by Bo Drury
“We're not sure yet. Could be the Whitman girl. So far all we know is it's a car.”
“How did you spot it?”
“We went up this morning. Doris was the one spotted it. Here comes the winch truck now.”
Following it was another car. Several of the ranch hands had converged on the spot. Quite a crowd was gathering. The driver of the truck walked up the incline, two men following.
“That's Pete Smith from the newspaper. Hello, Pete.” Jeb reached out and shook hands. Turning to Harry, he introduced him. “Harry Mann, private investigator from San Angelo.” Turning to Doris, he said, “This is Miss—”
He was interrupted as one of the scuba divers surfaced and called out, “Nobody in there,” and dove back out of sight.
“Thank God.” Jeb's sigh of relief could be heard all around the pond.
“We will have to get the make and tags to see if it is her car.”
Pete was all ears. “Who are we talking about, Josh?”
Harry could tell Josh hated this. The paper had no idea that anyone was suspected as missing in the first place, or that there might be a connection between the other incidents and accidents that had happened in the last few weeks. It wouldn't do for a story to come out and jeopardize the investigation.
Harry stepped up. “I have been looking into the disappearance of a young woman's car. When we flew over the ranch this morning, we spotted an automobile under water. I'm fairly certain it won't be hers but it has to belong to someone. No telling how long it has been there. I am glad they didn't find a body in it.” He laughed as if that was completely out of the question and walked nonchalantly away.
The divers came up and were talking to the winch truck driver. Orlando and Jeb were consulting with them. The divers took the cables and pulled them into the water. Jeb walked over to Harry, who turned and motioned for Josh.
“They're about to hook on and pull it up. Sounds like it is her car, an ‘05 red Mazda Miata.” Jeb shook his head. “I can't believe it,” he mumbled, walking away.
The newspaper editor saw the dejected figure walking away and followed him.
“Uh-oh. Pete is looking for a story...” Doris, seeing the situation, intercepted the nosy editor of the paper and started a conversation. It was easy to see the editor wanted to talk to Jeb but couldn't shake Doris. What a gal, Harry thought admiringly.
The divers came up, removed their equipment and stood back, waiting for the winch to pull up the red car. The driver locked his brakes and the chore began. When the little Miata reached the surface, water poured out through open windows. The winch pulled it across the embankment before releasing the tension on the cable.
No one said a word as they all examined it with morbid fascination.
What happened to Melody? Was she still at the bottom of the pool? Had she been fish bait for the large catfish that wallowed on the bottom?
Josh checked the car over, then asked the divers to go back and look around on the bottom. The divers were concerned that the mud stirred up when the car was moved would hide any sign of the girl. They argued they should let the sediment settle before they searched further. Deciding to wait a few hours before going back in, they left their equipment and went into town to have lunch.
Melody's purse had been found in the front seat of the car.
Josh came to stand alongside Harry and Doris as the little automobile was winched onto a truck to be taken to town and placed in impound.
“We'll have forensics go over it to see if we can find anything. It's not likely we will after being in the water this long, but we will see.” Josh got in his car and followed the wrecker.
Orlando, with one of the deputies, stayed with the divers’ equipment, safeguarding it from curious onlookers who had wandered in to see what was happening. Harry, Doris and Jeb got into the Mustang and went to the ranch house to await their return.
Hub was there in the garden. Doris went out to admire the flowers and sat down. Harry watched as she visited with him, wondering what they were talking about. Jeb mixed a drink and offered Harry one. He didn't refuse.
Coming back in, Doris asked where the kitchen was after noticing the mixed drinks. “I'm going to make us something to eat.”
They were ready to go when the trucks came back through the yard, anxious to see if there was anything to be found, yet praying neither Scott nor Melody would be pulled from a watery grave.
The divers came up empty-handed. It was a relief. Now they would double their efforts in searching the surrounding grounds, in hopes of finding the two young people alive.
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Chapter 12
“There has to be an entry to the cavern somewhere near the fishing hole. Whoever placed me in there couldn't have carried me very far. I feel sure I walked for miles to come out where I did.”
“But you could have been walking in circles too. Those caverns are a maze underground,” Jeb replied.
“True, but you have to admit that Crystal Lake is several miles from the fishing tank, and I was not far past it when I was hit. We need to concentrate on that area if we have to walk every inch of it.”
“All the hands can help but we need more. Maybe Josh can get some help for us,” Jeb added.
“Like an old-fashioned posse,” Doris said, a slight smile on her face.
“Exactly.” Jeb's smile was forced.
It had been a trying day. The long shadows across the yard soon disappeared as the sun dropped behind the western mountain. Streaks of red and gold spread across the sky then quickly changed to purple as the sun set and darkness stole across the landscape.
The three of them sat around the pool and watched the day fade into night. Then Harry and Doris made their way to the car and drove back to the motel. Harry told Doris goodnight as they separated and went to their own rooms; neither felt like talking.
Harry was exhausted. He was certain Melody was dead and afraid that Scott had met his end too. He felt sick and sad about the whole thing. Would this have happened if he had not come into their lives?
He showered and lay across the bed, mulling it over in his head. He needed someone to tell him none of it was his fault. He started for the door that connected the two rooms then stopped. She was probably asleep. He listened. Hearing no sound, he went back to his bed and fell into a fitful sleep.
He didn't hear the soft tapping on the door when Doris rapped gently, hoping to share with him her theory, and once more urge him to study the graph she had made that might help him see more clearly who might be the guilty party.
Had he been awake chances were he could have put some of his troubled thoughts to rest. It was all laid out for him to see. The clues that escaped him were in plain sight; he was too close to see them.
Next morning, after a quick breakfast, they headed for the ranch. Neither of them spoke of the night before.
Orlando had the ranch hands and neighboring ranchers ready to start the search when they arrived. Jeb was noticeably nervous, pacing the porch and waiting for them to arrive.
Dressed in high boots, jeans and a wide-brimmed hat, he was hard to tell from the vaqueros who worked the cattle. He was a striking figure, Harry had to admit, and appeared every inch the worried uncle.
Separating and breaking up into small groups, they drove to the fishing hole and began to comb the area heading north toward Crystal Lake. Doris, in boots and jeans, and a man called Pete began their search with a ten foot span between them. An hour into the search, they stopped to rest.
Examining the short stubby brush and rocky ground for any openings was tedious and slow. Suggesting that Doris sit in the shade and rest, Harry struck out. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw her tagging along behind him, working her way to the left. Pete had wandered to the right, scouring the rocky soil.
Harry worried about moving the brush, knowing on sunny days the rattlesnakes might be out sunning. He had been warned about the coral snakes by one of t
he ranchers. They gave no warning before they inflicted their poisonous bite.
Looking back to his left, he looked for Doris. Not seeing her, he turned slowly, scanning the trees and low growth. She was nowhere to be seen. He stopped and waited for her to appear. After a few seconds he felt a slow panic grip him. Backtracking in her direction, he called her name. He glanced toward Pete who was far ahead of them.
He didn't know how far she had come. Where was she? Frantic, he called her again. No answer. I don't believe this. He felt desperate. How can she just vanish like this?
He needed help. He looked around to spot someone, anyone; there was no one in sight. He walked back and forth, crisscrossing the ground, hunting for any sign of her, footprints, anything. There was nothing.
God, where did she go?
The ground crumbled beneath his feet.
He grabbed for a scrub oak branch, catching his fall. Rock and gravel clattered into the darkness below. Damn, that was close.
Pulling himself to safe ground, he peered into the dark hole. He could make out a still form below—Doris, lying lifelessly below him.
He had to get to her. He looked around for help. Seeing no one in shouting distance, he searched for a way to get down to her.
He calculated it to be about fifteen feet down. That was quite a fall.
Was she badly hurt? There could be snakes in there. He couldn't leave her.
Taking off his cap, he hung it on the brush alongside the opening for someone to see if he couldn't get back out. Taking off his belt, he looped it around the trunk. Holding on with both hands, he slid into the hole, swinging to one side as he dropped, just missing the unconscious Doris. Feeling for a pulse, he was relieved to find one.
Lifting her head, he called her name. “Doris...Doris, can you hear me?” Patting her cheek and rubbing her arm, he fought the impulse to yank her up, shaking her awake. He pulled her into his arms, cradling her. Looking into her face, he wondered how badly she was injured.
Peering into the gloom, he could see they were in one of the caverns that seemed to permeate the grounds of the ranch. They weren't the only thing that had dropped unsuspecting into the pit. Signs of injured animal remains were strewn about. He saw no sign of snakes, but that didn't mean they weren't there.
Doris began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared into Harry's face. Surprise registered as she recognized him and she sat up quickly. “What happened?”
“Seems you found an opening to the cavern. Not the one we were looking for, but this will probably lead us to the one we want. Are you okay?”
“I think I am okay. What a surprise! I remember the ground moving out from under me and that's all. How did you find me?”
“When I looked back and you were nowhere to be seen, I came looking for you. I almost fell in myself. If it hadn't been for that brush beside the hole, I would have probably ended up on top of you.”
Doris looked up at the opening. “How are we going to get out of here?”
Harry looked up. There was no way they could get out the way they came in, without help. He thought of his hat but it could be hours before anyone would find it.
“We can just sit tight and wait for someone to find us. Or we can move down the cavern and hope to find another opening, the one we were looking for.”
“We can't see anything down here. I'm not walking in the dark.” She looked around and spotted the bones of the unfortunate ones who had fallen in before them.
“Oh my gosh.” She stared in horror, realizing the predicament they might be in. “Harry, what if they can't find us?”
“We will find our way out, Doris. I've been in here before. There is a way out,” he reassured her, but worried about which way to go. Dropping into the dark like he did, his sense of direction was messed up. He had matches and his lighter but as before, he had nothing to make a torch of. Doris had a back pack of sorts, with some snacks in it, but did she have anything that would burn?
“What do you have in the pack?”
“Snacks! You're hungry? How can you think of eating at a time like this?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Do you have anything that will burn?”
Standing to get the pack where she could open it, she discovered her ankle was hurt. Wincing in pain, she abruptly sat down. “Oh...” she moaned.
“How bad is it hurt?”
This might be a problem after all. If she couldn't walk, they would have to wait for someone to find them. He couldn't leave her, and in the dark he wasn't about to carry her. If they fell, neither one of them would be able to get help. Damn.
If they had to wait there, he could at least clear the area and try to make her more comfortable. Moving the bones, he wondered if they would burn. They could have a fire! Maybe the smoke filtering out through the hole above would attract attention. Scrounging around, he found bits and pieces of debris that had fallen into the pit and would help in starting a fire.
It was cold and damp. A decided draft moved through the cavern, showing evidence of another opening close by.
Doris's ankle had swollen, and removing her boot was impossible. Picking her up and placing her next to the wall of the cavernous room near the small fire, Harry made her as comfortable as possible. He debated whether he should explore in the direction the flames leaned. When he mentioned it Doris pled, “Don't leave me, Harry.” It was the only time he had ever seen her frightened or worried. He understood her fears. He had a niggling of doubt himself.
How long could they hold out down here with little food and no heat? Fortunately they had dressed warmly. Surely when Pete discovered them missing, they would look for them. But the last Pete saw of them, Doris was going to rest. He may think Harry took her back to the house. It could be hours before anyone figured out they disappeared, just like Melody and Scott. Were they in here someplace?
“Doris, I'm going to holler real loud. You can join in if you feel like it. If Scott is in here someplace, maybe he can hear us.”
“Okay, I'm game.”
Harry could see that her heart was not in it, the way her ankle was hurting. Taking out his pocket knife, he squatted down next to her. “I'm going to cut your boot off and relieve the pressure on that ankle.”
“These are new boots. I just bought them.”
“You can get some more boots; I think a new foot would be harder to come by.” He smiled as he slit the side seam of the suede boots.
“Oh...” He didn't know if she was in pain, relief, or upset over her boots. She lay back and shut her eyes for a minute; then, sitting up, she said, “Okay, let's do it.”
Taking deep breaths, they funneled their hands around their mouths and yelled as loud as they could. They stopped and listened as their voices echoed along the walls of the vast cavern. Time and again they screamed, hoping for anyone to hear and respond. Stopping to rest, they waited. There was nothing, only the sound of their breathing.
Giving up, they sat back, stirring up the flames of the small fire, huddling close, soaking up what warmth they could.
Suddenly Doris's head jerked up. “Shh...” she whispered. “Listen.”
They strained to hear. Deciding it was nothing, they bent once again to the fire. But again Doris turned her ear toward the dark tunnel and listened intently.
“I hear something.”
They waited, hoping to hear it again. Harry got up and walked in that direction, straining to hear a sound emanating from the dark beyond. He heard it.
“Someone is calling out. They heard us!” The urge to run in that direction was overwhelming. Turning to Doris, he reassured her, “I won't go far. Hopefully I can understand them and find out who it is if I get a little closer.”
He saw the dread on her face. “Please, Harry, don't go far. If you couldn't come back...”
“I will be back.”
“Be careful... What if it is the killer luring you away?”
That had not occurred to him. “I think it will be Scott,” he
replied firmly, convincing himself as well as her.
Taking one of the burning pieces of wood, he lifted it high to see if it would light the darkness before him and moved cautiously forward, securing each step before placing all his weight down. Knowing Doris was dependent on him made him nervous and extra cautious. If something happened to him, she would be helpless in finding her way out. He couldn't let that happen.
He looked back to see how far he had gone. He could still see the glow of the fire but Doris was a formless dark shape. He turned and continued farther, turning once more; the light had disappeared. Had it gone out or had the cavern curved?
He stopped and called out, then listened. Nothing. He called again. He heard a weak reply.
Calling out, he asked, “Are you hurt?”
“Yes.” The voice sounded stronger.
“Who is it?”
“Scott.”
“It's Harry, Scott. I'm coming after you. Hang on. Keep talking to me so I can find you.”
The torch he carried was burning down. He didn't know how much farther he could go before it fizzled out. He tried to move faster, inching along the wall.
There was a sudden clatter of pebbles as they slid downward into the darkness. Harry stood very still. The cavern floor dropped down. Had he not been hugging the wall, he would have stepped into space. Scott was quiet.
“Call out, Scott.”
“Here, Harry, keep coming. I think you are close.” The sound of Scott's voice came from the level below. How did he get down there?
“Scott, did you fall into a hole?”
“Yeah, that's how I got hurt.”
“How far did you fall? Where are you hurt?”
“It seemed like a long way down. It was a tumble rather than a drop. It knocked me cold. My shoulder and left leg are hurt. My leg may be broken.”
“I have Doris in here with me. She fell in, hurt her ankle and can't walk. I have to figure how to get you out of there. Can you see my light?”
“Yes, it's casting shadows down here.”
“Can you see how far down you are? Any way for me to get down to you and get back out?”