by Bill H Myers
Lori was lying on the couch with the sheet pulled up to her chin. She saw me checking the locks and asked, “Will I be safe in here tonight?”
I nodded. “Pretty much. Bob will probably join you before long. He likes to snuggle. Later on, he might get up and howl a bit when he uses the litter box. After that, it'll be pretty quiet.
“Just so you know; I keep my bedroom door open so Bob can come and go. If you get up in the middle of the night, please don't confuse my bedroom with the bathroom.”
She laughed. “Don't worry, if I come into your bedroom, it won't be because I'm looking for the bathroom.”
I shook my head. Gators, panthers, and Lori. What had I gotten myself into?
Chapter Twenty-Five
“So, how old do you think the kittens are?”
We were sitting at the kitchen table in the motorhome, eating a breakfast of cold cereal. Lori had gotten up before me and had already folded her bed back into the couch.
Daylight was breaking over the horizon, and before we sat down to eat, Lori suggested we take a walk around the park to get our blood circulating.
It sounded like a good idea. At least in the daylight I'd be able to see if she was taking me to another alligator viewing like she had done the night before.
We stepped outside into the surprisingly cool air. Even though we were at a near tropical latitude, south Florida was occasionally blessed with cool mornings and low humidity. This was one of those times.
Before we headed out for our walk, I locked the motorhome. I didn't think anyone would try to break in, especially out there in the remoteness of the Oasis employee lot. But locking the doors before stepping away was a habit I'd gotten into and one I didn't feel a need to break.
Everything I owned was inside the motorhome. If someone did break in and was somehow able to drive off in it, I'd truly be homeless. I could replace most of the things inside, but some things, including Bob, could never be replaced. Rather than chance it, I always locked the door before I left.
With the motorhome secure, Lori and I headed out. She led, and I followed.
Her first priority was to check on the injured panther. She wanted to see if its condition had changed overnight. We headed to the care center in the hangar. When we arrived there, Denise was waiting for us.
She looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep. When she saw us, she stood and stretched. She yawned then said, “I've got some bad news.”
“About the panther? Is she okay?” Lori asked.
“No, it's not the panther. She's doing great. Her vitals are strong, and there's no sign of infection. She slept well through the night, and there's no fever.”
Lori nodded. “That's good. So what's the bad news?”
“I can't go with you today. Callie didn't show up for her shift, so I have to work it. I'm stuck here until noon.”
“She didn't show? Did anyone check on her?”
Denise nodded. “One of the guys checked. He said her things are still here but she's not. He tried calling her, but there's no signal.”
Lori frowned. “She's gone?”
“It looks that way. Without her, we have to double up on our shifts. I'm stuck here until noon.”
Lori shook her head. “That's too bad. We were looking forward to you going with us. What about Kenny? Have you seen him today?”
“No, he hasn't been around.”
Lori nodded. “Maybe he slept in. He did have a big date last night. Maybe it tired him out.”
Denise blushed but didn't say anything. She looked at me and raised her eyebrows like she wanted to tell me something, but not in front of Lori.
Lori didn't seem to notice and continued asking her questions. “Have you eaten breakfast? Can we get you anything?”
Denise smiled. “I've eaten. Pop tarts and granola. Breakfast of champions. If I get hungry, I've got more in my backpack.”
She sat in her chair. “Doctor Joy, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You and Walker go find those kittens. That's the important thing.”
Lori nodded. “Okay, if you're sure there's nothing we can get for you. We'll check on you before we go.”
Stepping outside the hangar, Lori asked, “You still up for a walk?”
“Yeah, lead the way.”
She smiled. “See if you can keep up.”
She turned and took off, walking fast, not bothering to see if I was following. Even though she was moving quickly, I had no problem keeping up. I was used to walking several miles a day. It was part of my daily routine.
Lori took a roundabout path that led us back to the Oasis Visitors’ Center then out onto the viewing platform where we'd seen and heard the gators the night before. In the daylight, I could see I'd never been in danger.
The platform was elevated about eight feet above the gator-filled waters. To prevent visitors from falling in, heavy wire fencing formed a barrier between the deck and the waters below. While the gators were close, it wasn't likely they could reach anyone on the viewing deck.
We walked the deck from end to end and then headed back the way we had come. As we were leaving, I noticed that even though it was still an hour before the Visitor Center officially opened, the public parking lot was beginning to fill. Early rising tourists, cameras in hand, had come to see the gators.
For them, the viewing platform at Oasis was one of the best opportunities to get close to these prehistoric creatures. They could take selfies with large gators in the background without being in danger. They could go into the Oasis Visitor Center, take more photos, pick up maps and brochures, and ask the rangers questions.
Unlike most Florida tourist attractions, Oasis was free. There was no admission fee. It truly was an oasis for visitors wanting to learn more about the Everglades and see large alligators up close.
As the tourists lots filled, we headed back to the motorhome. When we reached the hangar, Lori pointed to a Cessna that had been rolled out onto the runway. A young man wearing dark green shorts and a light green shirt was walking around the plane doing a pre-flight check.
He waved at Lori, and she waved back. “He's getting ready to go up. He'll be collecting tracking data.”
The pilot gave Lori a thumbs up and climbed into the cockpit. He started the plane's motor, rolled down the runway and took off. The plane climbed, banked to the west, and was soon out of sight.
I was still watching when Lori said, “They start early to avoid the midday heat. He'll be back before noon. We need to do the same.”
When we got back to the motorhome, I asked, “How old do you think they are?”
“The kittens? Probably no more than three weeks. Too young to fend for themselves. At that age, they depend on their mother for everything. Without her, they won't survive for more than a couple of days.”
“So if we find them, how will we move them? Will we need cages?”
She laughed. “Walker, they're kittens. Tiny and helpless. We just need a small box or basket to carry them in.
“Go talk to Denise; see if she has something we can use. While you're doing that, I'll go over to the ranger station and let them know where we're going. After you get done with Denise, bring the motorhome to the front gate and park in the public lot. I'll meet you there in about fifteen minutes.”
As soon as she was gone, I went to the back bedroom where Bob was still asleep and closed the door. With him safely out of the way, I pushed the button to bring in the slide room. Then I did a quick walk-through to make sure everything inside the motorhome was stowed. The final step was disconnecting from shore power.
Remembering that Lori wanted me to check in with Denise, I walked over to the care center in the hangar. Denise was still there and seemed surprised to see me.
“Walker, where's Dr. Joy?”
“She's down at the ranger station, letting them know where we're going. You still stuck here?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But I'm glad you came by without her. There's something I wanted to tell you but didn't
want her to hear.
“Last night, when I said Kenny had a date, I didn't say who it was with. I wanted to protect her. But now it might be important. So I'm telling. It was Callie.”
I nodded. “The same Callie who was supposed to be here this morning?”
“Yes, that Callie. I'm worried something happened between her and Kenny last night. It's not like Callie to leave without saying anything. She's a straight arrow and takes her work seriously. She's never late and never missed an assignment before. It's just not like her.”
I nodded. “So she was with Kenny? And now she's missing. Has anyone talked to Kenny about this?”
“No, he's missing too. He's not in his trailer. He's not in the office, and his truck is gone.”
I nodded. “Maybe they left together?”
“That's possible but why? Why would Callie blow off work without telling anyone? It's not like her.”
I didn't know what to say. I'd never met Callie and didn't know anything about Kenny except what Lori had told me. Both being missing on the same day could be as simple as them going out to breakfast together and getting stuck somewhere.
Whatever the reason they were both missing, I couldn't concern myself. I needed to get to the motorhome and meet Lori at the main gate.
“Denise, Kenny will probably show up later today and have a perfectly reasonable explanation. Same with Callie. I'd love to hang around and talk some more, but I've got to meet Doctor Joy. I'll see you later.”
I went back to the motorhome, not sure whether I should tell Lori about Kenny and Callie being missing or being together the night before. Probably not. At least not until after we rescued the kittens.
I started the motorhome and drove to the employee entrance gate. It was closed but not locked. I got out and opened the gate and pulled the motorhome into an open slot in the public parking area. I closed the gate behind me and waited.
After ten minutes and seeing no sign of Lori, I decided to check up on her. Locking the motorhome behind me, I headed to the building we'd visited the night before. The ground floor was the Oasis Visitor Center and Museum, and I made it my first stop.
Inside, I went to the help desk and asked the woman there if she'd seen Doctor Joy. She smiled and said, “Upstairs.”
I thanked her and headed up the same flight of stairs we had used the night before to get to Kenny's office. This morning, all the lights in the offices were on. Rangers and volunteers were hauling boxes from one office to another.
I headed directly to Kenny's, hoping to find Lori. But his office was empty. Back out in the hallway, I could hear Lori's voice. She was saying, “We can't wait that long. Every minute that passes hurts their chance of survival.”
Her voice led me to an office where she was having a heated conversation with a speaker phone. No one else was in the office, just Lori and the phone.
She saw me and held a finger to her lips. She pointed to the speaker phone, shaking her head showing disgust with whoever was on the other end.
The male voice was telling her he understood the urgency but said she needed to wait until they could assemble a team of volunteers and coordinate the search effort.
Lori was having none of it. She looked at me and shook her head again. Then, speaking in a loud voice, she said, “I understand the risk, and I appreciate your concern. But I've got my own search team assembled, and we're going out in about fifteen minutes. If we find the kittens, I'll bring them back here to Oasis.”
The male voice said, “Have it your way. But I'm going to bring this up at the next meeting. Good day.”
He ended the call.
Lori turned to me. “What a total waste of time. They don't want us to go out there until they assemble their own team. You heard what I told them. We aren't waiting. We're going now.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lori led the way back to the motorhome. She was in a hurry and still upset we'd been delayed by almost an hour.
Our original plan was to get to Monument Lake just after eight. It was now nearly ten, and we were just leaving the Oasis parking lot.
She was fuming. “Can you believe that guy? Those kittens are out there alone, and he wants us to wait. For what? For some predator to get to them before we do?
“You heard what I told him. We're going out there now.”
It was a short drive, just eight miles. We covered it without any problems. As we got close, Lori pointed to a sign on the side of the road. “Slow down; the turnoff is up ahead on the right.”
I slowed the motorhome and, at the sign, pulled off onto a narrow road leading to Monument Lake. It was paved for about a half mile. After that, the road surface was crushed shell—Florida's version of a gravel road.
We continued on the shell road until we reached a small sign pointing to Monument Lake Campground. The campground road went off to the left. I knew from Google Earth to keep going straight. This would take us around the east side of Monument Lake and to the trail leading to the panther's nesting area.
As we traveled around the lake, I looked across and saw several motorhomes parked at campsites bordering the water. These sites were well spaced, giving each camper a bit of privacy as well as a dramatic view of the lake.
Monument Lake looked to be a nice place to camp, especially if one wanted to get away from it all. I'd add it to my list of places to camp in the future. I was thinking about this when Lori reached over and touched my arm. “Walker, pay attention. We're almost there.”
The road ahead took a sharp turn to the left, probably leading to the north side of the campground. At the beginning of the turn, there was a small parking area on the right, just beyond that a closed gate.
Lori said, “Pull over. We're here.”
I pulled over and parked under the shade of a small tree. Bob would be staying behind in the motorhome, and I didn't want to risk him overheating. It was still cool out, and if I left the windows cracked and turned on the overhead fan, he'd be fine. The cool breezes off the lake would help.
Had it been summer, I would have left the windows up, started the generator and ran the air conditioner. I would have made sure it stayed cool inside for Bob. Or I wouldn't have left him alone. But with the cool weather that day, it wasn't necessary.
When I finished opening the windows, Lori was standing behind me, a cell phone in her hand, and a frown on her face.
“Problem?” I asked.
She showed me the phone. “No cell signal. We won't be able to use our phone GPS to find the panther's nest.”
I smiled. “You don't need a cell signal for the GPS to work on your phone. It gets signals from the satellites, not the cell tower.”
I showed her my phone.
“See, no cell signal, but the GPS still works.”
I pointed to a map on the phone's screen. “We're here, and we need to hike to there.”
I'd entered the GPS coordinates earlier; the map displayed on the phone's screen had a star where the panther's nest was supposed to be.
Lori looked at my phone then back at me. I could tell she was impressed but trying not to show it. She changed the subject. She pointed to my short pants.
“You can't go out like that. You have to wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt if you have one. And remember, we're in a hurry.”
I saluted. “Yes ma'am. I'll go put those on right now.”
While she waited up front, I went to the bedroom and changed. I'd given away most of my 'northern' clothes when I moved to Florida but had kept some and was glad I did. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt and put them on.
Lori was waiting for me when I got back up front, a smile on her face. “That's better. Do you have anything back there I can wear?”
I nodded. “Sure do. In the closet. Take whatever you need.”
While Lori was in the back changing clothes, I dug out a backpack from one of the storage compartments and loaded it with four bottles of water, two snack bars, a pair of gloves, a small flashlight an
d a first aid kit.
We probably wouldn't need all that, but better to have it and not need it than the other way around.
I was testing the weight of the now full backpack when Lori came out of my bedroom wearing a pair of jeans that were about three sizes too big. She had rolled up the legs so they weren't dragging the ground and had found a belt to keep them from falling from around her waist.
She'd picked out one of my long sleeve Columbia fishing shirts, an orange one. She'd rolled up the sleeves and tucked the tail into her pants. She had my old camo fishing hat on her head.
“How do I look?”
I smiled, “Like Ellie May from The Beverly Hillbillies.”
She returned my smile. “And you look like Jethro. You ready to go?”
I nodded. “Almost, I need to get my gun.”
She shook her head. “No. No gun. We won't need it. Leave it here.”
I was hoping she was right.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Just as we were about to head out, Lori reached into her bag and pulled out a bright red card. “Put this on the dash. It'll let the rangers know we have permission to be here.”
The card read, “Official Business. Authorized FWC Use Only.”
“Where you'd get this?”
She smiled. “I found a stack of them in the desk drawer while I was on the phone with FWC. I figured they wouldn't miss one or two.”
I put the card on the dash, grabbed my backpack and phone, and joined Lori outside. She was standing in the shade of the motorhome, tugging at her pants. The weight of the water bottle and cell phone in her pants pocket was pulling them down.
I chuckled. “You having problems there?”
“Yeah, can't seem to keep my pants up. Might have to take 'em off.”
I laughed. “Sounds good to me. But what will the neighbors think?”
She looked around. “There aren't any neighbors. And anyway, if you were a gentleman, you'd offer to carry my water for me.”
I took her water and stuffed it into my backpack. She handed me her cell phone. “Program the GPS for me.”