Similar to the effects the sound of crunching glass mixing with metal had on her, the sound of lead scratching across paper sent shivers tingling along Alyssa’s spine as Joe scribbled notes on what she’d said.

‘I’ll get on this right away and see what else I can dig up.’ There was a light thud as if Joe had tapped his fist or dropped the pencil, and then he released a heavy sigh.

Alyssa and Cord exchanged identical looks of concern. ‘What is it? There’s clearly something else on your mind.’

‘Look, Tony hasn’t been answering his phone, and when I went to his house last night to check on him, the mailbox was stuffed, and several issues of the Albuquerque Journal dating back to Saturday were still lying in the driveway.’

‘Maybe he’s up at his hunting cabin?’ Because she knew him so well, Alyssa heard the apprehension in Cord’s voice, just as she knew he was trying to stay positive for Joe.

‘Already considered that, but have you ever known Tony not to hit me up to check on his mail or get his paper out of the drive? You know how paranoid he is about that kind of thing.’

‘I know you’re worried about him, Joe. All of us are. Let’s put our heads together later and see if we can come up with a plan to reach him.’ Even as the words passed her mouth, Alyssa was thinking that Tony was more than just a great cop; he was a skilled hunter and tracker, and an avid survivalist on top of that, so if he didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Tuesday, October 8

It was the dampness of the ground seeping into her clothes, as well as the setting sun filtering through the leaves and shining into her eyes that once again dragged Addis back to semi-consciousness beneath a barely-there canopy of trees. Squinting as much to avoid being blinded as to stop the brightness from setting her brain on fire, she carefully inched her head to the left and then to the right.

‘Em? Emerson, please, please, please.’ Even if she hadn’t already known that her best friend wouldn’t respond, Addis couldn’t stop herself from crying out her name. And just like the dozen other times, silence met her pleas.

She had no idea exactly how long she’d been blinking in and out of awareness, but she knew that each time she’d willed her eyes to open, the sun’s position had shifted. The drop in temperature, along with the fading light, was enough to tell her she’d lost the entire day.