Echoes Fade

ECHOES FADE DAVID WOLF BOOK 17 JEFF CARSON CROSS ATLANTIC PUBLISHING Copyright © 2023 by Jeff Carson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ALSO BY JEFF CARSON The David Wolf Series Gut Decision (A David Wolf Short Story) – Sign up for the new release newsletter at http://www.jeffcarson.co/p/newsletter.html and receive a complimentary copy. Foreign Deceit (David Wolf Book 1) The Silversmith (David Wolf Book 2) Alive and Killing (David Wolf Book 3) Deadly Conditions (David Wolf Book 4) Cold Lake (David Wolf Book 5) Smoked Out (David Wolf Book 6) To the Bone (David Wolf Book 7) Dire (David Wolf Book 8) Signature (David Wolf Book 9) Dark Mountain (David Wolf Book 10) Rain (David Wolf Book 11) Drifted (David Wolf Book 12) Divided Sky (David Wolf Book 13) In the Ground (David Wolf Book 14) High Road (David Wolf Book 15) Dead Canyon (David Wolf Book 16) **NEW** Echoes Fade (David Wolf Book 17) The Ali Falco Series The Como Falcon (Ali Falco Book 1) CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 From the Author Also by Jeff Carson 1 “Do you see it?” David Wolf ignored the voice coming from his radio, his head swiveling back and forth as he peered out his SUV windows, trying to get a glimpse of the big cat. “You there, Wolf?” Tammy Granger said, her words traveling over the airwaves from Rocky Points to his position twenty miles north. A hundred yards up on the right side of the snow-packed road, he spotted low buildings squatting along the frozen river. He picked up the receiver. “I’m just arriving. Nothing yet. Stand by.” Deputy Nelson’s voice joined the party, scratching out of the radio, “I’ll be there in five minutes. I just turned off 734.” “You’re not getting here in five minutes,” Wolf said under his breath, hooking the radio back on the receiver. Snow had begun dropping from the sky an hour prior, first as a stray flake swirling over the vehicle, now as a steady shower driving into the windshield, hinting at the big storm forecasted to arrive later in the afternoon. Assuming the meteorologists were finally going to be correct with this one. Snowstorm predictions this winter had been hit or miss. Mostly miss. The trees opened, giving way to bushes blowing in the wind, and the full spread of the trailer park came into view. Buildings battered by time and lack of maintenance huddled in a mass along a bow in Cave Creek. Down a slope to the right, the river flowed serene and slow, more rocks poking out than he was used to seeing. The thirsty river seemed to drink the snow from the sky, slurping it into the misting water. He slowed the SUV and pulled through an arched entrance to the development, crawling forward as he rolled down the two front windows to let sound inside. Snow flowed into the cab, and the wind raked across his face like icy claws. “Looks like I’m a bit more than five minutes out,” Nelson said. Wolf turned off the radio and took the first left. A battered, gunshot street sign read, Wildlands Way. The address he was looking for would be here. He squinted, searching for numbers through the static-like snow. White picket fences lined the fronts of many of the trailers, addresses painted on them vertically, none of them easy to read due to age and wear. The sound of dogs frantically barking met his ears. He stopped the SUV and listened, trying to get a bearing. The front door to the nearest trailer opened, and a man dressed in a sweatsuit came outside, holding a handgun pointed at the sky. With his free hand, he waved for Wolf to stay put, his eyes wild and wide. “Where is it?” Wolf asked, leaning toward the open passenger window. “Got us a big ol’ wild cat right down there. Dogs been chasin’ it for the last few minutes.” The man pointed down to the end of the road, the aim of the hulking .45 Glock pistol raking across a half dozen trailers. “I just been holed up in here.” “Please go back inside,” Wolf said. “And please watch where you’re aiming that. And while you’re at it, you might as well put it away.” “Hah!” The man smiled as if Wolf had been joking. “I got yer back if you get mauled.” Wolf looked down the road. About a city block’s distance away, Wildlands Way ended in a cross street. Two black dogs ran past, cutting right to left, into view and then out. A huge, honey-colored cat appeared a split second later, its lithe body lunging long in chase. “That’s it! There it is!” the man said. Two gunshots punched the air. “Get that thing!” A woman emerged from a doorway on Wolf’s other side. “It attacked Tabor. I talked to Sally!” She held up a phone in her hand. “Stay here! Get back inside!” Wolf accelerated as fast as he could to the end of the road. He reached the cross street and slammed the brakes, skidding sideways to a halt. Thick woods lined this edge of the trailer park, and running straight out of the trees came the two dogs, veering toward him. In a fluid motion, he opened his door, got out, and pulled his gun.