“Well, he did let Waldridge use his car. Maybe now he’s getting around on a bike.”
“Maybe.” Kendra activated the flash on her phone and shined it up ahead. Just before the tread peeled around the house, there was a footprint on either side, as if the rider had paused for a moment. Kendra stood over the print and inspected it. “It’s a SIDI Fusion Lei riding boot, size seven or eight.” She looked up. “This was a woman.”
He raised his brows. “SIDI Fusion Lei…?”
“In my wild days, a lot of my friends were bikers. This is a hot-looking boot. It’s hard to miss.”
“Even from just a footprint in the snow?”
Kendra shrugged. “I thought about buying a pair myself once.”
Lynch looked up at the front porch. “No footprints up there. No one has come or gone in the last day or so.”
“Let’s check around back. It looks like that’s what the motorcycle rider did.”
They circled around back, following the tread to the large expanse of land behind the house. It was darker here, but the snow-covered ground reflected the half-moon with a blue, iridescent glow.
Kendra motioned toward the back of house, where the footprints told the story. “Whoever the motorcycle rider was, she checked the back door and windows. After that, she circled around…” Kendra’s eyes followed the line of footprints behind her, which appeared to circle a dark object half-covered in snow. “What’s that?”
Lynch was already heading toward it. “Wait here.”
“No way.” She half waded, half hopped, through the snow, but Lynch got there first.
He whirled sharply toward her. “Stay back!”
“What makes you think you can—”
She froze in her tracks, suddenly realizing what he’d seen, what he was trying to keep her from seeing.
A body. A dead body.
Waldridge?
“Oh, God. Is it—?”
He crouched next to the corpse. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
She made herself walk over and kneel next to him. Someone else had already brushed some of the snow off the body’s head and chest. But not enough, she couldn’t tell— She reached out, but Lynch stopped her. “I’ll do it.”
She shook her head. “It should be me.”
Don’t let it be him, she prayed. Don’t let all that brilliance and dedication end like this. Her hand was shaking as she carefully brushed off the rest of the loose snow.
She stopped as she saw the plump features and straggly white hair. It wasn’t Waldridge.
Thank God.
“It’s Hollister,” Lynch said. “Or whatever his name really was. He was shot in the chest. Looks like he’s been out here a couple of days, at least.”
Kendra nodded. “He may have been dead even before Waldridge came to see me. But why? And why here?”
Then something occurred to her. “The motorcycle tracks … Which way did they go?”
Lynch pointed to a clump of trees and brush. “They go in that direction…”
Kendra stiffened as her gaze followed where he was pointing. She whispered, “But where does it come out, Lynch?”
A single blinding headlight flooded through the trees and a motorcycle engine roared to life!
Before Kendra could even react, the cycle and its rider burst through the brush and spun its wheels in the snow.
It roared back around the house and hit the street.
Lynch was already running for the car. “Come on!”
They scrambled toward the Outback and piled in. Lynch started the engine and turned the wheel hard left. “Buckle up. I’m not sure what this thing can do.”
“There’s no way we can catch her.”
“We can sure as hell try.”
He jammed the accelerator and spun the Outback up the street. The back end fishtailed on the snow and ice.
Kendra glanced over at him. “That’s not good. Too slick. How does it feel?”
“We could use some more weight in the rear. Wanna get back there?”
“Seriously?”
“No.”
He stepped harder on the gas, getting more traction when they hit the plowed roadway. He pushed a button on the door console, powering down the door windows. Icy wind whipped through the passenger compartment.
“What’s that for?” Kendra shouted.
“Listen for the motorcycle. Which direction?”
Kendra nodded. Of course. Clever man. She should have thought of that herself, she thought in disgust. She leaned toward her open window and closed her eyes.
Detach. Concentrate.
There it was. That obnoxious motorcycle engine was echoing off buildings in the distance.
She leaned back. “Turn right.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You asked me to find it. Now trust me, dammit.”
He pulled the wheel hard right and skidded down a well-lit street of small shops.
“It’s up ahead now.”
Lynch nodded. “I hear it now. It doesn’t sound like she’s gunning it as hard.”
“She isn’t. She may not know we’re after her.”
Lynch stepped harder on the accelerator.
Kendra cocked her head. “I think she veered off to the left.”
Lynch cursed. “She’s heading down the mountain.”