"Agreed."
"Then let's go get these murdering bitches so we can start exploring that future."
She grinned. “So it's off to your motel room? With its nice double bed?"
"Please remember the fact that your snotty assistant booked our rooms,” he said dryly. “There is nothing nice about the bed."
"There would be with you and me in it."
She had a point, but it was one he had to ignore for now. “Bitches first. Sex later."
"Then let's go get them so we can get down to the serious stuff.” She broke away from him and headed for the door.
He pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans to cover the erection that just wouldn't go down and followed her. A disheveled, red-haired figure was walking down the hall towards them.
"Ike! Thank God!” Vannah caught Ike's arm, steadying him as he stumbled. “Are you okay? What happened?"
The kid winced and rubbed the back of his head. “Some bastard hit me from behind."
They'd done more than that, from the look of him, Cade thought as Vannah eased the kid into a chair and squatted beside him. Ike's face was pale, bruised and cut, with blood drying in streaks down the side of his face. His body seemed to have fared little better—his clothes were torn, revealing smudges of blood and bruising. Someone had given the kid a bit of a working over once they'd knocked him unconscious. If it had been Candy, she must have been in a benevolent mood. She'd let him live rather than eat him. Thank God they had her behind bars now.
"Tell us what happened,” he said.
Ike grimaced. “I followed Denny to a burger joint on Galena Street. He didn't order anything, just came out of the place looking really angry. He then went over to this house on Summit Street—"
"Was there a blue pickup parked in the driveway?” Vannah asked quickly.
Ike shook his head. “But I woke up in one."
Cade squatted beside Vannah. “So how did you get from the house to the truck?"
"A blonde invited Denny inside the house. I checked the windows, and it was obvious they were making out, so I retreated to the shadows to wait. Next thing I know, I'm tied up and lying in the back of some damn truck.” Ike paused and looked at Cade. “The cabin was blue, so I'm presuming the rest of it was."
"Then what happened?” Vannah asked.
He shrugged. “I was in and out of it for a while. When I awoke for real, I was in Ashcroft hut."
Cade glanced at Vannah. “Which is?"
"An old hut hikers use if they get caught by weather or night.” She glanced at Denny. “How did you escape?"
"There was no one there. I was hog-tied, but whoever did the knots doesn't know crap about them. I got out of there and came straight here."
"Any signs that the hut had been used for any length of time?"
"Yeah. But I wasn't really concentrating on anything more than getting out of there."
Cade rose. “We should check it out."
"We need to check out those file notes, too. I've got a feeling you've missed something."
He knew those notes by heart, and it was doubtful he'd see anything new in them. But she might. “Where's Ashcroft hut?"
"About three quarters of the way along the trail. The end comes out near the entrance of the Sinclair mansion, and that's probably the quickest access point."
None of which made any sense to Cade. “How about I check out the hut, and you check the notes?"
"You shouldn't go alone. That's just tempting fate."