Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Before they turned in for the night, Tawny whispered to Yolanda, “Check your bunk for drugs. But don’t make it obvious.”
Yolanda nodded and climbed the ladder to the top bunk. Tawny heard her moving around until she lay quiet.
Stoneface Colfer called, “Lights out! I’ll be right outside, ladies, so don’t try anything stupid.” He switched off the lights and stepped outside the bunkhouse.
Tawny made her way to her bunk in the darkness and searched it for packets of fentanyl, heroin, or cocaine. It might not be long until Whitcomb dragged her and possibly one or more of the others into his scheme with Stoltz, Jones, and Cohen. Her bunk was clean. For now. Exhausted from today’s trials, Tawny curled on her side and closed her eyes.
In the morning, she rose early after a sound sleep and volunteered to cook breakfast with Ronette.
As she cracked eggs into a glass bowl, Tawny asked, “So, Ronette, how’d you end up in prison?”
Ronette turned slices of bacon in a frying pan. “Ever hear of Judge Cohen?”
“Oh, God, don’t tell me. He sent you to CIFW. And I’ll bet Perry Jones was your public defender, too.”
“Yeah. Same thing happened to you?”
“Yep. And to half a dozen other women I could name. Look, I don’t know Dee, Debbie, Joy, Susan, Barbie, or Precious very well. Do you?”
“I know Barbie and Precious. And they were sentenced by Judge Cohen.” Her brows furrowed. “Tawny, what’s going on? Are we all here because of him?”
“I think so. I heard some weird things have happened in the past here at fire camp. So be on your guard. And check your bunk for drugs. Keep this to yourself. I’ll pass the word to the others myself.”
“Bette was right, wasn’t she? We heard about her crazy conspiracy theory. And now she’s gone.”
Tawny dumped the scrambled eggs onto a platter and put four slices of bread into the toaster. “Maybe.”
Moira joined them as they settled around the dining table. She’d already eaten breakfast but accepted a cup of coffee. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
They nodded and murmured their agreement.
She pointed to a bag she’d dropped next to the door. “I brought some board games I thought you’d like to play during downtime and some personal toiletries you need. Today, we’ll clean our truck and our gear from yesterday. After that, you’re free unless we get a call. Do you have any questions about yesterday?”
A few questions about the nature of the fire they fought went around the table. Moira answered them and praised them for their insight. After they ate, one pair cleaned the kitchen while the others tended to their gear and the truck. No emergencies needed their assistance, and the day passed in tranquility.
During the next three days, Tawny questioned the others individually about their pasts as they did chores around the bunkhouses. The similarities of their stories raised the hackles on her neck. Single. Abandoned by family. A history of drug or alcohol abuse or prostitution. The kind of person no one would miss. Easy targets of Warden Stoltz, Judge Cohen, Jones, and Whitcomb. The more she considered their circumstances, the more she realized her suspects weren’t working alone. Someone with more clout called the shots.
At the end of their conversation, Tawny warned each woman to check her bunk for drugs and to come to her immediately if anything suspicious happened.
“Why not Captain Finnigan?” Joy asked as she and Tawny cleaned the bathroom in Bunkhouse A.
“Because nothing is going to happen when she’s here. We’re vulnerable at night.”
“Okay, so why you?” Her voice held a note of jealousy.
“You’ve seen me fight, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, I have skills you don’t have, Joy. I can defend you. Protect you.”
She lifted her chin. Joy possessed beautiful dark eyes that complemented her coffee with cream-colored skin. “I can protect myself.”
“Then let me teach you how to fight.”
Her eyes lit up, and she lost her defensive posture. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. In fact, Yolanda and I can teach everyone how to fight.”
“Can we start after lunch? I’m pretty bored playing games.”
“Absolutely.”
When Tawny broached the idea with Moira, she gave her consent. She saw it as a way for the women to keep fit. After lunch, Tawny and Yolanda divided the Titans into two equal groups. Both knew mixed martial arts and began their lessons with simple, basic moves. They complained and made Karate Kid jokes until Tawny and Yolanda demonstrated how those basic moves provided the foundation for more difficult ones. The practice went well, and the Titans were off to a good start in self-defense.
Dark storm clouds gathered overhead in the afternoon. When lightning struck and thunder resounded, the Titans scurried into the bunkhouses just as huge raindrops hit the ground. As Tawny strode past Whitcomb, he grabbed her arm.
“What the hell are you doing, Ginger?”
“Keeping everyone from boredom and fit at the same time. Plus, teaching them a valuable life skill.”
“You’re giving them weapons to use against each other and us.”
“Their hands and legs? And who’s ‘us’?”
“Me and Colfer.”
Tawny shot him a look of disdain. “You have guns. And quite frankly, we have more to fear from you and Colfer than we do each other. Look, the others just want an opportunity to prove for once in their lives that they’re not worthless. Martial arts will increase their level of concentration and teach discipline. Both are needed out here to survive.”
He released her arm. “The power you’ve taken for yourself will make you a target.”
“I’ve already proven I can’t be taken down that easily. And besides, none of the Titans want to be sent back to prison. So, who exactly sees me as that much of a threat except you and Colfer?” She opened the door to the main bunkhouse and glanced back at Whitcomb. “Try not to get wet. The wind is blowing the rain in this direction.”
He muttered, “Fuck you.”
“You wish.”
The rain pattering on the roof made them sleepy. They retired to their bunks to take a nap. Tawny chose to read one of her paperbacks in the gloom, but the words floated on the page. Showing herself to be adversarial might not be her smartest course of action, yet it might force Stoltz and Whitcomb to reveal their plot.
Patience, Tawny. Justice’s voice filled her spinning head. A smile crossed her face. Finn’s voice countered his advice. Push ‘em, Red. Bait the hook and reel ‘em in.
A commotion interrupted her thoughts. The door to Moira’s office banged open. “We have an assist, Titans! A hiker is missing. Wear your rain ponchos because we’re still in a heavy downpour.”
Whitcomb went to tell Stoneface Colfer and the Titans in Bunkhouse B about the emergency. Within a couple of minutes, everyone met at their rescue truck. The Titans climbed into the back, and Moira took her place behind the wheel. Lightning flashed, and the earth shook from thunder. Whitcomb started toward the passenger door, but Stoneface Colfer stopped him.
“Stay here. I have search and rescue experience.”
Whitcomb scowled in annoyance. He pointed at Tawny. “Watch her.”
Colfer gave a brief nod and jumped into the rescue truck.
An uprooted tree blocked the road they traveled to the state park. Tawny, Yolanda, Terrin, and Joy volunteered to move it out of the way. It was heavy but not large. With two at either end, they cast it aside so the rescue truck could pass by. When they reached the coordination point, a tent had already been erected to protect them from the storm. Moira and the Titans gathered around a 6x4 banquet table and gazed at a map of the area as the other fire captain spoke.
“We’re looking for a twenty-five-year-old woman named Layla Murray. She’s five feet seven, one hundred thirty pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes. She’s wearing light blue jeans, a blue plaid flannel shirt, brown hiking boots, a San Francisco Giants’ windbreaker, and a Giants’ baseball cap. Layla was last seen here.” Captain Ward pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s about a mile west of our current location. We’ll move out in small groups. According to the National Weather Service, this storm is wreaking havoc, causing flash floods and landslides, and is not expected to dissipate anytime soon. The terrain is treacherous. Be careful and stay with a buddy.”
Captain Ward handed out several long-range walkie-talkies. Stoneface Colfer and Moira divided the Titans between them. He insisted that Tawny, Yolanda, Terrin, Joy, and Precious form his group. Tawny glanced at Yolanda and caught a glimpse of concern in her eyes. Not knowing anything about Stoneface Colfer magnified her apprehension. Neither Jiena nor Finn had passed her any information about him through Moira.
Stoneface Colfer’s team formed a circle around him, away from the other rescue workers. He handed Tawny a compass. “None of you have cell phones, and there’s no service out here anyway. That’s why we have to track Layla the old-fashioned way. We’ll travel in pairs, in more or less a straight line, and try to keep each other in sight. It’s darker than normal. Does everyone have a flashlight?”
They held them up.
“And who has the first aid kit?”
“I do,” Terrin answered.
“Okay. Let’s head out.”
As she passed a supply table, Tawny filched a rope and draped it across her body.
The search and rescue workers fanned out in different directions. Stoneface Colfer led his group due west. The thick canopy of trees prevented the rain from blinding them, though it fell heavily. When they drew near the spot where Layla Murray disappeared, the rescue team began calling her name. It echoed through the hills. They followed Stoneface Colfer off the trails and climbed the muddy embankments, trekking through the running rainwater and grabbing hold of small bushes and trees to keep their balance. They continued to search, sweeping the area and calling Layla’s name. The group switched on their flashlights when the sun dipped below the cloud cover. The temperature dropped several degrees.
After hours of searching in vain, Stoneface Colfer suggested they split up. “We can cover more ground. Joy and Precious, you’re with me. We’ll head north of our current location.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tawny protested. “You’re leaving us without a means of communication. What if something happens to one of us, or we find Layla and need to inform Captain Ward?”
He pulled out his cell phone and held it up. “Up here, I’m getting a signal.” Stoneface Colfer tossed Tawny the walkie-talkie. “Take it. I’ll look after Joy and Precious.”
“Thanks, Colfer.” After a moment, she added, “Be careful.”
Her instincts urged her to contact Moira to let her know the change in their circumstances. “Captain Finnigan, come in. Over.”
“Tawny? Over.”
“Yes, ma’am. Colfer took Joy and Precious, and they’re heading north. We’re approximately three miles northwest of Layla Murray’s last known location. I’m leading Yolanda and Terrin southeast. Over.”
“Copy that.”
As they treaded side by side, Yolanda remarked, “You done this before.”
“Yeah. Girl Scouts. Survival camp. That shit stays with you.”
With full-on darkness now, the moon rose high in the skies that were finally beginning to clear from the fierce storm. The rain soon abated to a drizzle before stopping altogether. To save the batteries in their flashlights, Tawny suggested they use only one. Yolanda lit the way, sweeping the light back and forth. Occasionally, they called Layla’s name.
Tawny kept their spirits up as they grew discouraged by the minute. Just when Yolanda’s and Terrin’s complaints started to take their toll on her, she spotted a piece of a blue plaid flannel shirt on a fallen tree branch.
“Look!” She pointed at the fabric. “Layla must be close! Layla! Layla Murray! Can you hear me?”
Yolanda and Terrin shouted her name. No answer.
Tawny switched on her flashlight and swept it over the area. They were standing on a ledge weakened by the recent torrent of rain. She shone her light downward and gasped. “Layla!”
The woman lay unmoving at the bottom of a short ravine.
Tawny took the rope and tied one end around a sturdy tree trunk, then used it to let herself down the steep incline. When she reached Layla, she called, “Terrin, I need the first aid kit!”
Terrin shimmied down the rope and knelt next to Tawny. Layla’s right leg lay at a weird angle, severely broken beneath the knee. The tibia protruded, and Tawny saw the fractured fibula through the break. Blood ran down Layla’s leg. More blood pooled beneath a head wound that occurred when she’d struck it on a rock during her tumble down the slope.
“Terrin, I need the tourniquet.”
Terrin fumbled to open the first aid kit and handed the tourniquet to Tawny. She quickly applied it above Layla’s knee.
“Layla! Can you hear me?” No response. Tawny lifted her eyelids and checked her pupils. They were dilated and unresponsive to the flashlight. “She has a concussion.” She felt her pulse. “Slow but steady.” Tawny touched her cheek and noticed Layla’s colorless lips. “I think she’s hypothermic.” She ripped off her rain poncho and covered Layla with it.
Tawny picked up the walkie-talkie next to her on the ground. “Captain Finnigan, we found Layla Murray. Repeat, we found Layla Murray. Do you copy?”
“Copy, Tawny. What’s her condition?”
“Broken tibia and fibula. Concussion. Pupils are dilated and nonresponsive to light. She’s bleeding from a head wound. Slow and steady pulse, but I believe she’s hypothermic. I don’t want to move her in case she might have a spinal injury. Over.”
“Copy. What’s your location?”
“Approximately two and a half miles southeast of our last location. Layla fell off a ledge. Over.”
“Copy. I’m on my way with EMTs. We’re about fifteen minutes from your location. Over.”
Captain Ward must have heard the communication and chimed in, “Evac by helicopter on its way. Over.”
“Copy. Over.” Tawny held one of Layla’s ice-cold hands. “Help is on the way, Layla.” Then she called out to Yolanda, “Captain Finnigan is coming! ETA fifteen minutes!”
“Got it, T! I’ll keep watch for her!”
Terrin gazed at her with awe in her eyes. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not one of us.” She spoke in a low voice. “You fight like you’ve been trained, and you know this kind of medical stuff. The way you’re always lookin’ out for us. You have to be…oh my God, I can’t even say it.”
Tawny swallowed the panic rising in her throat. “Terrin, trust me, please.”
“I do. And that’s the funny thing because I’ve never met one I could trust in the past.”
She blew out her breath. “Thanks.”
“But here’s the deal, Tawny. In exchange for my silence, I want you to tell me the truth. The whole truth.”
“All right. But if you repeat anything I tell you, you’ll put all of us in danger.”
“Aren’t we anyway?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“I promise you can trust me, T.” Terrin reached out and squeezed Tawny’s free hand.
Trust no one.
Oh God, she’d broken the cardinal rule while undercover.
It couldn’t be avoided. I couldn’t pretend ignorance during a real emergency.
Yolanda’s excited shouts interrupted Tawny’s private self-recriminations. “This way! Layla is down there!” She shone the flashlight on Tawny, Terrin, and the unconscious woman.
Moira and two EMTs maneuvered down the hill with a flat board and other equipment. Tawny and Terrin moved out of the way to allow the EMTs room to assess Layla’s injuries. One secured her neck in a collar and wrapped her head wound in bandages while the other checked her vitals and examined her broken leg.
“Good job with the tourniquet,” he said to no one in particular. “She’s hypothermic. Body Temperature is ninety-three degrees. We need to move her now .” He set aside Tawny’s rain poncho and covered Layla in a blanket on the flat board.
They used the rope to haul her up the hill with Yolanda, Debbie, and Dee’s help. The helicopter approached from the east and hovered above them. A firefighter lowered a hook, and the EMTs attached the flat board. Carefully, the firefighter in the helicopter raised Layla into the opening. Once she was secure, the helicopter flew away toward the nearest hospital.
Tawny shivered in her wet and muddy jumpsuit. Moira noticed and removed the heavy jacket she wore beneath her rain poncho. She wrapped it around Tawny’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“Good job, ladies. Let’s head back to base.”
Single file and vigilant of the slippery ground, they sloshed through drenched, soggy areas as they made their way back to the command base. Warm blankets, cups of hot coffee, and water bottles awaited the weary rescue workers. As Tawny sat on a rickety folding chair, her cold hands gripping a cup of coffee, she did a quick head count.
Stoneface Colfer and Joy and Precious were missing.
As she opened her mouth to point it out, Joy and Precious rushed into the tent. Tears ran down their faces. Relief replaced the fear Tawny glimpsed in their eyes.
“Oh, thank God! Thank God, we made it back!” Their bodies shook, and their teeth chattered.
Tawny gave up her chair. “Here, Joy.” Someone else unfolded a chair for Precious. “Where’s Colfer?”
“Don’t know!” Precious wailed. “He ditched us! Just disappeared like a ghost or somethin’!”