Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

alarmingly loud and clumsy. Her boots cracked through the snow crust and snapped dead twigs. And behind her, Grace continued.
    “She’s only nice to me because of
him
. Women always start off being nice to me. Then they can’t wait to get rid of me.”
    “Let’s go back to the house, Grace,” Maura said quietly.
    “It’s just an act, and Dad’s too blind to see it.” Grace paused as she suddenly saw Maura’s face. “What’s the matter?”
    “Nothing.” Maura took the girl’s arm. “It’s getting cold. Let’s go inside.”
    “Are you pissed at me, or what?”
    “No, Grace, I’m not.”
    “Then why are you squeezing me so hard?”
    Maura instantly released the girl’s arm. “I think we should get in before it’s dark. Before the wolves come back.”
    “But you just said they don’t attack people.”
    “I promised your dad I’d look after you, and that’s what I’m trying to do.” She managed a smile. “Come on, I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”
    Maura did not want to make the girl any more fearful than she already was. So she said nothing to Grace about what she had just seen in the woods. Elaine, though, would have to be told. They needed to be prepared, now that she knew the truth.
    They were not alone in this valley.

I F SOMEONE’S OUT THERE, WHY HAVEN’T WE SEEN HIM?” ASKED Elaine.
    They sat awake late in the night, alert to every creak, every rustle. On the sofa, Grace slept deeply, unaware of their tense whispers, their anxious speculation. When Maura barred the door and propped a chair against it, Grace had assumed it was to keep out the wolves. But tonight it wasn’t four-legged predators that Maura and Elaine were afraid of.
    “The prints are recent,” said Maura. “Any older than a day or two, and the wind and blowing snow would have covered them.”
    “Why haven’t we seen any other prints?”
    “Maybe he’s managed to erase them. Or he’s watching us from a distance.”
    “Which means he doesn’t want us to know he’s out there.”
    Maura nodded. “It would mean that.”
    Elaine shivered and looked at the hearth. “Well, he’d certainlyknow
we’re
here. He could probably spot our light from a mile away.”
    Maura glanced at the window, at the darkness outside. “He could be watching us now.”
    “You could be all wrong. Maybe it wasn’t a snowshoe.”
    “It was, Elaine.”
    “Well, I wasn’t there to see it.” She gave a sudden, hysteria-tinged laugh. “It’s like you’re making up some crazy campfire story, just to freak me out.”
    “I wouldn’t do that.”
    “She
would.” Elaine pointed at Grace, who slept on, unaware. “And she’d get a kick out of it. Was this her idea, to play a practical joke on me? Because I don’t think it’s very funny.”
    “I told you, she doesn’t know about it. I didn’t want to scare her.”
    “If there
is
someone out there, why doesn’t he just come up and introduce himself? Why’s he hiding out in the woods?” Her eyes narrowed. “You know, Maura, we’re all going a little crazy out here. Arlo’s seeing ghosts. I can’t find my purse. You’re not immune. Maybe your eyes are playing tricks on you, and those weren’t snowshoe tracks. There’s no watcher in the woods.”
    “Someone else is in this valley. Someone who’s known about us since we arrived.”
    “You only found those tracks today.”
    “There’s something else I haven’t told you about. It happened the first night we got here.” Maura glanced at Grace again, to confirm that the girl was still asleep. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I woke up in the middle of the night and there was snow scattered on the floor. And a footprint. Obviously, someone opened the door, letting in the wind. But all of you were sound asleep. So who opened that door, Elaine? Who came into this house?”
    “You never mentioned this before. Why are you only telling me about it now?”
    “At the time, I assumed that one of you had stepped outside duringthe night. By the next morning, the footprint was gone, and there was no evidence left. I thought maybe I’d dreamed the whole thing.”
    “You probably did. You’ve built up this paranoid fantasy over nothing. And now you’re freaking
me
out because of some footprint you
thought
you saw in the woods.”
    “I’m telling you this because we both need to be alert. We need to watch for other signs.”
    “We’re in the middle of nowhere. Who else could possibly be out here, the