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EARTH DATE: JUNE 17 08:30 AM
Gardenside, Alberta, Canada
Earth, Dimension Two
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CLAY BRENDON GLANCED at the time displayed on the dash of his police cruiser and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Where the hell was Brooke? She should have been here fifteen minutes ago. This wasn’t like her. She was never late, and she wasn’t answering her cell. Rubbing his neck, he wondered if she’d twisted an ankle, and was stubbornly hobbling her way home. She had his cell number, and she waved at him as he passed, so he knew damn well that she’d seen him, but that didn’t mean she would call. Brooke was too independent for her own good sometimes.
He’d met Jaxson St. Claire on the first day of kindergarten and his mom, Brooke, on the second day. From that point on, Brooke took him under her wing. His biracial uniqueness and his rough home life hadn’t made any difference. Brooke showed him the same fierce protective love that she poured out on her own children. He had become one of hers.
He radioed the station and told them his location, grinning over the good-natured ribbing he always got about his cookie breaks, then got out of his car and headed toward the trail Brooke should exit on. She would probably show up any second and tease him for being a worrier.
He called out her name as he walked, carefully scanning the heavily forested area as he tried her cell again, but it rang until it clicked over to her voicemail.
A couple kilometers down the trail, Clay’s worry increased. Hell, he was more than worried. He had a really bad feeling. He hoped like hell she hadn’t run into a bear or a cougar. Fuck! A few more feet and he came to a stop. Brooke’s smartphone lay in the long grass beside the trail. After doing a careful visual scan of the area, he crouched down next to the phone as he took in the scene. The dirt on the trail contained two distinctly different footprints. This was private land. No one else should be on it. There was a flattened area in the grass to the side of the trail, and blood staining a rock buried in the grass.
Grabbing his radio, he called in to the station to make a request for search and rescue. He stood up and looked around for any evidence that would indicate the direction Brooke had been taken. There was nothing. No footprints. Not a fucking blade of grass out of place! He swore as worst-case scenarios began running through his mind. He did another careful scan of the forest, looking for anything out of place, anything that would give him a direction to begin a search. There was nothing. There was fucking nothing!
He pulled out his phone, and with a grim look, called the one other person who knew this land like the back of his hand, his best friend Jaxson, Brooke’s son.
Twenty minutes later, a black pickup truck with St. Claire Construction emblazoned on the doors roared into the driveway and slammed to a stop beside the police cruiser. Dust filled the air as the driver's door opened and a blond man stepped out, his emerald-green eyes sweeping the area for Clay, before he walked over to the passenger side of the vehicle where his sister and his mother’s best friend were climbing out. He grabbed the backpack that his sister had hastily packed, and they headed out into the forest.
“Jaxson!”
“Have you found anything, Clay?” Jaxson asked, even though he could see from the hard look on his friends face that the answer was no. Shit. He’d really hoped to arrive and find his mother and Clay having a coffee and laughing about Clay being a worrywart. He glanced at his sister, Dani, and saw the same worry in her green eyes, before turning back to Clay. “You haven’t found Mom?”
Clay shook his head. “No. I’ve called search and rescue. They should be here any minute.” He hugged Danielle tightly. “Where are the kids?”
“I had a friend come over and watch them,” Dani replied, holding on to the police officer who she considered one of her big brothers. Heaven knew he was as overprotective as Jaxson. The two of them drove her nuts on a regular basis.
Clay gave Dani a little squeeze before turning and hugging Nissa. “We’ll find her, Nissa.”
Nissa hugged Clay back and nodded her head. “We will find her,” her voice was firm. She had no room for doubt in her mind. They would find Brooke. “I called Chief Wolf, and he said that no bears or cougars have been spotted in this area recently. He’s coming with some of his men to help search for her.”
Clay nodded. “Thanks, Nissa.” He turned and shoved a hand through his brown hair then showed them what he’d found. It wasn't enough. Not even close to enough.
By the time Search and Rescue pulled into the St. Claire property, more police, Chief Wolf and his men, and Brooke’s friends and neighbors had shown up to help.
***
JUNE 18, DAY TWO
They had optimism and hope. It balanced the fear that kept crowding into their minds. The search and rescue dogs hadn’t picked up a scent, and with that information, the police became grim, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for miles around. The search and rescue team searched Brooke’s land and her immediate neighbors' land, sure they would find her or some clue to her whereabouts. But they were wrong. Nissa called the media and organized posters to be distributed province wide, fully aware that the faster they got the information out to the public, the greater their chances of finding Brooke.
***
JUNE 19, DAY THREE
They were quietly determined, the search area now targeting a fifty-kilometer radius. Nissa, determined and willing to throw a lot of money into solving the mystery of her friend's disappearance, convinced the powers that be to get some helicopters into the search. She interviewed with the local TV and radio stations and put out word that there was a large reward being offered for any information on Brooke St. Claire. She organized a huge force of volunteers to plaster five counties with the missing posters. Clay, along with the rest of the small police detachment, went door to door. The search area was massive, the dire possibilities replaying in everyone’s minds, and the situation becoming more urgent with every minute that passed.
***
JUNE 20, DAY FOUR
They were angry and fighting fear, but resolutely searching a hundred-kilometer radius. They would find Brooke. A national TV crew showed up and interviewed the family. Brooke’s disappearance was being reported nationwide. Where was she? No one knew.
It was dark when Clay walked wearily into the yard, the moon high in the sky, and he’d been awake for more than seventy-two hours at this point. He desperately needed coffee and something to eat. Hearing his name, he looked up and saw the haggard face of his friend. Together they walked into the big St. Claire house and straight to the kitchen. Nissa handed them both a coffee, her face marked with the stress and lack of sleep. “Did Dani go into the washroom?”
Jaxson paused mid sip and looked up at Nissa. “I thought she was here with you. I sent her back here this afternoon and told her to try to get a couple hours sleep.”
Clay set down his cup. “I haven’t seen her, Nissa.”
Nissa shook her head. “She came here, called to check on the kids, then drank some coffee and headed back out. She said she was going to catch up with you, Jaxson.”
Both men started to stand when Nissa slapped her hand down on the table. “Drink your goddamn coffee!” She snapped, “And you’re going to eat something too! What good is it going to do anyone if you collapse on us!” She turned abruptly and started ladling thick stew into large bowls. But they’d seen the tears. Clay looked at Jaxson, then stood up and took the ladle from the slender dark-haired middle-aged woman, turning her in his arms to hug her tightly. “Nissa, we’ll find Danielle.”
Once she calmed down, Nissa fed the men and fixed them a thermos of coffee before they headed back out. Only this time they were looking for their sister as well.
It was just after midnight when Jaxson stepped out of the forest onto a faint trail that led him up a steep hill overlooking the valley. He glanced around before walking into a clearing that, come morning, would be kissed with the stunning colours of the sunrise. There she was, laying on the soft grass that covered their grandparents' graves. The small family graveyard held seven generations of St. Claire’s. Every one of the St. Claires was born and raised on this land. His father wasn’t here, but then again, his father had been a Burkman not a St. Claire, and after his terrible betrayal, he had no right to anything St. Claire.
“Danielle.” His sister turned her head, and his heart clenched at the absolute hopelessness written across her face. He walked over and sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “When we find mom, we are all taking that trip to Hawaii we’ve been talking about for the last five years.” His voice was thick as he fought the moisture prickling at his eyes. “You've been talking to Gramma and Gramps?”
“Jaxson?” Dani clung to the broad shoulders of her brother, tears dripping down her face as she whispered her terrible question. “W-What if she’s dead?”
“She’s not dead, Dani,” Jaxson said firmly. Though deep inside he was beginning to fear the worst. “She can’t be dead. We still need her too much. Clay wouldn’t survive without her cookies.”
“Hey. Quit maligning my good name,” Clay spoke as he walked up to them. It looked like he’d had the same hunch as Jaxson. He sat down with his family and pulled out a thermos. This was as good a place as any to talk. As a family they needed to decide their next steps.
***
JUNE 21, DAY FIVE
The day dawned bright and clear, and the searchers hadn’t slept in four days. Where was Brooke St. Claire? There were no answers. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.