Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (15 page)

“I don’t know what to tell
Mariah, Art. I don’t know how she’ll handle this. Bess is with her, but they
haven’t yet heard what’s happened.”

“I’ll call Lillie over, and the
two of us will go in to support them. They’ll be fine.”

“She’ll be in shock, Art. She
knew I went to pick up Nicky. He should have come back with me. Tell her I’ll
be in as soon as I can.” Desperate to locate his son, both Nick and Jake headed
toward the officers.

When they finished questioning
Jake, one of the officers followed him home. Jake informed them that he has a
picture of Anya, standing next to her car the day he purchased it. He explained
to them that he recently learned she also goes by the name of Karina. The
remaining three officers accompanied Nick to the house. They’d need a recent
photograph of Nicky for the Amber Alert.

Lillie and Art brought the twins
into their bedroom for their afternoon nap while the police spoke with Mariah
and Bess.

After completing their report,
the officers assured them that they’d do everything in their power to find Nicky.

“We have the necessary
information to proceed with an Amber Alert which will be broadcast throughout
Minnesota and all of the surrounding states.”

“I’m going to head out in my
truck,” Nick said.

“It would be best if you’d stay
here with your wife, Mr. Colburn. The police have already been notified, and
the Amber Alert will be out soon.”

“My son is missing. I can’t sit
here and do nothing!”

“Have family and friends help
search your land and theirs. Look in places where she may have gone. Don’t
attempt to drive to Duluth. Our highway patrol will have that covered. When the
Amber Alert goes out, everyone will be familiar with the photos, and they’ll be
on the lookout for them.”

“Thank you, officer.” Nick ran a
hand through his hair and followed the officers to the door.

“We’ll be in touch with you, Mr.
Colburn. I believe we have plenty of information to go on. With the picture of
the woman and her vehicle, hopefully someone will be able to identify her
soon.”

“Thank you.”

The three officers left and Nick
closed the door behind them.

Art immediately went out to the
stable to have the men saddle enough horses for every ranch hand. Nick asked
Bess to prepare sandwiches for them. He walked over to his wife, where she’d
been sitting with Lillie.

He sat next to her and wrapped an
arm around her. He placed his forefinger beneath her chin and lifted her face,
so her eyes met his. “We have to be brave, sweetheart. They’ll find him. You
need to be strong for the twins. They can sense that something is wrong. Kim, Garrett’s
wife, will be arriving shortly. You remember Kim, don’t you?”

Mariah nodded. “Why have so many
horrible things been happening to us, Nick?”

He looked into her swollen eyes,
hot tears trickling down her cheeks. He held her face in his hands and wiped
the tears away with his thumbs.

“I don’t know sweetheart, I don’t
know. We’ll find him, and he’ll be just fine. I’m sure that’s what he’s
thinking right now, that we’re playing a game of hide and seek.”

He rested his chin on top of her
head and rocked her back and forth. Lillie nodded at him, indicating that she
would sit and comfort Mariah. Then she mouthed the words for him to leave and
wished him luck.

Lillie sat down on the couch next
to Mariah, picked up her trembling hands, and prayed.

Chapter
Twenty-four

Anya pulled her car into the
Burger Land Café, turned the engine off and looked in her rearview mirror. Ivan
had been sleeping for the past hour. She leaned over the front seat and lightly
tapped one of his shoes.

“Come, Ivan. We’ll go in and get
us some supper. Are you hungry?”

He opened his swollen eyes and
began to cry. “I want my mommy.”

“I told you Ivan, we’re playing
hide and seek with your mommy and daddy. We’re going to go and find them.”

“My name is Nicky,” he whimpered.

She climbed out of the car and
opened the back door, gritted her teeth, and looked him in the eye. “It has
been three days young man. You should be able to remember your new name. If
anyone asks you, it is Ivan. Now let’s go get a hamburger. That sounds good,
doesn’t it?”

His face was dirty, which caused
the tears to leave trails down each cheek. He climbed out and stood next to the
open door while she reached into the front seat for her purse and searched for
a tissue.

“Come here.” She wiped the filthy
grime from his face and looked at his swollen eyes, knowing there was nothing
she could do for them. She knew he’d start crying again. She grabbed his arm
and led him across the parking lot and into the café.

“At least there are only a few
customers in here. Now you straighten up. Nobody wants to listen to a crybaby.”

When they entered the restaurant,
Anya spotted a booth along the back wall. She pushed Nicky along the seat as
far as she could and slid in next to him, blocking his view from other
customers.

“You be very quiet now, Ivan.
People are eating and they don’t want to hear a spoiled brat bawling his head
off.”

The waiter came up to their
booth, set two glasses of water on the table, and laid a menu down in front of
Anya.

“Thank you, but I don’t need
this. I already know what we’d like.” She handed the menu back to the waiter.

“Okay, Ma’am.” He smiled and
placed it under his arm. He removed a pen from behind his ear and pulled a
notepad from the pocket of his apron. “What can I get for you this fine evening?”

“Two regular burgers and one
order of French fries.”

“And what would you like to
drink?”

“I’ll have coffee and Ivan will
have a root beer.”

He glanced at the boy and smiled.
“I’ll get you that root beer right away young man. You look mighty thirsty.”

Nicky sat quietly and stared down
at his lap.

* * *

Nick stood on the deck and gazed
up at the brilliant stars. He shuddered as he drew in a deep breath, and then
looked over his shoulder when he heard the screen door open. Art stepped out
and stood next to him.

“Why, Art? What have we done to
deserve this?”

“Some things happen that just
can’t be explained, Son. It seems God has tested you in so many ways. You’ve
always shown Him how strong you are. It’ll be okay. They'll find him. Someone
will soon recognize her car. Nicky is going to be fine. You have to believe
that.”

“I hope she’s treating him well.
I don’t understand why she’d do this to us. If Jake hadn’t been so set on a
mail-order bride, none of this would have happened. She’s been nothing but
trouble since she arrived.”

“Don’t blame this on Jake. He had
no idea something like this was going to happen. He’s hurting too.”

“I know. Please tell Lillie and
Bess how much we appreciate their help. Mariah wouldn’t have made it this far
without them. The twins need her, Art. They sense something is wrong.” Nick
again looked up at the sky; the darkness pressed down on him. The treetops
stirred with the whisper of a warm breeze across the fields. He looked out over
the meadow and noticed a dim light glowing behind the closed curtains over at
their neighbor’s cottage.

“Did you happen to see anyone
arrive at Cassandra’s dwelling?” Cassandra Becker is the owner of the adjoining
property to the south of Nick’s ranch.

“Nope, didn’t notice.”

“Well there seems to be someone
there. I’d better drive over and check it out. I haven’t heard from her for
quite some time. Never know who it might be.”

“Want me to go along?”

“Nah, I’m fine; but there is one
thing I need you to do for me. Those men we hired for the horse rescue team;
they’re supposed to start working tomorrow. Jake won’t be here. He's searching
for Anya. If you’d show them around and keep them busy I’d appreciate it.”

“Will do. I’ll see if Mariah
needs anything while you head over to check on Cassandra’s place. Tell her I said
hello, if she’s there.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Nick knocked on the cabin door,
backed up and leaned against the porch rail.

“Hey, Nick,” Kayla said, and
opened the door wide. Kayla was Cassandra’s daughter. She held out her arms and
gave him a bear hug. Corey, Kayla’s husband, appeared alongside her.

“What brings you here?” Nick
asked, and a weak smile was all he could manage.

“We heard the news about Nicky.
Corey and I were able to get some time off work. We caught an early-morning
flight to Minneapolis, and rented a car from the airport.

“Well, it’s good to see the two
of you, although not the best of times.”

“We want to help, Nick.”

“That’s great. We need all the
help we can get, so thanks, thanks a lot. I’d better get back to the house.
You’ve had a long trip. You’ll need a good night’s sleep before you help in the
search. Give us a call when you wake up. I hope we’ve received good news by
then. Make sure you stop in and say hello to Mariah. It’s been quite a while
since we’ve seen the two of you. It might cheer her up. We’ve had someone there
with her day and night to help with the twins. She’s in no shape to be alone.”

“We’ll be up early,” Corey said,
as he waved and closed the door.

* * *

Anya looked down at Nicky. He was
falling asleep, his head bobbing up and down.

“Come on Ivan. You haven’t
finished your meal. I guess we may as well spend the night at the motel next
door.”

She waved the waiter over to
indicate they were ready to leave.

“My son is too tired to eat. He
had a big day. I’d like to take his burger with us. Do you know if the motel
has a vacancy?”

“Yes, Ma’am, they do,” he said
and placed her check on the table. “Just enter through that side door over
there.” He pointed toward the opposite end of the restaurant.

“Thank you. Come, Ivan. We’ll get
a room so you’ll have a nice comfortable bed to sleep in.” She paid the waiter
and picked up Nicky’s burger, which the waiter wrapped and placed in a paper
bag. She took Nicky’s hand. He hung his head down low as they headed toward the
door connected to the motel.

* * *

Anya checked in, giving the desk
clerk her name as Karina Chepelskii. She looked forward to a short nap before
they would again be on their way.

The clerk heard the little boy
sniffle and leaned over the counter to see him. “Very tired young man you have
there.” He smiled and slid the key across the counter.

When they disappeared down the
sidewalk to locate their room, the clerk turned on the television in the corner
behind him. The news had just begun, and they were talking about a boy
kidnapped from his school in Pinewood Hills.

“That’s where I’ve seen him
before. I saw his picture on the early evening news,” he muttered to himself.

The door to the café opened
quickly, and his nephew entered the lobby.

“Dad, that woman who checked in,
did she look familiar to you? I couldn’t pinpoint it until I thought it over. I
think she’s the one I’ve seen on the news for the past few days.”

“I just watched another news
alert and that was definitely the little boy who’s been missing. Go out and
check the make of the car.” He handed him a pencil and a notepad. “Also write
down the number on the license plate, Skip. I had a funny feeling myself when
she checked in and paid in cash.”

* * *

Anya heard a noise in the parking
lot. She carefully pulled the edge of the curtain to the side and watched, as
the waiter from the restaurant appeared to be walking away from her car. She
turned around quickly.

“Ivan, wake up! We have to
leave.” Thankful she’d only removed a few items from her suitcase she threw
them back in and snapped the latch closed. “Ivan, come on,” she repeated and
grabbed his arm roughly, while carrying the suitcase in her other hand. Setting
the baggage down, she opened the door slowly. The wind had picked up, causing
the leaves to scatter across the sidewalk. Dust blew into her eyes, her hair
gathered around her mouth. She looked toward the restaurant then glanced over
at the motel lobby. With no one in view, she held a tight grip on Nicky’s
wrist, picked up the luggage and rushed over to the car. Not having a free
hand, she left the door standing open. It didn’t matter. She had to leave
before the police arrive. She pulled the rear door open and shoved Nicky onto
the seat, throwing the suitcase in alongside him. “Now you keep quiet, young
man. I mean it. One peep out of you and you’ll never see your mommy or daddy
again.” She shut the back door as quietly as possible, climbed into the
driver’s seat and started the engine. When she passed by the motel entrance,
she noticed the clerk on the telephone, while he watched her drive away.