Free 01 Storm Peak by John Flanagan

and somewhere on the way down, he forced the doors open and got out. Probably on a rope.”
    “I guess so,” said Lee. “You figure he had it in his knapsack?”
    “That would be my guess,” Jesse replied patiently. “So let’s take a look at the ground under the gondola and see if there’s a likely spot to get out at.”
    Lee nodded her understanding. There was one more detail to take care of, however. She stopped and called to the cop on duty. “Keep an eye on things here for half an hour, would you?”
    Her gesture included the gondola station, the detached cabin and the body of Andy Barret. The cop, a little thrown out of his stride, gestured to the body.
    “What do you want me to do with him?” he asked.
    Jesse cut in before Lee could answer. “If he moves, read him his rights,” he said, and shoved the sheriff into the cabin moving past them.

TWELVE
    T here was the customary lurch as the cabin accelerated out into the blackness above the brightly lit gondola station. Lee and Jesse sat side by side on the forward facing bench of the gondola. Jesse sprawled his long legs out, resting his feet on the opposite bench.
    Lee shivered. “Goddamn it’s cold!” she complained. “Couldn’t you have given me a few minutes to grab my sheepskin out of the car?”
    Jesse gave no sign that he’d heard her complaint. As the car rose swiftly above the first slope, he sat up and began to pay more attention to the landscape passing by below them. Lee sighed and patted her arms to keep warm.
    “We looking for anything in particular?” she asked.
    Jesse shrugged. “I’m not sure. Probably for a spot where the cabin isn’t too far from the ground, where there’s plenty of ground cover—like trees-and deep snow.”
    “Why deep snow?”
    “If it were me, I’d want deep snow, just in case something went wrong with my ropes,” he replied. “You still got that flashlight?”
    He held out one hand, his face glued now to the window, staring out into the blackness. Lee took the Maglite from its small pouch and handed it to him. He shone it out the window, was defeated by the reflection, and swore softly to himself. He reached up and unlatched the ventilator, yanking it down and shining the torch through the gap onto the snow below. The bitter wind howled through the open window. Lee moved forward onto the opposite bench, peering through the front windows of the cabin, shielding her gaze with her hands to stop reflections spoiling her sight.
    “There’s a grove of aspens up ahead,” she said, “just after the gondola crosses Valley View. That could be the sort of thing you’re looking for.”
    Jesse angled the little flashlight to point ahead and down. The effect of the small beam was almost negligible. There was so much ambient light reflected from the snow, he hardly needed the torch. He studied the spot Lee had pointed out as they hummed over it.
    “How far would you say we’re off the ground right now?” he asked her.
    Lee looked down, considering. “Twenty, maybe twenty-five feet,” she ventured. “I don’t think it gets much lower than this.”
    “Uh-huh,” grunted Jesse. He peered down, trying to reach the most acute angle possible. But the bottom half of the gondola blocked his downward view. “Can’t see if there’s any disturbances in the snow.”
    “Like ski tracks?” Lee asked him and he nodded.
    “Ski tracks. Footprints. Signs that someone landed in the snow.”
    “Damn!” he said finally. “We’ll have to check it on the ground.” He sat back, thinking.
    “They keep any snowmobiles up at Thunderhead?” Lee asked.
    “Bound to,” Jesse replied. “We’ll get hold of one and come back down for a proper look around.”
    “Anywhere else?” Lee asked.
    “There are three or four places that are possibilities. That’s the best of the lot so far.”
    The gondola had started to rise higher and higher from the slope of the mountain now and it was passing over the open, groomed areas