Chapter 19

“He’s on to something,” Frank called back to Matt, as Radar started toward the road in front of the resort. “I’ll let him go far enough to make sure of his direction and then we might have to go by car for a few miles. At which point, I’ll let him back out and see what he does.”

“Okay, Frank, you’re in charge.” Matt followed behind with Henderson, Balasco, and Jessie.

Frank stopped. “You guys might want to follow behind me in your cars with lights. It might keep it a little safer for the dog as he follows the scent.”

“We can do that.” Matt nodded.

“I’ll walk with Frank.” Jessie stood beside him.

“Let’s move it out.” Henderson started for his car.

“Radar, let’s get to work.” Frank gave the command and the dog moved forward, head up, sniffing the air for a bit until his nose went down to the ground. He started trotting at a steady pace along the road heading out of town.

Jessie fell into step with Frank and the dog. “Adriana came to me in my dreams last night. She’s out there, and Mallory hasn’t found her yet.”

“Did you see anything that might help—a landscape, or mile marker?”

“Not much.” She shook her head. “I only saw her. She was alive but afraid. It was her second night out in the elements. She’s pregnant; we can’t forget that. All I could see was a small rock formation. I remember thinking it seemed out of place in a desert location. Radar appears to be working it.” She pointed at the dog.

“He’s doing an excellent job.” Frank smiled at her. “He’s tugging on my arm. He seems to be in a bit of a hurry.” Radar came back to them. “What’s up, fella? Do you want me to move a little bit faster?” Radar took the length of the line and pulled harder. A couple of miles out of town, Frank stopped, and Matt pulled up beside him. “Let’s put him in the car, go about five miles, let him out, and see what he does.”

“Sounds good.” Frank, Radar, and Jessie got in the backseat.

At five miles, Frank let Radar out, and after he had scented, he continued in the same direction. “He’s still working it.” Frank broke into a brisk walk as the dog pulled on the line. The track went on for another three miles. Radar paused suddenly. Up went his nose, and he started pulling harder. “Radio Matt and tell him he’s on to something, but I don’t know what side of the road we’re looking at.”

Jessie nodded and made the call. “Look, Frank, over there.” She grabbed his arm, “Is that a car on the side of the road? Right there?” Jessie pointed at sunlight bouncing off something, maybe metal, a ways up the road.

“It could be, let’s see if he takes us there.” The closer they got, the harder the dog pulled. Jessie broke into a run when she saw the car and something lying on the ground. “Matt, there’s a car. Oh goodness, hurry! There’s a man on the ground. We may need help.”

Matt sped up and pulled off the road by the car. Henderson followed him closely. Matt jumped out of his car and squatted beside Jessie and the man, feeling for a pulse. “We have a pulse, faint, but it’s there.” He nodded at Balasco, who was already calling for an ambulance. Matt noticed the pool of blood behind the man’s head. “Jess, get the bottle of water out of my car. See if you can find something clean to pour it on and make a cold cloth for his head. It’s warm out here.”

Jessie went to the car and found both. She poured the water over the bandanna she found in the car. She ran back to the abandoned car and handed him the wet cloth and the water. “Will he make it?” She squatted beside them, her eyes on Matt’s face.

“I don’t know, but if we hadn’t gotten here when we did, he surely would have died.”

She watched Radar. He kept pacing back and forth, sniffing at the trunk before he finally sat down. “Did you find something, fella?” Frank patted the dog’s head. “Good boy, Radar, good boy.” He gave him a treat and water.

Henderson looked inside through the car’s wide open door. “Wow, what a mess.” There’s blood on the steering wheel and junk everywhere. Whoever left this, wasn’t very smart. He left his keys in the car. Tony, get a crime unit up here to go over the scene. I’ll call it in to the Agency to put a rush on the evidence you send them.” He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.

“Henderson, if you’ve got the keys, could you open the trunk?” Balasco called out to him. “The dog has hit on it. I want to make sure there’s no one in there.”

Henderson moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk. “We might want to have this towed to the Agency when your guys are done and let our team go over it too. At least one of our victims has obviously been in the trunk of this car. This car is like the one Maria described to us.”

“There isn’t a body, but we have a woman’s shoe which could belong to either one of our victims.”

Jessie watched Matt, Balasco, and Henderson at work. Her eyes kept returning to the quiet man lying on the ground willing him with her every thought to live. He was too pale and had lost some blood. The wailing sirens were closing in fast. She sat down beside him, fanning the air around him with Matt’s clipboard, trying to keep the flies away from his face. He made a sound, startling her, and she jumped. “Matt he’s groaning. Do you think he’s coming around?”

Matt squatted down beside him as the man tried to move. “Sir, lie real still. You don’t want to make your injuries worse. We’re not going to harm you. The ambulance is on its way.”

“He, he hit me…” His faint voice trailed off. “Big man…said he needed help, stole my car.” He groaned again.

“Don’t try to talk, sir.”

“Please don’t leave me.” He grabbed at Matt’s hand. “My wife, my kids, the number is in the wallet.”

“I’ll take care of it for you, sir.” Matt pulled the man’s wallet from his pocket. He wrote the number on his notepad, along with Rodney Owens’ name and address, taken from his license. The ambulance pulled up beside Mallory’s car. Matt watched them remove the stretcher. “They’re here to help you.” Matt stood up and noticed the man trying to reach for his hand. “I’m not leaving, but I’m getting out of their way so they can work at getting you home to your wife and kids.”

Jessie was impressed once again. Matt went the extra mile to reassure the man. She watched as the paramedics worked on him. They brought a backboard to keep him immobile, which they slipped carefully underneath him. They lifted him and the board onto the stretcher. They checked and reported his vitals to the doctor. A drip line inserted into his vein began the flow of a drug cocktail that a physician from the trauma unit prescribed to stabilize him enough to transport.

Matt walked beside the stretcher to the ambulance. “I’ll be at the hospital to see you in a while.” The man blinked at him. “We’re going to get the man who did this to you.” The man blinked again, and tears slipped out of his eyes. Matt grabbed his hand. “You work hard at getting better and we’ll work hard at taking care of this.” Matt placed the man’s wallet near his hands. He watched them lift the stretcher into the ambulance and close the door. It took off the way it had come.

Jessie watched a weary-looking Matt walk over to Frank and Radar.

“It’s a darn shame when someone stops to help what he thinks is a stranded motorist to be attacked and left for dead.” Frank refilled the water bowl in front of Radar.

“What do you think we should do? They’ll be here to process this before long.” Matt patted Radar’s head. “Jessie saw Adriana last night. I think we need to keep looking.”

“I know. She told me. I would like to let Radar take another sniff of one of her items and see if he does anything. He’s had a little time to rest, and he drank plenty of water.”

“Let’s do it,” Matt talked to Balasco and Henderson about continuing the search.

Henderson scowled at them. “You both go with the dog. I’m going to stay here and make sure they don’t bungle this crime scene up. You radio me the minute you find something if you do. But, I doubt you will.” The agent walked away. “Watch where you step,” he snapped at one of the officers getting out of the car that had just arrived. “This is a crime scene and don’t forget it.”

Tony winked at Matt. “I’ll be happy for a little space from that one, but I feel sorrier than you know what for my poor crime unit.”

****

“Let’s go find her.” Matt walked over to Jessie.

“I hope we can before Mallory does.” She gathered her hair, pulling it into a ponytail.

“We’re ready.” Frank attached the line to Radar. He took out one of the shirts Adriana’s husband had given them and placed it near Radar’s nose. “Find the girl, fella, let’s bring her home.”

Radar’s routine began. His nose went up in the air, and he started sniffing. His tail began to wag, and he took off, moving at a good pace. Jessie continued to walk with Frank, and Matt followed with Tony in the car, lights flashing to warn any traffic.

About thirty minutes into the new track, Radar crossed the two-lane road and headed along a dirt road that wound through a vast open expanse of cactus and sand. Jessie talked with Matt and kept him apprised so that Matt could turn down the same road.

“Is he still working it?” Jessie watched the dog pause and sniff the air.

“He sure seems to be.” Frank started walking when the dog pulled harder on the line. They moved farther off the main road. Radar was getting more excited and pulling harder on the line. Another thirty minutes passed, and then Jessie saw what appeared to be a small formation of rocks in the distance. “Frank, look over to the left. Do you see those rocks in the distance? It might be what I saw last night.”

“I see them. We’ll find out soon enough if she was ever there. He’s pulling hard. I’m going to be sore tonight.”

“He’s veering to the left.” Jessie’s voice sounded excited. “Hold him up. Matt’s going to have to walk this and so is Tony. The car can’t go out there.”

The car pulled up beside them, and Matt rolled down the window. “What’s up?”

“You’re going to have to walk this next part. He’s headed out through the sand toward the rocks or whatever that is over there.” Frank pointed in the direction. “Jessie saw them in her head last night. I should probably give him some water and take it from there.” Frank poured water into the bowl and placed it in front of Radar. He took a few laps but then trotted to the end of the line and began pulling. “He wants to go. I think he’s on to something. We need to keep moving.”

“Nothing is as close as it appears.” Jessie wiped the sweat running down her cheek with her hand.

“You ought to be grateful this is winter and not summer, little lady. We’d all be a puddle by now. No one can survive long out here in the summer heat,” Tony mentioned as tried to keep pace with them. “How does he do it? That dog is pulling something fierce. His arms must feel like they’re going to fall off at the end of a track. I guess it’s all worth it if that dog finds something.” He slowed down and started to fall behind as the dog picked up speed.

“Watch, and you’ll be amazed how good he is. I know I was the first time.” Matt lagged behind with Balasco.

“We’re getting closer and he’s getting harder to hold back.” Frank tried to slow him down.

“Let him have his lead, we’ll follow behind and catch up soon enough.”

They were surprised when they found Adriana ten minutes later curled up out of the sun in a crevice in the rocks. The dog’s excited howl awakened her from a deep sleep.

Jessie could see the fear on her face. “Don’t be afraid, Adriana, I’m Jessie. Frank is my friend, and so is his dog Radar. We’ve been looking for you.” When Matt and Chief Balasco caught up to them, she introduced them. “We’ll get you to safety.”

“Do you think you can walk a little ways?” Frank asked her.

She nodded at him. “How did you find me?”

“This good old boy right here did the work.” Jessie patted the dog’s head “With a little help from one of your shirts that your husband gave the police.” They gave her water and started the trek back to the car. “I’m so glad that we’ve found you.”

Tears filled Adriana’s eyes. “I only traveled at night for fear he would find me.”

When they reached the car and she was safely inside, Matt handed Adriana his phone. “Would you like to call your husband and let him know you are alive and safe now?”

“Yes, please.” She touched the phone’s numbers and began to cry when her husband answered. “Evan, it’s me. Honey, I’m safe. They found me. I’m safe. I don’t know where I am. Here you can talk to the policeman.” She cried and laughed as she handed the phone over.

“Evan, this is Matt. We met in the bookstore in Blue Cove.”

“I remember you.” He sounded as if he was crying. “How did you find her?”

“It’s a long story and I’ll let her tell you all about it later. We are several miles outside of Palm Springs. We need to take her to the hospital and have her checked out. I’ll make sure she calls again the minute she gets settled.”

“Is she okay?”

“A checkup is routine for any victim. She appears to be fine, but we want to have her checked out thoroughly and ask her some questions. You understand?”

“Yes.” He drew a gasping breath. “I’ll book a flight there right now. How can I ever thank you?”

“Hey, it’s our job. See you when you get here. Evan, the phone is on the speaker. Do you want to say anything else to your wife?”

“I love you, sweetheart.” His voice broke again. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”

“Okay, I love you too, Evan.”

Matt smiled at Jessie. “I’ll let you make the next call. You can tell Agent Henderson that Radar found her, and we are en route to the Palm Springs Hospital.” Matt handed her the phone.

“Agent Henderson speaking.”

“This is Jessie. Matt is driving. Radar found Adriana and we are taking her to the Palm Springs hospital now.”

Matt grinned when he heard the colorful language coming over the line. “Henderson, you missed a thing of beauty. We’ll fill you in as soon as we see you back at the station. Balasco and I will put it all in our report.” Matt hit the lights and siren as they passed the crime scene on their way into town.