Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
Katie changed her clothes to more appropriate attire for the rural search.
She knew the rains had made everything muddy and she wasn’t sure what they were going to run into.
She had let Anderson know so he could prepare as well.
He had been on patrol, but the sheriff gave him permission to leave when the detectives needed him for an assignment.
Cisco was in his usual lively mode and now he had Midnight to play with too. Katie had everything she needed and packed the Jeep with necessities for the terrain. She put the dog’s search vest on, which was when Cisco began whining and spinning. He knew it was time to do something fun.
She was ready and opened the front door to see Anderson waiting next to her car.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi, Detective.”
“I think you can call me Katie now.”
“Chris,” he said.
“Well, Chris, are you ready?”
“Ten-four.”
Cisco zoomed out and jumped in the back seat, while Katie put an extra duffle bag and backpack in the trunk. She knew from experience she needed to be ready for anything.
“What are you expecting to find?” said Chris.
“I don’t know about expecting, but there’s always something to learn at these crime scenes. And Cisco will find it if it’s there.”
“When I first decided to join the police department I wanted to be a K9 handler.”
“What about now?”
He laughed. “I still want to be a K9 handler, but being a detective is the dream.”
Katie walked to the driver’s side. “I think you’re well on your way to fulfilling that dream.”
Chris smiled and tossed in a duffle bag as he got in the passenger’s side.
It took more than thirty minutes to arrive at the drainage spot on Baker Road. When Katie parked there was an almost eerie vibe that she’d missed earlier.
Everything had been cleaned up and vacated. The yellow tape was gone and there were only the impressions from the two-by-fours that were used to cross the drainage ditch. They were all quiet, even Cisco wasn’t whining to get searching.
As if he could read what Katie was thinking, Chris said, “Is there a way across?”
“We had a couple of two-by-fours earlier, but I guess we’re going to have to chance it. Maybe there’s a way that’s not as deep,” she said.
Chris jumped out and began walking along the drainage ditch, looking for somewhere they could cross with ease. He seemed to be taking everything in.
Katie got out and looked about studying what was different this time. She couldn’t shake that weird feeling. There was something she was missing. It wasn’t a sense of being watched, exactly, more as if danger was close—too close.
“Is it true?” said Chris.
“Is what true?”
“Crime scenes speak to the detectives investigating them?”
“I’ve never thought about it in that exact way… but it is a little like that. It tells a story and it’s up to us to figure out what that story is.” Katie liked how the deputy was thinking about the investigation.
Overhead, clouds clustered, making it darker and a slight cool breeze wafted throughout the trees. It wasn’t supposed to rain, but it felt ominous.
Cisco gave two barks, reminding Katie he was ready to go. She joined Chris in investigating the best area to get across the ditch.
“Maybe we should drive up a ways?” she called.
“Here,” said Chris from down the road.
Katie joined him.
“Look, there’s less water running through here and the sides of the drainage have a spot to place your foot.”
Katie saw they should be able to cross without much effort.
“Will it work for Cisco?” Chris said.
Katie smiled. “Don’t worry about him. He has four paws and can easily cross. Believe me, we’ve been through tougher.”
Chris seemed to study Katie for a moment, but didn’t say anything. They walked back to the car to pick up their gear for the search.
Katie put on her backpack. She knew from experience that you never knew what you might encounter. Chris followed suit.
Katie opened the back door and Cisco immediately jumped out, did a couple of spins and seemed to shake off being in the car. She hooked his long lead on his search vest, secured the Jeep, and they were ready to go.
They walked up to the crossing area. Cisco was excited by the water and where they were going. Chris waited slightly behind.
“You ready?” Katie asked him.
“More than…”
Katie put Cisco on a down. The dog’s energy was high, but he waited and watched. Katie carefully put her left foot on the cement ledge. After getting her balance, she stepped with her right foot and easily reached the ground on the other side.
“That’s how you do it?” Chris laughed.
Katie did feel some relief at not falling into the water.
Cisco waited, never taking his eye from Katie. She pulled the long twelve-foot leash until there was slight tension. Katie knew Cisco had amazing agility and jumping across was easy play for him.
“Cisco, hier,” she instructed in German to come to her.
The jet-black dog stood, took a couple of steps back, and then leaped across with precision.
“Good boy,” she said, congratulating the dog.
“Cool,” said Chris. “Now my turn.” He stepped easily on the cement pegs and made it to Katie and Cisco. “It looks worse than it is.”
“I wanted to do a grid search with the crime scene as ground zero,” she said. “I don’t want to search all this area, but fan out. There’s a utility road on the far north side, so that’s our objective.”
“Do we document and then retrieve anything that might be evidence,” he said.
“Yes. I have everything I could think of that we might need in my backpack.” She pulled Cisco close. “Let’s get started. Cisco, such.”
Instantly Cisco jumped into search mode. At this point, he was alert and focused as he began to cast in and out of areas in an effortless grace.
Katie kept her attention on the dog as well as glancing from side to side. Her gun belt felt heavy with her weapon as she trudged along. In some places, the weeds and undergrowth came to her hip and Cisco became lost for a moment.
Chris was in position behind her and to the right. They were moving downwind and a slight mist seemed to sprinkle their faces. Katie knew sometimes light rain or mist could affect the dog’s receptors, making finding the scent a bit more difficult.
Katie suddenly stopped. Both Cisco and Chris followed.
She realized they were heading into overgrown territories that wouldn’t make sense.
The killer wouldn’t have been able to walk through without there being some type of evidence: flattened weeds, broken twigs, or footprints.
And she thought he was too clever for that.
She decided to move into the next sector that would lead to the back road.
They resumed their search. Katie liked that Chris stayed quiet and didn’t interrupt the flow. The more time she spent with him the more she liked how he handled himself. She expected good things in the future for him.
They came to a cluster of large trees and Cisco seemed interested and slowed his pace.
Katie followed his attentiveness. She couldn’t know for certain why the dog was compelled.
He actually looked cautious instead of curious.
The weeds were lower and she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but that didn’t mean Cisco couldn’t.
Chris closed the gap and was close behind Katie. Cisco continued to be wary and stopped about ten feet in front of her. His body was rigid, head directly forward, ears perked, and his tail low. The dog resembled a statue, not moving an inch.
Katie remained still and didn’t pull the dog away. Her vision seemed to become slightly dizzy trying to ignore it. She studied the ground and could see what looked like a fissure. It was common in earthquake areas where there could be narrow to wide long trenches.
But that wasn’t what bothered her.
There was a stack of underbrush and some dead limbs that didn’t seem organic. It appeared to have been placed carefully and strategically. Several situations from the past came roaring forward, attacking her brain, making her swallow hard—waiting for the worst to happen.
Just as she was about to say they should retreat and backtrack their steps, it happened.
There was a rush of water across the ground, but it was unclear where it came from.
Katie could only think about the raging storm last night bringing more water.
She pulled on Cisco’s long leash and tried to get hold of his collar.
She could see clearly now that there was a plummeting hole in front of them—unnatural to the area.
She felt Chris’s arms around her waist trying to pull her back.
“Cisco!” she yelled. Helpless, she could see the black dog begin to sink, as if in quicksand.
The dog used his big paws to make a paddling motion but this wasn’t something he could swim out of. He had managed to turn in her direction, so Katie could see the wolf eyes staring at her. Her heart began to pound in her chest.
“Pull!” she yelled to Chris. She could hear his breath and groans trying to pull both Katie and Cisco back to safety. She knew that she could lure the dog but she anchored her feet to keep the tension on the leash. “Get to your rope and tie it around me!”
Chris quickly dropped his pack and retrieved the rope.
Katie could feel her strength dwindling.
Cisco was sinking, but she could still see her dog’s face. He wasn’t thrashing or barking, but rather he remained strangely still as his expression seemed to say, I trust you and I love you.
Katie couldn’t see Chris, but felt his body behind her tying the rope securely around her waist. She still kept a tight hold of the leash, pulling it toward her as she moved forward—she would never let go as she realized in horror that she could see only Cisco’s head and shoulders.
She had a couple of minutes before the dog was completely submerged.
Chris finished and secured the rope. He seemed to know what to do without saying it. “I got you!” he said, letting Katie know that she could begin to move forward.
Katie felt a hard tug and then the rope was let out. That’s when she slowly moved forward, pulling the leash in, getting a tighter grip closer to Cisco. As she moved she felt her own body begin to sink.
Inch by inch. Breath by breath.
Katie was almost to Cisco, where she could grab the handle on the search vest. She inched closer.
Her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore and she had to tread the muddied water.
Everything about Cisco flashed through her mind, from the day she picked him to his last search for a cold case. He had been there through it all.
Katie let out a yell. It was frustration and sheer determination.
Cisco moved his paws and closed the three-inch gap.
Katie grabbed his collar and wrapped her other arm around his body. She didn’t say anything except for a plead to God to save them.
Chris yelled, “Hang on!” His voice sounded strange, as if from another dimension.
Katie felt a tug as the rope squeezed her waist. She held on to Cisco as hard as she could. They began to move back slowly. It seemed like a mile, but it was only about ten feet.
Once close enough to Chris, Cisco pushed his big body to safety with what energy he had conserved. Katie, covered in mud, sat on the side where the ground remained solid. Cisco came to her, licking her face.
“You okay?” said Chris. His face said everything about the incident.
Katie could only nod. Her breath seemed paralyzed. All she wanted was to be somewhere safe. There was something about this location that spooked her and she never wanted to see it again.
“C’mon,” said Chris as he helped her up. He looked disturbed and relieved at the same time. His brown eyes were wide and he was still breathing hard as his body was covered in mud.
Katie felt dizzy and allowed Chris to help her back the way they had come.
Katie sat down. “I need to take a moment,” she said softly.
Cisco came to her side and sat down, leaning against her, lightly panting. He was also covered in mud. Chris joined them. He seemed to pause to think about what just had happened.
“You saved Cisco’s life,” she said. “I don’t think I could have pulled him to safety alone.” Katie wanted to cry but kept her composure. She turned to the deputy and hugged him. “Thank you.”
He smiled and nodded. It was clear that he was shaken up as well, but he was solid and a great backup. “I’ve never witnessed anything like that.”
“I guess this search was a bust.” Katie was thinking only about Cisco, but she was annoyed they hadn’t turned anything up.
Chris grabbed his backpack and opened it, pulling out some strange-looking flat metal pieces. “I don’t know if these are anything, but I grabbed them.”
Katie stared at them. They were unusual and suddenly she realized. “Those are similar to the piece that had secured Shelby to the tree.”
“So you’re saying it’s a clue,” he said, cracking a smile.
“A really good clue,” she said.