Chapter 1
Kate Baker poured the pasta out of the pot and into the strainer. Her daughter Lorraine was busy stirring the sauce.
"Don't let that burn," said Kate.
"Mom, I have an A in Home Ec. I think I can make some sauce," said Lorraine.
"Just like you made that delicious meat loaf," said Kate, smiling.
"That was one mistake," said Lorraine. "I wasn't that bad."
"It was pitch black and as hard as a rock," said Kate.
"One mistake," said Lorraine, getting defensive. At that moment, Nora Baker and her fiancé, Derek, walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Mom," said Nora, putting down a tray of garlic bread.
"Hi. Right on time," said Kate.
"Where is everyone?" asked Nora.
"Most of the kids are upstairs doing homework. Dad went to pick up Mike from hockey and Jake from skating," said Kate.
"Dinner almost ready?" asked Derek, helping Nora put the garlic bread on a serving tray.
"About twenty more minutes," said Kate.
Tom Baker pulled into the parking lot of the Gordon Thompson Memorial Gymnasium. He turned up the heat. He had moved his large clan to the small town of Cold Valley, Minnesota three months before. The kids had fit in well and Tom had made a huge impression on his new team. But it was the cold that was hard to get used to. Tom was use to cold. He had grown up in northern Illinois. But Minnesota had a different kind of cold. The kind that froze your bones the second you stepped outside. Mike Baker came bounding out of the gymnasium. He was bundled up from head to toe and was carrying a large duffel bag. Tom got out of the car and opened the backdoor for Mike.
"How was practice?" asked Tom, shivering.
"It was good. I'm starving though," said Mike, closing the door. Tom got back in the car and shut the door. God, he hated the cold.
"We just have to pick up Jake and then we'll head home to dinner," said Tom. He pulled out of the parking lot, cursing the cold and praising the warmth of the van interior.
Jake Baker stepped into the cold night. His best friend of three months, Ricky Morris, came up behind him.
"Jake, how can you stand the cold already?" asked Ricky.
"I've got about sixteen layers on, dude," said Jake. Ricky laughed.
"That's how I was when my family first moved up here," said Ricky. "Just don't let your board stay out in the cold too long. The wheels will freeze."
"Gotcha," said Jake.
"I'm serious. Luke Walsh forgot that and had a really nasty fall. He had to have surgery on his leg because the bone shattered," said Ricky.
"You talking about me?" asked Luke, walking up.
"Just telling Jake about how you were an idiot last winter," said Ricky.
"It was my sisters fault. She threw it outside," said Luke.
"But it was you who ended up in the hospital, you moron," said Ricky. Luke narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, you've been there? Remember when you busted your lips on that rail? You're lucky you had a good plastic surgeon," said Luke. Ricky shrugged his shoulders as he licked the still healing scars on both his lips.
"Have you had any injuries that required serious medical attention, Jake?" asked Ricky.
"I have three pins in my right arm from a fall I had when I was ten," said Jake.
"Ouch," said Luke. Seth, Luke's older brother, pulled up in a beat up El Camino.
"Let's go, Luke, " said Seth.
"See you guys later," said Luke, tucking his board under his arm and running to the car.
"You have a ride, Ricky?" asked Jake, as Seth pulled away. As if on cue, Ricky's mom pulled up in her mini-van. Ricky's sister Kylie was in the front seat.
"Yeah," said Ricky. "Do you?"
"My dad will be here soon," said Jake.
"OK. See you at school tomorrow," said Ricky, walking towards the van. He gave Jake one last wave and then got in the back of the van. Kylie and Trish, Ricky's mom, waved to Jake as Trish pulled out of the driveway. Jake sat down on the curb. The street was deserted. Jake held his board in his lap and looked down the dark street, hoping to see the headlights of the family van. The temperature was dropping.
Chief of Police Mitch Foster sighed as he moved more stuff out of the closet. Detective Megan Cole smiled as she walked into the office.
"Don't forget you have to put all this stuff back," said Megan.
"I know. I just have to find that damn sled," said Mitch.
"What the hell would it be doing in your closet?" asked Megan.
"All kinds of shit ends up in here," said Mitch, taking out yet another box.
"But no sled," said Megan. Mitch gave her a dirty look. His desk phone rang.
"Damnit," said Mitch, making his way over to his desk.
"Foster," said Mitch answering. He frowned as he listened to the caller.
"Missing? He probably just got a ride with someone else," said Mitch. Mitch frowned again.
"OK, Tom. Megan and I will come down there. OK. See you soon," said Mitch. He hung up.
"What's up?" asked Megan.
"Tom Baker's son Jake wasn't at the skate park when Tom went to pick him up. Tom is having a panic attack and so he called me," said Mitch.
"I'll get my coat," said Megan. She walked towards her office. Mitch sighed and put on his coat.
Tom paced the front entrance of the skate park. Mike was sitting in a chair. Walter Parke walked out of his office.
"Are you sure you don't want to call the parents of Jake's friends?" asked Walt.
"My wife is the only one who knows all those numbers," said Tom.
"I'm sorry we don't have them on file. We did some spring cleaning recently and we lost some stuff," said Walt. Mitch and Megan walked into the arena at that second.
"The cavalry is here," said Walt.
"Any word from Jake?" asked Mitch.
"None. Kate is going to kill me for being late," said Tom.
"I'm sure he's with a friend," said Mitch. "Megan and I will do a quick sweep of the outside. Maybe he's playing a very elaborate prank."
"He's grounded for two months if that's the case," said Tom. When Mitch and Megan were back outside, Mitch sighed.
"I have a bad feeling," said Mitch, as he and Megan walked along the side of the building. He noticed a piece of paper flapping in the breeze. It was stuck on the fence. Jake's skateboard was in the snow next to it.
"Oh no," said Mitch. He took the piece of paper in his gloved hand. It was note. He frowned as he read it: From the darkness, comes evil. From the shadows, comes sin.
Mitch's fear had been proven. Jake had been kidnapped.
