The Dummy Line

by Bobby Cole

  Ollie stood in shock. The gurney with the mystery woman was being wheeled past them. She was obviously traumatized. Who the hell is she?

  Ollie’s eyes caught those of Steve Tillman, who had just watched the gurney roll by. His eyes said it all—that this horrible night was worse than anyone could have imagined. Ollie was totally confused. He needed to determine who this woman was and where she had come from. He needed to restart the Beasley investigation. He stood in the center of the automatic doors wondering what to do first.

  R.C., humming a tune, walked with purpose toward the ER when he arrived. As he passed under the awing, he started to sing out loud, “His name was Rico; he wore a diamond.” At that moment, he saw Ollie’s face and immediately stopped singing. “What’s wrong, Chief?” he asked.

  Ollie looked at R.C. and then down at the ground. “It’s not Elizabeth.”

  “What? No way!”

  “Go in there and find out who it is and what the hell’s going on. I’ll be right there. I want to talk to the Hale County boys first.”

  “Yes sir!” R.C. turned and charged inside.

  Ollie looked inside across the lobby to see Sheriff Marlow already in damage-control mode with the editor of the Sumter County Journal. Marlow was at a loss for words, Ollie could tell.

  “Sheriff?” Ollie asked, walking up to the pair.

  “Excuse me, but I need to conference with Sheriff Ollie Landrum.” Marlow was thankful to get away from the barrage of questions. This was not going as planned.

  Ollie skillfully ushered Marlow and Lewis to a supply closet inside the hospital. Before Ollie went in, his eyes met Zach Beasley’s and Steve Tillman’s. “I’ll be right back and we’ll talk.”

  “What’s going on, Ollie? You got missing girls all over this county!” Marlow demanded aggressively, in a transparent attempt to shift the focus of the situation.

  “I don’t know, Marlow, but I’m damn confused. I want to hear his story,” he said, jerking his head toward Lewis, who began babbling about having a gut feeling and driving on up to the trailer to look around. Ollie glared at him. He knew a line of crap when he heard it. This wasn’t making sense. Years of being around R.C. and Larson had fine-tuned Ollie’s BS meter. “Marlow, who tipped the newspaper?” he asked, clearly angered.

  “I had to call him about something else and mentioned why I was in the county…that’s all,” Marlow explained.

  “Look, fellas, I got a mess on my hands, and I need your help. I need some serious investigative work done. I need to know who that girl is and how she figures into this chaos, and then we have to start all over. Marlow, have your guys ready to go back out,” Ollie ordered, taking charge.

  Marlow sheepishly nodded.

  Ollie opened the door, then hustled down the hall to find R.C. and the mysterious victim. As he passed, he asked the Beasleys to wait just a minute longer, he’d be right back. It didn’t take long to find everyone. The hospital was small, and a crowd was gathered around the door to Exam Two. Ollie opened the door and saw Dr. Sarhan listening to the woman with his stethoscope. He saw the camo duct tape lying on the floor. R.C. was trying to ask questions of the medical staff but wasn’t getting any answers.

  “Let examination complete. You can ask question then,” Dr. Sarhan said in a thick Indian accent to R.C. but looking up at Ollie.

  Ollie understood and motioned to R.C. to stop. Ollie bent down and grabbed the pieces of duct tape. The woman appeared to be at least thirty years old, maybe older. She was just waking up. He didn’t recognize her.

  “Please allow few minutes, Sheriff,” Dr. Sarhan said.

  “Come on, R.C.” Ollie let out a deep breath and motioned R.C. out into the hall.

  “Did you get anything?” Ollie asked R.C.

  “Doc doesn’t think she was raped. He was pissed that she was still taped up. He about bit my head off. What’s up with that…what was that deputy thinking?”

  “Youth,” Ollie replied. “Anything else?”

  “No sir.”

  “You don’t know her, do you?” Ollie asked, rubbing his aching head while holding his hat.

  “Never seen her before—and I think I would remember,” R.C. replied, alluding to her good looks. “Want a Tums?” R.C. flipped one into his mouth then held out the roll out.

  “Yeah.”

  “Whaddya need me to do?” R.C. asked as he handed the roll to Ollie.

  Ollie saw the Beasleys charging up the hall straight to him. He knew he had stalled as long as he could.

  “Call Miz Martha and bring her up to speed; then meet me right outside,” Ollie instructed. “Have her call and wake up everybody available, including the county game warden. We’re gonna need everybody.”

  “Ten-four,” R.C. replied, reaching for his cell phone as he walked hurriedly toward the exit.

  “Ollie, what the hell’s going on…what are you doin’ to find Elizabeth?” Zach launched into him.

  “We are trying to determine where to concentrate our efforts right now. All this is very confusing. Everybody assumed that was Elizabeth.” Ollie broke eye contact and looked at the floor. “Please give me a few minutes to determine who this woman is and how she fits into all this.”

  “Sheriff, you need some help. You should call in the FBI or something. This is serious. This is my daughter we’re talking about,” Zach Beasley said sternly.

  “Yes sir. I have…we are…just hang on for a minute,” Ollie stuttered as he searched for the right words.

  Zach didn’t wait for Ollie to finish. He walked off to look for Sheriff Marlow.

  Ollie raised his head to see R.C. hanging up his phone as he walked back into the hospital. He motioned to him; then the two of them went over to Steve Tillman.

  “How’s Tanner, sir?” Ollie asked, holding his hat in his hands.

  “No change, but he is stable…I sure was shocked that wasn’t Elizabeth, Sheriff.”

  “Yes sir. Me, too. Are you still willing to ride out to your property?”

  “I’ll do anything to help out, Ollie,” and he meant it.

  “R.C., Mr. Tillman owns some land on the Dummy Line. That may be where the kids were. Take Mr. Tillman and y’all go look around. Be careful. Call me if you see anything.”

  “Sure thing…let’s go, Mr. Tillman.”

  “I have to tell my wife. I’ll be right with you,” Tillman said, walking away.

  Ollie peered back in Exam Two. They were still working on the mystery woman. Who the hell is she? Then he watched R.C. walk out through the automatic doors and the Beasleys round the corner, about to explode. “Where’s Sheriff Marlow?”

  Ollie only had to take a step toward the exit to see the television truck and the camera focused on Sheriff Marlow. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath and pointed toward the exit. Ollie turned back toward Exam Two as Dr. Sarhan waved him in.

  “I think she will be fine…physically, but mentally, she has been through much trauma.”

  “Has she been raped?” he asked softly.

  “No, she has not. I see no signs of physical abuse.” Dr. Sarhan pulled off his exam gloves and threw them into the trash.

  “You may talk to her,” he said as he walked out of the room.

  Ollie was alone with the mysterious woman. Their eyes met. He pulled out his notepad, sat down on the stool next to her, and smiled kindly. “Ma’am, I’m Sheriff Ollie Landrum. I need to know who you are and what happened?”

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “You’re at the hospital in Livingston.”

  “Livingston? Alabama?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he replied, noting her confusion. “Why don’t you tell me who you are?”

  “My name’s Lindsay Littlepage. I live in West Point, Mississippi…I need to call my husband,” she explained slowly.

  West Point! he thought. He was certain that wasn’t a coincidence. He thought about Mick and his friend.

  “How did you get here? What happened?”

  “M
y husband’s out of town on business, and my kids were at a spend-the-night party, so I was home alone and this…this…this…” She was beginning to get emotional.

  Ollie needed information. He would have to go slow. “It’s all right, ma’am. Take your time, but you need to know that there may be more lives in danger. Do you understand?” he asked gently.

  She nodded and continued. “This guy broke into our house and threatened me. He taped me up and put me in the back of his van, or maybe it was an SUV. He said my husband killed someone…and that…that makes no sense.”

  Ollie listened carefully and took notes.

  “We drove for hours, and then he put me in a dark…a dark room.” She was crying again. “I need to call my husband, please.”

  “Yes ma’am, you will. I promise. I just need to know the rest first.”

  She wiped her eyes, and a nurse walked in to check on her. Ollie insisted she continue.

  “Well, he left me and came back…and he said he was going to get his buddies…then he came back and he taped my eyes and told me to walk straight away and I would live. He insisted I walk straight away, but I couldn’t see anything but a little bit of my feet. It was horrible.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Ollie responded.

  She started crying again, “That’s when the policeman found me. Please thank him for me.”

  “Do you know…” Ollie flipped back a few pages to make sure he had the right name. “Do you know Jake Crosby?”

  Her eyes widened, and she said, “He’s my next-door neighbor…he and my husband are good friends…they hunt together.”

  Ollie let out a deep breath. Damn it. How could all this be connected? He needed to call Mick.

  “Mrs. Littlepage, why don’t you rest now. I’ll have a deputy come by to help you call your husband, OK? You said he was away on business. Where is he?” he asked, preparing to write down her answer.

  “Biloxi. At a convention. He sells pharmaceuticals.”

  “Thank you, ma’am…I know you’ve been through a heck of an ordeal tonight. We’ll help get in touch with your husband, I promise.”

  Ollie stood. He patted her hand gently to say everything is going to be all right and walked out as a nurse came in holding a small clear plastic cup containing a little peach-colored pill.

  Reese felt something crawling on the back of his neck and reached for it. He found a small lump and pinched it. Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he lit his cigarette lighter with the other hand to examine it.

  “Damn tick,” he said with disgust, then squished it between his fingers.

  Wiping his hand on his blue jeans, he paused from his stalk to think. That phone call’s buggin’ me. Tiny lives with those two guys—that addict who’s constantly gettin’ busted and the drunk who fights everybody. There’s always trouble with the cops at their house. It ain’t no wonder that the sheriff picked up his phone. They probably raided the house and found it.

  “Those idiots!” Reese said a little louder than a mumble as he lit a cigarette.

  Reese turned on his flashlight as he walked out onto the old logging road. He checked his watch, looked up at the clear night sky, and guessed that he had about two hours before daylight. He scanned back and forth searching for footprints. He’s gotta be on this side of the big creek. It’s way too much water to cross. If I don’t get you tonight, you sumbitch, I know who you are and where you live. I’ll get you sooner or later.

  Reese could make out a shooting house on the ridge at the edge of a clear-cut. That would give him a vantage point with increased visibility. He ran to it and started to climb the ladder. The whole house shook as he climbed. When he reached the top, he felt for the door latch and flipped it up. Swinging the door open, Reese climbed in and quickly scanned the woods for any lights and listened for any sounds. The predator was poised to strike.

  Reese couldn’t quit thinking about the sheriff’s phone call. He knows somethin’. He couldn’t believe the sheriff had called him…or actually that the sheriff had called Johnny Lee.

  After a few minutes of not seeing or hearing anything, Reese climbed down. He hit another logging road farther south and started sweeping the flashlight back and forth. Twenty yards down the road, Reese saw fresh footprints in the mud.

  “Hot damn!” Reese exclaimed aloud.

  He ran up to look closely. There were two distinct sets, a heavy boot track and a smaller track from tennis shoes. Reese grinned as he stalked his victims.

  Ollie stormed down the center hall of the ER. The automatic exit doors opened as he approached, and he charged through. Noticing the bright lights in the parking lot, he strained to see what was happening. Marlow’s silhouette in front of the cameras was obvious. He was being interviewed by the CBS affiliate from Tuscaloosa.

  “Shit!” Ollie said aloud.

  “Sheriff Marlow, I need you!” Ollie hollered across the parking lot.

  Marlow looked over and nodded. He excitedly explained to the television crew that there must be a break in the case and promised to give them all the details as soon as he had them. He quickly unclipped his wireless microphone and handed it back to the news reporter.

  Ollie stood impatiently waiting. He managed to keep his cool. When Marlow walked up, Ollie again escorted him straight to the supply closet. He was about to close the door when he caught Zach Beasley’s eye. He held up one finger and mouthed, “Give me one minute.” Zach nodded as if he were in a daze and were about to melt down.

  Ollie quickly closed the door and glared at Marlow.

  “Marlow, what in the hell? Please, man, I need some help. I need a helicopter to search the woods at daylight. I’m gonna need every available officer to help search and secure a huge area. I’m going to set up a command post at my office and coordinate from there. We don’t have time for the TV bullshit!” Ollie barked.

  “Calm down. Media management is part of the job. I’m trying to help you here, buddy, OK? I’ll call the governor and get his helicopter. You can have all my men. What’s the latest? Who’s that woman?” Marlow asked calmly.

  Ollie relaxed a bit; he needed to believe Marlow. He stared at him for a long moment then said, “Her name’s Lindsay Littlepage. She’s from West Point, Mississippi. Get a load of this…remember the guy I told you about that called on his cell phone and started all this confusion? She lives next door to him. That means he’s out there somewhere, too, I can feel it.” Ollie let the information sink in and added, “Let’s go to my office and get organized, but please, leave the media here.”

  “I’ll do what I can. They smell a story,” Marlow replied.

  As they stepped out of the closet, Ollie said, “Well, keep ‘em away from me. I have way too much to do.” Ollie knew he couldn’t manage everything, and he wasn’t going to let the cameras distract him.

  Sheriff Marlow headed out to tell the media that command central was going to be set up at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Ollie turned to address the Beasleys. He swallowed hard as he prepared an explanation of a situation that he didn’t understand fully.

  “I am so sorry for all this confusion. Let me tell you what we are doing. We are preparing to have a massive search at daylight, a helicopter, an army of men, road by road, house to house. I have my best deputy, R.C. Smithson, and Mr. Tillman headed to check out the Tillmans’ property. All of our deputies and Hale County’s are en route, and I even have the game warden coming in to help search. I’m going to my office to set up a command post there for coordinating everything.” Ollie focused on making direct eye contact throughout the entire conversation.

  “Ollie, what do you think happened?” Zach asked.

  “I really don’t know, and I hate to speculate. But I can assure you of this, we have every asset at our disposal ready to be utilized.”

  “I…I…don’t know what to think,” Zach stammered. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Zach, y’all are welcome at my office. If you want to stay here, I can arrange a priva
te room for you. I need to go. It’s up to y’all.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Zach instantly replied, then looked at his wife.

  “I’m gonna stay here and pray Tanner wakes up and can talk,” Olivia answered. She sniffled and shook her head, trying to regain her composure.

  “You have a cell phone?” Ollie asked.

  Olivia nodded and held it up to show him. “I’m hoping she’ll call.”

  Ollie decided against telling Mrs. Beasley that he had Elizabeth’s cell phone. She needed hope.

  “Good. We’ll keep you up to date. Call us if Tanner wakes up. I need all my deputies right now.”

  Olivia grabbed Ollie’s arm and looked him straight in the eyes. “Ollie, please find her…she’s my life.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “Yes ma’am. We will.” This was his chance to really help someone—to make a difference. This was why he had gone into public office. He walked with a purpose through the automatic doors and never slowed when the television camera lights came up.

  “No comment right now,” he responded when asked what was going on.

  “Sheriff, can you confirm that you have a missing teenager and that foul play is suspected?” the blond reporter asked.

  “No comment,” Ollie responded as he climbed into his Expedition and cranked up.

  “One to Base,” he radioed as he backed out of the ER driveway.

  “Go ahead, Sheriff.”

  “I’m headed in to get organized. No TV crews inside. Got it?”

  “Yes sir. Sheriff Marlow just arrived and is in your office. I think he is talkin’ to the governor.”

  “I hope so. Zach Beasley’s right behind me. If any media show up, keep them away from that poor man.”

  Ollie switched on his blue lights and punched the gas.

  “You can relax, Mr. Tillman. I’m trained to handle a vehicle at high speeds,” R.C. said, trying to be comforting. R.C. drove much faster than Tillman was accustomed to, but he hadn’t said a word. He’d checked his seat belt several times, and R.C. had seen him once pressing the floorboard as if trying to push a nonexistent brake pedal.