Candace Cooper’s breath fogged out in plumes in the frosty, late afternoon air as she pumped her arms and loped along the narrow trail.

Yesterday’s rain had turned to sleet, and overnight, two inches of fresh snow blanketed the path and weighed down the limbs of the tall pine trees.

Hey, what was that?

She slowed to a stop, turned around, and walked back three yards.

What the heck?

Indentations—a heel, the pad of a big toe, and the four, smaller indents of the other toes—were clearly formed in the smooth dusting of snow. The set of small, narrow footprints tracked along the snowy trail, veering into the deeper shadows of the forest. Someone had walked in his or her bare feet down the cold, snow-covered path.

The wind gusted against her damp face, and she shivered. Late November was too cold for anyone in their right mind to be out in the mountainous backcountry of northeast Colorado walking around without proper footgear, let alone barefoot. She squatted for a closer look.

A smear of dark red, stark against the white snow, marked the heel depression of each left footprint.

She touched the red splotch with the tip of her gloved finger. A rust-colored smudge stained the light blue cotton. Her heart rate kicked up.

Blood!

Sinking back on her heels, she peered into the forest’s deepening shadows and shuddered.

Only four o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun was already disappearing behind the mountains. Nothing stirred. Even the squirrels were quiet, as if the silent forest watched and waited.

She knew this area of the park, ran the trails in the summer and snowshoed over the flatlands in the winter.

Nothing manmade existed out there—no houses, no cottages, nothing but trees and wild animals.

Most visitors to Creighton Springs State Park stayed on the well-groomed gravel walkways and didn’t venture far from the parking lot.

She never saw anyone on the hilly trail, not in winter.

Yet, as recently as this morning, or early afternoon, someone had gone this way—and in bare feet. They’d left a blood trail. If that person was injured, maybe they needed help.

She slipped off her gloves and traced her finger along the impression. Too small to be an adult male or female’s footprint. Her gut clenched.

A child?

God, no! Please don’t let it be a child.

The unspeakable horror of the past reared over her like an attacking beast, and she sagged onto her knees, her heart pounding as if threatening to burst from her chest. A piteous moan escaped her lips. Not again. Dear Lord, please, not again.

Hot tears burned her eyes.

A loud crack reverberated throughout the silent forest.

She bit back a scream and surged to her feet. Gunshot?

An instant later, another sharp boom filled the air.

The piercing sounds of distant rifle fire were unmistakable. But no way would anyone be shooting. It was illegal to hunt in the park. Besides, it was too dark for a hunter to see his target.

Her heart thundered, her breath frozen in her chest.

Seconds passed, turning into minutes.

Her back tingled with the certainty she was being watched, but she couldn’t move, could only stand there and listen, waiting for the next shot.

The forest remained hushed.

The sun dipped behind the mountains, and the valley filled with dark shadows as night settled in.

A snap of a branch breaking shook her out of her paralysis. The breath she’d been holding whooshed out, and she fumbled in her backpack and drew out her headlamp. Slipping the elastic strap over her forehead, she switched on the light.

Following the thin beam of light cast by her headlamp, she jogged down the trail. Her legs wobbled, and she stumbled over slippery roots and rocks, staggering, almost falling, but she dug deep and kept running.

The parking lot where she’d left her car was an hour’s walk, but if she ran, she could make it in half that time. Heart thumping, her lungs burning, she raced around a bend in the trail but lurched to a stop at a flicker of movement in the trees on her right.

A large shadow separated from the trunk of a fir tree and formed into the shape of a man.

She shone her headlamp into the forest.

The beam of light revealed a tall man with broad shoulders wearing a camouflage-patterned coat and baggy, green cargo pants. A gray woolen toque hung low over his forehead, and a thick black beard covered the lower half of his face. A rifle was strapped over one shoulder.

“He…hello?” Her voice was thin and reedy. He wasn’t a park ranger. Not in that getup, but he had to be the person shooting, considering the enormous rifle slung over his shoulder.

Not one part of his body moved. He didn’t even blink.

Hands shaking, she peeled off her gloves, letting them fall to the ground, and yanked out the can of pepper spray she carried in a canvas holster strapped around her waist. Sliding off the safety guard, she held the can up, the nozzle pointed at the unsettling stranger. “Who are you? What do you want?”

The man remained still and unspeaking.

Her heart thundered in her ears. “Hey, I asked you a question. What do you want?”

Behind the beard, he smiled, his lips stretching wide, his teeth gleaming in the headlamp’s beam. In the encroaching darkness, his muscular frame appeared larger, his demeanor even more threatening.

Fear clawed her throat, and her primal instincts kicked in. Run! The urgent command roared through her, but her knees locked and refused to obey. Her breath puffed in and out in frantic huffs. “Don’t come any closer.” Gripping the can of pepper spray so tight her hand ached, she shifted her finger on the trigger.

The frightening smirk remained fixed on his brutish face.

An eternity passed. The cold settled in, and her fingers holding the can grew numb. The can slipped, but she grabbed the cold metal before it fell and tightened her hold, bringing up the nozzle and pointing the sprayer into the trees.

What the heck? She blinked and blinked again.

He was gone.

She turned her head, sweeping the area with the headlamp light, but the feeble light only penetrated a few yards, making it impossible to tell if he was hiding in the shadows waiting for her to drop her guard. A shudder rippled along her spine.

An owl hooted, and the haunting call broke through her paralyzing fear. Stuffing the pepper spray into the holster, she spun around and sprinted down the trail. She slipped on the snowy ground and tripped over a hidden root, slamming her knees on the hard, snow-covered dirt, yelping at the sharp pain. She peered over her shoulder, but it was too dark to see if the man had followed her. Clambering to her feet, she raced on.

Chest heaving, lungs burning, she burst through the trees into the parking lot and stumbled toward her red, economy-sized car. She dug in her pocket for her keys. They slipped through her cold fingers and fell.

No, no, no!

She dropped to her knees, ignoring the pain, and sifted through the snow. Her lungs wheezed as she hyperventilated, her heart jackhammering. Brushing snow and wet pine needles aside, she grabbed the key ring, stood, and punched the car’s Unlock button. She ran to the driver’s side and jumped into the front seat, slammed the door shut, and hit the Lock switch.

Her hands shook so much she dropped the key fob twice more before jamming the key into the ignition.

The engine rumbled to life, and twin headlight beams strobed the darkness, revealing the deserted parking lot and the surrounding tall, ghostly trees.

She stomped her foot on the gas, and the vehicle shot forward, fishtailing out of the gravel lot. The headlights swept over the forest as she turned onto the access road.

The bearded man emerged from the line of trees and stood with his legs braced wide on the shoulder of the road.

She swallowed back a scream and gripped the steering wheel, keeping her foot crushed against the gas pedal, skidding on the narrow, single-lane road. The car headed for the ditch, but she wrenched the wheel to the left, and somehow the vehicle stayed on the road. She shot a glance in the rearview mirror, and her blood chilled.

He still stood on the side of the road, watching her barrel out of the park, the long rifle cradled in his arms.

Gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white, she sped down the road as the first snowflakes floated to the ground.

Her hand jerked, and the hot coffee in her cup sloshed, threatening to spill onto the tiled floor. She slammed the mug on the kitchen table. More coffee slopped out and puddled on the oak table. She smoothed the palms of her damp hands on her pants as anger burned through her veins.

“You’re certain you saw a bearded man packing a rifle out there in the woods?” Detective Breacher studied her, a bored expression on his fleshy face. “It wasn’t a deer or a moose or a tree’s shadow?”

She bit hard on her bottom lip to stop the sharp retort threatening on the tip of her tongue. Past experience with the prickly man had taught her he didn’t react well to criticism. “I know what I saw. I heard two gunshots, and minutes later, the man appeared, holding a rifle. I called out to him, but he didn’t say anything; he just stood there watching me, smiling.” She shuddered and rubbed the goose bumps prickling her arms. “There was a storm approaching, and it was getting dark, but I saw him as clearly as I see you.”

He cast a surreptitious glance at his watch and frowned, making it clear she was wasting his time. “And yet, my men and I didn’t find any tracks, any sign of this man, nothing to indicate what you allege happened.” He reached into his coat pocket and dug out a pair of light-blue gloves and tossed them onto the table. “We did find these buried under the snow. Yours, by any chance?”

She nodded. “I took off my gloves right where I saw the man.” She shot the detective a frustrated look. “You didn’t find any tracks. How could you when it snowed all night? Any footprints the man left would’ve long been covered.” After she tore out of the park’s parking lot, she’d called the cops the second she had cell reception. The officer she spoke to requested she come to the police station and provide a statement.

She’d spent hours in the stuffy, overheated building, being shuffled from one police officer to another until she’d ended up at Breacher’s desk. He’d run through the same questions all the other cops had asked, and then he’d assured her the police would look into the incident as soon as possible. He told her to go home and wait for his call.

As soon as possible turned out to be hours later when the sun rose, hours during which six inches of fresh snow blanketed the town and surrounding countryside.

Breacher had shown up at her townhouse that afternoon to tell her what he and his men hadn’t found. And now he was acting like she’d made up the entire incident. She wasn’t surprised. She’d faced the same stubborn resistance from him and other police personnel countless times in the past. Why had she thought this time would be different?

“Nope. No sign of him at all.”

She bit her lip and stared out the kitchen window at the falling snow. A headache throbbed. She hadn’t slept the previous night. Aside from it being the anniversary of The Incident, every time she closed her eyes, the terrifying image of the bearded man rose before her. Even worse, was the sickening feeling she’d seen him somewhere before. She couldn’t put her finger on why he was so familiar, but whatever the connection, his very presence filled her with fear.

She lifted her cup, pleased her hands weren’t shaking, and gulped the steaming liquid, relishing the tendrils of warmth spreading throughout her body. She hadn’t felt warm since she’d roared out of the dark parking lot in a panic. “Look, Officer Breacher—”

“Detective Breacher.” His hooded gaze fixed on her.

She’d forgotten he’d been promoted years ago, though how he’d advanced in the police department was beyond her. “That man was up to no good. Just before I saw him, I heard two rifle shots.” She heaved a sigh. “Surely you and your men found something…footprints, shell casings, blood?”

He shook his head. “We located the trail you were on, and we found your gloves and a few impressions of your running-shoe prints in the snow under the trees where the snow hadn’t covered them, but there weren’t any other signs. No indication anyone else was out there, that’s for sure.” He scratched his beard-shadowed chin. “If this man was in the park yesterday, there’s no sign of him.”

She set down her cup and rubbed her throbbing temples. “What about the bare footprints in the snow? And the blood?”

The corners of his mouth quirked. “Right. The footprints. You say you saw footprints in the snow…bare, bloody footprints.”

His patent disbelief stoked her fury, but she reined in her anger. Telling him off would feel good—okay, it would feel great—but it wouldn’t convince him she was telling the truth, and it wouldn’t help find whoever had left the footprints. “Look, I know what I saw—four, or maybe five, human footprints were impressed in the fresh snow, indicating someone followed the path along the ridge and headed into the forest. A smear of what I’m sure was blood stained the snow where the left heel impressions were.

“It’s pretty clear someone’s out there, hurt and needing help. I mean, why else would anyone be in the park at this time of year walking in the cold snow in their bare feet?” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s why I called the police. Someone needs help. The footprints were small, so probably a child. The man I saw is involved. I know it.”

Once again, he glanced at his watch, and made a poor job of suppressing a yawn. “My men and I spent all morning traipsing through that forest. We didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, nothing unusual, and especially no bare footprints.” He smirked. “And no blood or injured child either.”

He might as well have added that they hadn’t found green aliens lurking in the forest for all the weight he put on her description of the frightening events of the previous evening. Her fight drained, deflating like the air fizzling out of a balloon. “You think I made this up.” She spread her arms. “Why would I do that? Why would I waste your time?”

“You tell me.” His bushy, gray eyebrows quirked. “It was a full moon last night. That always brings out the crazies or the delusional.” His thick lips curled, making clear what category into which he lumped her. Setting down his coffee cup, he stood, his knee joints popping with the effort. He stuffed his notepad into his coat pocket. “Don’t get me wrong. I believe you saw something, but it wasn’t what you thought. The temperature was pretty cold yesterday, and by your own admission you were near the end of a long, arduous run.”

Buttoning up his trench coat, he faced her. “Overexertion happens all the time. A person gets tired, dehydrated, and the mind plays tricks. You thought you saw footprints in the snow, and you thought you heard rifle shots, and you also thought a man was lurking in the trees watching you.” He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe you heard a branch snap under the weight of the snow. Or maybe you saw an elk and mistook it for a person. You wouldn’t be the first.” He wrapped a black-and-white striped woolen scarf around his thick neck. “Lots of elk out in those woods.”

“What about the blood? Did I imagine that too?”

“All I can tell you is we didn’t find any signs of blood to corroborate your story.”

She jumped to her feet. “So that’s it? You’re done? You’re not going to investigate further?”

“What’s to investigate?” He blew out an aggrieved breath. “Look, I’ll keep my ears open. If I hear anything, if any other visitors to the park report seeing this guy or—” He didn’t bother to hide his smirk. “—bloody, bare footprints in the snow, I’ll let you know.”

Yeah. Sure, he would. The second he walked out her townhouse door, her complaint would be buried under a stack of nuisance complaints.

“Thanks for the coffee, Ms. Cooper. I’ll see myself out.” He strode down the short hallway to the front door.

“Detective Breacher, wait.”

He grasped the door handle but turned back to her. The furrows in his brow deepened. “What is it?”

“What about missing persons reports? Has anyone disappeared from the area recently? A child or a woman?” She blinked. Missing persons? She was reaching for straws. But she wasn’t imagining things, and she wasn’t crazy. Someone had made those tracks in the park. Someone had walked on his or her bare feet through the cold snow and left bloody footprints in their wake. She couldn’t shake the certainty that same someone was in serious trouble. And somehow, the bearded man was involved.

“Is anyone missing?” He chuckled. “It’s a big state. Our county alone encompasses almost seven thousand square miles. There’re about a half-dozen or so individuals reported missing every year. Most show up, but—” He shrugged. “—one or two are never heard from again.”

“Didn’t a young girl go missing upstate a few weeks ago? The story was on the news.” She should have thought of the missing teen when she saw the footprints, but with the anniversary of her sister’s kidnapping and all the angst and guilt that came with that fateful date, and seeing that man in the forest, she wasn’t thinking straight. “The footprints were small, probably those of a young woman or older child. Could they belong to the missing girl?” Her heart chilled. “Is it possible the man with the beard is involved?”

He opened the door. For a brief second, compassion shone in his faded blue eyes. “Look. I know what the date is, and I know what you went through with your sister. I was there. Remember?” He huffed out a breath. “But this isn’t the same thing, not by any stretch. The girl who’s missing?” His lip curled. “She’s a runaway. No one’s out in the woods abducting young girls and holding them hostage. You can take that to the bank.” The fleeting warmth faded, and he stepped through the doorway and onto the front porch. “Have a nice afternoon.” He strode down the sidewalk to his tan-colored, police-issue sedan.

Her headache ramped up to a four-alarm blaze, and she closed the door, secured the dead bolt, slid the security chain into place, and latched the heavy-duty metal lock. She plodded down the hall to the bathroom and fumbled in the cabinet over the sink for her antianxiety pills.

Cursing, she fought with the child-protection cap. When the lid finally popped off, she dropped the plastic bottle, and tiny blue pills scattered across the bathroom tiles.

She fell to her knees as sobs shook her, and then she collapsed onto the cold tiles.