Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1)

by Hillegas, Maria

  She sat down with Gunner in the stern of the boat. Sarah spoke to him in a soft voice as she petted him with long, slow sweeping gestures to get him to relax. She watched as the ranger poked through the water with a pole that had a hook at the end.

  Kellee pulled out water bottles and passed them around. Sarah sucked down a few gulps and watched the dive team’s boat round the cove and head their way. Pulling out a soft bowl, she watered her dog.

  Nerves raw from lack of sleep and being revved up all day, she hoped she could find the energy to deal with the divers. Leaning back against the cushion of the seat, she pressed her eyes shut. She hoped it would be a quick dive and the team would be able to locate the body without any issues.

  Chapter 10

  Eva

  Eva curiously eyed the search events as they unfolded. She appeared calm on the outside as she sat visible, perched and resting during a few minutes of downtime. Inside, her excitement mounted. It was a game. Kellee might have noticed her earlier. She appeared annoyed; alarmed for some unknown reason? It was just for an instant, a flash of recognition, perchance?

  Eva just smiled in return. Things couldn’t have gone better; her timing was perfect. She couldn’t have planned such excellent results. It had gone so well. Who would have guessed? It was like a well-choreographed production. Camera! Lights! Action! She was satisfied with herself. More like smug, actually.

  She continued to observe, contemplating what would happen when the final results were in. She hoped it would conclude by day’s end. Thoughts turned to incident management and what came next; and to what had also already transpired earlier in the day. Management would continue to move forward as planned, following protocol regarding search tasks, that was a given.

  There was nothing tangible for her to do at the moment but to stay fixed, not draw attention. Inwardly she laughed as thoughts of the morning’s activities played back in her mind. Authorities could be so fucking easy to manipulate and make fools of. The expression on the lieutenant’s face when the drone had pulled the baggy from the bottom of the tackle box made her stifle a gag. Did anyone know where Lorena Bobbitt was lately? Priceless! A moment Eva continued to replay, over and over.

  Sitting in the boat, she seemed almost bored, complacent as she waited. But boredom was furthest from her mind. She wanted events to progress… but not too quick. Eva needed everything to play out as long as possible so she could revel in the ordeal bit by bit. Although confident in her situation, she remained guarded for her own protection. There was a small trace of uneasiness that she continued to mollify so she wouldn’t give her position away. Certain energy sat nearby that she didn’t trust; energy that could expose her and show her true identity. She had to maintain her composure. Not a problem. Maintenance is my specialty.

  Her thoughts drifted across the water as she watched the divers gear up, readying to head out on the lake. She welcomed their orderliness as they considered equipment, rules and protocols of their skill; it piqued her interest. She liked that there were rules in existence to be applied, carried out and followed stringently. Including repercussions if broken. She also enjoyed it when people challenged the rules, broke them. She liked to rejoice in their consequences.

  Eva liked to play games. She liked to play games for which she made the rules.

  Chapter 11

  Sarah

  The ranger dropped a styrofoam buoy at the location where Gunner had given his strongest indication of the presence of human scent rising from the water’s surface. After the buoy had been placed, the engine set in neutral and the GPS coordinates called in, the ranger pulled out an extendable grappling hook. He poked around the darkened waters bringing up long spires of aquatic growth and grasses. “With the clear spring-fed water and all the sun we had this summer, the vegetation is dense in several areas throughout the lake,” he offered. “We’ve never seen it propagate like this before.”

  Sarah scrutinized her surroundings. She viewed the dam from where she sat in the boat. The structure towered over the water’s surface like a formidable fortress. It gave her the impression of a medieval castle with its block-type construction and faded gray coloring. Over 750 feet thick at its widest point and close to 1700 feet in length from shore to shore, the dam appeared impressive and intimidating.

  The lake was a product of the local paper mill and population that needed the efforts of a dependable water source—one to run the mill’s facility and the other as drinking water for the inhabitants. The dam had been built in the mid 1960s to block Codorus Creek and catch the many natural springs within the valley. The resulting Lake Marburg was formed, named for the flooded town which slumbered under a hundred feet of lake water. The surrounding park opened in 1970 as part of the Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act. Cultivated between the state and local townships, it had become a popular hiking, camping and outdoor destination, especially of late.

  Chatter between base and the dive team came across their radios. It sounded like they should be headed in their direction in the next few minutes. This gave them a window to discuss what search efforts had transpired and the water area they had just finished covering. Kellee yielded a park map and the three looked over it as they waited for the divers. Sarah took the map from Kellee and stood up in the boat. She oriented it to their surroundings. Sarah and Kellee also produced notepads and started scribbling a few quick comments.

  “Here is where Sam first hit scent along the south shoreline,” Sarah spoke, referring to her other dog and the morning’s task. “And here is where he barked and wanted to enter the water.” Sarah commented as she pointed to the area along the rocky edge with the tip of her pen.

  “This is where we started our sweeps in the boats and here is where we are now,” Kellee marked the map with her pen and wrote a note on the border along the edge of the map. “How deep is it in this area?” she asked the ranger.

  “Oh, we’re probably looking at anywhere from 90-100 feet right around here, give or take 20 feet. This area closer to the dam is the deepest part of the lake. More’n likely, the coldest too.”

  “So how far down do you think the vegetation would be? How far can the ultra-violet rays penetrate to promote all of this plant growth?” Sarah asked.

  “Not positive,” the ranger replied, “but I’m guessing around 30 feet in the deeper portions of the lake. “It’s been a real problem this year, but the younger fish and smaller aquatic life seem to thrive within it. The fishermen are having a lot of trouble though. It catches the props on the boats and tangles up their lines. We’re in a heated debate between the recreational users of the lake and the conservationists. Trying to decide whether to clean it up or let it be.”

  All around there were small dark areas that dotted the water’s landscape where you could see patches of weedy growth. They had avoided crossing through them when they were running their search patterns. It would have proved to be a mess if the plant life got tangled up in the boat’s small motor.

  Sarah turned toward the cove at the sound of another boat motor. Her teeth clenched automatically. Stop it! she told herself. Relax. Our part is almost done here. Gunner also looked up to the oncoming boat. He wagged his tail when he saw more humans headed in his direction. Always the outgoing one, he’s never met a stranger. Wish I could have a little bit of his confidence and demeanor.

  The dive team’s boat pulled up along the ranger’s Boston Whaler. Thankfully it was two of the senior dive team members unaccompanied by their commander. Sarah watched as the shorter, older diver maneuvered their boat into position alongside the whaler. Although both divers were suited up, the younger diver sitting on the stern was ready to go into the water with his tanks already assembled on his back and his face mask in hand.

  I wonder why “he” didn’t come out? Sarah thought regarding the dive team commander. But I’m completely OK with that, she smiled to herself.

  The ranger and Kellee exchanged pleasantries with the divers. Sarah felt a tug as Gunner s
trained against his leash to get a closer sniff with his ever curious nose.

  “Hey there, boy,” the younger diver greeted the dog, “how ya doing?” He also gave Gunner a rough pat on his side as he continued to speak to him. The dog responded by licking the diver on the chin. Guess they can’t be all bad, Sarah thought as she watched the exchange.

  The older diver requested permission to board their boat. The ranger nodded an approval. The group gathered around an open map to discuss what had occurred with the dogs so far. It appeared the diver hadn’t been given the full disclosure of the canine location of the clues from his commander.

  “Okay, Sarah,” the older diver started. “Where did your dog react? Can you give me some insight to how this works with the canine as we get ready to go in?”

  So it seems everyone knows who I am. Not sure if that’s a good thing.

  “No problem,” Sarah began, always happy to discuss the working and findings of their canines—especially to someone who is interested. Sarah watched the younger diver who had stayed in the other boat, continue to ready himself and the materials to submerge. She quickly gave an overview of how Sam had shown scent interest along the shoreline and then Gunner had followed it all the way to their current location and signified the find by barking. Barking is the dog’s final trained response after locating the source of human scent.

  The older diver listened with respect and intent as he tried to take in all the details.

  “The biggest challenges I see right now,” the ranger stated when Sarah had finished, “is the fading light and all of this vegetation. We don’t know how far the weedy growth spreads out under the water’s surface.”

  “We hope to make a hasty dive now just to look around. If we don’t find anything in a matter of minutes, we plan on coming back by first light tomorrow. Everyone is suited up and ready to go, so let’s see if we can find something.” He pointed to the younger diver, “Matt’s going to dive for us. He’ll be carrying a Pelican system if there’s any problem and he’s got a knife on his belt.” The Pelican system he referred to was an open line of communication between both men in case the submerged diver needed anything.

  Sarah felt more at ease knowing the divers had a way to communicate with each other. She was glad they erred toward safety and were only planning a short, swift dive. So tired, she was fading. Thankfully it’s my four-day weekend and I can sleep tonight!

  The ranger grabbed the towline from the diver’s boat and tied it off tight to his. Sarah got Gunner to settle down and the dog curled up in the boat’s corner near the bow. Kellee stood along the console with the ranger, looking on as the diver dropped over the side of the boat, feet first, quickly submerging himself and immediately resurfacing. He grabbed the side of his boat and pulled his mask off. It had fogged up. He dipped it in the lake, swished water around the inside to clear it and re-fit it over his head. Once again, they all looked on as he disappeared below the water’s dim surface.

  Time seemed to pass slowly. Sarah found herself holding her breath as she imagined what the diver might find underneath their boat in the darkened waters. It had only been five minutes when he reappeared on the opposite side of the boats. He gave the other diver a thumb’s up, then pointed straight down from where he had just come. Right away, everyone on the boats knew what that meant. The diver hadn’t spoken it over the Pelican system in case the line was not secured and could be picked up by locals listening in other than base camp.

  The diver in the water asked for the grappling pole from the ranger’s boat. Once it was handed over, the diver re-submerged.

  The older diver radioed to base. “Base, dive team here.”

  “Go ahead, dive team.”

  “Need to secure the net, secure the net.” The diver let base know he had potential fragile information and they needed to move their conversation to a secure and private channel. Between recreational users and the media, it was wise to make sure confidential information was handled as professionally and securely as possible.

  “Copy, dive team. Move to channel three-ohh-ohh.”

  “Dive team copies.”

  After the channel change, the diver reported the find. A body had been located about 30 feet below the surface. It was completely surrounded in dense vegetation. The body was suspended in the lake due to plant growth. The diver had tried to use the grappling hook to snare the body, but with the added weight of water and plants, it was too difficult to maneuver and free the body. They requested the smaller drag bar be used. The body itself wouldn’t weigh much underwater so the hooks on the drag could snag the clothing, allowing the body to be pulled through the vegetation to the surface.

  With both divers back in their boat, waiting for the drag to be ferried out, the ranger decided to head back to shore with Kellee, Sarah and Gunner. It was getting late. News of the find had still managed to quietly make its rounds through base camp, and the ground-pound teams were debriefing from their last tasks before heading home.

  Sarah no longer cared if her team stuck around to watch them drag the lake tonight. She was satisfied they had located the body and that a retrieval plan was in place. It was validation. She and her canine team had been vindicated.

  As the whaler headed in, they passed the boat with the drag bar going out to the dive team. The lieutenant was aboard. Maybe she needs to be there when the body is brought up since it’s a crime scene. Sarah could see the mesh body bag as well that was used in drowning cases. Sometimes a body would be hooked and dragged all the way back to shore but that wasn’t always a good thing. Dragging a victim so far might compromise forensic evidence. It was always better to bag the body at the site of recovery.

  “Hey Sarah,” Kellee called as they headed to the dock, “let’s see if Joe and Garrett want to grab some dinner after we debrief.” She turned to the ranger and added, “You’re welcome to join us as well.”

  “Starving,” Sarah replied. “Just want to get the dogs taken care of and get a burger and a beer somewhere.” Sarah laughed. Her spirit had improved since the body was discovered. She felt like she could finally relax. She sent a text to her team members to see if they wanted to join them afterward for dinner.

  The sun had just about settled over the western sky. A last few orange rays escaped through the hills and valleys intersecting the shoreline, illuminating sections of the lake. Sarah pulled her phone from its Ziploc baggy and took a few quick shots. Perfect setting for the end of a long, stressful day.

  The boat rounded the last bend in the small cove on the way to the dock, and the radio crackled with static and chatter. The lieutenant’s voice came across their still secure channel to base. She reported that the body had been recovered. She gave a quick description of a white male, approximately 5’9’, 250 lbs., gray hair with a tattoo on his left arm. Base confirmed, then requested specific information regarding evidence retrieved that morning from the unmanned boat.

  For a moment there was no response, only dead air. Sarah wondered what was going on as she paid attention to the radio prattle; they all were waiting on the lieutenant’s response.

  As the ranger expertly maneuvered the boat alongside the floating dock, the lieutenant’s voice resounded over the radio, finally. They all realized the dive team must’ve been taking time to check.

  “This may be the owner of the unmanned boat and the subject of our search, but he’s not missing his frank and beans. I repeat, this body appears to be completely intact.”

  Surprised at the revelation, Sarah and Kellee looked at each other.

  “What the hell?” Sarah let drop out. “So where’s the guy who’s missing his?”

  Chapter 12

  Sarah

  Dave was waiting at the dock when the ranger navigated the skiff along the edge and secured it. Sarah smiled at Dave as he helped her and Kellee exit the boat. “You still hanging around? I thought your shift ended an hour ago?” Sarah teased. She felt comfortable enough with him to banter.

  “Just thought
I’d stick around to see how things went and if you guys needed any help. I see the divers can take instruction from the dog team after all,” he sparred back.

  Sarah tried to keep a poker face. Dave’s comment was spiteful but funny, and she didn’t want to give him satisfaction just yet. She wanted to make him wonder a little bit longer. He looked at her with a perplexed face.

  She stared back for a moment and then broke into a grin.

  “So that’s how it’s going be,” Dave replied. “Next time, I might have to help out the other team,” he said with a sarcastic smile.

  Dave walked with Sarah and Gunner as they headed to her truck. “I checked Sam’s water and gave him a dog biscuit while you guys were out on the boat.”

  “Thanks. Appreciate you looking in on him.” She was grateful but suddenly felt smothered by allowing him this close to her personal world. She trusted him with her dogs, but she didn’t want to feel like she owed him anything. Maybe this was close enough for now. Was she starting to have self-doubts when it came to the walls she had erected around herself?

  Base camp came across the radio, “Debrief in 10 minutes. 1900 hours in the command unit for those teams just coming in from the field.”

  “Sounds like that has your name written all over it. I’ll head over with you if you don’t mind me tagging along,” Dave offered.

  Sarah considered. He’d been getting a little too close for comfort, but on the other hand, maybe Dave just wanted an excuse to be kept in the search loop. She didn’t want to push away a fellow canine handler for the wrong reason. “I just need to finish up with these guys and then we can head over.” Not sure about allowing Dave into her space any more than she had already done that day, she nonetheless heard herself invite him to dinner. Maybe she felt obliged.