Back in his office in San Francisco, Henry Babcock was tuned in to the TV coverage of the Colorado fire. When he saw Prince Ali and Becky Howard, he recognized them from earlier broadcasts after Prince Ali was horse-napped from San Juan Capistrano. The next photo on the screen was Desperado with Todd O’Neal. Henry jerked to attention with the name in the broadcast and stared at the TV screen. Yes, it definitely was that horse! That was the horse that tried to run him over on the riding trail and the horse that kicked the crud out of his rental car too. He was elated! Maybe he didn’t need to spend a ton of money to buy him and torture him after all. He may have already been burned to death in a fire started because of Henry Babcock! Sometimes things just work out right. Henry whistled under his breath as he took his elevator to the ground floor on his way home. That TV Broadcast put the bounce back in his step.
Chief Odom’s dozers and hand crews attacked the route to the canyon. There were many large trees still smoldering that needed to be pushed over or cut down and removed from the roadway the dozers were plowing. Spot fires had to be extinguished by hand or with water from the trucks that followed the dozers in. They made slow progress, but it was progress.
Chief Odom got good news from the front line. Fire breaks were holding the fire back. Winds had slowed so they were not pushing the fire as hard as before. A cold front from the west coast was making its way across the Rockies. Humidity levels were rising and clouds formed. The weather forecasts showed the possibility of rain. His teams on the front lines had 35% containment and were hammering away at the head of the fire. Maybe, just maybe, they could keep the destruction level down to 65,000 to 70,000 acres. His personal hope was to keep it to less than 90,000 acres. It was a big destructive fire but it looked like they were going to prevent it from crossing state lines into Wyoming. He silently prayed the weather would continue in their favor.
In the canyon, Prince Ali walked over to where Desperado grazed on the little grass still surrounding the pond. “Hey, just wanted to ask you something,” he said. “How was it you knew to charge that cat thing that was prowling in here the other morning?”
Mighty Max heard part of the conversation and his ears perked up. He walked over nonchalantly to join in. “Yeah, how did you know to do that?” he asked.
“Really, I didn’t know, but what choices did we have? If we left it alone it could have attacked one of us or one of the kids. I wouldn’t let that happen if there was something I could do to prevent it.” Desperado said.
Schultzy was close enough to hear and chimed in. “That thing was big and scary. My first instinct was to run. I’m glad you suggested doing what we did. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Heidi. That thing was close enough to hurt our humans. They can’t run the way we can.”
“I figured we were bigger than it was. I don’t think it expected us to turn on it. It probably thought we’d run away. I thought if we did what it didn’t expect, maybe we could make it run away instead,” Desperado told them. “And, that’s how it worked out. I will remember that the next time a stray dog thinks he can chase me!”
Prince Ali snorted, “Yeah, I’ve had that happen too. Now I know what to do. Thanks, Desperado. Next time one of those yappy things comes at me I’ll turn around and show him my hooves. Bet he’ll run crying for his mamma the way that cat thing did!”
The horses all enjoyed Ali’s comment and snorted and nickered their delight. They kept nibbling on the few blades of fresh grass around the pond edge and the hay Todd, Brody and Charlie set out for them.
The dozers and hand crews started back at their work on the “road” to the canyon at first light. The lead fireman kept checking his GPS to make sure they were going in the right direction. Several areas were clear of brush and trees naturally so the work went faster there. By late afternoon, they could see the high cliff of the mountain and knew they were close. The lead fireman walked along the wall and found the opening of the canyon. He walked right in. He saw the horses grazing around the pond and the row of tents set up. He hollered, “Anyone here?”
Heads popped out of the tents and kids scrambled to their feet. They ran toward the fireman standing at the entrance in his helmet and turnout coat holding an ax on his shoulder.
“You kids okay?” the fireman asked as soon as they were near enough to hear. He dropped his ax head to the ground holding the handle.
“Oh, yes! We’re fine. We can’t wait to get out of here,” Todd said. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Sir. Thank you for coming for us. Is it safe for us to leave here now? How soon can we go home?”
Hilda, slower than the bunch of the 13 and 14-year olds she was with, walked up to the fireman and took his hand. “Thank you for coming. We’re so happy to see you. I’m Hilda Jorgensen. These kids saved my life and took me with them before the fire reached my place. Do you know if it still stands?”
“Ma’am, I’m sorry but I don’t have that information. I was assigned to build a road to this canyon so we can get you out of here. The fire is actually more than 35% contained now and the front is miles north of here. We’re in pretty good shape now. We made a road from here back to the highway, about five or six miles. We’ve cleared it so we can get emergency vehicles in here if we need to. How are the horses? Will they need to be trailered out or can they make it out on their own four feet?”
Todd spoke up, “The horses are in good shape. We brought one extra horse with us from the Jorgenson’s place without a halter and lead rope. The others have their bridles and saddles. Thank you guys for dropping hay for them when you dropped stuff for us. I don’t think the grass around the pond back there would have been enough for all ten of them. We can saddle up and ride out whenever you give us the word.”
“Let me check in with the boss. I need to talk to the dozer drivers too and make sure all the trees we needed to bring down are out of the way. I’ll get right back to you. Please stay here until I come back. We don’t need one of those 40-foot trees falling on you now,” the lead fireman told them. He swung his ax back on his shoulder, turned and walked back out of the canyon to find his radio and call in the report.
Todd and the kids scrambled back to their camp and began saddling the horses. When they were given the okay, they wanted to get out of here as fast as they could. They wanted to get back to the ranch and their parents.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Buck Martin called the Denver Police Department and asked for their detectives on arson cases. He was put on hold for quite a while. Buck drifted off in his own thoughts while he waited and was jerked to attention when someone came on the line and announced, “Padilla here, what’s your pleasure?”
Buck introduced himself and told the officer on the line he was working on the Boulder fire arson investigation. That immediately caught the interest of the officer on the other end of the line. “You mean the big one just north of Boulder that has everyone so worried?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I’m the lead investigator and we’re very sure it was an arson fire. We have a couple of eyewitnesses that saw a vehicle parked at ground zero and one of them had the plate number from the car. I’ve run it through the Motor Vehicle Department and it points to a resident of your fair city. I’d like your help on this one.”
“Sure, how can I help?” Officer Padilla asked.
“We have a name and address for the car. It belongs to a Mr. David Nyland,” Buck told him and gave him the address from the motor vehicle registry.
“Yeah, we’re familiar with him alright,” Officer Padilla said. “I’ve had him in interrogation several times for arsons in the past couple of years. We’ve never been able to pin one on him though. The man is cagey as the devil himself and he leaves nothing that can incriminate him behind. No fingerprints, no financial records, no evidence at the scene, no nothing. I’d love to pin one on him. I know he’s doing it, just can’t prove it in court.”
“You’re going to love this case then,” Buck said. “I have an incendiary device and at least
three eyewitnesses that saw his car in the driveway of the site at the time the fire started. We may have DNA from blood evidence too. That will take a few more days. We need to find him and arrest him. I think we have plenty for a conviction. And, worse yet, we have three dead as a direct result of the fire, so we want him for murder as well as arson.”
“Oh, man. That’s awful! How soon can you get here? I’ll get my team together. Meet us in the Lobby of the main Police Department Headquarters downtown. We’ll get you to your address and pick the guy up,” Padilla said.
Buck and his team took off for Denver. Buck called his boss and updated him on the case as they drove. Buck pulled to the curb in front of the multi-story Police Department Headquarters in downtown Denver two hours later. He called Padilla from the car.
“Wait where you are,” Padilla told him “I’m bringing a team with me. We’ll meet you at the curb and we’ll lead you over there. Nyland lives in a townhome complex. I’m bringing enough guys in plain clothes to watch all the exits so he doesn’t get away. We have some uniforms with us to block the driveways. We can box him in there. I don’t know if the guy is armed or not.”
A few minutes later a caravan of marked and unmarked Denver Police Department vehicles with one Boulder Fire Department SUV drove into an area of upscale condominiums and townhomes. The marked vehicles blocked the exits of one of the nicer townhome complexes while the unmarked ones and the Boulder FD vehicle parked along the curb on the side of the complex. Men in suits got out of the unmarked vehicles. The three wearing uniforms from the Boulder Fire Department joined them at the entrance. Padilla knew which townhome belonged to Nyland so he held a quick conference at the entrance with the other Denver personnel and those from Boulder. Several of the plainclothes officers split off to watch corridors on either side of their target address. Padilla and Buck’s team went to Nyland’s front door and knocked.
There was no answer at the door, so Padilla knocked again more forcefully. A man stepped out of the neighboring unit across the corridor, surprised to see the men at Nyland’s door.
“He’s not home,” the man said. “He and his girlfriend left a couple of days ago.”
“Any idea where he went?” Padilla asked as he opened his wallet and showed the man his badge.
The man’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Oh, what did he do?” he asked.
“We just need to ask him a few questions,” Padilla answered. “Do you have any idea where we can find him?”
“Well, he and his girlfriend were supposed to go to Boulder for the weekend but they came back here early the same day. He was in a hurry for some reason. They went inside and were only there for a few minutes before they came back out. He was pulling two large suitcases. I overhead them talking in the hallway. Sounded like they were going to her place for her things and heading to the airport. I think I heard him say something about the Bahamas. He was in a real sweat though.”
“Do you know what kind of car he was driving?” Padilla asked him.
“Yeah,” the man laughed. “He and his girlfriend were going to shove all that luggage in his brand-new Chevy Corvette. I don’t know what he was thinking. You can’t get much more than a lunch box in one of them if you have two people in the seats.”
“Did you ever notice the plate on his car?” Padilla asked.
“Oh, yeah,” the man laughed again. “Red Hot! Did you ever see the guy? He’s about 6’2” or 6’3” and if he’s lucky he tips the scale at 170 pounds. He’s got this crazy, fuzzy hair that sticks out everywhere except for the bald patch. His nose looks more like a beak to me. He reminds me of a scarecrow. My wife gets a kick out of him driving around in that fancy sports car with ‘Red Hot’ on the license like he’s some Hollywood director or something. We couldn’t believe it when he showed up with that woman. She’s beautiful. He’d make a good clown. What a mismatched pair if there ever was one.”
“Any idea what he does for a living?” Buck asked.
“He lives pretty well considering he’s home most of the time. I have no idea where he gets his money but these townhomes aren’t exactly cheap, you know. And that car he drives cost a pretty penny too. He’s a good neighbor, picks up packages for us and keeps them at his place until we get home. But I don’t recall him ever saying what he does now that you mention it. Maybe he works from home?”
“Thanks for the information,” Padilla said offering the man his business card. “If you see him or hear from him, would you give me a call?”
“Sure, no problem. You guys have a good day,” the man said as he turned and walked toward the parking garage.
“Bahamas?” Padilla said to Buck. “I’ll get a search warrant for the townhome. We’ll go through it and let you know what we find. I’ll also call the airport and see if we can confirm his travel. The District Attorney needs to get involved and see what the extradition policy with the Bahamian government is. I’ll keep you posted.”
The men walked back to their cars. Padilla called off the marked units and everyone left the area. Buck was disappointed and angry. He wanted to see Nyland in handcuffs. He wanted him to see the destruction he caused. He wanted him to see the faces of the families of the people who died in that fire. He wanted him to pay for what he did.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The fireman hurried back to his truck and picked up the radio. He called Fire Chief Odom first. “Chief, we made it to the canyon where the kids and horses are. I’ve talked to them. They all appear to be in good shape; just a little scared is all. They told me the horses are all in good shape and they are anxious to get home. I also talked to Hilda Jorgensen, the older woman with them. She looks tired but otherwise okay. Our road is just about complete, only a quarter to half a mile or so from the mouth of the canyon. Those kids are really lucky. There is a straight wall of rock that protected the canyon. It has to be over a hundred feet high. The entrance is narrow, just about wide enough for a horse and rider to pass through. If we didn’t have GPS coordinates, I don’t know that we’d have found it at all.”
“That’s some of the best news I’ve heard all day,” the Chief told him. “What are the conditions for getting them out right now?”
“Sir, the road is primitive at best. We might be able to get in with an ambulance, but it doesn’t look like we need one at this point. We still have downed trees smoldering but the dozers have pushed over any that look likely to fall on the road they plowed in. It’s rocky and uneven and hard to drive over in our trucks. The horses may have an easier time than we do with the vehicles. I’m concerned about getting them back to a safe zone though. There’s no place along the side of the highway for them to travel on. We have many trucks out on that road. There are also property owners driving in to see what’s left of their homes and ranches. I don’t think it would be safe for them to use the highway.”
“Got any idea how long it will take them to reach the highway?” Chief Odom asked.
“My guess is it will take several hours. The road isn’t smooth. There are divots and holes all over it plus the rocks the dozers pulled to the surface. I’m not sure we can get them to the highway before nightfall. Maybe we should leave them where they are until first light in the morning. I can get supplies in for them with our four-wheel drive trucks.”
“I’m concerned about the older woman. She’s in her 80’s. Should we try to get her out in one of our vehicles and get the kids out in the morning?” Chief Odom suggested.
“That’s your call, Sir,” the fireman said. “If we can get supplies in there, it might be better to leave her there with the kids. If they were mine, I’d feel better having someone there to keep an eye on them.”
Chief Odom shook his head. He didn’t know what he’d do if one of his kids were in that group. He decided to talk with Chris and some of the parents before making a decision. He turned over command to his Deputy Chief and went looking for Chris O’Neal.
He found Chris and Sharon and several of the other parents and gave them
an update. The firemen in the field didn’t think they could get the kids and horses out to the highway before dark. It was going to take several hours of hard travel to get there. The firemen felt it might be better to leave them in the canyon one more night and get them out at first light when they could see better. He told them what the fireman who actually saw and talked with the kids and Hilda said and what he saw for himself.
Chris and the other parents had lots of questions for the Fire Chief. He answered them all to the best of his knowledge. He made a decision.
“Here’s the deal,” Chief Odom said. “I think it best we leave the kids and horses in the canyon tonight. I can have four-wheel drive vehicles bring supplies and take one parent into the canyon. We can bring Hilda Jorgensen out and we can leave that parent with them for the night. That parent may have to walk out. Tomorrow when they reach the highway I will coordinate with the Highway Patrol to have the road blocked temporarily. We need several horse trailers at the exit point to load the horses to haul them back here. And there are actually 10 horses there. One of them came from the Jorgensen place without a halter or lead rope. The kids can ride back with the trailers or the Highway Patrol. I need you to select one parent, preferably one of you fathers, to go tonight. Chris, I need you to coordinate the trailers in the morning when they reach the highway.”
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