Chapter 2

It only gets worse. The snow is coming down hard now, a real blizzard. The weather forecast missed this one. Our car is creeping ahead, and Alex can barely see through the windshield.

I am missing my sunglasses.

The wind kicks up and a blast of snow blinds us. "Shit," Alex breathes, and she brings the car to a complete stop. The radio announces that the freeway has been closed. Nice to hear when you're already on it.

Alex hits the flashers in case someone behind us might actually be forging ahead in this. I see Alex push back against the seat and take a deep breath. Driving in this is taking a toll.

"Maybe we should just bag it, get out of this mess and call it a day."

"Whitaker's due in court."

"Weather like this, they'll probably close the courts."

"Until we know that, we can't stop trying."

I nod. She's right. Wouldn't want a killer to walk because we were afraid to brave a little snow and get the star witness to court.

The wind dies down, and we're both shocked to discover the SUV is now buried to the headlights in snow. I grab my coat and wrestle it on while still in the warmth of the SUV. I don gloves next, and then my hat. "We have a shovel?"

"One of those emergency camping ones."

"I got this," I say. I'm struck by the cold wind against my cheeks as I sink up to my knees in snow. The flakes landing on my skin are large and wet. With some effort, I trudge to the back of the vehicle and swing open the back. A couple of minutes of rooting around and I find the tiny camp shovel. I close the door and head to the front of the car, where I dig out the front wheels and as much in front of the bumper as I can. By the time I am finished, my toes are frozen again.

I pile back into the SUV and slam my door shut. Alex gives it her best shot, but we are stuck. The snow is still falling fast. We can see a couple of other cars stranded ahead of us. I verify our location with Eames and call it in on the radio.

"Sit tight. We've got the plows on the way already."

"Copy," I say and replace the radio. I look over at Eames, but she appears to be napping.

"If it keeps coming down like this," she says, opening her eyes and turning to me, "we could be in real trouble."

"Give it a half hour. If we haven't seen or heard anything by then, I'll check on those other cars and we'll settle in for the long haul."

"We, Bobby. We'll check on the other cars."

Thirty minutes later, we're doing just that. We flipped the light on in the SUV, so people nearby would know we're cops. Dispatch is saying even the plows are getting stuck. Alex is up to her waist in snow, and I'm up to my thighs. I give her the closest car to check on. She's gonna have a tougher time walking in this.

I'm breathing heavy by the time I reach the next car. I knock on the window and give the driver a signal to roll the window down. I show my badge, and he does.

"How you doing?" I ask.

"Okay."

"We got word that even the snow plows are getting stuck. Best thing to do is sit tight and stay warm. Do you have any medical needs or anything?"

He shakes his head.

"Got water?"

He nods.

"Plenty of gas?"

"Yeah, I can keep the heat on for a while."

"Okay, sit tight. They'll get us out of here as quick as they can."

"Thanks."

By the time I get back to the car, I'm numb all the way up my legs. I climb in, and Alex already has the heater going. She's still wearing her coat.

"Did you have to go far?" She asks me.

I nod. "There was one more I could see, past this one," I say, jerking my head in the direction of the little blue car.

"I got this one and one on the other side," she says. "Visibility is terrible."

"I gave away 3 waters," I say. "How much do we have?"

"Two. I gave away four."

Alex looks at the nearly empty gas gauge, the flashing light on the dash, the cb radio, and then at me. "I wonder how long our battery will hold out pumping juice into all this."

We're following procedure. I shrug indifferently. "Guess we'll have to find out."

She grins at me. "Take a bet on it?" She sees my smile and continues, "20 bucks says we have juice until 7:00."

"I hope we're not stuck here that long," I say, but then I add, "8:00."

We shake on it, and I peel off my gloves.