The lieutenant however, didn’t seem to share their fascination in the minutiae of canine search. “Has anyone briefed your team on the subject yet?” she asked Kellee and Sarah, obviously trying to wrestle control back from Dave.
“No, that would be helpful, along with the tracking dog’s clues. Those will help us choose a sector to work the dogs. The subject’s physical shape, health and mental well-being can help us determine how far he might hike,” Kellee suggested.
“Knowing how he was dressed could help, too,” Sarah pointed out. “And what about friends, or someone who might’ve come by and picked him up? Does he have a cell phone?”
“Hang on, hang on, ladies. We have some interesting information on our subject. First off, he’s wanted by the authorities.”
“Wanted? What do you mean?” Kellee asked with deep concern in her voice. “We’re an all-civilian volunteer team. We don’t normally deploy for wanted criminals. ”
“Hang on, slow down,” the lieutenant repeated. “Seems he has a long rap sheet for petty stuff from juvie, but now he’s wanted due to a domestic altercation with his wife. Just wanted for questioning—there’s no warrant, and he’s not listed as dangerous. The wife won’t press charges. Yet again.”
“Does he have a license to carry? Do we know if he could be armed?” Kellee pushed for more information.
“No license to carry, but that never rules out any kind of weapon on him,” the lieutenant stated.
Sarah lowered her gaze to look at the map. She didn’t want her expression to give away what she was thinking. I thought today would be stress free but it seems this area’s a shit magnet.
The heated conversation between Kellee and the lieutenant continued. Kellee was seriously looking out for the team. She needed to make sure the canine handlers and their dogs would be working in a safe environment.
Or at least as safe as one could be with high-powered German Shepherds working off-lead in the middle of a forest, Sarah thought sarcastically. A wicked grin crossed her face and she looked away again.
“So why is he wanted for questioning?” Kellee asked the loaded question.
“Seems this domestic altercation took place Tuesday evening between the subject and his wife. It wasn’t witnessed by anyone, and she won’t press charges, but the neighbors could overhear the argument and fighting. One neighbor called 911. When the police arrived on scene, the wife needed a ride to the hospital and the subject could not be found. The same neighbor also heard the missing subject threatening to kill himself. He’s a known drug addict as well, so overdose is a possibility.”
Sarah jotted down a few notes as she listened. There were standard questions to be asked and she knew Kellee would ask them. It was her responsibility to record the information.
“Has the subject attempted suicide in the past?” Kellee inquired.
“Not that we are aware of, but we are checking his background for that information.”
“As far as drug information, do you know what kind of drugs he regularly uses or has used in the past?” Kellee continued with her litany of questions.
“From what we have been able to gather, he is a regular marijuana user, but has used other harder drugs in the past.”
“Sorry, one last question. Does he have any medical conditions or is he on any medications that we be should be aware of?”
“Currently, we are not aware that he is on any medications. He does have a history of depression. Any more questions right now?” the lieutenant asked looking squarely at Kellee. It was clear that she wanted to move forward. Kellee just shook her head.
“Okay, as I was saying, the subject left home in his vehicle and hasn’t been seen since. His whereabouts are unknown, no clue until his vehicle was identified. Being it’s now Friday, he’s been missing for three and a half days. He’s listed as endangered and despondent.”
“Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Kellee sighed, “do we have a description, up-to-date information or a picture of our subject?”
“Of course,” the lieutenant smiled sarcastically. She gestured to the entire mobile unit. “We have the latest and greatest databases available. Wouldn’t do us much good if we couldn’t access the information we needed.”
Turning toward the printer that sat a few feet from the table, the lieutenant leaned down and pulled off a handful of documents. She handed one flyer to Dave.
“Dave, I need your search task report and a map of where your canine tracked. Do you have your paperwork with you?” the lieutenant asked.
Shaking his head Dave answered, “Hang on a second while I go retrieve it.” He headed to the door and out to the parking lot.
Another officer stepped up to the lieutenant, whispered something and pointed to an area across the unit. Lieutenant Langenberg answered him patiently, “Alright, just a minute,” then turned back to Kellee and Sarah. “Take a look at the subject’s info. I’ll be right back.” She placed another copy of the flyer between the two women and headed to the rear of the command unit.
Sarah looked down at the paper. She froze. Her eyes rapidly took in the subject’s picture, and her mind processed the specific details listed below. Sarah felt all the blood drain from her head. She stared at the flyer longer and her head started to spin. Stop it! she told herself. What the hell? No fucking way! Sarah involuntarily sucked her breath in sharply.
Kellee, whose eyes had followed the lieutenant across the unit, had just looked down at the flyer, but turned immediately to Sarah at the sound. “What’s wrong?”
Sarah pointed to the name above the picture. She couldn’t believe it. This must be some kind of sick joke. Her mind raced out of control. She tried to regulate her breathing.
Kellee grabbed Sarah’s wrist. “Sarah, what is it?”
“It’s him,” Sarah mouthed under her breath so only her teammate could hear.
“Him?” A look of confusion crossed Kellee’s face.
“From foster care.”
It took Kellee only a few seconds. Sarah had told her about some of the demons from her foster care life. Understanding dawned on Kellee’s face. There was one guy in particular Sarah had told Kellee about—but she’d never mentioned a name.
It hadn’t been important. Then.
Now was not the time for Sarah to unravel. She needed to stop this physical reaction to her emotional response. Hyperventilating, she bit her tongue, and tried to hold her breath. She had to keep it together. Falling apart at a search event was a surefire way not to get invited back. We’ve trained too hard for this! I can’t blow it now. If I walk out and leave the search, they’ll never call us back. Word would get around; no other agency would use the team either. Think, she thought, calm down and get all the information first.
Kellee could tell that Sarah was about to lose it. Kellee looked at her teammate. Alarm registered in her eyes. “Look at me,” she put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “You’ll be with me, Gunner and Sammy,” Kellee told her. “You will be safe. We can handle this.”
Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. Deep slow breath, control yourself. She tried to think of a calm, safe place. Gathering her composure just for a moment, she opened her eyes and refocused. Knick of time, she thought. Lt. Langenberg and Dave were heading back to the table.
With the flier still in front of her, Sarah forced herself to read all of the information printed below the missing subject’s picture.
In bold lettering underneath the image of an unshaven, gruff looking man it announced:
AT RISK
DESPONDENT MISSING PERSON
Dwight Harrison, 27 years of age, 5’ 11”, White male, wavy mid-length brown hair, mustache & goatee. Full-sleeve colored tattoo on left arm depicting the devil. Several scars across torso and upper arms.
Sarah and Kellee read through all of the information the paper offered. Sarah drifted back to her days in the hands of foster care. She had shared some information from her previous life with Kellee, but not everything.
Sarah tried to calm herself down and push away her immediate fears.
Dave handed his canine report to the search management team while the lieutenant read through it as well.
When finished, they both re-joined Sarah and Kellee at the table where the maps were spread out. No one commented on Sarah’s expression, so apparently she’d done a good job of outwardly hiding her fears.
Lt. Langenberg interrupted Sarah’s thoughts. “Our missing gentleman was last seen at approximately 1800 hours this past Tuesday when he left his residence. As you know his vehicle was located at the lot adjacent to the lake and Sinsheim Road.”
Sarah and Kellee reviewed their map as the lieutenant spoke. Sarah used a pen to pinpoint the area where the car had been located. She made a note in the sidebar. It helped her to relax as she continued to scribble remarks. Her shoulders began to relax. She felt the tension ease up for a moment.
“So far,” the lieutenant continued, “we have two mounted teams and a handful of ground teams running hasty searches of the immediate area around the LKP. Those teams will run the trails and report back. Dave, I want you to show us on the map where exactly your dog found tracks.”
Sarah was glad that she wasn’t given the task of running a hasty task. Her dogs moved too fast and worked too far from her to be of much help on the quick initial information-gathering chore. The mounted team, in her opinion, was always the best option for this duty and she was happy they had already been deployed.
“Sure, sure thing,” Dave pointed to the map. “I ran Bella on the vehicle first, let her scent and sniff around it for several minutes. Then we offered her a scent article, and she picked up a solid track from the driver’s door. She cast about a few times but finally was able to follow the track from the car, through the parking lot onto the main trail heading northeast.”
Dave pointed to the area on the map where the LKP was marked. He showed the group where Bella had crossed over a small stream and picked up the main trail that headed past the horse trail parking area and wound its way east. “We were able to make it about 300 meters down the trail. There are numerous smaller trails that drop off the main one, but we think he passed several of those pathways and remained on this trail at least this far. So I’m thinking maybe that was his ultimate goal. He could’ve traveled all the way to the furthest point of the park and maybe even back toward the lot where he had parked his car.”
Sarah and Kellee studied the map, paying close attention to the main trail and how it wound its way through the whole park at some point. There were loops and shortcuts that split off, but they were not as wide or well-groomed as the main trail. If the subject continued as he had, he could have made it all the way over to the furthest northeast edge of the park.
With the predominant wind blowing from the north again today, this area might just be the best place to start working Gunner and Sam.
Kellee looked up at Sarah. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I believe so,” she answered, her throat constricted and dry. After studying search theory and training canines for years, they both thought on the same plane, though Sarah deferred to Kellee. She was still unraveled at the thought of who they were being deployed to find. Kellee took the lead and gave an overview of their search strategy.
“If I start the dogs from here,” Kellee said pointing at the area on the southern boundary of Lake Marburg, toward the northeast corner of this side of the park, “we can grid from east to west working our way back north. Then we would be able to cover a large area efficiently depending on the terrain and how thick the ground cover is.”
Dave and the lieutenant listened as the two dog handlers discussed how they would work their dogs. “Are there any searchers working in this area?” Kellee asked pointing to the edge of the park.
“No. The mounted teams plan to ride the main trail first and report back to base. Then their plan is to ride all of the smaller trails and loops that drop off the main trail. We also have a few of the mounted teams running a perimeter of the park to catch the subject if he’s still mobile. Most of the ground teams are closer to the LKP and working the foot paths in that area. Will it disturb the dogs if you happen to run into any of the horse teams? They plan on riding the trail eventually through the area you’re talking about. The teams might run into each other.”
Sarah finally piped into the conversation. “No, the dogs will be fine with the horses. We’ve trained with a mounted team and know how to work our dogs around them. Gunner and Sam know most of the horses and team members here today.” She found it calming to focus on something other than that worthless piece of shit that was the subject of the search.
Finally, their search sector was solidified, and they received boundaries of the area to grid. Their task would also cover part of the trail where Bella determined the subject appeared to be walking.
The lieutenant left to have management write up their search assignment and to retrieve a 7.5-minute topographical map of the area for Sarah and Kellee.
“Do you mind if I walk with you and the dogs on your task?” Dave asked. “I could be your escort.” Sarah knew Dave was interested in seeing Gunner and Sam work together. Most handlers only worked one canine at a time.
“Oh no, that would be fine. I’m the strike team leader for the task,” Kellee responded. Dave would know what the term strike team leader meant from NIMS training. Kellee would be in charge of the field team.
Maybe a man, especially a cop, would make it safer to be in the woods (with HIM possibly out there somewhere), was Sarah’s initial thought. On the other hand, the less info Dave knows about my past relationships the better.
Chapter 17
Sarah
Sarah and Kellee were handed maps of their search sector. The management team went over their task assignment, discussing terrain, borders and search strategy.
“Your search assignment is at least two miles from base camp as the crow flies—even longer by winding roads and trails,” Dave mentioned.
“Geez, you’re right,” Sarah agreed. Far from the safety of base camp, she thought. She knew what the subject—the creep—was about and what he was capable of. They would be the furthest team from base camp. Not unusual in itself, but it added additional concern for Sarah today.
The women stood up to exit with Dave in the lead. Need to get outside! Sarah felt like the walls were starting to cave in around her. She craved the fresh air and a chance to stretch her legs.
Kellee gave her a concerned look. Not wanting to worry her friend, Sarah smiled and whispered, “Ocean King.” That was their team’s code words used to indicate everything was okay.
“Do you think we can get a ride out to the sector?” Dave asked the management team before leaving the command unit.
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” one of the officers replied. “Let me find out where the mule is and if we have a driver.” He turned to Sarah and Kellee. “Can the dogs handle riding in that?”
“Of course,” Sarah attempted to smile as she answered. We’ll see, she thought. “As long as it’s the kind of mule you ride in and not on,” Sarah laughed thinking of a vehicle commonly used on local farms. Though slightly larger than a golf cart, there still wasn’t a lot of room in them and they usually were a bumpy ride. Should be interesting. Although both dogs had ridden in the back of an open pickup truck bed, they had never traveled in an all-terrain vehicle like a mule.
The officer pushed his chair away from the radio equipment. He shifted his police-issued leather belt, adjusting it around his considerable gut. He looked up to the dog handlers before he spoke as if he had something tremendous to say. “I can have a driver on his way over here with the mule. How soon will you and the dogs be ready to head out?”
The officer delivered his message in a monotone, but smug voice. Sarah felt like this was the last place on earth he cared to be and for some reason it added to Sarah’s feeling of uneasiness. It unsettled her and she felt guilty for asking the m
an to do his job. Asshole.
“Give us 15 to 20 minutes” Sarah said, still trying to keep her composure.
Standing still, she was trying to hold herself together professionally. Torn. That’s how it felt. Between giving into her anxieties and keeping her cool, she felt like she was being ripped in two. She knew once she could get outside, walking and focusing on the search task would help. She needed to be in motion.
“Okay, that will work,” the officer from search management continued. “They’ll be here when you’re ready.”
Finally. Sarah, Kellee and Dave were once again outside and moving. Dave headed toward his vehicle. “I need to grab a few things from the car and check on Bella. Don’t leave without me.”
“We won’t,” Kellee retorted, “but make sure you bring plenty of water.”
Sarah held it together until they were far enough away from prying ears and suspicious eyes. Her face pale, sweat covered her forehead. Perspiration started to show through in patches through her shirt. All of the horror and memories had re-emerged when she saw Dwight’s face—the missing subject—on the flier.
Sarah’s signs of uneasiness were obvious. “Keep moving. Concentrate on getting the dogs ready,” Kellee advised. “Don’t think about the past. Focus on working your dogs and the task at hand.”
Sarah felt numb inside. All of the painful memories flooded back in a rush. It made her head spin. How could this be happening? Out of all the people in the world? Sarah needed to pull herself together. Her reputation as a first responder and canine handler depended on how she performed—something she dwelled on over and over. Sarah never wanted to be the reason her team wasn’t called back by an agency. She needed to calm down for herself and Gunner and Sam’s sake.
If the dogs detected there was a problem with their handler, they wouldn’t range as far while out on task. It would hinder their work. The dogs were apt to pick up on her emotional stress. Sarah tried to steady her nerves. She took a deep breath, stood taller, straighter and mouthed under her breath to no one but herself, “I got this, I can handle this.”
Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1) Page 11