“We’ll climb up the rocks.”
Max gaped at her. “Have you lost your freaking mind? This is, like, a ridiculously vertical mountain. It’s a steep, badass mountain like in that movie The Eiger Sanction. You remember that? Because I’m sure you’ve seen it.”
Afton was shaking her head. “This is your basic sandstone cliff. Not that big a deal. Come on, the Sorenson house is directly above us. If you squidge your head to one side, you can see smoke curling up from its chimney.”
“You’re crazy,” Max said. “You know that? Certifiably.” But he climbed out of the car with Afton and stomped through the snow to take a look. “Madness,” he muttered.
Afton walked to the base of the cliff and stared up. Max wasn’t sure if she was bluffing or if she seriously intended to scale the cliff.
Afton hoisted herself up onto a boulder. “I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult. This is basic bouldering. You use handholds and footholds and just proceed up one step at a time.” She looked at him. “You give it a shot.”
Max put a leg up and tried to gain a foothold. Just when he thought he’d gained a solid perch, his foot slipped off and he went down, banging his shin against a rock.
“I’m wearing desert boots,” Max said. “With slippery rubber soles.”
“Try again.”
Max tried to climb again, but every time he kept slipping back.
“It can’t be done,” he said. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work. My feet are too clumpy and I don’t know the first thing about climbing. We have to wait for the snowplows to do their thing up top and then we’ll come back tomorrow.” He started to tromp back toward the car. “I should have known this was a terrible idea. It’s snowing like a bastard and we’re barely going to make it back across the river. Hell, we might have to ditch in Hudson for the night.”
“Can’t you call Don Jasper and have him drop some FBI commandos in here or something?” Afton asked. “I mean, where are the guys in the black helicopters when you need them?” She was only half serious. Decided she had to do something to cajole Max out of his angry funk.
“That only happens in the movies,” Max said. “Besides, I already tried calling and couldn’t get a connection.” He shrugged. “Sorry. That’s all she wrote.”
Afton walked to the rear of the Navigator and lifted the hatch. She dug around for a minute and pulled out a twist of rope.
“Oh no,” Max said. “You’re not going to try to scale that hill by yourself.”
She pulled out a set of crampons and an ice ax.
He rubbed the back of his hand against his cheek. “On the other hand, maybe you are.”
Afton slipped the crampons over her boots and snugged the straps tight. “I’m going up,” she told him in a matter-of-fact voice. “I’m going to take a look around and try to determine if the Darden baby is in that farmhouse. I promise I won’t do anything stupid.”
“You’re going to climb that big cliff. That’s pretty stupid right there.”
“No,” she said. “It’s risky. There’s a difference between stupidity and risk.”
“Now you tell me.” Max stood back and watched as she continued to gear up.
When Afton was ready, she mustered a small smile. “Okay. Ready.”
“I’m gonna drive back to that last farm we passed and call the cops in Hudson,” Max told her. “They’re the closest, so they can get here the fastest.”
“If that farm even has a land line.”
Max ignored her. “I’ll have Hudson PD contact WisDOT and try to get the road up top plowed as soon as possible. Then we’ll come in full force with the cavalry.”
“Okay,” Afton said. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And I have to call Thacker and Jasper, too.”
“Oops.”
“I’ll probably be forty or fifty minutes behind you, an hour at most,” Max said. He gazed at her and turned even more serious. “Listen, you go in, grab that little baby if you find her, and then get the hell out of there. Wrap her up like a burrito in a dozen blankets and head out the front road. You got that? That’s where we’ll be coming in.”
Afton nodded. “Got it.” She was suddenly scared. And she knew that Max knew she was scared. “You think the baby’s there, too, don’t you?”
“I do, yeah. I hate to admit it, but you’ve got me convinced.”
“Good,” Afton said. “Anything else?”
“Ah, just one more thing.”
“What?” Was he going to tell her to be careful?
Max handed her his Glock. “Try not to shoot yourself.”
43
WE can’t leave,” Ronnie said.
Shake sat up in bed, instantly alert. “What’s wrong?” Oh no, had Ronnie chickened out? Had he changed his mind? Had Marjorie gotten to him? Had she bickered and harassed and browbeat him to death?