where Casey might have gone if she ran away? Let’s go with the theory that she saw what happened to her parents and ran, scared. Is there anything in particular that she’s attracted to? Is she drawn to water? Would she hide in a cave, or would she avoid that?”

“I think a cave would frighten her. I don’t think she cares about water, one way or another.” She frowned, trying to think past her exhaustion and fear. “I mean, she’s five years old. She’s a sweet, innocent girl who’s never known danger for a minute in her life. Seeing her parents killed—” She shook her head. “She must be terrified.”

“We haven’t found any indication that the people who killed your sister and her husband harmed Casey,” Gage said. “Hold on to that hope.”

She nodded. “I will. I’m hoping Casey spent the night hiding, and once she sees me, she’ll come out.”

“That’s what we’re hoping, too.”

“You were right—I do like Paige. And she vouched for you as a good guy.”

“Were you worried I was otherwise?”

“No, but it’s always good to have someone verify my first impression.”

“Glad I passed the test. Though I can’t say I’m all that comfortable knowing you two have been discussing my merits and flaws.”

“Ha! As if men don’t do the same with women.”

“I promise, I haven’t discussed you with anyone.”

Under other circumstances, that admission might have disappointed her, Maya told herself. But there were bigger things at stake right now. “What’s the plan for this morning?” she asked.

“I think you should hang around the main camp. If any of the search team spot Casey, or any signs of her, they can contact the base and we’ll get you to that location.”

That sounded like a lot of sitting around and waiting for other people to find Casey—not what she had in mind. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I want to take a look at the property adjacent to the place your sister and her husband owned. A few years back, a developer bought it and had plans to build a big resort, but he ran afoul of local environmentalists. The property is supposed to be vacant, but Paige told me last night she was up there a few days ago and it looked as if someone had been working there. If I can find whoever that was, maybe they saw something that will lead us to your sister’s killer. Or maybe someone there has seen Casey.”

“Or maybe this mysterious person is the killer.” Maya wrapped her arms across her stomach to ward off a chill.

“Maybe.” Gage looked grim. “It’s something I need to find out.”

“I want to come with you,” Maya said. “If there are other people working there, it makes sense that Casey would have headed in that direction.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to walk into,” Gage said. “I can’t risk putting you in danger.”

“I don’t care about that.” When he gave her a questioning look, she set her jaw. “No offense, Deputy, but I’ll do almost anything to save my niece. That’s more important to me than anything else right now.”

“And if I order you to stay away?” he asked.