“And please bless the ones searching for my son and his friends. Comfort the families and friends who are waiting. Amen,” Ella finished, seeing Josiah in a new light today. They’d talked casually the past few months, but there was always a barrier there, a look of pain in his blue eyes. She knew that expression because she fought to keep hers hidden since she dealt with so many people who needed someone to listen to them when they were hurting. She could help them, but she wasn’t sure anyone could help her.
* * *
In the woods, Josiah gave Buddy as much leash as possible and let him dictate where they went. Having insisted she couldn’t stay at the command post, Ella trailed behind him as they searched farther away from the base at the day camp. His sister and her dog, Sadie, were following Travis’s scent, while another search and rescue worker, Jesse Hunt, had the third boy’s backpack, and his dog was tracking that child.
Josiah glanced over at Alex to his right and Jesse to his left, both within ten feet of him. Suddenly the dogs veered away from each other. Buddy went straight while the others made an almost ninety-degree turn.
“They separated?” Ella asked, coming up to his side.
“I believe so.” Tearing his gaze away from her fearful eyes, Josiah examined the soft ground. “Someone else has been here recently.” He pointed to the ground. “That’s Robbie’s shoe print and that’s someone with a size twelve or thirteen boot.”
“A man? Someone else searching for the kids?”
His gut clenched. “Maybe one of the counselors came this way.” Or maybe it was someone else who had nothing to do with the day camp. He wouldn’t voice that to Ella. She didn’t need to worry any more than she already was.
Josiah continued following Buddy, scanning the ground for any signs that would help him find Robbie. He didn’t know how Ella could deal with the people who waited to see if their family member or friend was found. While bringing her to Kincaid Park, he’d felt unsure of what to say to help her. He was used to being alone. He was better off working alone with Buddy. He’d learned that the hard way.
Buddy stopped at the base of a spruce tree, sniffing the trunk, then taking off to the left. Josiah inspected the lower branches and found a few of the smaller ones were broken off—recently.
“I believe he climbed this tree.” Josiah pointed at the damaged limbs, then headed the direction Buddy went.
“If only he’d stayed here. It’s been hours since he disappeared. It’s starting to get colder, and he has no jacket on.” Falling into step next to Josiah, Ella scanned the dense woods surrounding them.
The quaver in her voice penetrated the hard shell he’d placed his emotions in to put his life back together after being a prisoner of war in the Middle East. “He’s walked and even run a long way from where he was last seen. He’ll get tired and probably find a place to rest.”
Ella’s wide brown eyes were riveted to his. “What made them separate? I saw the lengthening of the spaces between the footprints. He was running then, wasn’t he?”
Her gaze drew him in, so much pain reflected in it. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to answer her question, not wanting to add to her distress.
“You don’t have to say anything. I can see it on your face. Something or someone scared him. The person whose boot prints we found with his. I saw them under the tree, too. He’s being stalked.” Ella came to stop.
“It could be someone searching for the kids. Don’t jump to any conclusions. Speculation can drive you crazy.”
“Just the facts, then. We’re on point on this search. The rest are spread out and going much slower behind us.” Her teeth dug into her lower lip.
Before he realized what he was doing, he touched her shoulder, feeling the tension beneath his fingers. “Let’s go. We don’t need to stand around speculating.” He squeezed her gently before he turned toward Buddy, who was sniffing the ground five yards away.
His dog barked and charged forward, straining against the leash. Five minutes later, Buddy weaved through some trees, yelping several times. Josiah kept pace with his dog, his body screaming in protest at the long hours he’d been awake without much rest. His German shepherd circled a patch of ground.
Josiah came to a halt at the spot with Ella next to him. She stared at the ground, her face pale. Bear prints. Fresh ones.
“A bear is nearby, possibly after Robbie,” Ella whispered in a squeaky voice, her eyes huge.
TWO
Ella sucked in a deep breath that she held until pain shot through her chest. Finally she exhaled, then managed to ask, “Is the bear following him?”
“No, but it looks as though Robbie stopped, turned around, then began running this way.” Josiah pointed to the right. “The bear is going straight.”
“Oh, good.” Relief sagged her shoulders until she realized the bear might not be the only one.
After taking his dog off the leash, Josiah signaled to Buddy to continue tracking Robbie. As Josiah followed behind the German shepherd, he said over his shoulder, “I think Robbie is slowing down. His strides are closer together.”
Her cell phone rang, and Ella quickly answered it. It was David. “Has anyone been found?”
“Yes, Travis.”
Ella said a quick prayer of thanks.
David continued. “Alex located him not far from Little Campbell Lake. She’s bringing him in.”
“Did he tell Alex anything? What happened? Why did they part?”
“They thought if they split up, one of them could get help.”
“How did they get lost?”
“They snuck away from Camp Yukon and were playing in the woods. All I know was a man spooked them.”
A man? Were those boot prints they saw that man’s? If so, the man had not only spooked them but followed them—followed Robbie. What if it was her ex-husband? Could Keith have found them? He’d never cared about his son, but he might kidnap him to get back at her. Her chest suddenly felt constricted. Each breath of air she inhaled burned her throat and lungs.
No. Keith couldn’t have found them. Please, God, it can’t be him. Memories inundated Ella as she fought for a decent breath.
“Ella?” David’s concerned voice wrenched her back to the present. “Ella, are you all right?”
No. “We’re following Robbie’s tracks. We should find him soon.” If she said it often enough, it might come true.
“I’ll find out more when Travis gets here. I’ll call you when I hear something else.”
When Ella hung up, she realized she’d slowed her gait to a crawl as she’d talked with David. The space between her and Josiah had doubled. She hurried her pace to catch up with him.
“That was David. Your sister found Travis. That’s encouraging.” But Robbie and his friend Michael could still be in danger. And there was still a possibility that her ex, Keith, could be the man who had spooked the kids.
“Any info on what happened?” Josiah kept trailing Buddy.
“They were playing in the woods when a man scared them. That’s all I know.”
Josiah paused and twisted around, his tan face carved in a frown. “I don’t see any evidence now that anyone is following Robbie.”
“But what about the man? The boot prints we found? He could—”
Suddenly a series of barks echoed through the trees.
“Come on. Buddy has something.”
Ella ran beside Josiah, who slowed down to allow her to keep up. Buddy sat at the base of a tree, barking occasionally, looking up, then at them.
“Robbie’s up in the tree,” Josiah said, slightly ahead of her now.
She examined the green foliage and saw Robbie clinging to a branch. He was safe. Thank You, Lord. Thank You.
But what about the man? The threat was still out there. The threat that could be K
eith.
As she neared, she noticed her son’s wide brown eyes glued to Buddy. The fear on his face pierced through her. He might not recognize the German shepherd. “We’re here, Robbie,” she shouted. “Buddy is a search and rescue dog. He belongs to Josiah Witherspoon. You remember Mr. Witherspoon?”
Robbie barely moved his head in a nod, but he did look toward her. “Mom, I’m stuck.”
Standing under the cottonwood, Ella craned her neck and looked up at him. She wasn’t even sure how he’d managed to climb so high. He must be thirty feet off the ground. “Don’t do anything yet. You’ll be all right. Josiah and I will talk about the best way to get you down safely. Okay?” Her heart clenched at the sight of tears in her son’s eyes. His grip around the branch seemed to tighten. He was so scared. All she wanted to do was hold her child and tell him she wouldn’t let anything hurt him.
Josiah moved closer. “I can get him down. I have a longer reach than you.”
“You don’t think he can back down, keeping his arms around the limb?”
“Sometimes people freeze once they get into a tree and see how high they are. I have a feeling he was scared when he climbed up, then realized where he was. I did that once when I was a boy, not much younger than Robbie.”
“But should I—”
“You should be a mom and keep him calm.”
She nodded, relieved Josiah was here because she was afraid of heights. She would have climbed the tree if she had to, but then there might have been two people stuck up there. “Thanks.”
Josiah hoisted himself up onto the lowest branch that would hold his weight, then smiled at her. “I once had a tree where I loved to hide from the world, or rather, Alex when she bugged me. She never knew where I went. I used to watch her try to find me from my perch at the top.”
For the first time in hours, Ella chuckled. “I won’t tell her, in case you ever want to hide from her again.”
He began scaling the branches. “Much appreciated.”
“I won’t, either,” Robbie said in a squeaky voice.
“Thanks, partner,” Josiah said to her son, halfway up the main trunk of the cottonwood. “Ella, call David and tell him we found Robbie.”
Robbie stared down at the German shepherd. “What’s his name?”
While her son talked with Josiah about his dog, Ella gave David a call. “He’s in a tree, but Josiah is helping him down. We’ll return to base soon.” She lowered her voice while she continued. “Has Michael been found yet?”
“No, but I’ll pull everyone off the other areas to concentrate on the trail Jesse is following.”
“Are the police there?”
“Yes, Thomas Caldwell is here. He’s talking with Travis and getting a description of the man.”
Thomas was a friend of David’s and Josiah’s as well as a detective on the Anchorage police force. “Good. We’ll be there soon.”
When Ella disconnected the call, she watched Josiah shimmy toward Robbie as far as it was safe for him to go on the branch. He was probably one hundred and eighty pounds while her son was forty. Josiah paused about seven feet from Robbie.
“I can’t come out any farther, Robbie, but I’m here to grab you as you slide backward toward me. Hug the limb and use one hand to move back to me.” Josiah’s voice was even and calm, as though they were discussing the weather.
“I can’t. I’m...I’m scared. What if I fall?” Robbie peered at the ground and shook his head.
“Don’t look down. Do you see that squirrel on the branch near you? He’s watching you. Keep an eye on him.”
“He’s probably wondering what we’re doing up here.” Robbie stared at the animal, its tail twitching back and forth.
Her son scooted a few inches down the limb, which was at a slight incline from the trunk. When the squirrel scurried away, Robbie squeezed his eyes shut and continued to move at a snail’s pace. Finally, when he was within a foot of Josiah, her son raised his head and glanced back at Josiah. His gaze drifted downward, and he wobbled on the branch, sliding to the side.
Ella gasped.
Josiah moved fast, latching on to Robbie’s ankle. “I’ve got you. You’re okay.”
But her son flailed again. “I’m gonna...”
He fell off the limb, screaming. Then suddenly he was hanging upside down, dangling from the end of Josiah’s grip. Robbie’s fingertips grazed a smaller branch under him, but it wouldn’t hold his weight. Ella’s legs went weak, but she remained upright.
“Okay, Robbie?” Josiah adjusted his weight to keep balanced.
“Yes,” her son barely said.
“You’re safe. Nothing is going to happen to you. Hold still. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” Robbie said in a little stronger voice.
“I’m lifting you up to me, then we’ll climb down together.”
Josiah’s gaze connected to Ella’s, and she had no doubt her son would be safely on the ground in a few minutes. She sank against the tree trunk, its rough bark scraping her arm. She hardly noticed it, though, as Josiah grabbed her son with both hands and brought Robbie to him, the muscles in his arms bunching with the strain.
When Robbie was in the crook of the tree between the trunk and limb, he hugged Josiah. Surprise flitted across the man’s face.
He patted her son on the back several times. “Let’s get down from here. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving for a hamburger and fries.”
“Yeah!” Robbie’s face brightened with a big grin.
With Josiah’s help, her son finally made it to the ground. Robbie threw his arms around Ella, who never wanted to let him go. She kissed the top of his head as he finally wiggled free.
“Can we go eat a burger with Mr. Witherspoon? Can we?”
The eagerness in his voice made it hard to say no, but it wasn’t fair to keep Josiah any longer than necessary. “I’m sure he’s—”
“I think that’s a great idea, Robbie. There’s a place not too far from here that’s a favorite of mine. After we eat, then I can take you two to the hangar so your mom can pick up her car.”
Robbie looked at Buddy. “What about him?”
“He’ll be fine while we’re inside. I imagine he’s pretty tired. He’s been working a lot today.”
So have you, Ella thought, glimpsing in Josiah the same weariness she felt, but he must have sensed how important doing something normal and nonthreatening was for her son. Usually when Josiah came to a SAR operation, he did his job and went home. He was all business. But not now. The smile he sent her son made her want to join in.
“Can I pet Buddy?” her son asked.
“Sure. He loves the attention.” Josiah squatted next to Robbie after he moved to the German shepherd.
“I wish I had a dog like this. No one would bother me.”
Josiah peered up at Ella. “You don’t need to worry about that man now.”
“You know about the man?” Robbie’s forehead scrunched.
“Yes.” Ella clasped Robbie’s shoulder. “Honey, when we get back to camp, you can tell the police what the man looked like. They’ll find him.”
Robbie ran his hand down Buddy’s back, stroking the dog over and over while Josiah stood next to her son. “How’s Travis and Michael?”
“Travis is at the command center. They’re still looking for Michael. He may even be with Travis by the time we arrive at camp.” At least she hoped that was the case. The idea that Michael might still be lost while the man hadn’t been found gave her shivers. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
The realization it could still be her ex-husband mocked her. Until she found out for certain, she needed to start making plans to leave Anchorage. She’d disappeared once before. She could again. But the thought of leaving the life she had carved out for her an
d her son in Alaska swelled her throat with emotions she tried not to feel. She loved Anchorage and the people she’d become friends with. She didn’t want to leave.
“Let’s go. I imagine you’ve got a camp full of people anxiously waiting to see you.” Josiah rose and said to Robbie, “You want to hold Buddy’s leash and lead the way?”
Her son’s smile grew even more. “Yeah.”
Ella fell into step with Josiah while her son took off with Buddy. “Maybe I should think about getting a pet for Robbie.”
“I can help you with that. Buddy became a daddy eight weeks ago. My friend will be selling most of the puppies soon, but I can have the pick of the litter free. I hadn’t intended to get another dog, so if Robbie wants one, he can have my free one.”
“A mix breed or a German shepherd?”
“A purebred German shepherd. This guy trains dogs for search and rescue. He’ll keep two pups to train, then sell them later.”
Her pride nudged forward. Ever since escaping her abusive marriage in Georgia and relocating to Anchorage, she hadn’t depended on others to help her. It had taken all her courage to seek aid through the New Life Organization and break free of Keith. She was thankful to the Lord that she and Robbie had been able to make it on their own without constantly glancing over their shoulders, looking for Keith, who should have been in prison for years. For four years, she’d been able to live without being scared for her life and now... “I can’t accept one. You should take the puppy and sell it.”
“I don’t need the money. Outdoor Alaska is a successful business. I’d much rather see a child happy with a new pet. I always had one while growing up, and they were important to me.”
What if it really was Keith in the woods? A dog would only complicate their lives if they had to move. “I appreciate the offer.”
He tilted his head, his gaze slanting down at her. “But?”
Her gaze drifted to Robbie with Buddy. “A German shepherd is a big dog. He’ll need to be trained. Any suggestions?”
“I can help when the puppy’s old enough.”
To Save Her Child Page 2