Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(78)

“Think about it! How could I know? Please, let me make it up to you. You frightened me when I saw you pull your gun. I wouldn’t have hurt you otherwise.”

His mouth worked and he blinked rapidly. “I have our marriage license in my pocket. I’d thought we’d go to Bangor and get married tonight.”

If she could get to a courthouse, she’d have help. “I think that’s a fine idea. Let’s go now.” She held her hand out to him.

The gun came back up. “Prove you mean it and throw the bear spray away.”

She managed to keep her smile pinned in place as she tossed the can onto the ground. “There, see? I trust you.”

He lowered the gun again, and a smile finally lifted his lips. “Let’s go.”





THIRTY-SIX


Gulls squawked overhead, and the wind had nearly dried Drake’s clothes. The storm would be here any minute. Claire and Luke kept pace with him as they rushed down the length of the rocky beach toward the place where Kate had planned to meet her stalker. As long as he lived he’d never forget that moment he’d gone sailing toward what he’d thought was certain death in the choppy waves below. God had other plans, and he prayed God was keeping Kate safe until he could find her.

Luke reached the steps cut into the rocks and knelt to examine the thin sand. “Looks like a man’s footsteps here.” He rose and began to climb the granite stairs. Drake hurried after him.

Claire started up with them. “Does Jonas have a boat? He might have taken her off that way.”

Luke’s voice floated down as he continued the climb. “The sheriff says he has no boat. Danny is on his way here now. It hasn’t been that long, so Kissner is probably still on Folly Shoals somewhere. The only way off is by ferry, and they’ve shut it down.”

Drake shook his head. “I don’t buy it. Kissner has thought this all through. He’s not going to get trapped here on the island. He could have chartered a boat or borrowed one. We have to think of every possible escape route.”

But what if his intentions weren’t to escape? Maybe Kissner planned to kill Kate, then slip off by himself. Drake curled his hands into fists. They had to find her first—they had to. It had been an hour since he’d plummeted into the ocean. They could be anywhere by now.

“You have a point.” Luke paused on the steps and pulled out his phone, then shot off a quick text. “I’m having my crew check for boats docked offshore. We’ll get more Coast Guard cutters around here. He won’t get away.”

The first drops of rain began to fall when Drake stepped onto the cliff top. The forest began twenty feet away on the other side of a dirt road that circled up to Mermaid Point. He stared at the marks in the dirt. The rain would soon wash away any footprints. Tires crunched in the rocky dirt, and he looked up to see a truck sporting a Maine Warden Service emblem roll to a stop.

Kevin O’Connor got out and jogged toward them. “Any sign of her?” He wiped rain from his face. “Man, I bought his story hook, line, and sinker. He found me settled into my hiding place and told me he’d found her car abandoned with her gone from it. We all believed him. Drake, if you’d died, he wouldn’t even be suspected right now. We’d all be looking for some unknown attacker without a clue. He probably still doesn’t know we’re on to him.”

“I bet he got Kate to go with him willingly. She wouldn’t have any idea he was the man who’d been stalking her.” Drake pointed at the footprints. “You’re good at following a trail?”

“Yep.” Kevin knelt in the rain and looked over the disturbed ground. “Two people came this way. One big set of shoe prints and a smaller set wearing sandals. And it looks like the guy was on his knees at some point.”

“Kate and Kissner.”

“Most likely.” Kevin rose and headed for the trees.

Claire pulled the hood up on her Windbreaker and followed with Luke. Drake gave another quick look around. “Could he have parked his truck somewhere close and maybe he’s circling back around to it?”

Kevin paused by a large sycamore tree. “It’s likely. He’s got to have a getaway, but the tracks lead here. It looks to me like Kate was running. She may have disabled him temporarily and gotten away.”

“She’s resourceful, and she had a pistol and bear spray,” Claire said. “We’re wasting time. He’s tracking her right now. We have to find them before he hurts her.”

Drake jogged over to join them. “Lead the way, Kevin. You’re the tracker.”

The warden nodded and walked slowly through the trees. In the shadow of the forest it was harder to see, so he paused often and shone his flashlight at the moss and grass. “Looks like she tricked him for a while. She backtracked, then climbed the rocks here. He went that way”—he pointed to his right—“then came back and went up here after her.”

The rain continued to fall in a gentle patter, soaking his skin, but Drake was already chilled from his dunk in the ocean, so it made him shiver even harder. She might just be up this hillside. He could only pray they found her alive.

With Kevin leading the way, they clambered up the steep incline. Shale slid away under Drake’s feet, and he fell onto his knees several times. He wanted to rush past Kevin, who moved at a steady pace, but he knew the warden was stopping often to make sure they stayed on the right trail.