"What?" Kenny says. "Someone killed--"
"He escaped."
Kenny's mouth works. Then he stops. "Because I left him unguarded. Shit. I'm sorry, Eric. He was secured and the fire--"
"He got himself unsecured," I say. "With this." I hold out Kenny's knife.
Kenny pats his pockets. "No. No. He must have--I know this looks bad but--"
"You told me Val let you leave. She says she didn't. After you told me that, I called you back. You kept going."
"I didn't hear--Wait. Val says she didn't tell me to leave? I heard the bell, and then I smelled smoke, and I told her and she was freaking out over the fire, and maybe she didn't understand what I was asking. You know how she gets. Bring her here. Let me talk to her."
"Brady took her."
"W-what?"
Dalton says, "He took Val hostage. You're staying in that cell, and we'll talk when we get back. Just hope we have Val with us to straighten this out."
Before we go, Dalton changes his mind about bringing Anders. That would leave Rockton exposed. The fire was a distraction, and Dalton failed to see that, so now he's madly spinning out all the possibilities we might be missing. One is that Brady expects we'll do exactly this--gather our law enforcement and troop into the forest, leaving the town with a guard or two on fire cleanup. He could take more hostages, steal an ATV, even try to steal the plane.
I explain the situation to Anders, Sam, and Nicole as we walk. Then Anders runs back to town, where he'll have the remains of the militia guard the vehicles and patrol the town while citizens handle the fire fallout.
We move at a brisk walk. Val will be alone in the forest, which she has not set foot in since she was attacked here shortly after she arrived. Now she's about to be abandoned in these woods after being marched in at gunpoint. I cannot imagine what that will be like. Nicole can. She's moving faster than any of us, and Dalton has to call her back, saying, "If Brady thinks we didn't give him an hour, that gives him an excuse."
An excuse to kill Val.
We're approaching the final curve when Dalton's gait catches. A split-second hesitation as his chin lifts and his nostrils flare, finding some scent in the breeze.
"Eric?" I say as I come up beside him.
His nostrils flare again. His gaze fixes on the path, and when Sam whispers, "What's the plan?," Dalton doesn't seem to hear him.
"You two stay here," I whisper to Sam and Nicole.
I slant a look at Dalton, giving him the chance to contradict the order. He just keeps moving, his gaze fixed on that corner.
"Guns out," I whisper to the other two. "Watch the forest. Do not fire."
I jog to catch up with Dalton. He's rounding that final curve to the place where we should find Val--
The breeze hits, bringing with it the unmistakable coppery smell of blood.
I cover Dalton. He doesn't have his gun out. His arm isn't good enough for that. Instead, he reaches his right hand into his pocket for his knife.
I have my gun ready as we continue around the curve . . .
There's something on the path. Dalton stops short, but he doesn't look at the object. He's scanning the forest. I give the object one quick glance, and then pull my gaze away after I'm sure it's not a person.
As I survey the forest, though, I recall the image. A bloodied heap. Something brown.
What was Val wearing?
It's too small to be her body. Too small to be her entire body.
I don't pursue that thought.
I know why Dalton is ignoring the heap--he can't be distracted from a potential trap. But the unknown pounds at my head, my mouth going dry, and all I can think about is Val agreeing to be our spy with Brady.