by Dale Mayer
"How are you doing?" Lauren asked. Her German shepherd, Halo, lay quietly beside her. She reached over to scratch his ruff.
"I'm okay. Just tired." Kali shifted to get more comfortable. "Shiloh's holding up well."
"At least we made it on site fast this time."
Kali studied what was left of the original structure.
This building should have been condemned for shoddy construction. Everyone was trying to make a buck and no one wanted to put out the money to get the job done right. With the tough economic times, families were screaming to get in, glad to have shelter of any kind. Babies and children, parents and grandparents, all piled in together to save money.
Now glass shards twinkled in the sunlight, a faint attempt by Mother Nature to diminish the severity of the event. When in reality, they added to the danger for the rescuers. Huge tents had been set up to shield the dead until someone could identify each body.
For Kali, one of the most difficult things to cope with was the noise. Steel groaned under the weight of moving heavy concrete next to the workers screaming instructions. Loud wailing could be heard at the tents. A sudden crash sounded. Kali jumped to her feet, spinning around. As she watched, a loader lost a second chunk of cement, adding to her already frayed nerves. Rubbing her hand over the back of her neck, she shuddered and slowly resumed her place beside Lauren. Loud noises always made her jump in a disaster site, since they often meant more death and destruction.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," murmured Lauren, her eyes closed.
Kali smiled gently. In her late-forties, married with four boys all gone from the nest now, Lauren was as sturdy and as dependable as anyone Kali had ever met. Every crisis they'd worked, Lauren always said the same thing.
"I mean it this time." She laughed lightly and kept her eyes closed.
"Then quit. If your heart isn't here, maybe you need to be doing something else."
"Oh my heart's here, that's not the problem." Looking older than she ever had before, Lauren lifted her water bottle for a long drink.
Kali glanced at her in concern. "Sore and tired?"
"No, I can handle that. At least I always have." Lauren shifted to a sitting position. "Not sure what it is. It's almost as if my soul says enough."
Kali's lips twitched. "Interesting way to put it."
"I know. I'm searching for an alternative description because it sounds nebulous, but that one feels right." Lauren sent her a sidelong glance. "How are you doing these days?"
The letter business flashed into her mind. Immediately, Kali squashed that thought. Lauren couldn't possibly know anything about it. She was asking about Kali’s recovery from Mexico.
"Better. It's taking time. However, I am getting there." And she realized with surprise that today those words rang true. They were not just a pat answer to stop others from asking too many personal questions. She really was on the road to recovery. She shifted back, relaxing yet a little more. Progress.
"Great." Lauren reached over and patted her knee. "You're a good person, Kali. Don't ever forget that."
A shout of excitement from the site disrupted the quiet lull. The noise was unmistakable. Rescuers had found something. Kali's energy surged and it was all she could do to stay put, not wanting to add one more person to clog up the area. Coordination on these incidents was a nightmare - as were onlookers. Desperate family members crowded for that first glimpse, and gruesome curiosity drew others close enough to see the dead. Finding survivors was a victory for all of them.
The noise continued to build into cheers and clapping.
Lauren stood, hope breaking through the fatigue on her face. "They must have found someone."
"That would be excellent. I'm tempted to go and see, only there's such a crowd now."
"Look, there are Brad and Todd."
Todd loped toward them, a huge grin on his face. His seven-foot frame gave him a distinct advantage over the crowd. Nearly a foot shorter, Brad powered along beside him. Vibrant energy beamed off them both.
"Hey, they found four people. All from the same family. Two kids, a baby and mom."
"Wow, that's fantastic." Kali hopped to her feet, giving them both a big hug. "How are they physically?"
"Cuts, bruises and possibly a broken bone or two." Brad watched the crew bringing the last of the children out. "They nearly didn't make it." His smile dimmed. "Someone upstairs had to have been looking out for them."
Kali caught the shifting expression and understood. Rescues missions were difficult for everyone.
"Even better," Todd said, "The kids said they heard people next door, too. So they're going to try and open up that pocket next."
Brad interjected, "That part of the building slid sideways, missing the weight of the rest collapsing on top of it. There's real hope of more survivors."
The volunteers returned to work with renewed enthusiasm. They worked long past the fall of darkness and even further past the point of exhaustion. They slept in relays. Industrial spotlights flung their weird yellow glow, magnifying shadows around every corner. By dawn, exhausted determination ruled as they forced one foot in front of the other.
Soon rescue would turn to recovery.
The building had sprawled and shifted like a sliding deck of cards, with the center of the building taking the worst damage. The rescuers were focusing on the outer areas, where the odds of finding survivors were the greatest.
With no new survivors found since the two neighbors to the family of four, most of the teams knew in their hearts that they were in recovery stage. Though there was always hope, there was talk of some of the teams heading home soon. Several of the survivors they'd helped earlier had slept out here with the rescuers, waiting, hoping that family members and friends would be found. Many were silent, frozen in place with shock and despair as the workers toiled on.
Kali tried to give them hope. She'd seen miracles happen. She never let herself forget that.
She returned to the rescue center. The local coffee shop had delivered huge urns of coffee and someone had dropped off cases of donuts, muffins and cookies. A sugar rush to boost the caffeine. Great. Still, having moved beyond tired, she was happy to have sustenance. She'd gone from adrenaline junkie to numb endurance.
Just like Shiloh and everyone else here.
Standing beside Todd, Brad held a hot cup of coffee toward her.
Accepting it, she studied his weary face. Brad rarely missed helping out when he could. He always seemed to be one step ahead of her, anticipating her needs, her wants. She loved that about him. That he was a compassionate, sexy male with an endearing crooked grin didn't hurt either. She was just damn glad attraction hadn't gummed up their relationship. They were good friends, best friends.
He needed to take a break. The stress and exhaustion had to be getting to him. She frowned, knowing he'd race for the closest bottle when this was over.
Brad poured himself a cup of coffee before choosing a blueberry muffin. "They haven't gone into recovery mode yet, but it probably won't be long."
Todd stared across the huge area of destruction. "There's talk of some of us heading home, leaving the recovery teams to carry on. More equipment is coming to move the rubble. Should be here within the next hour or so."
Brad grimaced. Professional crews could handle much of the clean up along with local search and rescue crews. Almost thirty-five bodies had been recovered. Kali had no idea how many survivors were still buried. Due to the circumstances, they might never know. The building would have to be scraped up and moved off while the authorities did their best to determine a list of those who had and hadn't survived.
As she stood quietly enjoying her coffee, a twinge of energy bounced up her spine and latched onto the base of her brain.
Where it tugged - hard.
Kali casually looked around. Lauren spoke quietly with Brad. Todd had moved to the first aid area and appeared to be in a heavy discussion with the medics. She glanced in the other direction. The s
treets were full of crews and equipment, the noise deafening. Shiloh was in her crate in a tent behind Kali, sleeping. She'd worked hard these last days. Kali didn't want to disturb her unnecessarily.
Excusing herself, Kali walked away from the disaster site. The apartment had been the last building on the block. A large wooded area lay behind and to the left. A thick wall of trees started fifteen feet from the pavement, making it hard to see any deeper.
The tug happened again.
She frowned.
The tug turned into a yank.
Kali strode forward. Dark waves curled off in the distance. Waves most other people had no idea existed.
She passed a couple standing wrapped in each other's arms. She walked by unnoticed. At the forest's edge, she stopped for a moment, checked her direction, and walked forward a few more steps. The waves had slimmed, twisting and curling in anger, the remnants of a violent act left behind. She frowned. Hands on her hips, she pivoted in a slow circle, an ear cocked for the whispers. Ah. There.
She walked to the right about twenty feet and stopped again, searching for a physical sign, something to point to other people.
A small ravine taken over by trees and brush dropped in front of her. She surveyed it first, then discovering where the ground had recently been disturbed, she walked closer.
And froze. The waves of energy became more defined, separating into wide, twisting black ribbons. All centering on one spot.
Shit.
Another one.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kali closed her eyes as different visions poured through her mind, mixing, and churning into a bizarre picture of someone's life. Someone laughed, she saw a grim smile, then the image flashed to someone else crying with pain. Bizarre colors swept through her mind. She struggled to orient herself. Sacramento. Apartment collapse. Murder.
Her nostrils flared, already smelling what Mother Nature hid. Decomposition. It took minutes of focused deep breathing before her senses returned to normal.
She wandered toward the center, her thoughts consumed with the next problem...disclosing it without anyone knowing about her talents or putting herself forward as a suspect. This required Shiloh. And maybe a witness or two.
The coffee station had emptied of people. Kali poured herself another cup of java, even though her caffeine intake had her floating already. Then she went to check on Shiloh.
As she came into view, the dog whined, her paw lifting to the wire front gate, her chocolate eyes beseeching. Perfect, Shiloh needed a walk. Time to find a witness. Kali's gaze darted in one direction then the next. Time was of the essence. There. The two women enjoying donuts at the edge of the center had stopped to talk to Shiloh this morning. Now if they cooperated, she could get this thing done.
Unlocking the cage, she hugged Shiloh, laughing in-between her face wash. "Let's go girl. Walk time."
Shiloh woofed and danced at her side, wagging her long plume of a tail. Kali snapped on her lead. Shiloh sobered. "Yeah, you know already don't you, Sweetheart?" The two headed over where the ladies were talking quietly. The older lady, dressed all in denim, went to pet Shiloh, then stopped and looked up at Kali in question first.
"Sure, you can pet her. She's not on the job now."
"She's beautiful."
Shiloh wagged her tail, her nose in the air, head tilted to one side. A perfect lady accepting her accolades.
The other woman, sporting long pigtail braids, asked, "How old is she?"
"She's seven." Kali gave the two women a friendly response. "Do you two live close by?"
They both nodded. The older lady answered. "We live a couple of blocks over. We wanted to help in some way."
Kali understood. "I'm sure everyone appreciates what you're doing."
The younger woman smiled warmly. "I'm Doris by the way. It's been good to be able to do something. This is so horrible for the families."
"Do you want to stroll over this way a little so Shiloh can relieve herself?" Kali walked a couple of steps, still speaking with them. "In cases like this, it's the survivors I feel bad for."
The two ladies fell into step beside her, tired but happy to carry on the conversation.
"Those poor people." The older woman spoke angrily. "The apartment was supposed to be torn down in the spring, only the landlord managed to keep the matter tied up in the courts."
"The guy's just plain mean," said Doris. "We all knew people had moved into the building, but since most had lost their homes and jobs, we didn't want to make an issue of it. I'm one of the lucky ones. My husband is a policeman, so he's employed, but we have so many friends in trouble. Marian here," she patted her friend on the shoulder, "her husband was laid off at the beginning of this recession. He found a new job about a month ago, right?"
Marian glanced over at her friend, her face grim as she nodded once.
The conversation kept the two women busy and walking in the direction Kali needed to go. So far so good.
As they moved closer, Shiloh's ears perked up. They were at the edge now, not far from the ravine and its grisly prize. Bending, she released Shiloh's lead and checked her working harness over again, tightening the buckle. Shiloh understood. Using hand signals she commanded Shiloh to go search.
The dog bounded into the brush. She jumped onto a fallen log before disappearing into the underbrush on the other side. Dew drops fell, splattering widely from the disruption. Birds scattered. A cacophony of beating wingss and bird cries rose to the treetops.
As the other two women continued to talk, Kali kept an ear tuned to the conversation and both eyes on the dog. Shiloh lifted her nose and went into action. It didn't take her a minute before she stopped at the exact spot in the ravine and barked several times. Then she lay down, her nose buried beneath her paws.
Both women stopped, twisting to stare into the woods.
Leaving the women, Kali hurried toward to Shiloh, stepping carefully over the underbrush and fallen wood. "I'm coming Shiloh. Hang on."
Patting the dog on the back, she whispered, "Good girl, Shiloh." Taking a treat from the pouch at her waist, she held it out. Shiloh whined, bolted the food down, then replaced her paws over her nose. She whined again. Kali kicked herself for forgetting Shiloh's teddy bear. Shiloh liked her teddy bear anytime. She needed it after finding cadavers.
Kali studied the area. Whoever had done this had taken advantage of the natural hollow of the ravine and heavy brush, basically tumbling the bank over the body. It was a lot of dirt and had to amount to many hundreds of pounds. If that person had been alive initially, they wouldn't have been for long.
"What's wrong?" Doris called. The women were curious, yet unconcerned, not understanding a working dog's signals. Not that other rescue workers would, either. Due to her special skills, Kali had been forced to create unique signals for Shiloh that could adjust to the different situations.
She glanced over at the women. "Shiloh says she's found something."
"Oh." They both ran closer.
Kali yelled, "No." She held her hands up. "Stop. Don't come any closer. We need to call the police. Do either of you have a cell phone?"
Both women immediately held up phones, shock on their faces. One phoned the rescue center and the other phoned her husband - the policeman.
***
Another successful mission and another successful experiment. Kali had failed beautifully.
Now Texan - and damn, he liked that moniker - had proof she was using unnatural skills. She had to have been to find the body this far away from the site. That had been his mistake with the Bralorne victim - he'd buried him on site where her finding the victim could have been accidental. And he couldn't have that. He'd needed a definitive answer. Now he had one. There could be no mistake here. Satisfaction permeated his soul. He'd caught her...and now she would pay.
Pleasure rippled through him. Safely tucked in the middle of the crowd, he watched as Kali sat and waited, unable to leave. The crime scene surged with waves of people. He ca
refully hid his smirk. Once again, she didn't appreciate the effort he'd put out for her. That was okay, this time she wasn't meant to. She would though. Eventually. They had time. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere.
He studied Kali's face. Fatigue had aged her. Covered in dust, she sat hunched over, weary patience holding her upright. No longer a perfect princess.
Her night wasn't over yet either. The police were still going to want to talk to her. Again and again and again. He chortled.
Damn, he liked pissing her life down the drain.