On Thin Ice (13 page)

T
he snowplow was a huge thing. This machine wasn’t just a pickup truck with a blade out front. It was a full-size highway model, all metal, loud and clanky, with orange stripes and all kinds of hazard lights. Several times they passed drivers who gave them the thumbs up. Megan tried making faces, mouthing the word “help”, or frowning in an exaggerated sort of manner, but no one paid attention to her, or maybe they couldn’t see her through her frosty window.

Up ahead a car was down in the ditch, its four-way flashers on.

“An accident, Bryan. We need to stop and help out.”

He laughed. “Yeah right. I don’t quite trust you yet, Megan. You haven’t proven yourself. I lost a lot of trust when you had the abortion, when you killed our baby. It will take a long time to build up that kind of trust again.”

“Bryan,” she argued. “You’re in a snowplow. We
need to stop and help out. I know you’re basically a good person. I know deep down you don’t want to do this. Let’s stop. There could be children in that car.”

“And why would you suddenly care about children when you deliberately killed ours?”

Megan knew it was no use arguing. For twenty years Bryan had deluded himself into thinking that the baby she’d carried was his and that she had had an abortion.

He slowed down, but she could see that his intention was to drive right past. A man was standing in the middle of the road waving a flashlight at them in the blowing snow.

Bryan said, “Watch me. This big snowplow can go right through people.”

Megan’s heart leapt in her throat. Her hands were folded on her lap. She could feel her fingernails in her skin.

The man frantically waved.

“Hang on,” he yelled. “Here we go!”

He picked up speed and she screamed. At the last minute, the man jumped out of the path of the plow. Her captor merely smirked and continued on down the road. He went even faster, laughing a maniacal laugh. Megan couldn’t see a thing through her window as the road snaked through the Maine woods.

The road turned abruptly, but their snowplow didn’t. The blade clipped a guardrail and it zigzagged down a steep bank.

Megan gasped. Ahead of them was a frozen lake.

They hit trees and the plow almost toppled. Vicky screamed while the plow bounced all over the place. The passenger door came off as they bulldozed their way between two huge pines. Megan’s legs were still shackled to the bottom of the truck, but she nearly fell out. A pine branch the size of a small log exploded through the windshield and the snowplow came to a sudden stop. Then toppled onto its side.

Halfway up the road from Trail’s End, Alec yelled to Stu, “Have to bring the Staties in on this.”

Stu nodded. “Maybe even the FBI. We’re clearly dealing with a kidnapping situation, and he may be across state lines.”

Getting the snowmobile back to the main road was tricky. It seemed as if it had snowed a foot since they had come this way. But soon they were heading down the snow-blown street to the police station in Whisper Lake Crossing. There were several calls waiting for Alec from the state patrol when he got there.

There was a curious message for him. And even now the police had sent out an APB for, of all things, a snowplow. One of the employees of a gas station had gone into the restroom and when she washed her hands she pulled down the next piece of paper towel to dry her hands, there was a message written on it in ink:
This is not a joke. My name is Megan Brooks. My
friend Vicky is with me. We’re being kidnapped by someone driving a snowplow. We’re on our way to Bath, Maine. Please call Whisper Lake Crossing Sheriff Alec Black
…and his number was listed there.

The state patrol told Alec, “We don’t know what it’s all about, but we’re taking it very seriously. But even our four-wheel vehicles are having trouble in this weather. And it’s only going to get worse.”

Before they hung up, the state patrol promised to keep them informed. Even so, he was beginning to feel helpless.

Stu looked out the window, “Can’t we get a chopper?”

“Not in this,” Alec said, but then he brightened. “But what we can do is to fight fire with fire.”

They hopped on Stu’s snowmobile and headed over to Earl’s to borrow his pride and joy, a humongous army surplus truck. The back roads to Bath? Earl was helpful. He was familiar with the gas station where Megan had been. The three of them poured over an Atlas of Maine back roads. Earl not only loaned them his Renault Sherpa six-by-six, he loaned them a driver, Jay Forrester, who plowed for the town of Whisper Lake Crossing and worked as a first aid ski patroller.

They loaded up the truck with a high-powered flashlight and first aid supplies, and set out on a road that didn’t even look like a road anymore. Alec, Stu and Jay kept in constant contact with headquarters. Half an hour out, they got a report of a car in the ditch. A man
said he had tried to flag down a snowplow but the driver must not have seen him. He was pretty shaken, he said, because he came really close to being hit.

Jay said, “Snowplowers would stop. I would. Especially on a back road. That’s our guy.”

Yet two hours later they had not come across the errant snowplow and its hostages. And the back roads to Bath? There were so many of them that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Jay driving, they eventually found the gas station where Megan had written the note. It was closed down because of the storm now, but since the owner lived across the street they were able to get the particulars. The man he described getting coffee had been Bryan! There was no doubting this or Megan’s description. Alec punched his fist into his hand. She had been right here!

The three of them took off in the direction that the proprietor had pointed. They passed the place where the car had gone into the ditch. They drove slowly, carefully looking for anything that was out of order. But the snow which showed no signs of abating was covering up tracks, even the huge tracks of a snowplow, almost as quickly as they were made.

It was Jay who saw the break in the cement guardrail. He stopped and the three got out to have a better look. The break in the guardrail looked comparatively recent and ahead, down the embankment, were a few broken trees.

“Do you think they went down there?” Alec asked. “It would be pretty stupid if they did.”

Jay said, “He might have lost control. Even snowplows have their limits.”

They shone their high-powered spotlights down the embankment. Even with blizzard conditions they saw at the bottom what looked like an overturned snowplow.

“There it is,” Stu said.

But it looked too dark to Alec. There were no lights. And it was too quiet. The three set off down the hill. Jay pulled a toboggan full of medical supplies and blankets and they trudged down the cold, dark and slippery hill.

When Stu found the broken snowplow door, Alec’s heart fell even further. He raced on ahead as fast as he dared through the snow which was thigh-high in places.

“Megan!” He called as he got closer. “Megan!”

Alec shone the spotlight on the plow. The snowplow was lying on the driver’s side and there were blood spatters. It looked to him like a lot of blood.

“They’re not here.” Jay yelled to be heard over the storm.

“But they’ve been here,” shouted Alec.

“Look that way,” Stu pointed with his flashlight. Below them was a lake and along the shore were a few fishing shacks barely visible through the blackness of the storm.

Alec called, “Let’s go out there.”

The embankment grew steeper next to the lake. As they climbed down the snowy, rocky slope, he saw Stu point out more blood. He prayed that it didn’t belong to Megan.

On the frozen lake the walking was a bit easier, but several times they bent down to examine blood. At one point it looked like a lot of blood. They also saw drag marks. There was no doubt in his mind that Bryan had taken Megan out here. They all kept calling, and Alec wished he had brought a police bullhorn with him.

His voice was practically hoarse from calling her name. As they drew beside the first shack, Jack thought he heard a faint mewling coming from inside.

“They’re here,” he mouthed to Jay and Stu. No light emanated from the cabin but he could hear crying.

His gun unholstered, he made his way to the door of the fishing shack and with one quick motion he flung it open and shone his light all around inside.

“Alec!” It was Megan’s voice. “You’re here!”

He rushed toward her. “I’m here. Are you okay, Megan?”

“I’m okay, but Vicky’s not. And be careful. He’s got a gun. But he’s hurt.”

Alec shone his light on the scene in front of him. Bryan was on the floor holding his leg with one hand and with the other hand he had a gun aimed at Megan. Next to her Vicky was lying on the floor and all he could make out about her was a lot of hair.

“Careful, bro.” The gun was aimed at him now. “I wouldn’t come too close if I were you.”

Bryan’s skin was a pasty white, his lips were dark and he shivered uncontrollably. His left leg was on the floor but it was bent at an odd angle and around it was a pool of dark blood. Alec wondered if all the blood was coming from a fractured thigh bone. Alec knew that if Bryan didn’t get help soon, he could bleed out.

“Bryan,” Alec said. “Your leg. You’re going to need help for your leg.”

Alec came toward him, but Bryan yelled, “Stay back!” His eyes were wild. “You always took everything from me and you’re not going to this time. Megan is mine! We’re going to get married and you can’t stop us. Not this time.” A spittle of blood snaked from Bryan’s mouth and Alec wondered if his injuries were internal, as well. Jay was in the room now with the toboggan full of medical supplies. He unloaded a couple of blankets and handed them to Megan. Megan laid one gently on top of Vicky.

Jay said, “Bryan, we have to get you three out of here or you’re not going to be able to get married to anybody. You’re bleeding pretty badly.”

But Bryan faced Alec when he said, “How can you help me? You’ve never helped me before. All you ever did was take from me.”

“I’m your brother,” Alec said. “I would have given my life for you.”

“You never gave me anything. Nothing.”

Bryan leaned back his head and laughed, then ended up choking on his own blood. Alec tried not to think of the fact that this was his brother, his flesh and blood and that he was lying here dying on a cabin floor.

Bryan hadn’t seen Stu enter and sidle around to the back of the cabin, his gun in his hand and trained on Bryan.

Alec couldn’t let Megan down. Not again.

“Bryan, I’ve always loved you. You are my brother. I loved you when we were growing up together, and I love you now. I want you to know that.”

“No!” screamed Bryan in a voice that Alec didn’t even recognize. While Bryan was screaming and lunging, Stu saw his chance. He rushed forward and grabbed the gun from Bryan’s hands and quickly handcuffed them behind his back.

Megan flew into Alec’s arms. He held her tightly, nestling her head into his shoulder, stroking her hair.

She was crying. “It was Bryan. All along, it was Bryan. He was pretending to be Brad. I’m so glad you stayed, that you didn’t fly to New Mexico.”

“I am so sorry,” Alec said. “Will you ever forgive me? I never should have even thought about going away with you in so much danger.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here and that you stayed. And I love you for loving your brother
so much. I never had a brother. I don’t know what those ties are. I shouldn’t have judged you.”

Alec held her tightly. She was so cold. He said, “Your note on the piece of paper towel was a very smart and brave thing to do.”

She began crying again. “Bryan said he was going to come in and check all the walls. But I had my keys with me and this little penknife attached to my key ring has this tiny pen in it. So I wrote on a piece of paper towel and then I stuffed it back up in the dispenser. It was the only thing I could think of. I prayed someone would use it.”

“Someone did,” he said. He held her tightly. She was so resourceful and brave and beautiful and, most of all, forgiving. “You were right, Megan,” he said. “You were right about Bryan and I was wrong. I’ve been wrong about so much.”

“What I was wrong about was God. I thought I was never good enough. I thought He was always punishing me, but I learned something tonight. I learned that He loves me no matter what. I learned a little about grace.”

Alec just held her and cried tears of relief. He said, “But there’s one thing I haven’t been wrong about and that’s how much I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

While the two talked, Jay and Stu were busy with Bryan and Vicky. Bryan was quiet now, and was shivering so much that his limbs actually twitched. His face
looked too white. Jay was able to get a tourniquet tied to his upper thigh, but he frowned, and told Alec that he thought Bryan had internal injuries. An unconscious Bryan was lashed into the toboggan. Vicky was suffering from hypothermia and was sitting up now, conscious and wrapped in a space blanket. She would be okay. And so would Megan. And so would they.

A
lec’s family buried Bryan a week later. His injuries were too severe and by the time they were able to get him to a hospital, he had lost too much blood. Alec sat with Bryan on the backseat of the snowplow and talked to him all the way into town. He told him that he loved him, that his mother and father loved him. That God loved him. He didn’t know if Bryan heard or not, he could only pray that somewhere deep in his unconscious that he did and that he knew. Alec took care of his brother’s affairs for the very last time. Disposing of his electronics, cameras and gear came within dollars of paying off all of the debts and unpaid rent that Bryan had accumulated.

Megan went back to Baltimore after the funeral, but it was a very short trip. Within two weeks she had given her notice, called a moving company and was on her way back to Whisper Lake, driving along behind the moving van. She never thought that the moving van would make it down the little road to Trail’s End, but it did.

What a fitting name, Trail’s End. The cottage Peace was winterized but not furnished so she rented it for her possessions and moved back into Grace for the six weeks it took to make the wedding arrangements. Tears came to her eyes when she realized that living in Grace was even better than having her things in Peace. God had given her back Alec and, most of all, had taken her back, as well. He had been there all the time, she thought. She just had to figure out what Grace was all about.

They were married the last day of March. They had waited long enough. They had made too many mistakes already.

Their wedding was attended by Steve and Nori and their two girls, Daphne and Rachel. Steve was Alec’s best man. By that time Steve’s son was back home in Florida with his mother.

Marlene came with her husband, Roy, her daughter, Selena, and all the waitresses at the Schooner Café. Earl was there with his son. Denise came. Eunice flew up from Baltimore and stood up for Megan. Alec’s parents were there too, happy for their son, even though they had buried their youngest the previous month.

Vicky was there. Her arm was just out of a cast. The cuts and scrapes on her face were healing nicely. She told everyone that she was moving to Whisper Lake Crossing later in the spring. She was going to live by the lake, plant a garden and write poetry.

Megan and Alec were married in the little white church in Whisper Lake Crossing. A small reception was held in the lodge at Trail’s End. Much to Megan’s surprise and delight, the assorted sandwiches were served on the lost antique china. Her godmother, Eunice, had kept them all these years.

“I always thought something might work out between you and Alec,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

It wasn’t until a month after their wedding that the ice fully melted. Alec told her when it finally gave way it could sound like a cannon going off. The towns-people always had a big party the weekend after the ice broke up.

The third week in April, Megan was at home in Alec’s house working on a Web site when Alec came in the door, holding a bouquet of red roses. She got up, as she always did when he came home, and went into his arms.

“For you,” he said.

“The ice broke up this morning,” she said, smiling. “I heard it.”

“Yes it did. Springtime, a new beginning each year.”

“And Alec,” she said, tears running down her cheeks, “what a perfect person with whom to start this new beginning.”

Holding her close, between kisses he whispered, “I love you, Megan.”

“I love you, too, Alec.” And it was true. On this early
April morning, with her husband standing there with a bouquet of roses and smiling, she felt that life couldn’t get any better. She felt loved and, most of all, forgiven. Whisper Lake Crossing was a special place. She loved being a part of the little church that Alec went to. She loved the lake and the ice and the people who made her feel so at home.

Yes, life was truly good for her.