21. Chapter 21
twenty-one
Gene groped around the nightstand and found the offending vibrating device that disturbed his sleep. A trained light sleeper, a slight noise or light would wake him up. But he’d never been this sound asleep before. After a hike and a couple of rounds of lovemaking with Amanda, his body must’ve been so relaxed, he’d completely fallen into oblivion.
He threw his legs over the edge of the bed, rubbed his eyes, and checked the phone. From habit, he never silenced it. Emergency calls could come anytime he was on call.
It was five-thirty-two in the morning. The buzzing was a missed call from Patrick. Gene was about to walk out of the bedroom to return the call when a text came in.
Patrick: K-9 support approved. Coordinating with the park rangers. Gather at the security park office by the gate at 6:45. Will start combing the area at sunrise.
Gene quickly called his friend.
“Did you sleep?” he asked when Patrick picked up on the first ring.
“I grabbed a wink for a couple of hours.” Patrick sounded tired. “Your intel last night opened a lot of avenues. When my boss heard the name Carson, he sped things up real fast.”
“Big supporter of the department?” Gene guessed.
“Big contributor to the mayor’s campaign.”
I should’ve known. Money talks.
No matter, he reminded himself. The children were the ones who mattered here.
“My mom found out the brother’s name. It’s Beau,” Gene said.
“You recruited your mom into this little investigation of yours? You’re thinking of joining the police department, Gene?” Patrick half-teased.
“No. I’ll leave the proper investigation to you. Amanda and I just want those kids found,” Gene answered. “You should know, my mom dug a bit more.”
He gave Patrick the cliff note of what they’d learned the night before. It probably violated some kind of children’s privacy rights or something, but he felt it was important for Patrick to know.
Patrick cursed under his breath. “I’ll go to the Carson’s house this morning and check out the parents myself. My colleague from the K-9 unit, officer Charlie Boone, will coordinate the search. I’d tell you to stay home, but I doubt you would. Just don’t get in the way,” Patrick warned.
“We won’t,” Gene promised.
“Good.” Patrick added, “The K-9 officer is well trained, but I suggest you leave Loki home to be safe.”
They hung up, and Gene turned around but found Amanda and Loki watching him from the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Search is on at sunrise.” He kissed her lips lightly. “Let’s find those kids.”
Amanda looked around her as she walked the area assigned to their group of two. She and Gene had scoured the woods for over an hour. She knew on the other side of the woods Jo and Ash were doing the same.
It warmed her heart that Jo and Ash had joined the search. Liam had also heard about the search and wanted to mobilize his friends to help; but Amanda told him though he appreciated the support, school was still his priority. The kids had done their part by confirming Mona’s identity.
After calling out Mona and Beau’s names repeatedly, Amanda’s throat felt a little raw.
“This isn’t even that big of a park. Where could they go?”
Amanda watched where she stepped carefully. The ground was soft from the rain yesterday.
“You’d think they’d stay close to the facilities, just out of sight.”
“They’re obviously scared about something. And here we are shouting their names. Maybe they’re hiding even further in the woods, worried about being discovered,” Amanda said.
“That’s plausible.”
“Or do you think they moved? Like out of the park?”
“That’s also a possibility. If they moved between Tuesday—that’s when Stella saw them—and yesterday, that’s two days. They could be anywhere,” Gene said.
“If we lose them this time, how can we pick up their tracks again?”
Amanda was worried the longer these kids were out there alone, the more danger they could be in. Outside the park, they would be even more vulnerable. She didn’t like to focus on the terrible things in the world, but she was well aware there were all kinds of predators waiting for kids, just like Mona and Beau.
“We know their names. We have their pictures. I’m sure we’ll find them.” Gene squeezed her hand. “Come on. You’re supposed to be the positive force here.”
Amanda chuckled. “Right. What happened? Did we switch? You’re usually the worst-case scenario guy.”
“I think your optimism rubbed off on me.” Gene smiled as they continued to walk a straight line. “Don’t let my gray view of the world mar yours, Amanda. We need more people like you.”
“You were full of aspirations when you left for college, ready to save the world,” Amanda teased.
Gene chuckled. “I still want to do that. I’m just realizing my limitation.”
“Sometimes saving the world means helping one person at a time,” Amanda said, thinking if everybody stopped trying because the world’s problems were just too hard to handle, then they were all doomed. “And no deed is too small, Gene.”
“You’re right.” Gene nodded, but didn’t seem fully convinced.
Suddenly, the walkie-talkie the rangers had given Gene crackled.
“Dr. Rowland, what’s your position?”
Gene checked the map and answered with a rough estimate.
“Good, you’re closer. We found the kids, but need your assistance,” the voice said.
Amanda grabbed Gene’s arm at the news.
What’s wrong with them?
She wasn’t even listening to the direction the ranger was giving. She just blindly followed Gene as he started running. It took them probably less than five minutes, but it felt like they’d just run through the woods without a point of destination before they saw somebody flagging them.
A dirty girl looked agitated and scared. She was held back by a ranger, while Officer Boone stood further away with the K-9 officer Max sitting alert by his feet. A female ranger sat by a sweaty boy with an ashen face.
Gene went straight to the boy, took off his pack, and pulled out his medical kit.
“Hey, it’s Beau, right?” he said to the boy.
The boy nodded.
“I’m Dr. Rowland,” he introduced himself as his eyes quickly assessed Beau. The ranger gestured to his left leg. “I heard you had a snake bite. Do you know what kind of snake it was, bud?”
“It was a copperhead,” Mona half-shouted. “I already told them!”
Amanda made her way over and signaled to the ranger holding her back to ease up on Mona.
She didn’t touch the girl, but gently said, “Don’t worry, Mona. Dr. Rowland will help your brother.”
“The ambulance is on their way, Doc,” the park ranger informed them. “I rinsed and cleaned the site, but I thought you should have a look while we’re waiting for the ambulance.”
“You did good,” Gene told the young ranger as he took off Beau’s shoe and sock. “Did you tell them we need an anti-venom for a copperhead bite?”
“Yes,” Ranger Yang confirmed.
Amanda knew the local park ranger’s job was often more about the park management, visitor relations, leading hikes and nature tours, and running nature programs. Though they probably had their share of lost hikers in the area, she hoped searching for missing children like this wasn’t the norm.
“How long ago did it happen?” Gene asked Mona.
Mona stammered. “I don’t know.”
“We found them right before we contacted you, Doctor,” the other ranger said. “We think it happened just around that time.”
“Is that about right, Mona?” Gene asked for confirmation. “I need to know more or less how long since your brother got bitten.”
The girl nodded shakily. “Is he gonna be okay?”
“A copperhead bite can be scary, but it’s rarely fatal,” Gene explained calmly as he examined the bite. “But I bet it hurts like hell, right, Beau?”
The boy nodded weakly.
“Hang in there, buddy. The ambulance is almost here. You can hear them, right?” Gene smiled as he took his stethoscope out of his pack. “The bite looks clean with redness with some swelling. Let me hear your breathing. Heart rate is elevated, but that’s understandable. Any tingling sensation or numbness anywhere, Beau?”
“Just around my calf,” the boy answered.
“The ambulance should be here in two minutes, Doctor,” Ranger Yang said. “Can we move him?”
“Do you think you can stand?” Gene helped him up after packing back his gear and gestured to the ranger to hold Beau’s other side. “Here we go.”
Amanda walked with Mona, following the rest of the group. The girl looked as if she’d gone through hell and back. Her pants and long-sleeved T-shirt were tattered, her hair held back in a ponytail, but tendrils had escaped. Amanda couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through. She had so many questions. But right now, Mona didn’t need an interrogation.
“Hey, Mona,” Amanda touched the girl’s arm lightly, worried she’d spook her. “Your brother is in good hands.” Mona turned a wary gaze at Amanda, but nodded. “You both are going to be okay,” Amanda assured.