Chapter 7 – Presley #2
“There was an incident not that long ago where a lot of our people got hurt, including Byte. When Gabby got to the hospital, they wouldn’t let her back to see him.
She all but stomped her foot and demanded that Shaker call Jacquelyn and have her buy the hospital so she could be with Byte,” Ink said.
“Did it work?”
“We didn’t have to find out. Dice talked to her and helped her calm down until they let her see him.”
“I distracted her is what I did,” Dice said.
“Either way, it worked,” Ink said.
“I can’t believe I didn’t put together that Gabby is Jacquelyn’s granddaughter,” I said. “Can I ask what happened to Byte and the others?”
Ink looked at Dice through the rearview mirror. “You good, man?”
He nodded. “I can’t tell the story, but I’m okay if you do.”
“Never mind. This sounds traumatic. Pretend I didn’t ask,” I rushed out.
“It’s okay,” Dice said.
“I’ll make it quick,” Ink assured him. “Irene had a diner in Cedar Valley before she relocated to Croftridge. Some of the Blackwings were helping out due to a staffing issue. One morning, before the diner opened for the day, a crazy man came in and shot everyone in the diner—Irene, Evie, Byte, Ranger, and Edge. Dice got there first, then me, then Daphne’s dad and uncle, who we didn’t know were her dad and uncle, but that’s a story for another time.
Anyway, it was bad, but everyone made it. ”
“I remember seeing that on the news,” I breathed. “They got the guy who did it, right?”
“I did,” Dice said. “That part, I’m proud of.”
“As you should be,” Ink said. “The guy was going to kill Evie. Dice shot him before he could.”
“You should be proud of all of it,” Daphne said. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but you saved Evie’s life that day. And Ink saved Byte.”
“She’s right,” I said. “It is something to be proud of. A lot of people freeze or run when faced with situations like that. Springing into action, especially when it involves someone you care about, isn’t something everyone can do. They’re lucky you two were there.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” Dice said, almost shyly.
“Do you two pop up and save the day like superheroes regularly?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Daphne laughed and answered for them. “They’ve been doing it pretty regularly for the last few years, from what I’ve heard.”
“Flint was the hero in your story,” Dice pointed out.
“For the last incident, yes, but he was there because of you two.”
“I swear I’m not normally this nosy. Well, I am, but I usually have much better control over it. But my mom is missing, and my dad and my daughter are upset, and I could really use a distraction, so I’m going to ask. What’s your story?”
Daphne grinned. “I was married to this dipshit that cheated on me with a woman who was batshit crazy,” she said and proceeded to tell me what happened to her at the hands of her husband’s mistress. She finished just as we were pulling into the campground.
It took us a few minutes to figure out where to go, but we finally found the right section of the campground. Even though I knew the police were there, the number of cop cars and flashing lights was still startling to see.
As soon as I got out of the car, an officer made his way over to me. “Ma’am, we have an active situation, and I’m going to—”
“We’re Mrs. Calloway’s family, and we’re here to help search for her. This is Presley Calloway, her daughter,” Ink said firmly.
The officer eyed him suspiciously. “And you are?”
“Isaac Manning, her fiancé. My brother and his wife are with us. They brought their dog, who is trained to track scents.”
“You’ll need to wait right here,” he snipped.
Ink leaned into the open car door. “Call Phoenix.”
Meanwhile, I was ready to knock this joker’s block off. “Those are my parents, and that is my child. If you want me to stay right here, you’re going to have to make me!”
The man pulled out a pair of handcuffs and twirled them around his finger. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s fucking so!” I yelled and moved to step past him.
Ink reached out and gently tugged me back by my shirt. “I am absolutely loving your feistiness, but wait for it,” he whispered near my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“Dithers!” a man yelled as he made his way toward us from a distance.
“Let them through. All of them. And when the rest of their friends show up, you will greet them and kindly show them where to go. We’re expecting at least twenty volunteers and two search dogs, not including the volunteers and canine in front of you. ”
The first cop stepped to the side and made a show of gesturing with his hands. “Right this way.”
When the second cop reached us, he extended his hand to me. “I’m Officer Perkins. Are you Presley?”
“Yes, I am. Where are my dad and daughter? Any leads on my mom?”
“Follow me, and I’ll take you to your family,” he said and started walking.
“I’d like to apologize for his behavior.
I’m just waiting on the final approval from the powers that be, and then he’s gone.
As for your mother, nothing yet, but we’ve only done a preliminary search around the accessible areas.
The terrain around here is rugged, so the extra people and search dogs will be a tremendous help.
We have a command center set up outside of your parents’ camper where we will be assigning search zones. ”
As soon as the canopy set up for the command center came into view, Ariel spotted us and sprinted to me. “Mom,” she breathed as I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her hair.
“Where’s Papa?”
“Right here,” he said, squishing Ariel between us as he pulled me in for a hug. “And who are your friends?”
I stepped back and pointed to each person as I introduced them. “This is Ink, Dice, and Daphne. And this is Diablo.”
Dad shook Daphne’s hand, then Dice’s. When he extended his hand to Ink, he shook it and pulled him in for a half-hug, half-backslap. “You’re the one who carried my granddaughter out of that house and got her to the hospital. It’s an honor to shake your hand. I’m Eugene Calloway.”
Ink stepped back, looking slightly overwhelmed by the compliment. “I was happy to help, sir.”
“And here you are again, helping our family. Normally, I’d question if your intentions were honorable, but clearly, they are.”
I didn’t know what in the hell my dad was doing, but I knew I needed to stop him. “Dad—”
“Relax, sweetie. I’m just having a chat with your fiancé.”
“Your what?” Ariel shrieked.
My dad laughed. “Whoops! You weren’t supposed to hear that, doodlebug.”
“Sounds like you also heard something you weren’t supposed to,” Ink said.
“The officer up there didn’t want to let us through. Ink said he was my fiancé so we could get past the barrier,” I explained. “But I don’t know how Papa heard it.”
“I was standing beside Officer Perkins when it came over his radio,” he said and patted my shoulder. “You gotta grab the moments of fun when you can during times like this. It’s the only way to make it through them.”
“I know,” I said and squeezed his hand. “Uh, Dad, we need something of Mom’s for Diablo to smell. He might be able to track her scent. Actually, we’ll need a few things. Ink’s friends are bringing two more dogs that can track scent.”
“Ariel, can you get the clothes your Nana wore yesterday and her nightgown?” he asked as he looked down at Diablo, who was sitting patiently beside Daphne. “My, my. You sure are a handsome devil.”
Daphne grinned. “Oh, I like you. That was some nice wordplay. And thank you. He’s also very friendly.”
“You know she let Dice and me think he would maul us if we so much as twitched when we first met her,” Ink stage whispered.
“I am not responsible for the assumptions you made,” Daphne teased.
“You sound like fun,” Dad said and rubbed Diablo’s head. “I’ll buy you a big ole juicy steak if you find my love for me.”
“Dad,” I said and covered my mouth. His sweet words broke my heart.
“Okay, fine, Presley. I’ll get him one just for helping. He doesn’t have to find her,” Dad said, taking the focus off me. He knew how much I hated overly emotional moments.
“He’s never been in a real situation, so I can’t promise anything, but he’s done very well in training. Honestly, if one of them’s going to find her, it’ll probably be Moose. Harlow and Harper have been training him since he was a puppy.”
“Here, Papa,” Ariel said when she returned with a handful of my mother’s clothes.
Dad took the clothes and handed a shirt to Daphne. “She wore this yesterday.”
“Perfect,” Daphne said. “Are we allowed to start now?”
“Officer Perkins,” my dad called out. “Are they good to go with the dog?”
“Absolutely,” he said and handed a walkie-talkie to Dice. “We’re using channel two. Give us a shout if you get a hit.”
“Will do,” Dice said.
“Come on, Stinky, it’s time to work,” Daphne said to Diablo and held the shirt out for him to smell. “Find Nana.”
I watched in awe as Diablo sniffed her shirt, sniffed the air, then the ground, and started walking.
A few minutes later, Phoenix and the other Blackwings arrived.
The officers at the command center divided them into groups and gave them areas to search.
They gave a piece of my mother’s clothing to Carbon, Harper, and Moose.
Moose did the same thing Diablo did—sniffed the clothing, sniffed the air, and started walking, leading them in the same direction Diablo went.
They waited a few minutes before giving Shadow a piece of my mother’s clothing to smell. I was not at all surprised when Shadow started walking in the same direction as Moose and Diablo.
“Well, I think we can confirm she went that way,” I said.
Ink placed his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed. “We’ll find her.”
I knew he was right. We would find her. What I didn’t know was what condition we would find her in.