“FILL ME IN,” Roman ordered as Frankie U-turned and headed back down the road into town. “What do I need to know?”
“Single-car accident reported to the sheriff’s station just outside town. Rugged area. Lots of woods and unpaved, narrow roads. Twisting paths and ravines.” Frankie pushed her glasses back on and, after turning right on Monarch Lane, took another immediate right and floored it. “Description of the car sounds like it’s Oliver Hideman. Longtime resident. He was old when I was a kid.”
“I know the type.”
“Lost his wife about eight years ago.” She kept the lights spinning. Once they reached the end of Wasp Tail Road, she hit the sirens and took the winding road up toward Gray Marble Way. “He keeps to himself mostly. Daughter and her family moved in last Christmas to help, but he’s never been able to quit drinking. Comes and goes. Got so bad last time, his daughter hid his car keys. Caused enough of a row, Luke—that’s Sheriff Saxon—and one of his deputies were called in. They locked him up for a weekend, wanted to get him dried out. This is the first time we’ve heard anything since. Not surprising, though. Holidays can be tough for some people.”
“Who called it in?” Roman kept his eyes on the road, memorizing signs, looking for obstacles and turnoff roads.
“According to Ozzy—he’s the junior deputy—a couple of tourists saw the car after they took a wrong turn. Once they were back in town, they found the station and stopped to report it. Ozzy called me when he couldn’t get any of his fellow deputies over there fast enough. Hold on.” She took the left onto Checkerspot Drive, which went from pavement to gravel, two lanes to one. She gripped the steering wheel as the tires spun.
Her cell phone rang through the car. She tapped the icon on the steering wheel. “Yeah, Oz. I’m about three minutes ETA. Kendall’s on her way with the engine. What do you have?”
“Laura just called.”
“Hideman’s daughter,” Frankie said. “Sorry, Oz. I’ve got Roman with me.”
“That was fast. Yeah, okay. Laura was taking a nap with the baby, and when she woke up, Oliver was gone. So was Parker, her five-year-old.”
“Okay.” It was always worse when kids were involved. “Okay. How long ago did she call?”
“Not two minutes. I called you as soon as I hung up.”
“Deputy...” Roman glanced at Frankie.
“Lakeman.”
“Deputy Lakeman, this is Roman Salazar.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Deputy Lakeman, are you alone at the station house?”
“No, sir. Deputies Knight and Bradley just got back.”
“It might be good to have someone stay with Mr. Hideman’s daughter until we know what’s going on. Can you handle that?”
“Sir, I can tell Deputy Knight—”
“I want you there. You’ve already spoken with her, you know what’s going on. You get over there now, okay? We’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”
“Yes, sir.” Surprise echoed through the car. “I’m on my way right now. Matt and Fletcher are on their way to meet you. Frankie?”
“I’ll call you on your cell when we know something.” Frankie glanced at Roman as he reached over to disconnect the call. “You sent him out there.”
“Yes. I’ve read the regulations. I’m authorized to pull from the sheriff’s department during an emergency. Besides, Ozzy is one of our volunteers, correct?”
“Yeah, no, I know.” Frankie took a curve a bit too hard and the back tire came up off the ground. “I’m just surprised is all. Luke usually keeps him tied pretty close to the desk.”
“Why?”
Frankie winced. “It’s not my place to say.”
“It is if I say it is. Is Lakeman not up to the job?”
“Quite the contrary, Ozzy’s a great deputy. When he’s given the chance. Luke tends to be a bit overprotective when it comes to him, is all.” She didn’t think now was the time to fill Roman in on Sheriff Luke Saxon’s personal history with those under his command. He took their safety to heart—probably more than most would.
“I read Ozzy’s file last night,” Roman said. “He’s determined and tenacious. I also read where he’s dropped over sixty pounds in the last eighteen months. Any idea why?”
“You’d have to ask him that. There!” Frankie whipped off her glasses and caught sight of the front end of the ancient Chevy Impala sticking out from the overgrown brush. She slammed on the brakes and was out of the car in an instant, her boots crunching in the gravel of the road as she raced to the car. “Oliver!” The car’s passenger side had plowed into the tree, uprooting smaller trees around it. The driver’s door was open, the two front tires flattened. A heavy branch had dropped on top of the car and lay like a hot dog in a metal bun. The windshield and back window had shattered and collapsed, completely obscuring the back seat. Blood soaked the driver’s seat. “Roman! He’s not here.”
“H-help.” The small cry burst against her ears. “I’m stuck.”
“Parker?” She waved Roman over from where he was searching the surrounding brush. She stepped back, and as she did, her foot slipped. She almost hit the ground before she caught her balance. The car tipped, the front wheels inching off the ground. Her stomach lurched, but she remained calm, her training kicking in. She held out her hand as Roman reached her, stepped carefully to the side and felt the edge of the ground give way. “Hey, buddy.” Frankie looked into the back seat and found the little boy curled up on the floor beneath the tree and caved-in roof. “That doesn’t look very comfortable. How about we get you out of there?”
The little boy sobbed and shook his head.
The car trembled and tipped another inch. “Okay, that’s okay, Parker.” Frankie held up her hands, urging him not to move. In the distance she heard the distinct rumbling of the station’s engine making its way up the road.
“You know what? Can you do me a favor and just stay really, really still? I’m going to talk to my partner over here about the best way to get you out and back to your mom, okay?”
“Okay.”
Frankie grabbed Roman’s arm and drew him to the side. “We’ll have Matt and Fletcher start looking for Oliver once they get here. As far as Parker, part of the problem with roads like this is they’re so overgrown we can’t know they’re dangerous until they are.” She motioned to the thick shrubbery hiding the sharp drop-off leading to a creek bed thirty feet below. “That car’s about to go over. We need to try to brace it with something.”
“Can he really not move?” Roman asked.
“I don’t—”
“Hey, Parker.” Roman pushed past her and walked over to the window. “Hey, little man. My name’s Roman. I bet you’re pretty scared, aren’t you?”
“Yes. My grandpa almost hit a deer. He didn’t hit it, did he? I begged him not to.”
Frankie took a deep breath. Maybe the situation wasn’t as tragic as she thought. Maybe Hideman hadn’t been drinking after all.
“I don’t see a deer, so I bet it got away just fine,” Roman said as he leaned over to examine the area, bending down to check under the car. “That was so nice of you, Parker. To be worried about it.”
“Mama says all creatures are precious. Even the creepy-crawly ones.”
“Your mama sounds like a smart woman. Parker, can you do me a favor?” Roman called. “Without moving too much, can you tell me if you’re hurt? Your arms? Legs? Do you think you can move them okay?”
After a moment, came a tremulous “Yes. But my head hurts. And I’m dizzy.”
“Probably has a concussion,” Frankie whispered and glanced back as Kendall, one of the department volunteers, brought the engine to a stop behind the SUV. “I think I can wiggle myself underneath to get a tow chain hooked onto the front axle for stability. Long enough for you to pull him out.”
Roman didn’t look convinced. “Maybe I should—”
“I’ll be in and out, real quick.”
Roman nodded. “Right now I’m not seeing another option, since with every move Parker makes that car tips. Okay. Do it. Just be careful. Most of this ground doesn’t feel stable.”
Frankie had already felt the dirt and mud shifting under her. “I know. You keep him talking, okay? And be ready to yank him out. Kendall, hey.”
“What do we have?” Kendall, who was former Army, fell instantly into emergency mode by examining the scene.
“We need to hook the car to the engine for stability. Can’t use Dwayne. The Impala will just drag both of them over.”
“Right.”
After a quick discussion with her friend, Frankie climbed back into the SUV, radioed in and, after some frustrating maneuvering in the narrow road, moved Dwayne completely out of the way of the engine. Frankie hurried around the back and pulled the large metal case out of its custom housing beside the spare tire.
“What’s that?” Roman called.
“My dad had this made years ago. Makeshift towing cable. Like the ones tow trucks use?” She opened the lid and dragged out the auto hook, attaching it to one of her belt loops before dragging the rest of the chain free and handing off the other end. Kendall ducked under the engine and locked it securely to the undercarriage.
Frankie turned to the Impala. “Okay. You need to be ready,” she told Roman. “I’m not sure it’s up high enough for me to get in clear. I might need to push it up a bit.”
“We’re ready. Right, Parker?” Roman called.
“I’m scared.”
Frankie tried to block out the little boy’s fear as she dropped to the ground, putting her back to the slimy, leaf-strewn mud. She pushed slowly, carefully, until she was under the car.
“I know you’re scared, little man,” Roman’s voice echoed in her ears. “But we’re going to get you out and back to your mom real soon, okay? You know Frankie out here is kind of a superhero?”
“She is?”
Frankie almost smiled at the disbelief in the kid’s voice.
“She is,” Roman insisted. “She even has a not-so-secret lair. Have you been to the town firehouse, Parker?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Well, we’ll have to fix that. I was thinking about having some of you kids come by to see how we do things there. Do you think you’d like that?”
Frankie only half heard him. Mud and grime sank into her clothes, coated her hair, slicked her arms as the vehicle loomed over her. The car vibrated, moving up and down as the pressure from the sagging back increased. She didn’t see a sturdy place to hook in. She’d need to go farther. She braced her feet and pushed the top of her body deeper into the mud, trying not to jostle the car as she reached down and removed the hook from her belt loop. Frankie stretched her arms over her head, the chain dropping heavily onto her chest and legs. Her knee hit the car, and it creaked and tipped another few inches. Frankie’s breath froze at the sound of Parker’s cry.
“Hey, there. It’s okay,” Roman said. “Can you reach out and take my hand?”
Frankie couldn’t see, but she did hear Parker’s slight sigh of relief.
“Frankie? You doing okay?” Roman called.
“Yeah! Just a little bit...more.” She tugged on the chain and gained some slack as she stared at the undercarriage for the strongest place to hook into. Another few inches back, right...there! She pushed the hook open, but it wouldn’t hold. She took a deep breath, gave it a quick tug. The hook slipped against her palm. The car creaked again. She tried again but had to hold it in place.
“Frankie!” Kendall yelled.
“It won’t hold on its own!” She heard sirens, tires screeching, doors slamming. And voices. “Get him out!” she yelled at Roman.
“Not until you’re clear,” Roman said.
“I’m okay! Get him out!” Her arms burned, but the hook remained in place. Barely. If the car went, hopefully it would tip up enough for her to roll free.
“Hey, Frankie. What ya doing under there?”
Frankie laughed as Fletcher Bradley’s friendly face dropped down beside her. But she saw it, even as she sputtered mud. He was worried. “Is he out?” she managed to ask.
“Door’s jammed. Gonna have to yank him out through the window, but that means he has to crawl onto the seat first. You got a hold of the car? You bench-press more than this, right?”
“Stop making me laugh, you clown.” But she could feel it—between the car and her grip, the car felt...steadier. At least for now. “You here alone?”
“Nah. Brought my wonder twin. Hey, Matt!”
Matt Knight leaned over to look under the car.
“One of you needs to help Roman get Parker out,” Frankie ordered. “The other can go look for Oliver. He must be nearby given the amount of blood in the car.”
“On it.” Matt elbowed Fletcher and off he went to search for Parker’s grandfather. “Look, Frankie, we can’t tow the car back up. It’s too far gone. We’ve got another idea, though. You have some give with that mud? Cause it’s going to get tight under there.”
Frankie understood immediately. They were going to let the car go. “I’ll be okay. You do what you need to and get Parker out.” She squeezed her eyes shut, took a few calming breaths as she spotted Matt and Kendall moving into place.
“Gotta do this fast. Frankie? When we give the word, you unhook that hook. We don’t want it taking you with it.”
“Okay.” Her muffled response had Roman dropping down. “I’m fine,” she said before he could speak. She met his eyes and felt a moment of gratitude for their calming dark depths. He had things under control, she thought, as he gave her a sharp nod.
Frankie lifted her chin, saw two pairs of hands wrap around the chain. She lowered her head into the mud and felt it squish up around her ears. Her hands, sore and cold, kept a vise lock on the hook, her thumb poised to release it when the order came.
“Parker, remember what we talked about? I need you to move nice and easy. There you go.” Roman’s voice drifted above the roaring in her ears; the same roar she’d become accustomed to in her nearly ten years as a firefighter. “Good boy, Parker. Now scoot just a little closer to the door. I’m going to reach out and when you can, I want you to take my hand, okay? You’re going to do a bit of flying. Just like a superhero.”
“Like Frankie?” Parker asked.
“Just like Frankie,” Roman confirmed. “On the count of three, okay? One...two...”
“Three!” Matt and Kendall yelled as they pulled down hard on the chain. The car over Frankie dropped down, pushing her deeper into the mud. She felt metal brush against her nose. She tasted oil in her mouth as she struggled to maintain her hold on the hook.
“Got him! Let it go!” Roman yelled.
“Now, Frankie!” Matt hollered.
Frankie popped the hook free just as Matt and Kendall released their hold on the car. The world moved into slow motion. The car arced up, the ground dropping from under the back tires, and for a moment, Frankie thought the vehicle would land on top of her before it crashed into the ravine. Two pairs of hands locked around her ankles and pulled, hard, dragging her through the mud and toward the SUV. She released the chain before it smacked her in the face.
The deafening crash of the car hitting the bottom of the ravine echoed in her ears as she lay there, inches deep in mud, staring up at Matt and Kendall.
“And me without my camera.” Matt grinned and held out his hand. “Looking good, Frankie.”
She grabbed hold, slightly tempted to drag him into the mud with her, but instead, she surrendered to the obscene sucking sound that erupted when she was pulled to her feet. She wiggled a bit, felt mud slip down the back of her shirt, the back of her pants. The back of everything. Instead of shaking it off, she spun toward Roman and found him holding Parker, the dark-haired little boy clutched around his neck like an octopus. “How is he?”
“Got quite a bump on the head.” Roman leaned back, moved long bangs out of Parker’s face. “Some scrapes and bruises, but he should be okay. Wouldn’t hurt to call an ambulance.”
“Already done,” Matt said as another patrol car arrived, lights spinning. “Hey, Sheriff. You missed all the excitement.”
“Looks like.” Luke Saxon climbed out of his car and beelined for Frankie. “You okay?”
“Never better.” Her chest hurt. Her arms ached. She wanted a shower more than she wanted oxygen, but the adrenaline continued to surge. She planted her hands on her knees and focused on breathing. “Oliver’s still out here somewhere. Fletcher’s already searching, but we need to get a move on.”
“Grandpa went to get help.” Parker turned his head against Roman’s shoulder. “He said he’d be right back.”
“How long ago was that, little man?” Roman asked.
Parker shook his head. “I don’t know. I felled asleep.”
“Over here!” Fletcher’s voice echoed from across the road on the other side of the engine. “There’s a blood trail.”
Frankie followed Matt across the gravel road and found a line of brush that had been broken through. “Here!” She dived into the trees even as she felt the mud drying and stiffening her clothes. A good twenty feet off the road, she found Fletcher crouching over Oliver Hideman who was lying facedown. She touched his neck, felt for a pulse. “He’s alive,” she told Fletcher, who nodded. “But it’s thready. Going to need help getting him out of here.”
“I’m here.” Roman dropped down beside her. “Luke has Parker. What do we have?” He helped roll Oliver over onto his back.
Frankie fell into the routine she’d been trained for. She checked Oliver’s extremities, looking for signs of broken bones, contusions, and stopped when she got to Oliver’s chest. “At least one broken rib. Here. Low. I don’t think it’s punctured a lung.” She ripped open his plaid flannel shirt and trailed her fingers lightly over the skin. “No bruising. Looks like the blood loss has slowed. We need a backboard to get him out of here.” She looked up at Roman and found him nodding in agreement.
“He’s got at least two good wounds on his head. I don’t want to risk a back injury, too. We’ll wait for the ambulance.”
“Ten minutes out.” Fletcher pushed to his feet and looked around. “Must have been disoriented to come this way. All he had to do was stay on the road and he’d have found help.”
“Mrs. Mulvaney lives just half a mile down the road.” Frankie leaned down to sniff. “I don’t smell alcohol. Could be this was just a freak accident because of the deer Parker told us about. Fletcher, can you get my medbox out of the SUV? I want to check his vitals.”
“Sure thing.” Fletcher returned to the SUV.
“Nothing accidental about the hazard those ravines pose,” Roman said. “This entire area should be hacked back. Barriers put up.”
“Hard to justify the cost when only a handful of families and people live up this way,” Frankie told him. “But you’re right.”
“I know I am.” Something akin to anger flickered in his eyes. “Should have waited before I talked to the mayor, but you can bet we’re going to have another conversation. I did get things settled about Jasper, though. So.” Roman shrugged. “That’s something.”
“Yes,” Frankie said, swallowing her surprise and wondering what that odd expression was on his face. “That’s definitely something. Thank you.”
The unreadable expression vanished under surprise. “You’re welcome. You did great, Frankie. Really great.”
“I guess that’s a truce called then?” Matt called from a distance away. “I can tell Lori there won’t be bloodshed at the firehouse any time soon?”
“Can’t promise that indefinitely, but for now?” Frankie nodded at Roman. “Yeah. Truce.”