Rizzoli & Isles 8-Book Set

entrance, the metal links encrusted in white fluff. “There’s a road here!” she called out. As the others trudged toward her, she pointed at the sign. “It says
residents only
. That means there must be houses down this road.”
    “The chain’s up,” said Arlo. “I doubt anyone’s there.”
    “But there’ll be shelter. Right now, that’s all we need.”
    Doug gave a laugh and threw his arms around Maura, crushing her against his down jacket. “I knew it was a good idea to bring you along! Sharp eyes, Dr. Isles! We would have missed this road completely.”
    As he released her, Maura noticed Elaine staring at them, and it unsettled her because it was not a friendly look. Suddenly it was gone, and Elaine turned back to the Suburban. “Let’s get our things out of the car,” she said.
    They didn’t know how far they would have to carry their belongings, so Doug suggested they take only what they needed for the night. Maura left her suitcase behind and grabbed her purse and a tote bag, which she filled with toiletries and an extra sweater.
    “Elaine, you’re not really going to bring your suitcase,” said Arlo.
    “It’s just my carry-on. It has my jewelry and cosmetics.”
    “We’re in the frigging wilderness.”
    “It’s got other stuff, too.”
    “What stuff?”
    “Other.
Stuff.
” She started toward the private road, her roll-aboard plowing a trench in the snow behind her.
    “I guess I’ll have to carry that for you,” Arlo said with a sigh, and he took the suitcase from her.
    “Everyone got what they need?” called out Doug.
    “Wait,” said Maura. “We need to leave a note in case someone finds the Suburban.” She pulled a pen and notepad from her purseand wrote:
Stranded, please call for help. We’re down the private road
. She laid it in full view on the dashboard and shut the door. “Okay,” she said, pulling on her gloves. “I’m ready.”
    They clambered over the chain and started down the road, Arlo huffing and puffing as he dragged Elaine’s roll-aboard suitcase behind him.
    “When we get back home, Doug,” Arlo panted, “you owe me a major dinner. I’m talking
major
. Veuve Clicquot. Caviar. And a steak the size of Los Angeles.”
    “Stop it,” said Elaine. “You’re making us hungry.”
    “You’re not already hungry?”
    “It doesn’t help to talk about it.”
    “It doesn’t go away if we
don’t
talk about it.” Arlo trudged slowly, the suitcase scraping across the snow. “And now we’re going to miss dinner, too.”
    “There’s bound to be some food down there,” said Doug. “Even if you close up your house for the winter, you usually leave stuff behind in the pantry. Peanut butter. Or macaroni.”
    “Now,
this
is desperation. When macaroni starts to sound good.”
    “It’s an adventure, guys. Think of it as jumping out of a plane and trusting in the fates to get you safely on the ground.”
    “I’m not like you, Doug,” said Arlo. “I don’t jump out of planes.”
    “You don’t know what you’ve missed.”
    “Lunch.”
    Every step was hard labor. Despite the dropping temperature, Maura was sweating inside her ski parka. Her throat ached with each searing breath of cold air. Too tired to break a path through fresh snow, she fell into step behind Doug, letting him plow the path first, planting her feet in the craters left behind by his boots. It was now a matter of stoically marching ahead, left–right–left, ignoring her sore muscles, the ache in her chest, the sodden hem of her pants.
    As they slogged up a slight rise, Maura had her gaze focuseddownward on the trail of broken snow. When Doug suddenly halted, she almost bumped into him.
    “Hey, everyone!” Doug called back to the others. “We’re going to be okay!”
    Maura moved beside him and stared down into a valley, at the rooftops of a dozen houses. No smoke curled up from any of the chimneys; the road leading down was covered in unbroken snow.
    “I don’t see any signs of life,” she said.
    “We may have to break into one of those buildings. But at least we’ll have a place to stay tonight. It looks like maybe a two-mile walk down, so we’ll make it before dark.”
    “Hey, look,” said Arlo. “There’s another sign here.” He slogged farther down the road and brushed snow off the surface.
    “What does it say?” asked Elaine.
    For a moment Arlo was silent, staring at the sign as though it were written in a language he could not understand. “Now I know