rang again and she picked it up.
“Hello?” She listened neutrally for a moment, and then her face clouded with worry. “Are you sure? Rohit said—” She paused, then crossed the trailer and jerked the door open. Rain pelted it as she peered outside. “Well, he’s not here. Have you tried the lodge?” She closed the door and shot Gage an anxious look. “Okay, call me if you find him.”
“Dylan’s still AWOL?” he said after she hung up.
“He’s not at the bar, the diner, or the lodge.”
“Car trouble, maybe?”
“No one spotted him on the way into town.”
Gage’s gaze settled on the camera that was sitting on a chair beside Kelsey’s baseball cap, and something he’d wondered about this afternoon was back in his head.
“Maybe he never went to town,” he said.
“Where else would he go? There aren’t a lot of options around here.”
“I’m not sure.” He stood up and grabbed his keys off the table. “But I’ve got an idea.”
In the fading light the petroglyphs looked oddly modern, like some strange graffiti made by pre-Columbian teenagers. Kelsey stepped back from the rocks, trying to imagine where Dylan would have stood to capture the most impressive angle.
“Are we sure he was up here earlier?” she asked Gage.
“You said that, not me. I haven’t seen the guy today.”
She surveyed the area for clues. “He said he was coming up here. His research includes these engravings.”
“Well, his footprints are here.”
She turned to Gage.
“Two sets of tracks, one coming in, one going out. Keen hiking boots, size ten.”
She gaped at him. “You know his shoe size?”
He shrugged. “It’s an estimate. But the boots, I know. I noticed them the other day because I used to have a pair.” Gage pointed to a footprint in the dust. The limestone overhang had kept the rain from obliterating it. “See that? The logo’s part of the tread.”
She looked at him with a renewed sense of appreciation. Her “hired hunk of muscle” comment had been way off base, and she felt a twinge of remorse. How would she have felt if he referred to her as a piece of meat? But he’d treated her with nothing but respect since his arrival. He was firm, yes, but always respectful.
Gage was looking out over the valley now. He glanced back at her. “Come here for a sec.”
“What?”
He took her arm and tugged her over, then turned her until she was facing due south. He left his hands on her shoulders and she pretended to be relaxed.
“What am I looking at?”
“Same thing Dylan was probably looking at when he was up here with his zoom lens.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the landscape. It was twilight and everything was washed with periwinkle. No shadows. Just endless desert dotted with scrub brush and the distant vegetation line that marked the Rio Grande.
“I still don’t know what I’m looking at.”
Gage sighed, clearly disappointed with her powers of observation.
“Hey, I was never an Eagle Scout,” she said. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me.”
His hands dropped away. “This is the same view we had from on top of that mercury mine the other night. Remember with the night-vision goggles?” He pointed at something straight in front of them. “I was looking right at that mesa. At that same stand of mesquite trees, in fact.”
She turned around. “I was stuck in the cave with all the bats. You were the one traipsing around with the high-tech toys.”
“Okay, point is, what if Dylan was out here taking pictures and he saw the same thing I saw? Maybe he got curious later and decided to drive out there and take a look.”
“You’re talking about the vanishing SUV?”
“Or whatever it was.” Gage’s attention was fixed on the horizon now. He shrugged out of the backpack he always carried and unzipped it, then pulled out a pair of binoculars. “You see his black Explorer down there?”
“I can hardly see anything. It’s
“Hello?” She listened neutrally for a moment, and then her face clouded with worry. “Are you sure? Rohit said—” She paused, then crossed the trailer and jerked the door open. Rain pelted it as she peered outside. “Well, he’s not here. Have you tried the lodge?” She closed the door and shot Gage an anxious look. “Okay, call me if you find him.”
“Dylan’s still AWOL?” he said after she hung up.
“He’s not at the bar, the diner, or the lodge.”
“Car trouble, maybe?”
“No one spotted him on the way into town.”
Gage’s gaze settled on the camera that was sitting on a chair beside Kelsey’s baseball cap, and something he’d wondered about this afternoon was back in his head.
“Maybe he never went to town,” he said.
“Where else would he go? There aren’t a lot of options around here.”
“I’m not sure.” He stood up and grabbed his keys off the table. “But I’ve got an idea.”
In the fading light the petroglyphs looked oddly modern, like some strange graffiti made by pre-Columbian teenagers. Kelsey stepped back from the rocks, trying to imagine where Dylan would have stood to capture the most impressive angle.
“Are we sure he was up here earlier?” she asked Gage.
“You said that, not me. I haven’t seen the guy today.”
She surveyed the area for clues. “He said he was coming up here. His research includes these engravings.”
“Well, his footprints are here.”
She turned to Gage.
“Two sets of tracks, one coming in, one going out. Keen hiking boots, size ten.”
She gaped at him. “You know his shoe size?”
He shrugged. “It’s an estimate. But the boots, I know. I noticed them the other day because I used to have a pair.” Gage pointed to a footprint in the dust. The limestone overhang had kept the rain from obliterating it. “See that? The logo’s part of the tread.”
She looked at him with a renewed sense of appreciation. Her “hired hunk of muscle” comment had been way off base, and she felt a twinge of remorse. How would she have felt if he referred to her as a piece of meat? But he’d treated her with nothing but respect since his arrival. He was firm, yes, but always respectful.
Gage was looking out over the valley now. He glanced back at her. “Come here for a sec.”
“What?”
He took her arm and tugged her over, then turned her until she was facing due south. He left his hands on her shoulders and she pretended to be relaxed.
“What am I looking at?”
“Same thing Dylan was probably looking at when he was up here with his zoom lens.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the landscape. It was twilight and everything was washed with periwinkle. No shadows. Just endless desert dotted with scrub brush and the distant vegetation line that marked the Rio Grande.
“I still don’t know what I’m looking at.”
Gage sighed, clearly disappointed with her powers of observation.
“Hey, I was never an Eagle Scout,” she said. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me.”
His hands dropped away. “This is the same view we had from on top of that mercury mine the other night. Remember with the night-vision goggles?” He pointed at something straight in front of them. “I was looking right at that mesa. At that same stand of mesquite trees, in fact.”
She turned around. “I was stuck in the cave with all the bats. You were the one traipsing around with the high-tech toys.”
“Okay, point is, what if Dylan was out here taking pictures and he saw the same thing I saw? Maybe he got curious later and decided to drive out there and take a look.”
“You’re talking about the vanishing SUV?”
“Or whatever it was.” Gage’s attention was fixed on the horizon now. He shrugged out of the backpack he always carried and unzipped it, then pulled out a pair of binoculars. “You see his black Explorer down there?”
“I can hardly see anything. It’s
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