The Search (15 page)

     Sarah was out there somewhere.

     But it wasn’t at any of the area medical facilities.

     And finally, against everything inside him that told him to stay out there looking, he admitted defeat.

     Bryan Too had come to like Bryan. They’d bonded, as men do when carrying out an important mission together. Through their mission they’d shared childhood experiences and discussed anything and everything, from the meaning of life to why women do the things they do.

     But Bryan Too saw no need to continue. He also saw the futility of it all.

     So he didn’t argue when Bryan said, “Let’s head back home in the morning. If she were out here we’d have found her by now.

     Bryan Too said nothing. He merely nodded his head in agreement. And he let it drop.

     But the next morning, after he’d started up the hulking Humvee and plotted his course back to the compound next to Salt Mountain, he turned to Bryan.

     “So, where do you go from here?”

     “I don’t know. There are already sixty volunteers going door to door in Kerr County, asking everyone they can find whether they’ve seen Sarah.

     “I suppose I could join them.

     “Or, I could go back to where the dog lost the scent and try to pick up her trail again.

     “Do you think they were wrong? That she wasn’t picked up at the roadway after all?”

     “I don’t know. I just don’t know. I mean, the easy thing to do would be to just accept the dog handler’s word and look elsewhere.

     “But what if the dog handler was wrong? What if the dog just happened to lose her scent again, and by some strange happenstance it just happened to be at the roadway? I mean, the dog had been out there for three days, and the first two days his nose got tired and he lost her scent, although the scent was still there. After he rested and slept he was able to pick it up again.

     “What if the same thing happened the third day, and he just happened to be at the roadway when it happened?

     “What if her trail went beyond the roadway? That if the handler hadn’t given up, the dog could have rested and slept and maybe picked the scent back up the following morning?”

     Bryan Too though about the possibility.

     “Pardon me for saying so. You’ve become a good friend, and I want to find Sarah too, to ease your pain as well as hers. But I think you might be grasping at straws. I mean, we searched the area past the roadway and couldn’t find any signs of anyone passing through there. We couldn’t find any more drops of blood. If she had continued past the roadway there would have been signs.”

     “My brain keeps telling me that. But my heart… my heart keeps arguing. My heart says what if the dog handler was wrong? What if she didn’t get on a horse or in a vehicle? What if the dog’s nose just picked that particular moment to give out again? What if her bleeding, by some strange stroke of fate, picked that same exact moment to stop? I mean, for three days we were all hoping and praying she’d stop bleeding. We knew those blood drops were adding up and she was losing an awful lot of blood. What if her body finally said enough is enough?”

     “Anything is possible. But even the Army has given up and gone home. And I can tell you from personal experience that the Army never likes to admit defeat. I think you have to go with the odds. And the odds are that someone picked her up. I don’t know why they didn’t take her to a medical facility. Maybe the person who picked her up was a doctor or a nurse, or maybe knew one. I think the most probable scenario is that they took her to their home to treat. And that once she’s recovered enough to show them where she lives that they’ll bring her back home again.

     “Hell, for all we know she might be there waiting for you when I drop you off.”

     But Bryan was unconvinced.

     “I know I should go with common sense and join the door to door search. But think about it for just a moment.

     “If I’m right, then she’d still out there. Still wandering through the woods, still injured, and it’s been more than a week now. I know she’s smart enough to be careful what she eats and drinks when she’s on her game. But she’s injured and she may not be thinking clearly.”

     “Logically, when she came to that roadway, she’d have followed it, in one direction or the other. If she had gone north, she’d have turned around when it dead-ended at the cell phone tower a mile away. She’d have turned around and gone back the other way. And she’d have come out on Highway 83 and been able to flag down a passing motorist.

     “Bryan, she wouldn’t have just crossed that road and kept going. It wouldn’t have made any sense.”

     “Exactly. It wouldn’t have made any sense for someone who was thinking with a clear head. But for someone who was injured… and who maybe was confused or dazed… sense is no longer at play.”

     Then Bryan finally said the words he’d been thinking for so long but didn’t want to verbalize.

     “There are plenty of volunteers going door to door. One more body isn’t going to help them much. But I don’t want some hunter to find Sarah’s remains a year from now, still in the forest, and have to live the rest of my life knowing I could have saved her and let her down. I’m just not willing to do that. You can drop me off where the dog lost her scent, and I’ll continue my search there.”

     “I’m not dropping you off anywhere.”

     Bryan turned to look at Bryan Too, not quite understanding.

     “You’re my friend now. We’re in this together. The Army put me at your disposal and told me to help you as long as you needed me. Two sets of eyes are better than one. If you’re going back into the woods to search for her, then I’m going with you.”

Chapter 30

     The Humvee approached the compound in mid-afternoon. Bryan’s two way radio had been off for several days. They were out of range, and there was no need to run down the batteries.

     But now, half a mile away, it was time to announce his arrival.

     “Whoever’s at the desk, this is Bryan.”

     Karen reached for the microphone.

     “Go ahead, Bryan. Where are you?”

     “About five minutes out. Can you have someone open the gate for me?”

     “Sure. Sami’s here with me. She said she’d meet you there.”

     “Any word on Sarah?”

     “No, honey, I’m sorry. The search teams are still out, combing the countryside. They’ll find her.”

     Bryan had gotten used to bad news. He no longer wanted to cry or to lash out when he received such negative reports. He just went numb.

     Four minutes later the Humvee appeared on Karen’s monitors. She watched as it parked on the east side of the compound and Bryan and his driver exited.

     As the pair neared the gate, she called Sami on the radio.

     “Okay, Sami. They’re outside the gate and it’s all clear. Go ahead and open it up.”

     Bryan hugged Sami and asked her how she was holding up.

     “I’m getting better every day. It helps to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.”

     “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you.”

     “I understand. What you’re doing is much more important than consoling me.”

     “Sami, this is Bryan Too. Bryan, this is Sami. Her father was one of the men killed in the helicopter crash.”

     Bryan took her hand and said, “I’m so sorry.”

     “Thank you. You said your name was Bryan
Too
?”

     “Long story. Actually, it’s Bryan Mason.”

     “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

     Sami and Bryan Too rushed to catch up with Bryan, who was on his way at a fast clip to the control center.

     At the security desk, he hugged Karen.

     “Hello, sweetheart. How have you been?”

     “Better than you, I suspect. Welcome home, Bryan.”

     “Thank you. But I won’t be staying long.”

     Karen looked at Sami, who looked at Bryan Too, who nodded toward Bryan.

     Bryan explained.

     “We’re just here to get a second radio in case mine craps out, and some spare batteries. And to pack some MREs and water. Then Bryan Too and I are going back to the roadway where the dog lost the scent. Just in case the handler was wrong.”

     He looked Karen directly in the eyes, and she could see his pain.

     “I just can’t bear the thought that she might be out there, dying and all alone.”

     “Can I come with you?”

     “Karen, no offense. But you’d slow us down. Besides, you’re doing a great job running the control center. You’re much more important here.”

     Sami spoke up.

     “Then I’m going in her place.”

     Bryan looked at Sami. She’d been hurt so much already. And she really wanted to help. He chose his words carefully.

     “I’m sorry, Sami. But I have to say no to you too. You’ve already lost your father, and you’re six months pregnant. If something were to happen to endanger the baby too… well, we just can’t risk that.

     “Please. Stay here with Karen and help coordinate the search. It’s the two of you working together with the grid maps that’s keeping everybody from repeatedly searching the same areas over and over again. That’s way more valuable to the effort than just a third body following the same trail in the woods. Would you stay here, for me?

     Sami was disappointed, but couldn’t argue with his logic.

    “When are you headed out?”

     “As soon as we get packed and get something to eat. Within the hour.”

     But Karen objected.

     “Bryan, it’ll be dark in four hours. Wouldn’t it make more sense to head out first thing in the morning? You might as well get a comfortable night’s sleep before you leave again.”

     When Bryan looked at her, she noticed his eyes had moistened. She wasn’t sure whether it was because Sami, who was coping with her own tragedy, had volunteered to go with them. Or whether it was something else.

     Bryan said, “No. If Sarah’s out there in the woods, she’s anything but comfortable. I don’t deserve to be either.”

Chapter 31

     Bryan was on another wild goose chase. For Sarah wasn’t in the woods. She was at the end of a dusty farm road, at a farm where five people were brutally murdered, preparing dinner for their killer.

     And she was happy doing it.

     In the absence of any memories or knowledge to the contrary, she believed that the brutal animal sitting comfortably in the Huckabee’s recliner was her husband of several years.

     He’d worked his magic and it continued to hold. As each day passed she’d become more and more accepting of his lies.

     And he’d become more and more confident that she was his forever.

     Or until he tired of her and disposed of her, as he’d done with several others over the years.

     Of course this woman, the woman he called Becky, was different. The others were held by force. They had to be watched constantly when unchained, because they would have bolted in a heartbeat. They had to be tied down or chained to the floor at night so they wouldn’t run off as he slept. And they were unwilling participants in Martel’s little fantasy game. Many of them fought his every demand, and suffered unspeakable beatings for it.

     This one was different.

     She was compliant. Not because she really loved him, or wanted to be with him.

     But because she believed that she did. Because he told her so, and because she knew no better.

     “How is it that I can’t remember our names, but I can remember how to cook?” she asked aloud as she sliced carrots she’d collected from the garden.

     But her words went unanswered.

     Martel had fallen asleep in the recliner, finally comfortable enough in his ability to control her that he allowed himself to rest in her presence.

     Chances were she wouldn’t go far, even if she’d wanted to get away. She had no clothes to wear. Sure, she could have covered herself with a sheet or a blanket and gone for help.

     Except she had no shoes either.

     The long driveway which led to the dirt road was paved with caliche, a chalky white rock ground from massive quarries with razor sharp edges.

     Sure, she could have wrapped her feet in towels to get away.

     But she’d still be afoot, moving at a snail’s pace. While Martel would have the advantage of a fast moving pickup truck to pursue her with.