Page 38 of Fallen Creed

Creed tucked Grace under his arm on the opposite side of his wound. Snow caked his boots and felt like wet cement. He shielded Grace as he ducked under low-hanging branches, heavy with snow. In some places, even the women had to bend and weave between trees and shrubs. Not a single piece of green or yellow was left. A thick blanket of white covered the entire landscape.

Creed could still hear the river. In the distance, a train whistle sounded closer.

Libby stayed in the front. Ariel followed Creed, but he heard her stumble and fall back twice. He told himself he could wait this out. He was a Marine, being forced to walk single-file between his two captors in snow up to his knees. But he could wait. The fire burning in his side insisted he wait.

Several times, a crack then crash stopped them. At a glance, they could see branches snapping under the weight of the snow. In the complete silence, the sounds were amplified and dangerously close.

It was no longer just snow that was falling. Some of the precipitation had turned to ice. Tiny needles pelted Creed’s face. He hugged Grace close to his body now, using both arms to protect her and keep her warm. Holding her tight meant not being able to apply pressure to his wound. All he cared about right now was getting out of this freezing cold. That was the best thing he could do for Grace and for himself.

—30—

The drive from Grand Island to Hastings was only twenty-six miles. What should have been a thirty-minute trip had taken Maggie an hour. Billows of snow blew across the road and up over the vehicles. Her fingers clenched the steering wheel. By the time she arrived at the hardware store, her back and shoulders ached from the tension.

Judging by the parking lot, a little snow didn’t stop the locals. She stepped out of her rental and her hiking boot disappeared into what had to be a half foot of snow.

She checked her phone. No messages. She tried not to worry. Ryder would be the first to remind her he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and Grace. But when was the last time he’d experienced snow like this?

She asked at the front of the store to speak with the manager and pretended to not be surprised when a young man who looked fresh out of high school appeared before her.

“Hi, I’m Kevin,” he said, his eyes summing her up, ready to take her complaint.

She showed him her badge as she introduced herself, ignoring his eyes going wide as he repeated, “FBI? Is this about Kristin? I already told the police everything I know.”

“Is there some place we can talk?”

He gestured for her to follow him and took her to the back of the store. The empty break room smelled of stale coffee.

“I don’t know what else I can tell you,” Kevin started before she asked a question. “She wasn’t even on the schedule to work Thursday. She was filling in for another worker. You know, what’s weird about that is I didn’t notice because they look so much alike.”

Kevin was a chatterbox. Maggie simply nodded and let him continue.

“Half way through the shift, I realized Kristin didn’t have her own name badge on. She constantly forgets it. We can’t just make new ones every time someone forgets. So I noticed she has Libby’s on, and she tells me it was on her smock in her locker so she just put it on. Customers wouldn’t notice. They look so much alike. It’s just funny how—”

“Wait a minute.” Maggie held up her hand. “Libby? Are you talking about Libby Holmes?”

“Yeah. She was supposed to work, but she traded with Kristin. They’re not supposed to do that. They need to call me, but I—”

“Kristin and Libby look alike?”

“Oh yeah. They could be sisters.”

“Kevin, I’m going to need to see your security camera files for Thursday.”

“Security cameras?”

“The in-store, as well as the ones in the parking lot.”

“I’m not sure how to do that.”

“You’re the manager, Kevin. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, or you know who to call. I’ll need to look at the receipts for the last ten days.”

“You need to see how much money?”

“Items bought and time stamps. You probably have a digital way we can look at it. I’ll have Agent Anthony Alonzo call you from Quantico. He’ll give you instructions.”

“Quantico?”

She could see Kevin was already in over his head. She wrote her name and phone number on a card and handed it to him just as her phone started to ring.