“Maybe a mile or so but it’s difficult to navigate.” Nootau frowned. “The mountain will be angry at being disturbed, the last time man set dynamite into the rock, the falls changed direction and washed away an entire village.”
Jenna straightened her weary back and looked at her team. “Keep moving, we’re only surmising he’s blown up the entrance. I want to see for myself.”
“My daughter is in there and I don’t know if she’s dead or alive.” Wolfe loomed up behind them, a shaft of moonlight crossing a face chiseled with undisguised rage. “I hope he’s left a hole big enough for me to crawl through because I want him to know I’m coming for him.”
Fifty-Eight
Wishing she could stop time, Jenna ran beside Kane as they followed Atohi through the forest. They reached the cave entrance and she stopped to stare in dismay. Her flashlight revealed a pile of rocks blocking the entrance, and above a landslide clung by a few bushes waiting to bury it forever. She looked at Kane. “Now what?”
As Kane and Wolfe scanned the area with their flashlights, Jenna sipped from a bottle of water. She turned to Jo. “This isn’t looking good. This could be a distraction. He could be hauling her miles away and will escape free and clear.”
“No, he’s in there and must have been carrying Julie.” Atohi was crouched on the trail heading in the other direction. “He came this way, along an animal track from the firebreak. There are no footprints leading away. He must be inside the caves.”
Dust was still settling over the pile of rocks. Jenna glanced over the area. “We’ll need people at the other exit.”
“My grandfather can take your deputies.” Atohi moved to her side.
“Good idea.” Jo looked at her through the gloom. “I’m convinced he trapped himself inside on purpose. I figure he plans to hole up in there until we leave.” She turned to Atohi. “Did you come across anything at all in the caves? I’d say he has supplies hidden inside there somewhere and knows another way out.”
“No, we saw nothing to say he’d been there apart from a piece of twine, used as a guide.” Atohi rubbed the back of his neck. “He could have hidden supplies anywhere inside. The caves are vast and go off in many directions. We went to the passageway that led to the waterfall, as we believed the girl fell from there.” He thought for a beat. “There was a cavern with an old mattress but it looked as if bears had used it as a restroom. We didn’t think he’d keep a woman there.”
“Jenna.” Kane was standing on one edge of the rockslide beside Wolfe. “We’ve made a hole through into the cave.”
She hurried to
his side and aimed her flashlight into the dark recess. The drop inside was at least six to eight feet. She shone the beam all around. The passageway was empty for at least fifteen yards ahead. Standing back, she examined the surrounding rocks. Unstable was an understatement. Where Kane and Wolfe had pried the massive boulder from the pile, dirt and pebbles spilled down from above, like sand through an hourglass. She stared at the men, both had masks of determination. “Neither of you will fit in there. I’ll go.” She unbuckled her duty belt and handed it to Wolfe.
“Jenna.” Kane gripped her arms and stared at her, his expression like granite. “This man has no respect for women. It makes no difference if we’re dealing with Suffolk or Cleaves, both have the same beliefs and both are dangerous unpredictable men. You won’t be able to reason with him. Give us time to clear away more boulders and we’ll all go.”
Shaking her head, Jenna lifted her chin. “No! We’re all out of time and even I can see moving any more of those rocks will cause a landslide. I’m going after Julie and either help me climb inside that hole or I’ll ask Atohi.”
“I’m going too.” Jo moved up beside her. “Both of us are quite capable of taking on one man.” She removed her backpack and checked her weapon. “I know how to deal with a psychopath, let me do my job.”
“There will be no communication once you go inside, your phones are useless.” The nerve in Kane’s cheek ticked. “We won’t know what’s happening or be able to provide backup. You’ll be on your own.”
Swallowing the apprehension growing inside her, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, I know.” She looked at him. “I agree with Jo, he’ll be holed up inside and figures we can’t get to him. We’ll be able to surprise him.”
She heard a bark and Duke came bounding out of the dark with Carter close behind. “Good to see you made it down the mountain.”
“You had any doubt?’ Carter gave her an exasperated look. “I heard the explosion.” He aimed his flashlight at the rockfall. “That’s going to come down. If you’re planning on crawling in that hole, you haven’t got much time. One drop of rain or if the wind picks up, you’ll be stuck inside and it will take days to dig you out, maybe we’ll never get to you.” He scanned the rockface. “We need a crew out here to shore this up.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll see what I can arrange.”
“Thanks.” Jenna moved slowly to the hole, and dropped her bag and then her duty belt inside. Her flashlight went next and she breathed a sigh of relief when it spun across the sandy rock floor and filled the gloom with light. She turned to Kane for assistance and Nootau tossed her a ball of twine. She fumbled it and then looked at him enquiringly. “What’s this for?”
“Tie one end to your belt and give the ball to Kane to feed out as you go.” Nootau smiled his teeth flashing white in the darkness. “Now you have a communication and tracking device. Keep turning left, the right will take you to the falls and certain death.”
“Thank you.” Jenna attached the twine to the back of her belt and handed the ball to Kane. “Two tugs, means, we’re okay. Three means we’ve found him.” She met his gaze. “Will you help me climb inside?”
When he lifted her and lowered her into the hole, she dropped her voice for his ears only. “I promise, I’ll find Julie and bring him out to face justice, Dave… for Annie.”
Jenna watched his eyes as he lowered her inside the cave; he was wearing his combat face but the slight nod he gave her said more than any words he could have uttered. His strong grasp slipped away and she dropped, landing in a squat and looked all around listening for any sound. The caves had a damp, feral smell and cobwebs hung like dusty lace drapes from the roof. She straightened, collected her flashlight and backpack, before giving Kane a wave. Jo’s backpack came through the hole and then Jo dropped in beside her. Sand and pebbles peppered their helmets like buckshot.
“Wait.” Kane’s voice sounded so far away. “Wolfe has one of Julie’s sweaters with him, take Duke, he’ll lead you to her.”
Within seconds an evidence bag dropped through the hole and Duke was lowered down, swinging in his harness, his eyes wide. Jenna ran to lift him down. “Good boy.” She untied the rope, opened the bag, and offered it to Duke. “Seek.” He walked around and then sat and looked at her. Dismayed, she turned to Jo. “He can’t find a trail.”
“The bomber probably carried her inside but will have to put her down eventually.” Jo stared into the darkness and her eyes widened. “What was that?”
A breeze rushed through the cave moaning like an evil spirit and every hair on Jenna’s body stood to attention. She hated dark places and, after listening to Atohi’s amazing stories, was convinced spirits roamed the catacombs. Gathering her courage, she turned to Jo. “It’s just the wind. The caves make strange noises but the only monster we need to worry about is the bomber.”