The kids woke up at first light and spread the remaining hay out for the horses before having another meals-ready-to-eat breakfast with George Reeves. They took down the tents and rolled the sleeping bags up, piling them all near the entrance to the canyon. George made sure the fire pit from the night before was completely out and scattered. Then they waited. The firemen told George they would send in another four-wheel drive truck in the morning to pick up the tents and supplies so the kids could ride out unencumbered. George had his choice of riding out with the fireman or riding Annabella out with the kids.
The firemen arrived at the canyon a few minutes after the kids finished getting their horses ready to ride. The boys and George stowed the gear in the truck, including George’s rifle and ammunition. He decided to walk out next to his son. He’d had the foresight to bring a halter and lead rope for Annabella so he would ride her or lead her along the pathway. The firemen turned the truck around and told them they would meet them at the road if they fell behind. The long march began. The road was rough. It was filled with rocks and stumps turned up by the dozers. There were holes and divots everywhere that could be ankle breakers if they weren’t very careful. Even a couple of days past when the fire was active in this area, there were still trees smoldering and the kids heard several of them fall to the ground when their trunks would no longer hold them upright. It made a lot of racket in the forest and stirred up ashes and embers. It also spooked a few of the horses. Travel was slow, barely at a walk most of the way. It took several hours to traverse the road of a little more than six miles left by the dozers. At the end, they had to cross a ditch to reach the road. They stopped along the forest side of the ditch. If the four-wheel drive vehicles could get through that, they could on horseback.
The firemen they followed out met them across from the ditch and asked them to wait there while they called in their location to the Fire Chief. As soon as Chief Odom got word the kids were ready by the highway, he called the Highway Patrol so they could run a traffic break on the highway as soon as the horse trailers arrived. The Highway Patrol vehicles were the next to arrive. Chris O’Neal and three of the other parents had their trailers ready for the nod by Chief Odom. Chris lead the group north along the highway until they saw the Highway Patrol vehicles. They pulled to the side edge of the highway and waited until the Patrol officers blocked the road in both directions so the trailers could turn around and load the horses.
Everything went quickly and efficiently. Chris and the other parents opened the trailers and encouraged the kids across the ditch. Each horse was loaded and tied inside a trailer as quickly as possible. When all ten horses were inside and secure, the trailer doors were closed and drivers jumped back into the trucks ready to haul to Cold Water Creek Ranch. The kids and George Reeves also hopped into trucks and two of the Highway Patrol cars for the drive home. As soon as everyone was in and ready, the Highway Patrol let the trucks pull out onto the highway and they ended the blockade behind them.
The drive to Cold Water Creek Ranch was a short one. Todd O’Neal sat next to his father and Becky Howard sat next to Todd. There wasn’t a word said during the drive home. Todd and Becky felt guilty for not doing what they were told on Monday morning before the trail ride set out. They knew they were in trouble with their parents and probably the other kids’ parents as well. By not doing as they were asked, they had endangered their own lives and the lives of the other kids and the horses too. Becky sat in the truck with tears brimming in her eyes. Todd just sat there waiting to face the music he knew was coming.
The trailers were swarmed by parents and grandparents the minute they turned in the driveway. The horses were unloaded quickly at the barn and all were put in cross-ties so they could be untacked and brushed down. Everyone talked at once. Parents hugged their children and cried and laughed. Fire Chief Odom stopped in to check on them and welcome them home. The kids pulled the tack off their horses and brushed them down, checked their hooves and put them in bedded stalls as quickly as they could. Each horse got an extra ration of grain with their hay before the barn cleared out. Everyone moved into the O’Neal’s living room. The canyon survivors were offered fresh sandwiches and milk or hot cocoa. Once the din settled down, Chris O’Neal asked the question that had been on the minds of the parents for several days.
“Just exactly what happened out there? When the fire broke out, I rode out to the meadow where you guys were supposed to be and found you gone. I followed your tracks until I couldn’t go further because of the fire. We were worried sick about you,” Chris said.
All nine of the young people started speaking at once. No one in the room could make hide nor hair of the conversation. Finally, Chris raised his voice and said, “One at a time please!”
Suzie stood up. “Let me take this,” she said. Everyone in the room turned their eyes to her. “This was my fault. We had a great time in the meadow and we splashed in the brook. Then we had lunch and laid in the grass watching the clouds. But we hadn’t seen any of the wild creatures, so I suggested we ride a little further. Todd tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen. The others tried to talk me out of it, but I got mad and turned my horse up the trail and took off. Heidi’s my best friend so she followed me. If anyone is to blame for this, it’s me.”
The room was completely silent for a minute while Suzie’s confession sunk in. Suzie sat down on the couch and stared at her boots.
“The rest of us talked about it,” Brody said. “We all heard what you said in the barn. But we watched Suzie and Heidi get farther and farther away. We decided you would be madder if we came back to the ranch and left them out in the woods by themselves. They could have gotten hurt out there alone. We decided not to leave them, so we hurried to catch up with them hoping to bring them back to the ranch before anyone found out about it.”
“Dad,” Todd said, “It’s just like Brody said. The girls had no idea the danger they might be in out in the forest alone. We couldn’t leave them. We didn’t know what kind of danger we were all in until the smoke from the fire got so bad we could hardly see.”
One by one, each of the young people spoke up and agreed with the comments made by Suzie, Brody, and Todd. Becky finally said, “If it weren’t for the fire, we could have caught up to Suzie and Heidi and got back to the ranch with no one being the wiser. The fire was one of the dangers none of us thought about. Any or all of us could have burned to death out there if it hadn’t been for Desperado.”
“Really?” asked Chris. “Tell us about it.”
“Todd was riding him so maybe he’d better fill you in,” Becky answered.
“When I first smelled smoke, I thought it was someone having a barbecue. But the smoke kept getting worse and worse and we started hearing the fire behind us. That’s when I knew we were in trouble. I didn’t know what to do. Desperado took us to Hilda’s home. By that time, we could see the fire behind us. I got Hilda up in Desperado’s saddle and I climbed on the back. Hilda asked us to let Desperado’s mother out of her stall so she didn’t burn to death in there. Annabella stayed right with us. Desperado took us north, then west to the canyon where we would be safe from the fire, Dad. I don’t know how he knew about it because we couldn’t see the opening until we were right on top of it. There wasn’t anything to eat in there but a small patch of grass around the pond. But the air was good and the water was clear and clean. At least we had that.”
Kathy took her turn. “Yeah, you shoulda seen Desperado the next morning. There was a huge mountain lion that crept into the canyon while we were sleeping. Desperado screamed and charged the cat when he was only maybe twenty feet from us. All the other horses followed his lead and they chased that cat right out of the canyon. They saved our lives!”
Parents in the room hugged their kids and shuddered over the revelation. “We heard something about that from the firemen,” Sharon O’Neal said quietly. “What a thing to witness!”
“Oh, there was a lot more,” Melissa said. “When we were r
unning from the fire, you should have seen all the wild critters that were also running away. Wasn’t that bear and her cubs almost under Desperado’s hooves at one point?” she asked Todd.
“Yeah,” Todd answered. “You should have seen that ten-point buck we watched run smack into a tree. He fell down, then picked up his head and shook it, stood back up and ran off. That was funny and not funny at the same time.”
Brody asked, “How about that mountain lion mother with her two kittens? They were good sized too but as scared as we were. They were making tracks to get out of there like they didn’t even notice us at all.”
One by one each of the youngsters told about their experiences in the canyon. They told about making a human circle and jumping up and down to attract the helicopter that spotted them and dropped supplies to them. They told how Brody, Charlie, and Todd took the satellite phone and learned how to work it so they could communicate they were okay. They thought Brody was a genius to figure that thing out. They told how the kids had scraped the ground with their bare hands to clear rocks so Hilda had a smoother place to sleep. They told how they took turns sleeping and watching in the dark so no other mountain lion would get so close to them again. They told how each of them helped others keep their spirits up so they didn’t get discouraged about being trapped so far away from home and their families.
The more they talked about their situation, the more the parents realized how mature they’d acted under terrible conditions. Each of them made a contribution to the safety and comfort of others. They’d shared a couple of packages of crackers and bags of chips equally so they didn’t go completely hungry the first night. They’d found a way to overcome most obstacles placed in their path. Even the walk out was shared equally. The lead horse and rider changed often to give them a rest and let them follow while someone else led for a while. They all admitted how happy they were to see George Reeves and his hunting rifle that last night. That was the first time they really felt safe since they left Cold Water Creek Ranch on Monday morning.
Todd suddenly looked around and didn’t see who he was looking for. “Where’s Hilda?” he asked.
Hilda slept a long time in a beautiful bed after her hot shower the night before. Her body ached from the cold nights and hard ground. She didn’t wake up until late the next morning and fixed herself a cup of hot tea trying to decide if she should come out of the room in the bathrobe Sharon loaned her or not. Her clothes were a mess and she didn’t have anything else to put on. Before she made up her mind, she heard a knock on the door. She answered it and Todd O’Neal threw his arms around her and hugged her. “How’d you sleep?” he asked her.
“I slept just fine as frog hair,” she answered him with a twinkle in her eye. “Glad to see you home too. How’s that rascal, Desperado?”
“He’s great. He’s out in his stall getting a bucket of corn and oats right now,” Todd told her. “He looks like he didn’t miss any meals. Speaking of which, why don’t you come out and have something to eat yourself? Those meals-ready-to-eat didn’t have much taste. My mom’s cooking is better. Did you get your pills? Mom told me she talked to your doctor and got them for you.”
“I thank you for thinking of me. I did get them and already took my morning ones with a cup of tea. You are sweet to think of that for me,” she said and hugged him again.
“Well you are about as close as I get to a grandmother, you know,” Todd told her. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“And you are a grandson anyone would be proud of,” Hilda smiled.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Officer Padilla hung up the phone and smiled. “Hey Arias!” he yelled at his partner in the next cubicle. “Just got off the phone with the District Attorney’s office. We do have an extradition treaty with the Bahamas – especially if the person we want to get back here is wanted for Major Crimes against Humanity. Our Mr. Nyland certainly fits the profile. We want him for Arson, Destruction of Property, and Murder. They are contacting the Justice Department to see how we proceed. Do you know if Buck Martin got the DNA back from the blood he found in the driveway?”
“Let me check,” Arias replied as he picked up the phone and dialed the number in Boulder.
Buck Martin was in his office and answered right away. He was just looking at his computer screen for the test results on the blood evidence he’d taken to the lab the day after the fire started. Officer Arias introduced himself as Officer Padilla’s partner and asked if he had the blood results yet.
“Yeah, I was just looking that up. Let me see here…Yes! We have it. Seems we can now prove our Mr. Nyland was in the driveway of that home under construction. You guys must have collected from him before.”
“I’m sure Padilla told you. We’ve picked him up several times for arsons here in the city. We did manage to get his DNA during one of his visits from a soda can. We’ve just never been able to find any blood evidence or DNA at any of the crime scenes before. That guy is slippery as an eel.”
“I wouldn’t give him points for brilliance though,” Buck told him. “The incendiary device he was trying to burn trees down with would have worked fine inside a building, a warehouse, a home, or an office but NOT for something out of doors. The wind blew one of them clean off the tree and into the brook. I found that one myself. Now we know what he used before. I’m guessing he used some kind of tape to attach it inside but he had to staple it to the bark of the trees and left us the staples. The device would have burned completely in a closed environment so there would be nothing left to find except burn patterns and such. You’d be able to tell the fire was started, but not by what. If the guy wore gloves, had keys, or found an unlocked door or window, chances are he would never leave anything behind for us to find.”
“I always say criminals aren’t too bright anyway, that’s why they are criminals and not criminalists,” Arias laughed. “The State Department says he has a U.S. Passport in his own name so we are checking hotels in Nassau, the Bahamas to locate him. We’ll keep in touch.” With that Arias hung up the phone.
He stepped around the cubicle to Padilla’s office and grinned at him. “Remember the soda can we handed Nyland to get a sample of his DNA? Well, it worked. Buck Martin said they found a match to the blood in the driveway where his car was parked. So we can prove without a doubt he was there.”
Padilla handed Arias three sheets of paper. “Here’s your portion of the list of hotels in Nassau. Let’s see if we can find him.”
Four hours later, Arias shouted over the cubicle “Bingo! We found him. He is at The Reef in Nassau. He checked in early the morning after the fire started with a lady friend. He used his own name and his U.S. Passport with a wad of cash. They think he’s an upper-level executive with a Florida firm and he’s spending dough like he makes it himself.”
“We’d better let the DA know. He’ll want to alert the Justice Department in Washington so they can start the paperwork. How did you leave your contact at the hotel?”
“Very friendly!” Arias said. “I asked the manager to give me a call if anything changes there. I didn’t tell them what we want the creep for but he’s assuming it is serious or we wouldn’t be calling. He has friends in other hotels and knows we’re looking for this guy. He promised to keep an eye on him for us. I told him to expect a visit from their police department soon so he’s keeping a log of his comings and goings for me. Nice chap, that manager is. Real helpful.”
“Give me the name and phone number, will ya? I will call it in to the District Attorney’s office so they can forward it on to the Justice Department. We need to catch this guy before he decides to take off for somewhere else,” Padillo told him.
Arias stepped back into his cubicle and scooped up his notes and handed them to his partner. “Now can we go to lunch? I’m starved.”
“Let me call the DA with this information first. I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes. Where’d you want to go?”
Alice Smarte – with an ‘e’ – wa
s the Deputy District Attorney assigned to the Arson Case against David Nyland. She was busy writing the complaint for the Justice Department in Washington when her phone rang. “Smarte here,” she answered and listened. “Good detective work there, Officer Padilla. You are most helpful. Give me that address, phone number, and the manager’s name if you don’t mind. I’m preparing the complaint for Justice now, so we can get a push on this. We don’t want this guy disappearing again.”
Alice jotted down the information in her tight neat hand on one of her numerous yellow lined legal tablets. She set it down by her laptop. When she hung up the phone, she began filling the information in on the form she was preparing. She too had worked on several arson cases they suspected David Nyland of doing. She wanted him off the streets. This particular case was even closer to her heart. She owned a cabin north of Boulder she loved to visit on weekends to decompress from her day job. That cabin was probably a pile of smoking ashes right now. She hadn’t been able to confirm that yet. If it was gone, she had a very personal reason to put David Nyland in prison for a long time. She’d heard there were also three confirmed deaths in the fire. It was still early in the game and the fire was raging on.
Officer Arias got to the office early the next day and stopped by the coffee pot in his unit for a cup of the hot black stuff to get his heart beating and ready for the day. He found a note on his desk the night guy left for him. He glanced at the pink slip of paper and the name jumped out at him. It was from the manager of The Reef Hotel in Nassau. He sipped his coffee before setting the cup on his desk and grabbing the phone. “Wonder what this is all about?” he thought as he waited for the hotel operator to come on the line. He asked for the manager by name and sat on hold another 15 seconds before hearing the man’s cheery British accent.
Desperado Page 9