by John Grit
“No.” Deni saw someone exiting the helicopter as she spoke. “I was out of it when we met before, but Nate and Brian have talked about you so much I feel I know you.” She started to ask about Caroline but stopped short. The expression on her face changed, and she looked past Mel at a woman in civilian clothes, who seemed to have a stiff leg. “Excuse me,” she said. “I see the bravest woman I’ve ever known standing over there, and I want to go talk to her.” She picked Samantha up. “Close your eyes, my little friend. We’re going for a helicopter ride.”
Chapter 14
Chesty appeared at the clinic room door. Nate and Brian stopped talking about whether to go back to Mel’s bunker or stay at Mrs. MacKay’s farm after Brian recovered and waited for him to speak. The look on his face told him he had good news of some kind.
“A soldier just informed me that the Guard is bringing in your friend Sergeant Heath.” Chesty enjoyed the two’s reaction. “Also, they have another friend of yours with them.”
Brian blurted, “Caroline!”
Chesty nodded. “And I’m told there’s a third friend of yours.”
“Mel!” Brian tried to sit up.
“Calm down. The doctors haven’t said you can get out of bed yet,” Nate warned.
Still enjoying Nate and Brian’s reaction, Chesty added, “They’ll be here anytime, so I’ll leave now and try to be there to greet them when they land.”
“Will you take them here so we can see them?” Brian asked.
“That’s the plan,” Chesty said, with a smile. “I better get moving, though.” He rushed out of the room.
Only ten seconds later, Doctor Brant walked in. She stopped short, noticing the excitement on their faces. “Is something wrong? Chesty just bolted out of the place like there was a house fire somewhere, and you two look like you have something on your mind.”
“We were just told several friends will be arriving soon,” Nate said.
“So it’s good news, then.” She relaxed and checked Brian’s chart. “We’ll probably let you out of bed in a few days, but you’ll have to stay in hospital a while longer. The probability of another episode or two like you had is high until you have healed.”
“Will it always be like this?” Brian asked.
She shook her head. “Oh no. Once you’ve healed, the seizures should stop. As fast as you’re recovering, in a few weeks you’ll be back to your usual self. Your arm will take a little longer to heal.”
“A few weeks?” Brian slumped back in his pillow. “Our friends will probably have to leave before then.”
“Hey, be grateful you’re going to be okay,” Doctor Brant chided. “If you’d been hurt only a few days sooner, there would’ve been little I could have done for you. This clinic is operating only because of the Army.”
“I guess you’re right,” Brian said, “but I still don’t want to lie around here for weeks.”
~~~
Chesty pulled up to the entrance of the Army’s forward operations base just as the helicopter landed. The guards had been told to expect him and waved him on through after a quick ID check. He still had his badge and ID from his days as Town Marshal. Caroline approached close enough for him to see her scars, and he struggled to hide his shock. Nate had told him only that she had been put through hell by several sadists, and he wasn’t prepared for what he saw.
Deni held Samantha’s hand, as she walked up. She noticed Chesty’s reaction. “Caroline, this is Chesty Johnson, the Town Marshal.” She motioned to Mel. “This is Mel, another old friend of theirs – and mine.”
Chesty smiled. “Nate and Brian say they cannot wait to see you three.” He turned to the truck, but stopped short. “Uh, Brian’s still in the clinic recovering from an operation, but he’s doing fine. He’s got a lot of his father in him.”
“I’m afraid I can’t go,” Deni said. “I must report to my CO.” A HUMVEE drove up as she spoke. When Donovan got out, Deni stood in a brace and saluted.
Donovan returned the salute. “At ease, Sergeant. I just dropped by to tell you no charges will be filed. General Myers has agreed that you did the right thing, considering that Hewitt ordered the men to hang me, as well as the execution of a civilian for the so-called crime of possessing a firearm.”
Deni took several seconds to consider what she’d just been told. “I see you’re okay, but what about the civilian?”
Donovan seemed to find her reaction amusing. “Hewitt beat the hell out of him, but he’s alive and should recover.”
“There was another man,” Deni said. “He was with the man Col. Hewitt beat up.” Her face hardened. “He was murdered and left beside the road.”
Donovan didn’t seem surprised. “File a report and we’ll add that to the charges against him. I doubt he’s going to be punished, though. He’s most likely heading for a padded cell. The stress of losing his entire family and watching the world fall apart was too much for him.” His eyes lit up. “Sometimes I wish I could go crazy, just for an hour or two. I tried getting drunk on moonshine about eight months ago, but when I woke up I realized it had just given me a hangover and the world was still snafu.”
Deni almost laughed.
Mel broke into the conversation. “Sir, I have orders from Col. Greene to stay here awhile and report on how civilians in the area are doing.” He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of a breast pocket. “Uh, you can read my orders if you want.” He quickly added, “I’m not here to check on Army operations, or anything like that. My orders are to evaluate the most pressing needs of the people here, so when the Guard takes over after the Army leaves, we can hit the ground running and not waste time.”
“I see,” Donovan said. “Does the Guard often send a private on such missions?”
A bead of sweat ran down Mel’s face. “Well, I know the area and some of the people. I lived south of here for years, not far from Nate Williams’ farm.”
“Even so,” Donovan said, “Col. Greene must think a lot of your abilities. I expect there’s a promotion in your future.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Mel ignored the helicopter taking off, heading back to his National Guard unit. He spoke over the noise. “I asked for the assignment, and Col. Greene gave it to me because of my knowledge of the area.”
“You’re welcome to assess as much as you want, just stay out of trouble while you’re here.” Donovan turned his attention to Deni. “Sergeant Heath, I’ll give you a few hours to visit your friends and get cleaned up, but I expect you to report this afternoon. I have a job for you.”
Deni responded with a smile, “Yes, sir. Thank you. I have a little friend here I need to take care of, too.”
Donovan patted Samantha on the head and smiled. “You’re in good hands. Sergeant Heath is very protective of children.” He turned and headed for the HUMVEE.
Chesty started for the truck. “Grab your packs, and let’s get to the clinic. Nate and Brian are waiting.”
~~~
It was Caroline who was overcome with emotion. The warm welcome she received from both Nate and Brian seemed to be more than she expected. “I thought you’d forgotten about me by now,” she said. Everyone knew her as a stoic woman who never let anything get under her skin, a result of what she had been through, so everyone thought. But there she was overcome with emotion. She even managed a smile, revealing some of her new teeth, the gift of a kind dentist, who’d been told of her ordeal and how all of her teeth had been knocked out during multiple beatings.
“You helped us take on that bunch of killers,” Brian reminded her. “And I would do anything to repay that debt. My dad says you’re a good person, and I’ve never known him to be wrong about people.”
“Jeez,” Deni chided. “You guys are going to give her a big head. I’m jealous.”
Mel gave her his infamous mischievous smile. “Don’t be. I hear Brian’s got a crush on you.”
All playfulness left Brian. “Oh shut up. I’ve had enough of everyone claiming that. I kno
w I’m too young for her. I just like her. I like Caroline, too. Hell, at one time I liked you and even considered you a friend, but not so much since you started ribbing me about Deni.”
Mel put on a show of insult. “Well. If you’re going to be that way…” He made a pretense of heading for the door.
Chesty walked into the room. “Tyrone just radioed me. A five-year-old girl has disappeared. I’m heading out there now to supervise a search. Anyone want to volunteer?”
Mel spoke up first. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. I’m supposed to provide a situation report on the area, and this will be a good way to start learning what I need to know.” He grabbed his pack that was leaning against the wall behind him. “Do you have a problem with kids being kidnapped around here?”
“No,” Chesty answered. “And so far there’s no reason to believe the girl didn’t just go off with friends to play.” He cringed. “I don’t even want to think about some sicko grabbing children. We have more than enough to worry about.”
“Just asking.” Mel looked at Nate. “See you guys later.”
Nate seemed to be making a decision.
Brian waved his father away. “Go ahead and see if you can help, Dad. It’d be better if you go with them. They might need someone who can track. She may have gotten lost in woods somewhere.”
“I think I’ll stay here,” Nate said.
“Go on. I’m okay.”
Caroline spoke up. “I’ll stay with him. I would like to catch up on events. There are a lot of questions swirling around in my head.”
Nate knew she planned to ask about the deaths of their friends. He wondered if he shouldn’t stay and answer those painful questions himself, instead of putting Brian through bad memories while he was still recovering, but decided Brian was strong enough to handle it. “You coming, Deni?”
Samantha, who had been sitting quietly in a back corner of the room, looked up, her eyes catching Deni by the heart. “I would, but I have Samantha to take care of. I want a doctor to check her out. And then I have to find a place for her. After that, I must report to my CO.”
“We have kind of an orphanage going,” Chesty suggested. “They’re good people and do a great job with little resources.”
Deni started to speak, but the reaction on Samantha’s face stopped her short. “We’ll worry about that later. She can stay with me for now.”
Mel scratched the back of his neck. “Hmm. Things must be different in the Army.”
Deni flashed him a shut up look. “You guys better get going.”
“Yes, we better,” Chesty agreed “Follow me or be left behind.” He rushed out of the room without another word.
Nate and Mel left right behind him.
Deni took Samantha by the hand. “Let’s go see Dr. Brant.” She walked by Caroline. “I’ll leave you two alone to catch up on old times.”
Out in the hall, Samantha looked up at Deni. “I don’t want to see a doctor. I’m not sick.”
Deni dropped to her knees and held her. “Don’t worry. Doctor Brant is a nice lady.”
Samantha appeared to be close to tears. “I don’t care if she’s nice.”
“There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll be right there with you.”
~~~
Dr. Brant handed Samantha a lollypop after her examination. “That’s for being a good girl. Enjoy it. I’m almost out and there’ll be no more. You stay here for a second while Deni and I have a chat.”
Deni waited anxiously in the hall. “Well?”
Doctor Brant smiled. “No sign of sexual abuse. She had bruises all over her, though. The bastard beat her.”
Deni released a load from her chest. “I must have happened onto her in time.”
“Not necessarily.”
Deni’s eyes flared.
Dr. Brant put a hand up. “We don’t know everything that may have happened, but we do know what didn’t happen. She will not talk to me about the man other than to say he was mean.”
Deni leaned against the wall for support. “Is there a child psychiatrist here?”
“Not as far as I know.” She put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you have responsibilities as a soldier. Let me take care of her for a while. Come back tomorrow, if you can. Maybe by then I will have earned her trust and she’ll have opened up to me enough to talk about what happened to her. If we’re lucky, nothing but the physical abuse took place.”
“Aren’t you busy with patients?”
“I’ll be off duty in less than thirty minutes. I can take her home.” When Deni shook her head and blinked tears, she added, “You’re not abandoning her. I promise I’ll take care of Samantha until you get back. Tomorrow, I can leave her with Brian, while I work my shift.”
Deni dried her face. “I better explain to her that I’ll be back tomorrow…and pray that I can come back. At least by tomorrow night. I don’t want her to think I’m dumping her.” She left Dr. Brant in the hall to say goodbye to Samantha. She had just enough time to get cleaned up before reporting for duty.
~~~
Chesty pulled up to the home of the missing girl’s family and stopped at the curb. Tyrone had been busy organizing a search, and many people had volunteered to help. On the way, they had passed dozens of people out looking for her on foot, searching abandoned homes in the area, one by one. Others searched wooded lots and weed-choked ditches. Special attention was given to backyard pools. Long unmaintained and full of green slime, the only way to know if a child had drowned in them was to use a pole and feel for anything in the filthy water.
Chesty opened the truck door. Before getting out, he said, “I’ve got to touch base with Tyrone first. You guys might as well stay here until I learn something. Without information, we’ll just be running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” He ran to the front door of the house and disappeared inside.
Nate got out to stretch his legs.
Mel followed and stood on the littered sidewalk. “Looks like the people in this town are at least halfway organized. A lot of people came to help, anyway.”
Nate looked down the street. “Yeah, and they’re learning fast. With a little help from the government, they just might make it. There’s a lot of work to do on that farm before they harvest their first crop, though.”
“What are their chances of avoiding starvation?” Mel asked.
Nate turned to face him squarely. “They need enough supplies to carry them over until they get that farm going. And they need fuel for farm equipment and transportation. Shelters will have to be built down by the lake.” He rubbed his forehead. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“You said ‘they.’ Does that mean you’re not planning on staying to help?”
“No. I’m not staying. I’ve gotten off track lately. My main concern is Brian, and I’ve made serious mistakes, putting him in danger.”
Mel tilted his head. “You’re being too hard on yourself. And I don’t believe you’ll ever stop caring about other people. Yeah, you’re Brian’s father and he comes first, but you’re not the kind to not care about others.”
“I think Brian will be safer back at your place.” Nate saw Chesty and Tyrone coming. “This conversation is over for now.”
Mel cleared his throat and looked up at the sky. “Okay.”
Tyrone didn’t stop to talk. He just nodded at them, jumped into his patrol car, and took off.
“Does he have something to go on?” Nate asked. “I mean, there must be a reason for him to be taking off like that.”
“Get in.” Chesty slid behind the wheel of his pickup. “I think I have a job for you two.”
Mel seated next to Nate and said, “You’ll have to decipher that for me. I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”
The engine roared, as Chesty sped down the street. “Someone got another police radio working for us last night, and Tyrone gave it to a search team leader so he could radio us if his team found anything. While I was inside the house with Tyrone, we got a call f
rom that team leader. They just found one of the little girl’s shoes.”
“Great,” Mel said. “But why is that a job for us?”
Chesty had the tires smoking, as he made a sharp left turn. With fresh fuel in the tank, the engine was running better than it had in months. “I know Nate’s a good tracker, and I was hoping you would be too, with your military training and all.”
Nate spotted Tyrone’s cruiser just ahead, parked next to tall trees. “A few dozen searchers stomping around in those woods will make it impossible for me to track her. Get them out of there.”
Chesty slammed on the brakes and jerked the truck into park. “Will do.” He jumped out and hit the asphalt running. He yelled at the first three people he came to, “Have everyone line up along the road and wait for instructions. Get everyone out of the woods now.”
“Why?” a man asked. “She’s in those woods somewhere, and she can’t be far.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Chesty brushed between him and two women standing next to him. “But if she’s gone far, we’ve got a couple men here who can track her. They can’t do that if you destroy the trail by stomping around in the woods.”
“What we need is a police dog,” one of the women said.
“That would be nice,” Chesty muttered. “If you want to help, spread the word that everyone should line up along the road and wait for instructions.”
After walking a quarter mile into the woods, Nate heard Tyrone giving orders somewhere up ahead. The men moved faster.
A patch of blue under a bush caught Nate’s attention. He veered off to the left. On approaching the object, he could see that it was a little girl’s shirt. “Hold up. I found something.”
Other searchers in the area heard him and came running. In seconds, the woods echoed with the news that someone had found something.
Chesty picked the shirt up by its edge and examined it. “Mother says she was wearing a blue shirt. It’s the right size. Got to be hers.” He swallowed. “Don’t see any blood on it.”
“Not likely she would be taking her shirt off,” Mel said. “It doesn’t look good.”
Nate suddenly became impatient. “Will somebody please show me where the shoe is?” He looked around and raised his voice before speaking again. “And for god’s sake, everyone get out of the woods and go back to the road.”