Page 115 of Twilight Tactics

“Store owner says a woman matching Thompson’s description called from here about five minutes ago. Used the pay phone outside, then headed back into the woods when a couple of trucks approached.”

Elena. She’d made it to a phone. “Did she say who she called?”

“Owner doesn’t know. But he said she looked scared, kept watching the road.”

“What’s your location?”

Donovan gave him the coordinates. Sully checked the map. The market was about two miles ahead, where the logging road intersected with a county highway.

“We’re on our way. Set up a perimeter and start searching the surrounding area.”

“Already on it.”

Sully accelerated, hope surging. Elena was alive. She’dreached a phone. But now she was back in the woods, with the preppers still searching for her. Well, as long as she was moving, she wasn’t freezing—or being held against her will.

“There’s the highway.” Cooper pointed ahead where the dirt road widened and met pavement.

Flashing lights of police vehicles around a little market alerted him to Sheriff Donovan. The man stood in the parking lot, directing deputies into search patterns.

Sully pulled up and jumped out. “Any sign of her?”

Donovan shook his head. “Not yet. But we found footprints heading into the woods on the other side of the highway. Small, like a woman’s. And deeper than normal, like she was running.”

“Show me.”

Donovan led him across the highway to where yellow crime scene tape marked off an area at the forest’s edge. Clear footprints were visible in the snow.

“That’s probably her. She wouldn’t stay on the road where they could spot her from vehicles.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’ve got teams moving in on foot, but it’s slow going in the dark.”

Sully stared into the forest. Every instinct screamed at him to charge in after her, but he knew better. They needed a plan.

“Let’s get thermal imaging drones in the air if we have any more.”

“One of your agents already requested that,” Donovan said. “Should be here within the hour.”

An hour might be too long. He started to point that out when Donovan pulled an iPad off the dash of his vehicle. “Take a look at this.” He jabbed at an area. “These are areas I just sent deputies to search.” He pointed to another area north of that. “This is where we are and this area here”—more pointing—“is where we need to cover.” He tapped the screen. “Topographical map.”

Sully nodded. “Okay. Let’s note every cabin, structure, or shelter within a five-mile radius.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sully walked back to the store, where the owner stood by the door wringing his hands, brow furrowed.

“Sir, I need to know exactly what the woman said when she was here. Every detail you can remember.”

The man nodded. “She came running up from that direction.” He pointed toward the logging road. “We live upstairs, apartment in the front, and I had the light on, getting some water, looking out the window. She pounded on the door till I came down. Asked to use the phone. I told her the landline wasn’t working right now and the signal for cell phones here isn’t great, but we still had a pay phone outside. And yes, I know what year it is, but I’ve just kept the pay phone, thanks to the intermittent signal. I even gave her a quarter to use. She thanked me, asked what the address was here. I told her, and she ran to the phone.”

“Did she appear injured?”

“Her wrist was wrapped up with something. She had some cuts on her face and was limping pretty hard. Looked like she’d been through it, if you don’t mind me saying. I offered to let her stay here and warm up, but she said no thanks. Said it might put me in danger.”

“Then what happened?”

“She made her call. Couldn’t have been more than a minute. Then these two pickup trucks came flying up the road. She saw them and just took off, straight into the woods over there. The trucks stopped, dropped off two guys, then on up the road.”

So she may have tried to call him but had to hang up and run before the call went through. “How long ago exactly?”