Murphy's Law Read Online Free

level so he wouldn’t miss anything.
    He found a small piece of a foil
wrapper. The girl was heading in the direction of the cabin. By chance, most
likely. Her trail should start to circle. A girl that size, in a panic, unable
to find her mother would run in circles without knowing it.
    He took a step and heard an ear-piercing
female scream that echoed through the valley.
    “Murr-phy!”
    Damn. Memorizing the spot, Murphy took
off at a fast lope toward the camp, girding himself for an outraged female.
    When he broke into the clearing, Sara
spun around to face him, eyes wide with an array of emotions. Anger, fear,
worry. Her hands were clenched in front of her, the knuckles white. She looked
dangerously close to her breaking point.
    Guilt sliced through him, but why should
it? He was helping this woman and she damn well better start playing by his
rules, because that’s the only way he operated.
    When she saw him, she let out a sob and
bit down on her lip. Murphy stopped a few feet away and waited to see which
emotion she would turn on him. He could handle her anger, but not her tears.
Right now she looked like she couldn’t decide what to do.
    After a moment, she spoke. “Where were
you?” Her voice held equal amounts of anger and worry.
    “I picked up your daughter’s trail.”
    Sara clamped a hand over her mouth as
tears filled her eyes. Her breath heaved in and out three times before she
spoke. “You went without me,” she accused.
    “Yes.”
    She blinked rapidly and once again
started wringing her hands in front of her, then swallowed hard and took
another deep breath. “You found Abby’s…trail?”
    He nodded. “She’s headed north.”
    “Which way is north?”
    Murphy pointed in the right direction and
watched her eyes follow the action. The dark circles beneath them made their
color brighter and more vivid. Truthfully, she looked like hell.
    “That’s good, right? That means you can
find her?”
    He had no doubt he could follow the
trail, but without being able to call for her, they may walk right past her and
never know it. Finding her hiding place would be the hard part.
    “We need to get moving,” he said.
    Sara flew into action. She helped him
roll up the sleeping bag while he folded the tent and secured them to his
rucksack. In seconds she ate the breakfast bar he handed her, and drank the
water without hesitation. She wouldn’t allow him to change her bandage,
insisting there would be time for that later. He instructed her to stay
directly behind him as they headed toward the spot he’d last been. She obeyed
and walked close behind him, this time not having to hold onto his parka.
Though he didn’t like it, he missed the feel of her holding onto him.
    He quickly dismissed the ridiculous
notion and focused his attention on the task ahead. It didn’t take long to
reach the spot he’d last been and pick up the trail from there. Sara let out a
choked cry when he handed her the wrapper from a package of crackers.
    “This is hers,” she said, holding the
wrapper tightly in her hand. “These are the crackers I packed for her.” Awe
filled her voice. She looked up with hope glistening in her eyes. “We’re going
to find her, aren’t we?”
    “What color is she wearing?”
    “Purple jacket, pink sweater. Blue
jeans. Pink shoes. Her pack is blue and purple.”
    Easy colors to spot.
    “I’m going to follow her trail. I want
you to look around for signs of her. Look for colors and movement.”
    Sara nodded.
    “But stick close to me.”
    “I will.”
    She seemed eager to comply, so Murphy
continued his search. He lost the trail and ended up backtracking until he
picked it up again. He’d been right; the girl was going in circles. It made
keeping her trail difficult, but she should be close.
    Her trail led them to the river. Murphy
saw the doll before Sara, and thought to shield her from it but she saw it
anyway and let out a strangled cry.
    “No!” She darted around his arm, took
off