Finding Answers Page 9

  “I know. By then, the location of the dream made more sense. But there was more. In addition to experiencing the dream as if I were the woman in it, I had a flashlight, which wasn’t there the first night, as well as a loaf of bread and a glass of water. I suppose I could have created them subconsciously, looking for a solution to my dilemma. But it seemed so real. So very, very, real.”

  “It’s possible that finding Silvia hidden away in a cave could have amplified the dream you’d had the night before. Plus, if you didn’t sleep well on Monday you must have been exhausted by Tuesday, which could have heightened your emotional connection to everything in it.”

  “Maybe. But the dreams felt more like the visions I experience in real time. Of course, I’ve never had visions while asleep before.”

  “If your dreams are visions, there may be a third victim,” Jake stated.

  “I think it’s something worth exploring. The first dream was on Monday night, so if it was a vision, it couldn’t have been of Silvia because she hadn’t been kidnapped yet. I think at a minimum, we should check missing persons reports. If it is a vision, the woman’s being held close by. My visions are usually only of those in close proximity.”

  “I’ll talk to Officer Houston tomorrow, have him run a missing persons report. If you have the dream again, write down everything you can remember the minute you wake up.”

  That was a good suggestion. As real as the dreams seemed while I was asleep, by the next morning they’d faded into distant memory.

  It was after one when I got home. I let the dogs out for a quick run while I fed the animals in the barn. The dogs returned just after I went back inside the cabin to see to the cats. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so tired. I wasn’t even sure how I’d managed to make it home without falling asleep behind the wheel of my Jeep. I was used to late shifts that ran into the wee hours, but not following two almost sleepless nights. I was tired enough that I was certain I’d fall into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  I was wrong.

  I lay awake and listened for my captor to return. My breath was shallow, my heart pounding. I knew I needed to make a move or die trying. I clung to the flashlight like a lifeline as I resisted the almost undeniable urge to bring light into my dark, cold world. I knew I needed to wait for the right moment to use both the light and what was left of my strength. I’d finally figured out who had taken me, although I still didn’t understand why. But after what had to have been at least four or five days in this pit, I understood this would end only when I outsmarted my captor or I was dead.

  Chapter 7

  Thursday, June 21

  Houston and I had agreed to meet at the shelter at nine a.m. That gave me a chance to see to my own animals before I left the cabin for the day. I’d called ahead and spoken to the shelter volunteer who’d come in at six to feed the animals, asking him to have Houston wait if he arrived before I did.

  As it turned out, we pulled into the parking lot at the same time.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Houston grumbled good-naturedly.

  “I know it’s somewhat sudden, especially if you’ve never considered adopting a dog before, but you’re going to love Kojak. Trust me.”

  “It’s odd, but for some reason I do. And that’s saying a lot, because I don’t trust a lot of people.”

  “Yeah. Me neither. Most people aren’t worthy of trust, but a well-trained dog will never let you down.”

  In the shelter, I introduced Houston to the volunteers, then gave him a quick tour. Kojak was a large shepherd who’d just turned sixteen months old. He was dropped off six weeks ago by a young couple who’d decided to buy a large dog after moving to Alaska but had never taken the time to train him. Kojak, like a lot of shepherds, had a high-energy level along with a superior intellect. He had so much potential, but he needed a strong owner as well as an active lifestyle and a job to do.

  “After Kojak was surrendered to us, I began working with him, as did several of the other volunteers,” I said as we walked down the hallway to the pen to which he had been assigned. While most of the dogs were barking as we walked by, Kojak stood at attention and warily watched us approach. “Good morning, Kojak. This is Houston. Houston is a friend.” Kojak began to wag his tail. I opened the chain-link gate and clipped a leash onto Kojak’s collar. I bent down so he could greet me, then led him into the hallway. “We have an indoor exercise area. I arranged to have it empty so we could work in there.”

  “He’s a beautiful dog. You said he’s been here for six weeks. I’m surprised he hasn’t been adopted.”

  “We’ve had interested parties, but we knew he was going to need a specific sort of human if he was going to reach his true potential, so we waited for the perfect person to come along.”

  “And you think I’m that perfect person?”

  “For Kojak, I do. As I said, he’s a very intelligent dog. He’s strong and has a high energy level. For him to reach his full potential, he’ll need to have a strong handler. An alpha male, if you will.”

  Houston chuckled. “An alpha male? Now you’re just buttering me up for the hard sell.”

  I grinned and shrugged. “Maybe. Why don’t you wait here on the sidelines while I run Kojak through his training exercises? Once I do, you can give it a try.”

  Houston nodded, then took up a spot next to the wall. At this point we’d trained Kojak to respond with a 90 percent accuracy to the commands Come, Sit, Stay, Heel, Leave It, and Drop. Not every dog could have made the progress he had in such a short amount of time, but there were two men helping with Kojak’s training in addition to myself, so most days he was exposed to at least two hours of intensive behavior modification twice a day. Additionally, Kojak wanted to please the humans he’d learned to respect; when we let it be known we were in charge, training went quickly.

  “That’s really impressive,” Houston said.

  “Like I said, Kojak is a special dog. I’m going to demonstrate how we pair hand signals with verbal ones. Once you get the idea, I’ll have you run Kojak through his routine.”

  Houston and I worked with Kojak for almost two hours. The man, like the dog, caught on quickly. Houston’s large build combined with his deep voice and commanding presence quickly established his role of alpha while working with Kojak. By the end of the session, I could see Houston had not only found a roommate to share his lonely home but, with a little more training, a partner as well.

  “So, what do you think?” I asked as the session came to an end.

  “Can you teach him to work off lead?”

  “Yes. In fact, he’s ready to try some off-lead work under highly supervised situations. Usually when we get to this point in his training, I like to take the sessions outdoors. When we have him responding to the basic commands, we can do some testing to see if he’s a candidate for specialized training, such as scent tracking, which is useful in search and rescue as well as pursuing and detaining a suspect, and narcotics or bomb detection. Whether he makes the cut in those specialized fields or not, I think he’ll be a supportive and loyal companion.”

  Houston shrugged. “Okay, I’m sold. I’ll need supplies. Dog food, a bed. A leash and a collar.”

  “I can meet you this afternoon to go shopping so you’ll have everything you need. As soon as you’re set up, I’ll come by your place with Kojak. We can show him around his new home together. That way I can ensure that his environment is safe and suited to his needs. You have a fenced yard?”

  “I do. I’d like to be able to bring him to work with me as soon as possible, so I’d like to continue with aggressive training.”

  “We can work out a schedule. Once you have him with you full time, every minute you’re together can be a training minute. Maintaining a schedule for specialized training is a good idea, but reinforcing the basics is an ongoing activity. There might be a slight learning curve as the two of you get to know each other, but I think you’ll find a comfort zo
ne.”

  “I get off at five. Can you meet me at the station then?” Houston asked.

  “I’ll need to check with Jake to make sure I can get the time off, but it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll call you later.”

  After we said good-bye, I returned Kojak to his pen and went back to my place to spend some time working with my own search-and-rescue-dog-in-training. Yukon was doing even better than expected, but I’d need to hone his skills if he was going to end up in the same league as Sitka. Sitka had been trained by a professional dog trainer with a K9 school in Nevada. He came to us ready to work on day one, whereas Yukon was more of a work in progress. I’d just returned from a simulated rescue with Yukon when my phone rang. It was Jake, letting me know we had a real rescue to respond to. I arrived at the trailhead where the team was to meet and be briefed before heading out, and Jake informed me that our missing person—or I guess I should say persons—were Rescue residents Teresa Toller and Diane Fullerton.

  According to friends, Diane and Teresa had gone hiking the previous day. Diane was supposed to meet Laura Newberry for dinner that evening but never showed. Laura had tried calling Diane well into the evening and then called Teresa this morning when she still couldn’t get hold of her. Teresa likewise didn’t answer her phone. When Diane still hadn’t returned her calls by lunchtime, Laura called the police. Houston spoke to the neighbors of both Teresa and Diane. No one said they’d seen either of them since the previous week’s prayer group, which had been held, I realized with a sinking feeling, at Pastor Brown’s church. Houston interviewed the other members of the prayer group, who said Teresa and Diane had mentioned taking time off from their jobs this Wednesday to hike up to Juniper Falls.

  Teresa’s car was in her garage, but Diane’s was missing. Eventually, it was found at the Juniper Falls trailhead, suggesting the women had set off on the hike as planned but had not returned.

  “We’re setting off for the falls in two teams,” Jake said, after the entire S-and-R team had gathered at the trailhead. “Wyatt, you go with Harmony and Yukon and take grid one.” Jake pointed to a rectangle drawn on the map of the area. “I’ll take grid two with Sitka and Landon.”

  “Dani?” I asked.

  “She’s going to do a sweep of the area with the bird. Austin is going up with her to serve as an extra pair of eyes. Let’s do a quick radio check before we start out.”

  They complied as Jake handed me two plastic bags. One bag had Teresa’s clothing, the other Diane’s. “If Yukon seems confused by being presented with two different scents, just choose one to give him,” he said. “Chances are they’re together, so if he finds one, he’ll find them both.”

  “Okay.” After everything that had already happened, this rescue had my heart pounding. Would we find the women alive, as we had Silvia, or would we be too late, as we’d been for Pastor Brown? I remembered my dream and my terror was complete.

  I started by giving Yukon Teresa’s scent. He was so young and had so little S-and-R experience and, as Jake thought I might be, I was afraid that giving him the scents of both women would be confusing. It might have made more sense to give him Diane’s scent because it was her car that was found, but Yukon had met Teresa a few times, and as far as I knew, he’d never had the opportunity to be introduced to Diane.

  “This is Teresa. Find Teresa,” I said to Yukon.

  Wyatt and I set off after Yukon. We put some distance between us to cover more territory, though we’d agreed to maintain sight contact with the others. I think everyone was on edge given the situation. Paying attention to the often very subtle clues left behind by those we sought to find and rescue required a level of concentration I was having a hard time maintaining. I knew what was at stake, so I pushed all other thoughts from my mind and tried to connect with the two women I knew casually.

  Teresa was a few years older than me, quiet, and somewhat shy. She worked for the local five-and-dime, and as far as I knew, she was thought to have a pleasant personality. She was tall and thin, with long brown hair she usually wore straight and parted in the middle. Her eyes were brown, her nose pert, and her face narrow. I tried to bring her image into my mind as I followed Yukon who, while progressing steadily toward the falls, had yet to indicate he had picked up on the scent he’d been tasked with following.

  Diane was quite a bit older than Teresa, maybe in her midfifties, but she was in good shape, outgoing, and extroverted. She worked as a teacher at the local school. She was short and carried a few extra pounds, although most considered her attractive. She had shoulder-length blond hair I was pretty sure she bleached. She had green eyes, a round face, and a welcoming smile that drew you in.

  As I had with Teresa, I brought Diane’s image to mind and tried to focus on it. So far, I wasn’t picking up either woman, and that scared me. Usually, if I was unable to hone in on the subject of one of our searches, it was for one of three reasons. The most common was that the person wasn’t actually in need of rescuing. We received many calls from concerned parents and spouses who jumped the gun and reported their loved one missing when they’d simply lost track of time and were late getting home.

  The second most common reason I was unable to connect with the subject of a search was because they were already dead. My gift was to connect psychically with those I was meant to save. If they were already dead, there was no one to connect to.

  The third and final reason I might not be able to connect with the victim of a search was if they were, for some reason, blocking me. It hadn’t happened often because most of the time, victims weren’t even aware I was poking around in their heads, but it had occurred a time or two, so I knew it was possible.

  In this case, I suspected reason two but hoped for reason one. Normally, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that someone was dead, but after the horrific dreams I’d been having, I probably had death on my mind.

  “Sitka has something,” Jake said over the radio.

  “Copy,” I responded. “Do you want us to change course?”

  “Negative,” Jake answered. “Keep to your current route for now, but let me know if Yukon alerts. Did you give him both scents?”

  “No. Just Teresa’s.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. Giving him a single scent is probably the best move. Sitka is heading in your direction. We’ll see where he leads.”

  By the time Sitka had led Jake and Landon to a location that intersected with the trail Wyatt and I were following, I could hear the falls in the distance. I’d seen Dani and Austin fly overhead a few times as we made the trek up the mountain, but the last time she’d reported in they hadn’t seen a sign of either woman.

  “Let’s take a minute to regroup,” Jake suggested after his search party merged with mine. “Harmony, I want you to sit down and relax. Don’t worry about Yukon or any of us. Just focus on the women and see if you can connect to either of them.”

  I did as Jake asked. I decided to focus on the women one at a time. I started with Diane. I brought her face into view. I tried to see where she might be or what she might be doing, but I didn’t get a thing. After a few minutes I changed direction and focused on Teresa. I was still coming up empty. I worked harder, and this time I felt a whisper of emotion. Fear. There was a hint of pain, a hint of darkness, and then nothing.

  “Anything?” Jake asked when I opened my eyes.

  “I’m not picking up Diane at all. Not even a blip on the screen. In my opinion, she’s either not in pain or danger and therefore not in need of rescue, or she’s dead.”

  “Any guess as to which?” Jake’s mouth hardened.

  “If she was injured or frightened, I’m sure I’d be picking up something. Even when we were looking for Vinnie the other day, before he realized he was lost, I was able to pick up a vague feeling of curiosity. With Diane, there’s nothing. I’m really afraid she might be dead.”

  Jake took a breath, then asked about Teresa.

  “I can’t see her, and the connection isn’t strong. I’m not
even a hundred percent certain I’m getting a connection at all. But when I focus on her, I pick up fear. I also feel I can sense darkness and pain. But the connection fades in and out. For all I know, there could be someone else in the area in need of help and I’m picking up their energy, not Teresa’s.”

  “You’re thinking you’re connecting with the woman in your dreams?”

  “Maybe. It feels like the image I have in my head could be her. I know Teresa, and I’m not getting a strong sense she’s the one my mind is trying to connect with.”

  Jake sighed. “I guess it’s up to the dogs. I gave both scents to Sitka, so I’m not sure which woman he’s been tracking, but he seems to be tracking someone. I’ll give him both scents again and we’ll follow.”

  “Should I give Yukon either scent?” I asked. “I gave him Diane before, but he never demonstrated he’d picked up the scent.”

  “Give him both scents,” Jake said. “It might confuse him, but it might not.”

  Jake, Landon, Wyatt, and I spread out as we followed Sitka, who seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go. Yukon stuck with Sitka, and while I didn’t know whether he’d picked anything up or was simply mimicking his mentor and buddy, he too began to alert now that he had both scents. Maybe it was Diane the dogs were tracking.

  “Dani to Jake, do you copy?” I heard her voice over the radio we all carried.

  “I copy. Do you have something?” Jake answered.

  “Maybe. Austin can see what looks to be a jacket downriver from the falls. It’s red. There are trees in the area, so we can’t get a very good look, but it doesn’t appear there’s a body to go with it. Still, you might want to check it out. With all the trees, it’s impossible to know for sure.”

  “We’re on it.” Jake paused for just a few seconds and then said to us, “Landon and I will continue to follow Sitka, who appears to be heading to the top of the falls. Harmony and Wyatt, take Yukon and go for the coordinates Dani is providing. Once you locate the object Austin is getting a peek at from the sky, radio and let us know what you’re looking at.”