Meg got her arms looped under Savannah’s armpits and then back over her shoulders. “Savannah, stay calm.” She had to yell over the roar of the water. “I can get us out of here, but you have to help me.”
The other woman struggled and Meg’s grip started to slip. With a shriek, Savannah heaved in her arms, jerking her right arm free to reach behind her and dig her fingers into Meg’s hair, dragging her beneath the surface with her as she sank. Meg instantly let go, her only thought to get free before Savannah drowned them both. She grabbed Savannah’s wrist with both hands, digging her fingers into the nerves and tendons on the soft underside, and squeezed. Savannah’s fingers went limp, and Meg yanked her head back as the hold released and pushed herself away.
Meg gratefully popped up to the surface, sucking in air and searching for any sign of Savannah or Hawk, who she’d lost completely in the spray. When no one surfaced, she cursed and took a deep breath before going under.
She went under, again and again, hands spread wide, searching for Savannah, but she couldn’t feel anything or see an inch in the murky depths of bubbles. When she surfaced, even this far from the spillway as they floated downstream with the spray clearing, she couldn’t see Hawk, either. That struck more than a little bit of panic into her heart.
“Hawk! Hawk, speak!”
Nothing came back but the roar of water.
She needed to get out to see if Savannah and Hawk were downstream out of the worst of the mist. She kicked off, heading to the bank, the mist clearing as the water level dropped.
Lauren stood on the bank, thirty feet downstream from Craig as they both stared hard at the river, searching for any sign of movement. Meg waved an arm over her head. “I’m here!” She pulled again for the shore. “Can you see them? Hawk or Savannah?”
“Nothing,” Lauren called. “I don’t see Rocco, either. He dove in, too. He must have been able to hear you out there.”
Lauren jogged over as Meg got her feet under her and stepped onto the bank, turning around to stare into the river as water sluiced off her.
Webb and McCord ran out of the trees upriver and sprinted toward them.
“Where’s Hawk?” Craig bellowed as he got closer.
“I don’t know!” Meg yelled back. “We got separated. Rocco is out there somewhere, too.” She turned to Lauren, who ran along the edge of the bank farther downstream. “Anything?”
“No, but if that plume of spray goes on for four hundred feet, they could be anywhere in there.”
“I’m going back in.” Meg stepped toward the river, but then stopped as a dark form caught her eye as it materialized out of the cloud of white.
Hawk came out of the mist, swimming slowly and bobbing uncharacteristically. Alarm spurted through Meg—Has he hurt himself?—but a second later, she realized he was towing something. Not something. Someone. Savannah. He had her wrist in his mouth and was swimming to shore, pulling her along behind him as she lay on her back. Then Rocco came into view, the cuff of her camo jacket in his teeth as he pulled at her other side.
“They have Savannah!”
Meg ran into the water, Craig and Lauren right behind her as she waded out to meet Hawk partway. He was laboring hard, his breath blowing harshly through his teeth as he struggled to keep them both moving.
“Good boy, Hawk. We have her. Let go.” Meg grabbed one of Savannah’s arms, and Craig took hold of the other, partially lifting her out of the water. “Let go, Hawk.”
On the far side, Lauren gave the same direction to Rocco.
Hawk seemed almost reluctant, as if he considered the job unfinished, but he obeyed the command and let go of Savannah’s wrist. Without the added weight, he quickly swam the rest of the way to shore and then clambered out, bracing all four feet to give an enthusiastic shake as water droplets flew in all directions. Rocco trotted out of the water after him, also stopping long enough to shake himself dry.
They dragged Savannah onto dry land and then laid her in the long grass at the edge of the forest, rolling her onto her side as she coughed and gasped.
Meg turned to look for Webb, but he was already closing fast. “Can you check her?”
“Give me some room.” He dropped to his knees and bent over her.
Craig activated the talk button for his microphone. “Torres, do you copy?”
With her equipment upstream with her bag, Meg could only follow Craig’s side of the conversation.
“We have Savannah Cavett. We just pulled her out of the river. I have a paramedic down here, but I want an ambulance and I want her checked out at the hospital before we take her into custody. We do this by the book.” He nodded at whatever Torres said. “Good. Buckner is okay? What about the protesters? There was a lot of glass flying around . . . Glad to hear it. Okay, we’re bringing her up. Beaumont out.” Craig turned to Webb. “She checks out?”
Webb stood. “Yes. I agree she should be thoroughly checked out at the ER before you take her in, but she’s clear to move.”
“Good. Help me get her up.” Together Webb and Craig got Savannah on her feet; then Craig pulled out a pair of cuffs from his jacket pocket. “Savannah Cavett, you’re under arrest on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer, one count of attempted murder, and one count of aggravated assault.” He cuffed her. “You have the right to remain silent.” Craig continued on with the Miranda warning as he started walking her up the beach.
Scott and Theo broke out of the trees and jogged over to meet them.
Lauren shook her head. “You know, Theo is a hell of a scent dog, better than Hawk and Rocco, maybe better than both of them put together. But try to light a fire under that bloodhound when he’s not in the mood and get him to move at top speed in a crisis? Good luck.” She looked down at the dogs that ambled around their feet. “Now you two heroes, you each deserve a special treat for that act of bravery.”
“They were incredible,” McCord said. “Just wait until the story for this case publishes. I have the perfect picture for it.”
Meg stared at him. “You stopped to take pictures?” “A video, but yeah. You guys had it in hand. You didn’t need me. So I filmed the rescue.” He pulled out his cell phone and waved it at Meg. “Don’t leave home without it. There’s going to be a great frame of Hawk and Rocco dragging the suspect in to shore.”
Rolling her eyes and laughing, Meg knelt down to stroke a hand over her dog. “Hear that, Hawk?” His ears perked up at his name. “You’re going to make the front page! That’s my boy.” Worn-out, she let her head rest for a moment against him and he turned to bump his nose against her affectionately.
“Meg.”
She raised her head at the sound of Webb’s voice, to find him standing over her, holding his hand out to her.
“Come on, let’s get you dried off. Again. You know, if you want to do this much swimming in the great outdoors, we should pack you a bathing suit.”
She snorted a laugh, slapped her hand into his, and let him pull her to her feet. “But that would take all the challenge out of it, wouldn’t it? Thanks. Honestly, I’ve had it with bodies of water after this case. Unless it’s a nice warm bath. But cold rivers are off my list for a while.” She looked over to where Craig and Scott were marching Savannah toward the hill. “Come on, we have one more job left to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Hand Savannah over to Torres. This is his case; he needs to make the official arrest.”
“But didn’t Craig just . . .” Webb trailed off. “Ah . . . Torres doesn’t need to know that. Trying to give him some of his own back?”
“Maybe. He worked hard on this case, and he deserves the win.” She smiled as she looked over the river, where two dogs had pulled victory from the jaws of defeat. “We’re going to make sure he gets it.”
CHAPTER 29
Black Bear Totem: People having the black bear totem have a great deal of confidence in who they are and where they are going in life.
They have patience and excel in waiting for the right moment to complete their visions.
Wednesday, April 24, 7:14 PM
Cookes Park
Washington, DC
“Keep your eyes closed,” Webb said, pulling his truck over to the side of the road.
“How long are we going to keep this up?” Meg asked.
“Not much longer.” McCord opened his door. “Hang on, we’re coming around to get you.”
Meg leaned toward Cara, who sat in the back with her, also with her eyes closed. “Have you peeked yet?” she asked.
“No. Maybe it’s time we—”
“Here you go.” Webb’s voice sounded to her left as the door opened. “Give me your hands and I’ll help you out.”
Meg held out her hands. Webb took them in his and tugged her toward him.
“You realize we look ridiculous,” she said.
“Reach out your foot for the running board. A little farther. Yes, that’s it. And no one is here to see you, so don’t worry. Besides, we’re just about there.”
When she stood on the running board, he let go of her hands, grasped her around the waist and lifted her down. Once she had her balance, Webb wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her around the rear of the truck.
“One step up, and you’re there. That’s it.” He turned her to face away from the truck. “Are you both ready?”
“Sure,” said Cara.
“As we’ll ever be, considering we don’t know what’s going on,” Meg said.
“Okay, then, you can look,” McCord said.
Meg opened her eyes.
They stood on the sidewalk in front of a redbrick, two-story federal-style duplex. The front of the structure was covered with mullioned windows topped by decorative white pediments and flanked by long black shutters. Two identical heavy black doors were deep set into stark white casements between heavy wrought iron lanterns. A short wrought iron fence separated the structure from the sidewalk.
McCord held out his arms like a showman. “Ta da!”
The women looked at each other in confusion and then at the men.
“I don’t understand,” said Cara. “What are we looking at?”
“Our potential new place,” McCord said.
“Places,” corrected Webb. “It’s a duplex.” He turned to Meg. “You said you needed something in town. Something with space for Hawk. Something close to Cara.” He grinned. “Is one connecting wall close enough?”
They both turned to look at Cara, who stood wide-eyed with her jaw slack. “I still don’t think I understand. I’m not looking for anything yet.”
“And now you don’t have to.” McCord moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the duplex. “Move in with me, if you’ll take me and my completely crazy dog. And if you like it, we can live right here.”
“And we’ll take the other side,” Webb said. “It’s relatively close to the Hoover Building, my firehouse, and the Washington Post. You’ll be next door to each other. What do you both think?”
It took Meg a moment to speak she was so stunned. “I’m . . . I’m a little speechless.”
“I’m not.” Cara threw her arms around McCord’s neck and gave him a smacking kiss. “I love it. And yes, I’ll move in with you and your crazy dog.” Her body went motionless; then she pulled away from McCord. “Wait, my brain just kicked in. I’m getting excited and I don’t know if we can afford it. What’s the asking price?”
Webb rattled off a figure. “That’s the cost of each side in separate sales. Think it’s doable?”
“We’d be selling the Arlington house and splitting the proceeds, so yes. Can we see inside?”
“We can.” Webb pulled a key on a gold fob out of his pocket and dangled it. “Only this one, though.” He pointed at the door directly in front of them. “The other side’s still being finished. But they’ll be identical units. It’s totally unfurnished, so you won’t have to picture your stuff in there around someone else’s.” He tossed the key to McCord, who deftly caught it. “Have at it. We’ll be right behind you.”
McCord grabbed Cara’s hand and they slipped through the gate, ran up the front walk like a couple of kids, opened the door, and disappeared inside.
Webb contemplated Meg and her silence. “You say you’re speechless. Is that good or bad?”
She turned to face him, reading his anxiety in the furrow between his brows. She smiled and the furrow eased. “All good.” She looked back at the duplex. “You found a place that works for every one of my requirements. And it’s even in a gorgeous classical style.”
“I thought that might be icing on the cake for you and your love of classic architecture.”
“How did you ever find it?”
“Kirk, one of the guys on shift B, buys and flips homes to earn some extra money. He bought this one and was fixing it up. He knew I was looking for a place and told me about it. Told me I could have a look at it before he put it up for sale. I was certainly considering it. Then he told me it was a duplex, and I got very serious about it.”
“All those other places. I kept turning them down and you just kept looking.”
“Given enough time, I was confident I’d find the right place. Want to see inside?”
“You better believe it. But first . . .” She pushed up on tiptoe and kissed him, letting it linger. “Thank you. I put you through the wringer on this and you hung in and found the perfect solution.”
He smiled, the gold flecks in his eyes catching the last of the evening sun. “Don’t say that until you see inside.”
“It’s already perfect. If something inside doesn’t work, we can fix it.” She took his hand. “Come on, we can’t let them have all the fun.”
They stepped into a small entrance hall that opened out into a living room on their right and then continued into an open kitchen and family living space. High ceilings were framed by crown molding and oak hardwood floors gleamed. Up a flight of stairs edged with a heavy wooden banister and covered with a charcoal runner, they could hear McCord making plans about how to set up the master bedroom and Cara oohing over the clawfoot bathtub.
Following the hallway past the staircase, Meg entered the kitchen, taking in the white cabinets that gave the space an open and airy feel, and contrasted the jet-black granite countertops. She ran one hand over the counter, the granite cool and satiny under her fingertips. “What year was this place built?”
“Just past the turn of the century. But Kirk basically gutted both sides and had them refitted professionally. New wiring, new plumbing, new walls, new floors.” He turned in a slow circle, taking in the mostly empty space. “But he kept the spirit of the original structure. Kept the high ceilings and refinished the molding himself. Used a lot of the same materials to give it a historic feel.” He walked over to a fireplace framed by white wood with a heavy mantel and a stone hearth. “I was thinking this would be great for cool winter nights. And right here.” He stepped back a few paces, and drew an invisible square on the floor. “This would be the perfect spot for your ugly-as-sin recliner.”
“Love me, love my recliner.”
Walking to her, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her in. “I do love you. Even if you come with that God-awful recliner.”
“You must love me. I put you through hell to find this place. I love it. And I love you.”
“I know it’s not the biggest place in town—” Webb cut off at Meg’s laugh. “What?”
“If it was the biggest place in town, we wouldn’t be able to afford it, even collectively. We don’t need big. How many bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs?”
“A master with en suite, two more bedrooms, and another full bath. You can go up and look.”
“I will. But first . . .” She slipped from his arms and took his hand, pulling him along with her to the sliding door at the back of the family room. Unlocking it, she slid it open. The sun was setting behind the house, washing the backyard in the soft glow photographers call
ed the “golden hour.” They stepped out into cool spring air and onto a small flagstone patio, surrounded by a healthy new lawn. “It’s even got a great yard. But . . .”
“What are you thinking?”
Meg was about to speak when footfalls behind them had her turning around to find Cara and McCord standing in the open doorway.
“This is great, too.” McCord stepped out into the patio. “Webb, your buddy does amazing work.”
“It wasn’t all him, but he knew to hire the right people. The place is impeccable.” Webb swung back to Meg. “You were about to say?”
“I assume the two backyards are the same?”
“As far as I know.”
“Obviously everyone would need to weigh in on this, but what about removing the dividing fence between the two yards?”
Cara clapped her hands together in enthusiasm. “I love it. That way the dogs will have a shared space. And though Hawk’s here by himself, he won’t really be alone. And the dogs can safely come and go as much as they like from either place.”
“Exactly.”
“It works for me,” Webb said. “McCord?”
“Me too. Gives my insane energy machine more space to tear around.” He elbowed Webb’s arm. “And that way Cara and I don’t always have to mow it. You guys could do half.”
“Always looking on the bright side, aren’t you?”
“You bet. So . . . what do you all think? Do you need to mull it over?”
“I love it,” Meg said decisively. “I want it.”
“Don’t be hasty,” Webb cautioned. “You haven’t seen the whole house. This is a big decision. I told Kirk I’d get back to him tonight, but I can ask him for a few more days. Not much more than that, though, because if it’s not going to be a private sale, he wants to get it up with a Realtor pronto.”
“Cara’s seen the whole house.” Meg turned to her sister. “Your take?”
“It’s amazing. It’s perfect. More than that, I can see us in the space. All of us in our own space.”
Leave No Trace Page 28
