Detectives Padillo and Arias stayed at The Reef Hotel as a guest of Mr. Vickers. He had plenty of rooms available. After the bombing, guests fled the hotel like rats leaving a sinking ship. He even lost some of the staff because of their fear from the bombing. Mr. Vickers had so much on his own plate, he stayed in one room himself so he didn’t have to take the time to drive home. Engineers thoroughly checked the hotel and declared it safe. Mr. Vickers worked with the owners to get contractors in to rebuild damaged areas. He moved the fine dining into a banquet room across the hall from the room being repaired. A few guests scheduled to arrive canceled their reservations after hearing about the bomb in the dining room, but most did not. The guests who left the hotel because of the bomb were quickly replaced with new guests. Business as usual, sort of.
Chief Oxley himself called Detective Padilla when his government decided to release Nyland into their custody. He’d already been in touch with Beau Collier so Collier had tickets wired to Padilla for the two detectives plus Nyland and his girlfriend from Nassau to Denver through Miami. The flights left the next morning.
Detectives Padilla and Arias hosted Mr. Vickers and his wife for dinner that night before they packed their stuff for departure the next day. They had the property of Nyland and his girlfriend packed and ready to go along with them. No sense leaving it all in the hands of Mr. Vickers to deal with. He certainly had enough to deal with.
At Police Headquarters in Nassau the following morning, Police Chief Oxley himself escorted Nyland and Jessica out of lock-up to the front entrance to meet with Padilla and Arias. Jessica was not handcuffed and back in her civilian clothes. Nyland, on the other hand, was in jail garb and shackled. His wrists were cuffed and cuffed to a chain around his waist. Both legs were also shackled together. He walked carefully so he didn’t trip himself. Two police cruisers waited at the curb behind the rental car of Padilla and Arias. The Chief shook hands with the detectives and wished them luck on their journey back to Denver. Police officers of the Bahamian government escorted Nyland and Jessica to separate vehicles and led the convoy to the airport. Nyland was assisted to the security area, passed through customs and was seated ahead of all other passengers on the flight. The flight attendant provided a lap blanket to cover his shackles so his appearance on the flight would not bother other passengers onboard. Arias sat in the window seat, Nyland in the center and Padilla sat on the aisle of the first row of seats. Once they were situated, the flight attendants boarded other passengers for the flight.
It was a short hop to Miami from Nassau. At Miami International Airport, Arias, Nyland, Padilla, and Jessica were the last passengers off the plane. Jessica sulked. Finally, Padilla spoke to her. “Listen, you are on this flight as the guest of the State of Colorado. The least you could do is stop sulking and follow orders. When we get off this plane we are going to the Airport Police Security Area at the airport to wait for the flight to Denver. Stick close to us and everything will go well. Once we get you to Denver, you are on your own. You can do whatever you want. If we need you for trial, make yourself available. If you leave town, let us know and make sure we have some way to reach you. Do you understand?”
Jessica looked down at her shoes. “I don’t know how I got mixed up in all this. I’m sorry to be such a bother. Yes, I understand and will cooperate.” She looked up at Officer Padilla then squinted her eyes a little. “And, please tell the State of Colorado thank you for me.”
Airport Security officers met the plane to escort the group through a private customs area and then to the Airport Security offices to wait for the plane to Denver. Walking along the open corridor toward customs, they were in full view of many passengers and airport personnel. Nyland walked slowly so he didn’t trip on the shackles. He coughed, dipping his head low to cover his mouth with one fist chained to his waist.
At that precise second, the window of the terminal across from the group exploded into thousands of glass shards and a bullet smacked into the concrete wall where Nyland’s head had been a nanosecond earlier.
Nyland dropped flat to the floor. So did everyone in the group. Other passengers grabbed their luggage and ran screaming away from the area. Some just dropped their luggage and ran. Armed Security Policemen ran outside the terminal heading across the street to the parking structure. That’s where those present felt the bullet had to come from. Policemen called for assistance on their shoulder radios and soon the entire area was swarming with officers, both from the City of Miami and Airport Police. Nyland, his detective escorts, and Jessica were rushed into a warren of passages inside the terminal building that was unknown to regular passengers. One of the Airport cops found a wheelchair and shoved Nyland into it so they could make better time getting around with him.
They were taken to an interior Customs Office. Arias pulled three passports from his breast pocket. One was his, one was Nyland’s and one was Jessica’s. Mr. Vickers had retrieved them for the Officers from the hotel registration area where they were stored upon check-in at the hotel. Padilla pulled the extradition orders from his breast pocket along with his own passport. The Customs Agents looked over the paperwork and signed them off to continue their journey.
The Airport Police took the group to their own security area in the terminal to wait. In the meantime, police officers swarmed throughout the public areas of the terminal and the parking structure across the street. There were several spots from which a sniper could have fired that shot. Camera footage from the security cameras in the garage was being reviewed. Police found several of the cameras had been recently damaged and produced no footage at all. Numerous cars left that garage shortly after the shot was fired but it was impossible to determine if those cars had been anywhere near the locations that could have been used. Every vehicle in the garage and every one that left after the shot was fired had to be checked out. The Miami Chief of Police, along with the Chief of the Airport Police followed the investigation closely. They were frustrated. This sniper was very careful, very skillful, and very cagey. He or she knew the business and how to cover his or her tracks.
Padilla, sitting close to the radio inside the Security Police offices in the terminal, heard report after report coming in from officers working the investigation. All he could think was if this was another of Henry Babcock’s ideas, he was going to be very disappointed again. They found the last man who missed the mark washed up on the shores of the Bahamas. He was trying very hard to silence Nyland. What was going to happen to this sniper who also failed? What exactly did Nyland have on him anyway? He and Arias concurred that getting Nyland back to Denver and in protective custody as soon as possible was urgent. It occurred to both of them that Mr. Babcock was a ruthless sociopath. Would he try to blow up an airliner with them and Nyland on it just to protect himself? Both Detectives were a lot more nervous about the flight home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Walter and Mike went to the gate to help Charles Carnegie through the phalanx of reporters when he arrived at the ranch with Rose and Maryann Wilcox, Becky Howard, and his wife, Celeste. Charles parked near the house and they all went inside for a discussion before facing the chaos outside.
“I’ll go talk to the reporters first. Maybe I can get them to agree to an informal Press Conference format for this. I can handle those pretty well. I can introduce all of us and then take questions as they come. Some will be directed to you, youngsters. Just answer their questions as best as you can. If you need help, we’ll all be there to help. Okay?” Charles said to the group.
Walter was the only one of the group to watch Charles Carnegie in action at the Press Conference in Colorado. He was all for the idea and gave the others his opinion. Everyone agreed. Charles and Walter went outside and invited the reporters and their cameramen onto the ranch. They were going to set up the conference on the back patio of the ranch house. The reporters were promised access to the horses after they interviewed the kids.
Charles and Celeste, Mike and Ginny, Walter and Caroline a
nd Rose walked out with Brody, Maryann, and Becky. They stood back while Charles talked to the reporters and gave their names. He told them each name, then spelled it for the reporters so they could get the right spelling in their stories. He introduced the youngsters last. Once the introductions were over, reporters hands flew in the air. Charles asked one at a time for their questions.
Several of the reporters in California had heard rumors of the cougar in the canyon with ten horses, nine young people, and one elderly woman. They were excited to get that story down for their pieces on TV and in newspapers.
Brody told the story. At the time, none of the kids or Hilda were aware of the cat but the horses certainly were. The cat crept into the canyon very early in the morning. Brody told about the sudden and forceful attack all ten horses made on the cougar, led by Desperado. He told them how the large cougar ran snarling and spitting out of the canyon with ten horses on his tail. He showed the reporters with his hands the size of the cougar’s footprints they found only a few feet from where they lay sleeping. He explained Desperado was owned by the elderly woman with them but was ridden in the shows by Todd O’Neal, the son of the ranch owner in Colorado where they were riding. He went on to tell the reporters how Desperado led them through the smoke to the elderly woman’s home to get her, stopped in the barn to let his own mother out of her barn stall, then lead them to that isolated canyon where they found safety from the fire. Brody didn’t have to embellish the story for everyone to realize what a hero Desperado was, even if he was just a horse.
Questions went on for nearly an hour. Becky, Maryann, and Brody were getting tired by that time. The questions of how they came to be there were answered. Questions about how they did at the Nationals were answered. Ginny Hartley brought out one of her own National Championship trophies to show them. The ones Becky and Maryann brought home looked exactly the same but were packed away at that moment. Questions about what they had been doing when the fire broke out were answered. The entire story of the frightening run from the wildfire was hashed and re-hashed a bit. They described how the firemen came to their rescue and got them back to safety. They gave the Fire and Forestry Service credit for what they’d done. What the kids and Hilda did while they were trapped in the canyon was described in some detail. They told how happy they were when the Fire Department dropped supplies in for them until they could come to get the group out. In the kids’ eyes, the Fire Department, Forestry Department, and the horses were the heroes in this, and none more than Desperado. Had he not found them a safe place to go, they wouldn’t have survived at all.
As soon as the questions were answered, the reporters and their cameramen were taken to the main show barn and allowed to see all of the horses from the canyon that were on the Hartley Ranch. Most of them especially wanted to see Prince Ali. Becky took him out of his stall and turned him out in the arena so they all had a good look at him. Ali showed a few scorch marks on his backside. Becky explained she and Ali were at the rear of the pack to keep the others moving as fast as possible and keep them bunched together. She also showed them the tee shirt she was wearing during the run from the fire. It had several small burn marks in it where embers were blown onto her clothing. Ali gained points for how beautifully he showed off for the reporters. He was always a ham. He took the opportunity to show some of his best moves. Reporters around the arena were entranced with the cougar story and could hardly believe ten horses would chase a full grown mountain lion when they should have been running away from it. That was the talk of the day.
Becky finally had a moment to speak her mind. “You know, lots of people say Arabian horses are silly, spooky, high strung horses they wouldn’t own themselves and certainly not let their children ride. I’m going to tell you a few things about them. They are highly intelligent. They are smart! They also form an attachment to people like no other breed. They love people! They were raised by people who brought them right into their own living rooms with their wives and kids. The Arab people did that for generations with these horses. Their tents were their homes and the horses lived inside with them. Can you imagine bringing a horse into your living room? They learned to be careful where they stepped so they didn’t step on babies or kids’ toes. They learned to love the people who cared for them. The horses we had in our group had their own special people with them and they looked out for us. Desperado went for his owner with no one telling him to. He wasn’t going to leave her to burn up in the fire. He got his own mother out of there so she didn’t burn up in the fire either. They all followed his lead because they seemed to know he would lead them to safety and they all had their special people riding them. So, don’t ever let anyone tell you Arabian horses are nervous, flighty or high strung. They are not! And these ten horses saved ten human lives besides their own.”
Becky didn’t realize several cameramen had her on camera when she gave that speech. That was part of the evening news broadcasts that night along with a video of Prince Ali strutting his stuff in the arena and clips of the other kids answering questions for the reporters.
Melissa, Suzie, Heidi, and Kathy came to the ranch with their parents before the reporters left. Ginny Hartley made a few quick phone calls from her barn office about the news people. Since the impromptu Press Conference Charles Carnegie put on, the reporters had been easy to deal with and really curious about the kids and their horses. Becky put Ali back in his stall and the other girls brought out their horses and turned them out in the arena. They stood along the arena rails and talked about their horses with the reporters there. The cameramen had additional shots to process for the day’s news on all stations. Every horse in the group had a scorch mark or two and Heidi brought the tee-shirt she was wearing the day the fire broke out. She showed it to the reporters so they could see the small burn holes in the back and the sleeves. That made the evening news as well. The girls also told the reporters about their successes in the show ring at the Youth Nationals show in Albuquerque the week before the fire. Every one of the horses had a Champion, Reserve Champion, Third Place, and Top Ten awards for the week before the disaster. Not only were they brave but they were Champions too!
When the decision was made to talk to the reporters in California, Ginny got on the phone to Chris O’Neal in Colorado and filled him in. “You might as well talk to them instead of dodging them. They are only doing their jobs. Take it as an opportunity to tell about those brave horses and brave kids,” she told him.
Chris talked to the huddle of reporters hanging around his front gate. He promised to let them in for a few minutes when he had time to talk to his wife and son and their guest, the owner of one of the horses involved. He promised to get the other local kid and his parents over if they were able to join the group.
Sharon called Mrs. Reeves and explained what they were doing. Since Charlie and Aces High were part of the group trapped in the canyon, she thought it might give Todd some help if Charlie came over with his parents and talked to the reporters.
About the same time the reporters were asking Brody, Maryann, and Becky the questions in California, another group of reporters were asking Todd and Charlie the same questions in Colorado. Todd tended not to put so much emphasis on the bravery of Desperado but Charlie did his best to make his opinion on the matter clear. Desperado was the hero of a lifetime for him.
Todd had a sinking feeling in his gut whenever he thought about it. If Desperado was worth more because of his wins, how much more would he be worth because of his bravery? It was all slipping so far out of his reach and out of his control and it made him sadder and sadder.
Hilda, another one of the group stuck in the canyon for so long, made no bones about her feelings on the matter. Desperado saved lives that day by taking them to a place of safety. He’d also saved her life when he turned toward the fire to get her before the fire overran her home, and saved his own mother as well when he should have been running away from the danger. Hilda took credit for breeding Desperado and let it be known that she an
d her deceased husband thought the horse was the finest horse they’d bred in over 40 years. He was her lifetime achievement wrapped up in a single horsehide and she was very proud of him.
After all the questions were answered, Desperado, Anabella, and Aces High were taken out of their stalls so the reporters could see them. Sharon also brought out Magic, the horse Brody rode that day. The four horses were no worse for the wear and were in good spirits. The cameras loved them and they were added to the broadcasts for later with the photos from California.
The upshot of the broadcasts was an upward tick in the interest in Arabian horses across the nation. Kids wanted their own Arabian horses. Parents went to local breeders for lessons and eventually purchased horses for their children. Men and women who’d always wanted a horse in their lives went to see available Arabian horses. Rescues who specialized in Arabian horses that needed new homes found good ones among those newly interested people. It was a great time for the Arabian horse in America, thanks to the bravery of ten horses, nine young people, and one elderly woman. And who knew what was next on the horizon?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The flight to Denver was delayed two hours. Two Air Marshals volunteered for the flight and were equipped with rubber bullets and real ones just in case. Passengers for the flight were screened very closely. Under the circumstances, they all put up with the screening which included checking for gunshot residue on their clothing, arms, hands, and faces before they were allowed to board the plane. There were a couple of sportsmen on the flight who brought guns with them for hunting. Their ultimate destinations were in Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. Their guns were checked through, checked by airline personnel privately for recent firing, and loaded in the belly of the plane. Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to check the baggage in the baggage hold before the plane was certified for take-off.
Desperado Page 14