Fire and Ice (10 page)

Robyn turned forward. “Hike!”

Rick couldn’t remember when he’d had a better time. Robyn led him first over trails he knew well, but then they veered onto land he’d never traveled. They stopped every time the race trail changed course, or any place a hazard occurred, like a sharp drop-off or rocks hidden beneath the snow. Robyn had packed different colored ribbons for marking the way and warning signals. Their brief stops gave the dogs short rests.

Rick had thought he was in good shape, but keeping up with Robyn challenged him. He watched her jump off frequently and run behind her sled, amazed at her energy.

“Hey, watch your team,” Robyn called at a stop an hour into their trek.

Rick had forgotten to set his snow hook. The minute he stepped off the runners, the dogs had leaned forward, ready to take off. “Whoa!” He jumped back onto the sled, putting his weight on the runners and reaching for the snow hook.

Robyn laughed. “Don’t bother. I’ll get this one. It won’t take a minute.” True to her word, she quickly positioned the markers where the trail took a turn and regained her position behind her team.

At the next stop, Rick was determined to prove he wasn’t an absolute greenhorn. He set his hook and made sure the lines were taut before letting go of the sled.

“Not bad.” Robyn tossed him a roll of plastic ribbon. “I want to mark this curve because of the rocks there. If someone runs into them, it’s bad news. We’ve had more than one sled wreck at this spot.”

Since no trees grew nearby, he held stakes she had set in the snow while she packed more of it tightly around them. “We’ll need to have someone check them the day before the race,” she said. “I get volunteers to run short stretches of the route that day until the whole trail is covered. It breaks the trail if we’ve had new snow and gives us the assurance that all the markers are still in place.” She clumped the snow tightly around the last stake. “There.”

Rick stood when she did. “This is fantastic. Thanks so much for letting me go with you.”

She smiled up at him. “I’m having fun.”

Her rich brown eyes sent him a message that made him believe she really was enjoying this morning as much as he was. He thought he knew her well enough now to interpret her moods. Had things gone beyond friendship?

Her glowing cheeks and bright eyes drew him. Now might be the time to kiss her. Or would that be too forward? He’d known her a year, but they’d spent only a little time together, most of it in the past week. He wanted to let her know how he felt—but did he really understand that himself?

He liked everything he knew about her, and each new revelation confirmed his impressions of her character. She was diligent and loyal. She loved the Lord. She cared deeply about her family, its heritage, and its well-being. And she was very pretty. But there was still so much to learn. If he told her now what he thought, would he regret it?

He leaned toward her, his heart pounding. As he reached for her, she sobered and hesitantly raised her arms. He pulled her closer. Robyn came into his arms but turned her face away, resting her head against his shoulder. His heart tumbled. Did she do that to avoid a kiss? Maybe it was too soon. But she stayed in his embrace for a moment.

Then she laughed, a sudden, contented burble.

He pulled away and eyed her cautiously.

“I’m sorry. It’s not funny, but …” She tossed her head, her lips curved in amusement.

He tried not to let his apprehension come through in his voice. “What?”

“It just hit me how hard it is to hug someone in January gear in Alaska.” She smiled up at him. Something about her expression told him she’d found the experience enjoyable.

He nodded. “We may have to repeat this experiment when we’re in a warmer place.”

Her smile widened. “We’d probably better head back, in case Mom’s got company.” She pulled out her phone and checked it. “Just as I thought. No service out here.”

“Let’s go.” Rick hurried to the back of his sled and reached for the snow hook. She hadn’t protested his comment. As they took the trail back, he found himself looking forward to kissing her and hoping that time came soon.

The dogs pulled them back toward the Holland Kennel yard at a smart trot. Rick believed those on his towline could have kept going all day and loved it. As the miles flew by, his thoughts drifted back to their embrace. Robyn was right—parkas weren’t the best attire for courting.

Cheryl came out the back door of the house as they came to a halt and ran to where Robyn hitched her team leaders. “I’m so glad you’re back!”

“What is it, Mom? Did Mr. Sterns show up here?”

“Not yet, but six of our dogs are missing.”

“Six dogs? What do you mean?” Robyn couldn’t process what her mother told her.

“I’ve called the police. I didn’t know what else to do.” Mom wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “I don’t know how this could have happened. I’m sorry.”

Robyn put her arm around her mother. “You’re freezing. Go inside. We’ll put the dogs away and come right in.”

Rick had tied his team with a snub line and walked slowly along the yard, looking at the ground. “These look like fresh snow machine tracks,” he called.

“Yes, they were pulling a trailer with a box or cage on it.” Mom’s eyes swam with tears. “I would have heard them, but after Mr. Sterns called, I decided to do some vacuuming, and when I shut it off, I heard the motor out here, but it was too late. By the time I got to the window, they were already pulling out.”

“Wait,” Robyn said. “Sterns called you?”

“Yes. About twenty minutes after you left. He told me he’d come around noon. I tried to get you, but I couldn’t get through, so I started cleaning up the house. I decided it was a good time to … well, that doesn’t matter. The thing is, when I heard the motor and ran to the kitchen window, I saw this snow machine with a trailer leaving the yard and going out that old woods road. I figured someone had just driven through, even though we have it posted not to. I was a little mad, but it happens.”

Rick had come over and stood beside Robyn, listening.

Mom went on, “Then I saw that one gate was open.”

Robyn swung around and looked at the enclosures. “Both gates are closed now.”

“Because I shut the one to the male dogs’ yard. It was wide open. I knew you wouldn’t leave it that way, so I ran out to look. Tumble was gone. And you’d said you were taking some of Pat Isherwood’s dogs out this morning, so I knew that meant you didn’t take Tumble for your leader.”

“Right,” Robyn said. “And Rick had Max leading.”

Her mother nodded and her face crumpled. “When you called me right before you left, I looked out and saw that you each had four dogs in your team. I had wondered if you would take Tumble in case Sterns came while you were gone, to make sure he didn’t try to take him, but I could see that you didn’t. So I ran through the lot to see what other dogs were gone. I counted fourteen missing, so besides the eight you had out, it looks like six were stolen.”

Rick reached out and touched her shoulder. “When will the state police be here?”

“Any time now.”

“Sounds like you did the right thing. Why don’t you go in and put the kettle on? Robyn and I will take care of the teams and be in shortly.”

She nodded, and her face quivered. “I feel so … angry. Angry and stupid.”

“Don’t,” Robyn said softly. “We’ll get them back.” She wished she believed that.

Her mother turned and trotted toward the house.

Robyn looked at Rick. “What do you think?”

“It’s very odd. Sterns calls and says he won’t come around for three hours or more, and then thieves come into the lot in broad daylight and steal six dogs.”

Robyn nodded. “Yes, including Tumble, the dog he was so angry about not getting. Let’s put these mutts away and make a list of who’s missing.”

They quickly stripped off the dogs’ harnesses and piled them on Robyn’s sled. When all of the dogs they’d exercised were tethered to their kennels, Robyn walked around the lot. She’d already realized the six missing dogs included two of Patrick Isherwood’s team, Wocket and Astro. Tumble and three other Holland Kennel dogs had also been taken.

“Odd,” she said, looking over the female dogs’ enclosure. “If it was Sterns, why didn’t he take the three females he wanted to buy?”

“Better yet, why didn’t he take
any
females?”

“Hmm.” Robyn looked back toward the other side of the lot. “Maybe they didn’t want to waste time. If he knew he wanted Tumble, he’d go for him first and grab whichever other dogs were closest. That way he could get in and out quick.”

“Do you think they watched us leave?”

“Maybe. And maybe they didn’t realize Mom was in the house. You’d think they’d have heard the vacuum, but not if they waited back in the woods; and when they came out, their own motor would drown it out.”

The reality hit her, and she pressed her hands against her churning stomach. “This rots.”

Rick came over and stood in front of her. She couldn’t help looking up into his sympathetic eyes. In today’s cold sunshine, they were the color of swirled caramel. At any other moment, she’d have pondered the embrace they’d shared on the trail, and how she was sure Rick would have kissed her if she’d encouraged him. But she couldn’t think about it now. Not with Tumble and five other dogs hijacked out of her lot. “What am I going to tell Patrick?”

Rick gritted his teeth. “The truth. I’d wait until the officer gets here though. See what he thinks your chances are of recovering the dogs. Then give Patrick a call and tell him exactly what happened.”

Rick stood by while Cheryl and Robyn talked to the trooper, Officer Glade, in their living room. He wished he could do more, but both women assured him they valued his support.

“This is all the information I have about Philip Sterns.” Cheryl handed Glade the sheet of paper on which she’d carefully listed Sterns’s name, phone number, and the hotel where he’d stayed in Anchorage. Robyn was able to add the license plate number of his rental car.

“Are you certain it was Sterns who came here today and took the dogs?” Glade asked.

“No, not at all.” Cheryl spread her hands helplessly. “He’s the only one I could think of. He’d expressed interest in our stud dog, Tumble, and he was angry when Robyn and Steve said they wouldn’t sell him. I can’t help thinking he may have decided to just take what he wanted.”

Glade took a few notes.

Robyn hauled in a deep breath. “But, Mom, he didn’t take the other three dogs he wanted.” She turned to the trooper. “Mr. Sterns wanted to buy the one male—that’s Tumble—and three breeding females. But the six dogs that were stolen were all males. If he really wanted to start a breeding kennel, why take six males?”

Rick thought that was an excellent question. Of course, Sterns may have simply been in too much of a hurry to be choosy, but as Robyn had told him earlier, he knew exactly where Coco and the other dogs he’d picked out were tethered.

“Was the dog yard locked?”

Robyn shook her head. “We lock the gates every night, but since it was daytime and Mom was here, I didn’t bother this morning. I latched them securely after we took the team dogs out, but no locks.”

Rick stepped toward Glade. “Officer, I did a little investigating on Robyn’s behalf yesterday. She’d told me about the situation with this potential buyer. I have a friend in the police department—perhaps you know him. Joel Dawes.”

“Sure, I know Dawes.” Glade eyed Rick with new speculation. “You talked to him about this business?”

Rick hoped Joel hadn’t done anything beyond his clear-cut duty in helping him. No way to get out of telling the trooper now though. “I asked him to do a quick check on Sterns, and he did. He found out the man has a criminal record in California. In fact, he’s spent some time in the California Correctional Center.”

“All right,” Glade said. “I’m going to my vehicle and call this in. We need someone in Anchorage to contact his hotel and see if he’s checked out. If he has, we can find out fairly easily whether he’s left Alaska. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a man traveling with six dogs.”

“Is there anything else we can do?” Cheryl asked.

“Just stay calm. After I call this in, perhaps Miss Holland could show me the kennels and the snow machine tracks. I may be able to tell whether they were waiting for you and Dr. Baker to leave this morning.”

Rick nodded, glad he hadn’t followed the tracks on impulse. He might have ruined some evidence.

“We’ll put our boots and coats on,” Robyn said. “Whenever you’re ready, just come and tell us.”

Glade went out to his car, and Cheryl went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Rick took Robyn’s hand and drew her toward the sofa. “Come here for a minute. I wondered if you’d like to pray about this together.”

The cloud lifted from her face. “Thank you. I’d like that a lot.”

They sat down, and Rick bowed his head. He wished he had the perfect words to say, the ideal way to make things better for Robyn, but all he could do was pour out his heart. “Lord, thank You for sending Trooper Glade out. You know where those dogs are and who is responsible for this. I ask now that You’d keep them safe and comfort Robyn and Cheryl. If it’s in Your plan, please let the thieves be caught and the dogs returned.”