Chapter 27
“What does a walking red flag look like? Someone who doesn’t wear sunscreen.”
—It’s science
Iris
We walked as quickly as I could manage down the drive, though his long driveway felt even longer when you were trying not to throw up the entire way.
Just as I was about to open my door, Hector called out, “Iris, Steve, go to the trunk.”
I looked up, not understanding, when he turned and spoke to Sarge.
“Pass auf,” he said, his voice stern and authoritative.
I didn’t know that particular command, but I watched as Hector and Sarge both walked back to the trunk with me. Sarge’s body was lowered to the ground, and his eyes were scanning everywhere quickly, as if looking for something.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
He didn’t respond at first, just opened the hatch and reached in to grab a few small items. He spoke quietly as he handed me a flashlight.
“New plan. We leave on foot. The tires on the car have been slashed. We need to be cautious as we make our way out of here, because Jennings likely did it, and that means he’s close. ”
It took a few moments for his comments to process in my brain. I just stood there while Hector grabbed a few more things from the back of his vehicle before finally closing it.
“I gave Sarge the be alert command so he’ll be watching, but I don’t know who or what is out there, so I need you to pay attention, and if I ask you to do something, I need you to do it without hesitation. Understood?”
“Yeah,” I responded. I wasn’t stupid. He was definitely the only trained one of the two of us when it came to situations like this.
“We’ll head over the tree line there and make our way quickly up the road,” Hector said as he pushed me in that direction. “There should be help on the way, so we just need to get going in that direction, and maybe we’ll pass an emergency vehicle before the fire can get there.”
That brought my brain back to the here and now. The fire.
“No,” I told him, grabbing his arm to stop him and then pointing to the other side. “We’re safer going down that hill over there rather than up the road along the ridge.”
“No, that will take too long,” Hector countered. “The fastest route is just up that small hill beyond the trees. We can get to the road faster and hopefully outrun the fire.”
He tried pulling me again, but I resisted.
“Hector, listen to me. I may not know evasive maneuvers and tactical stuff like you, but I know fires. We’re actually more at risk going up that hill because fire spreads faster uphill because both heat and fire rise, which dries out the vegetation before the full flames get there, spreading it faster,” I explained, pointing to the area I would prefer to evacuate to.
“This is a longer route, yes, but it’s also downhill and has less vegetation, meaning the fire won’t spread as fast, giving us more time. ”
I watched him chew the inside of his cheek as he looked around, assessing the situation.
“Okay, let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and called for Sarge to follow, Steve and Ann not far behind.
The flames continued to spread rapidly, and I just hoped that my plan worked and we made it out of here safely.
I scanned the area around us as we quickly worked our way through the rough terrain in the dark.
This area wasn’t a forest in the traditional sense, but we had Joshua trees and palm trees, along with lots of sagebrush, cacti, and yucca plants.
None of those would feel pleasant if you tripped and fell into them.
I kept looking back at Steve, who was still carrying Ann, though he was beginning to show signs of struggling.
Hector’s right hand held his gun, ready to use it, while his other hand was outstretched, ready to catch me if I went down. I was holding my own, but I loved that he was there if I needed him.
“Now where?” I asked several minutes later as we finally made it to the bottom of the ridge. “I’m not familiar with this area, and it’s so dark.”
I turned to look back up the large hill we had just come down to see the glowing orange color behind it from the fire. We’d made it to the bottom safely, but those flames would catch up to us sooner rather than later.
“Follow me,” Hector answered simply as he pulled out his phone.
“Andrews. Change of plans. I need a pickup. You got anybody close by? I’ve got one person with a gunshot wound, another with a head injury, and my tires were slashed, so Iris, Sarge, Stanton, Diden, and I are all on foot.
The cabin and surrounding area are on fire, so we came down the bluff and will head down Highway Three moving east. Can you have someone meet us there? ”
I listened to what he was saying but also kept turning back to look behind us.
“Thanks,” Hector said, finishing his call, and then he turned back to both Steve and me.
“The main road should be about a quarter mile over there,” he said, pointing. “There’s an outpost on that road about another half mile down that we’ll get picked up at, but we need to move before the flames get to us.”
Steve and I both nodded before Hector handed me his gun.
“Do you know how to shoot?” he asked, and I nodded. Auntie had taught me in case we ever had a bear or coyote come on the farm to try to get our animals, though it had been years since I’d fired a gun.
Hector turned to Steve. “Give me Diden for a bit. You walk with Iris and set the pace faster so we can meet the sheriff.”
They carefully hoisted Ann onto Hector’s back, and we took off toward Highway Three.
A quarter mile was a long way to walk. When I glanced back at the fire, I wondered if we should have gone toward the lake instead of the highway.
The fire wasn’t likely to make it all the way there since there wasn’t much vegetation near the beach, but if it did, at least we could have had safety in the water.
But this was Hector’s specialty, and his confidence helped steady me. He knew this area like the back of his hand, so I had to trust him that he knew where he was taking us.
Unlike big cities, we didn’t have a lot of buildings or homes out here in the national park area to help light up the sky, so it was very dark.
There was barely a crescent moon to cut through the dark above us and guide our way.
This made it difficult for us to navigate our way down the road, but it would also make it difficult for Jennings to find us if he was following behind.
I was counting on that because I knew with Ann being shot and me having a raging headache, our group wasn’t exactly in tip-top shape. We moved as quietly and quickly as we could, taking every small advantage towards safety.
Not even five minutes later, we saw the lights and heard the sirens as two police vehicles and one ambulance raced toward us.
We loaded Ann into the ambulance first, and Steve demanded he go with her.
I refused to go to the hospital since we couldn’t take Sarge with us, and there was no way I was making Hector leave Sarge.
I did, however, agree to go to the ISB office and have an EMT check me out there.
The sheriff and fire department showed up shortly after, and Hector filled them in on Jennings, who was armed and missing.
“Secure the perimeter so the fire doesn’t spread, but do not approach the house,” Hector told them, and I hated what that meant. Because if they couldn’t get too close, they likely wouldn’t be able to save the cabin.
An hour later, we were in Agent Andrews’s personal office while she barked out orders on both her phone and two-way radio, giving guidance to all the emergency personnel surrounding the park.
She had a nice couch that we were both sitting on, with Sarge at our feet on the floor. He, too, had been checked out and was all good according to the vet.
Hector had sent one of his other rangers, Lewis, over to the hospital to find out Ann’s condition and report back. Hector had put the call on speaker so I could hear too, since I was worried about her.
“Diden’s in surgery now, but the nurse said it shouldn’t take long,” Lewis told us. “The bullet just grazed her, but they found bullet fragments still inside, so they are going to remove those and stitch her up. I’ll let you know when she’s out and in recovery.”
“Thanks, man,” Hector told him.
“And, uh…boss…” Lewis added, lowering his voice a bit. “That podcaster guy, Steve, is here saying he’s her boyfriend. You think that’s true? Or do you want me to tell the cop who’s here to have him removed?”
The ISB had requested an LVPD officer be sent to the hospital for protection in case Jennings showed up.
“All the evidence we have shows he’s not the bad guy,” Hector told him, and they hung up before Hector settled back against me.
I’d finally let an EMT check me out from top to bottom. He’d informed me I likely had a mild concussion and recommended I go to the hospital, but I was feeling much better and hadn’t wanted to leave Hector’s side, so I’d stayed in Agent Andrews’s office.
Agent Andrews had been by to fill us in on what Ann had told her before she had come to Hector’s cabin.
The best phone call had come in about half an hour ago when the sheriff reported they had found Jennings. He had found himself trapped between the fire and the sheriff—the only way out was to turn himself in. Apparently, when having to choose between death and prison, he chose the latter.
The craziest thing was when Andrews filled us in on how Steve had pieced it all together.
“According to Stanton, it wasn’t until the incident at the lake, where he’d been caught trespassing, that he finally started to suspect Jennings,” Andrews said.
“Why that moment?” I asked, trying to remember what Hector had told me about that night.
“Diden and Jennings had been arguing about Mr. Stanton while he sat in the back seat of the SUV just a few feet away,” she told me.
“Because Diden was a huge fan of Stanton’s, she was defending him when Jennings mentioned Steve possibly being the killer of the other nine missing women, and Stanton overheard it. ”