Blind Faith

by Sharon Sala

  Macie gasped. “What do you mean?”

  “It all started with Wyrick’s research. I thought the whole story Randall and Justin told didn’t sound right. So I had Wyrick do some research after I left, which included interviewing Tony’s girlfriend, Trish, and both Randall and Justin. I’m going to let her tell you what she found out and what they told her.”

  “I’ll be brief,” Wyrick said. “What none of you knew, including Tony, is that Trish Caldwell dated Randall before you all ever moved to Dallas. They broke up months before your arrival, but that old history was there, and she never told Tony.”

  Macie gasped. The implications were immediate.

  “Also, all three of the boys were drunk that first night, and both boys admitted it. Randall said Tony kept talking about Trish and how great she was, and Randall popped off and told him she’d been his girl first, and then Justin added fuel to the fire by lying, insinuating that Trish slept around. They had a fight. And supposedly, they all finally went to bed and passed out.”

  Baxter groaned.

  Wyrick kept talking. “Neither boy has admitted it, but Randall and Justin made friends with Tony because he was dating Trish. Justin said Trish was the one who dumped Randall, and that Randall was jealous of Tony and Trish. It’s looking like the hiking trip was some kind of a setup, but I don’t think what happened was intentional.”

  Macie was pale and shaking, and Baxter’s face was flushed in anger.

  “Why did you want Tony’s cap?” Macie asked.

  Wyrick wouldn’t look at Charlie, but she never hesitated.

  “To see if I could tune in to where he was.”

  Macie’s eyes widened. “You mean...like a psychic? Are you a psychic?”

  Wyrick shrugged. “I am many things, Mrs. Dawson. I can’t take credit for any of it. It’s just how I am.”

  Charlie picked up the story.

  “When she was interviewing Randall, despite the answers he was giving her, she saw a different truth. She saw them on a trail, and they were arguing. It was daylight, not night, like they claimed.”

  “Oh my God,” Baxter said. “And if it wasn’t for you two, their lies would have stood as truth.”

  “Not for long,” Charlie said. “I found Tony’s backpack first,” he said, and set it beside them. “And that’s Tony’s cap we borrowed, in the sack. The backpack had been hidden in the crevice beneath a rock. Animals had dragged it out, likely after the searchers had passed that area, and it was the reflection of sunlight on the metal dog tag that revealed it to me.”

  “Oh wow. Granddad’s dog tag from World War II,” Baxter said.

  Charlie nodded. “That’s what put me on the right track. I left the hiking trail above and took one that led down into the canyon and found the pack. I radioed the rangers of the location and then kept searching. But there was no sign that Tony had ever been anywhere near the pack. No footprints. No body. No blood. No nothing. All I could think was either he hid it for some reason and was going to come back for it and didn’t, or someone did something to him and hid it to delay his being found.”

  Macie moaned. “This is a nightmare. My poor boy...what he must have been going through...what he must have been thinking.”

  “I think I would still be looking if it hadn’t been for Wyrick. Once she got hold of the cap, she keyed in on Tony and told me she thought he was in a cave of some kind... She knew it was dark and long, like a low tunnel, and it was. She said she thought he was still alive, and he was. And she told me to get off the trail and which direction to go into the woods, and I did, and that’s when I found the boot. That put me on the right trail to finding him.”

  “Found what boot?” Baxter asked.

  “I found one of Tony’s hiking boots wedged in between some rocks. I brought it with me, but it was wedged so tightly that it took two men to pull it out. I think he fell from the trail above. With all the injuries he had, and the length of the fall, I don’t know why he’s still alive. I have no explanation for how he got his foot free from that boot, because he broke his leg and ankle. I don’t know how he got across a rock field into that cave, but I assume he crawled, because that’s where I found him. After I found the boot, I began calling his name, and he finally answered with one scream. But it was enough. I found him in the cave, and the rest you know. He’s going to have to fill in the blanks, but those boys lied. I don’t know whether his fall was an accident or intentional, but they knew what happened to him. I think they just expected the searchers to find a body, and that would be that. Only he lived through the fall. And if he hadn’t gotten free, he would have died from exposure or animals, and that would have sealed their story.”

  “What do we do?” Baxter asked. “Wait for Tony to get better so he can tell the police or—?”

  “No. I have a plan,” Charlie said. “When we get back to Dallas, I’ll take it from there and keep you updated. You two just worry about your son, and when you get back, I’ll return the backpack and his boot.”

  “And his cap,” Wyrick added.

  “Yes, and his cap,” Charlie said.

  * * *

  A short while later, a doctor walked into the waiting room.

  “The Dawson family?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Baxter said, as he and Macie jumped up.

  Charlie and Wyrick stood with them, waiting.

  “I’m Dr. Mack. He made it through surgery better than I expected. He had some internal injuries and has a concussion. We removed his spleen, repaired some muscle tears and set two broken ribs. He has pins and screws in his leg and ankle and two broken fingers on his right hand. We’re concerned about infection and pneumonia. He was without medical treatment too long, but we’re pumping him full of antibiotics. He’s in a drug-induced coma to let his body work on nothing but healing, and he’ll be in ICU for the time being.”

  “What about his leg? Can you save it?” Baxter asked.

  “We’re going to do everything we know how to make that happen, but he’s fighting some serious infection right now. It’s too soon to make any kind of predictions,” Dr. Mack said.

  “When can we see him?” Macie asked.

  “They’ll move him into ICU. There is a waiting room there. The nurse’s desk will tell you how to get there. After that, the visiting times are posted. Our ICU is one of the best. We’ll take good care of him here.”

  “Thank you,” Baxter said. “Thank you for saving our son’s life.”

  Dr. Mack shook his head. “A whole lot of people are responsible for that. Try to get some rest. I’ll check in on him off and on all night, and they’ll call me if the need arises.”

  Baxter and Macie began gathering up their things.

  “We’re going to be leaving now,” Charlie said. “Keep us updated on Tony’s progress, will you?”

  “Yes, of course,” Macie said.

  They parted ways in the hall, and Wyrick led the way back to the elevator. Charlie was silent all the way back to the car.

  “Do we need to get rooms?” he asked.

  “Not unless you’re afraid of the dark,” Wyrick said.

  He snorted. “You’re scarier than the dark. But if you’re up to flying home tonight, I’m game.”

  Wyrick rolled her eyes. “Big baby,” she muttered. “Do you think you can find your way back to the airport without me?”

  He sighed. She had him there. “Not in a timely fashion.”

  “That’s what I thought,” she said, and proceeded to direct him through the streets of Odessa and back onto the highway leading to the Midland-Odessa airport.

  They returned the rental and then headed back to where she’d left the chopper, ran through her usual preflight check while the chopper was being refueled, and then they got in and ran through her preflight check inside, as well, before starting it up.

  He’d never flown in a c
hopper at night, but there was always a first time for everything. But when she fired up the chopper, what he hadn’t expected was to be able to clearly see beyond the lights of the terminal. The entire windshield had the same capability as the night-vision goggles they’d used in the war.

  “Holy shit, Wyrick! The whole windshield is night-vision.”

  She shrugged. “I just took existing technology and gave it a tweak. It’s a prototype of something I developed a couple of years back, and yes, I hold the patent on it, too.”

  As soon as they reached full throttle, she radioed the tower and lifted off.

  The flight back took almost two hours, and when she homed in on the landing strip at the private airport where she kept her chopper, she saw the lights at the helipad and set down.

  She was shutting it down when Benny came walking out of the hangar.

  “Hey, there’s Benny,” Charlie said.

  Wyrick looked up in surprise and then got out. “I didn’t intend for you to wait for me.”

  He shrugged. “You don’t let people take care of you,” he said.

  “Guilty,” Wyrick said. “But thank you.”

  “Go home, boss. I will tow the bird in and lock up,” he said.

  Charlie shouldered his backpack, then paused.

  “Don’t open the office for business in the morning. Just be there. I’m going to get both boys and their parents in there together to give them the news.”

  “They’re going to wonder why they have to come to your office.”

  Charlie shrugged. “Let them stew about it. The unknown keeps everyone on edge.”

  “Once they find out Tony is alive, they’re going to think he told us everything, aren’t they?” Wyrick said.

  Charlie nodded. “And we’re going to see two friends turn on each other to shift the blame. They’ll tell on themselves without ever knowing Tony is still unconscious. But I want some Feds with us when it happens.”

  “I’ll be there,” Wyrick said.

  Charlie left first, but she wasn’t far behind. She followed his car on the freeway until his exit came up. Once he was off the freeway, she turned on her stealth mode and floored it.

  By the time she finally pulled up to her landlord’s estate, entered the code to get herself onto the grounds and then drove around back to her apartment, she was so tired, she was punchy.

  She managed to get herself inside, and the security on, before staggering down the hall to her bedroom.

  She kicked off her boots, took off her jacket and went belly down on top of the bed and passed out.

  The next thing she knew, it was morning.

  She stripped, then went to the kitchen to start coffee, before heading to the shower. Two fine upstanding young men were going to bust their public personas to hell and back this morning when Charlie told them the friend they left for dead was in a hospital in Odessa.

  Alert and fierce were the words for today.

  * * *

  Charlie’s sleep was dream-filled, and when he woke, the first thing he did was call to check on Annie.

  “Morning Light Memory Care. This is Pinkie.”

  “This is Charlie Dodge. I’m calling to get an update on Annie.”

  “Good morning, Charlie. Just a moment and I’ll ring the nurse’s office.”

  Charlie rubbed at the back of his neck as he waited. Still stiff, but a hot shower would take out the kinks.

  “Mr. Dodge, this is Nurse Egan. I’m new to Morning Light. I don’t believe we’ve met. How can I help you?”

  “Annie Dodge is my wife. She’s in Room 204. I’m well aware of the deterioration of her condition, but I wanted an update.”

  “Of course,” Nurse Egan said. “Actually, Dr. Dunleavy is still here making rounds. Would you care to hold and speak to him personally?”

  “Yes, please,” Charlie said. He put his phone on speaker and headed for the kitchen to make coffee.

  He filled the reservoir, popped in a coffee pod, put his mug beneath the spigot and was watching the thick, dark brew filling his cup when the call was answered.

  “Good morning, Charlie.”

  “Morning, Dr. Dunleavy. Glad I caught you. I want an Annie update. Have there been any changes since we spoke last?”

  Dunleavy hesitated. “Let me check my notes... Let’s see. The last cognizance tests we ran were about two weeks ago, right?”

  “Yes. That’s when you called me and told me she was losing abilities faster than before. I was there four days ago, but she was asleep. I didn’t stay long. I’ve been out of town on a case and just got back and wanted to check in.”

  “Right, right. So, the notations here indicate that feeding her is becoming more difficult.”

  “What can you do to offset that? Different kinds of foods? Or just drinking supplements?”

  “I’m sorry, Charlie, but we’re getting to the point where any nutrition she receives may be through an IV.”

  Charlie groaned. “But why?”

  “It’s actually a facet of the disease’s progression. Forgetting tastes. Forgetting to chew. Forgetting to be hungry. Forgetting how to swallow. That’s pretty much the issue we’re dealing with now. She doesn’t remember how to use a straw, and doesn’t remember how to swallow liquids, either.”

  The helplessness Charlie felt at that moment was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

  “What are you saying?” he asked.

  “I just wrote up orders for hospice to be called in. This doesn’t mean she’s in her last hours. But the kind of care for what’s left of her life is best left to them.”

  “Will I have to move her?” Charlie asked.

  “No. They come here.”

  Charlie looked down at his feet. He’d spent two days and taken thousands of steps looking for a lost boy, and found him.

  Yet, even if he began right now and started running, there was nowhere to go and nowhere to look for the Annie he was losing. She was already gone, and it was breaking his heart.

  “Okay, and thank you. I have some loose ends to tie up this morning on the case I just finished, but I’ll be in this afternoon to see her.”

  “Don’t worry, Charlie. We’re taking good care of your girl. She’s not in pain or suffering. That part of this disease is always harder on the family. Call me anytime. I’m forever grateful for what you did for my family, and anything I can do for yours, I do gladly.”

  Charlie disconnected, then carried his coffee back to the bathroom, sipping it between his shower and a much-needed shave.

  By the time he was finished, it was just after 8:00 a.m., a decent enough time to call in a couple of favors from the Texas branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  Special Agent Hank Raines owed Dodge Investigations big-time for finding and identifying all those missing children who were being held at the Fourth Dimension, and they owed Wyrick for finding them a way into the compound without alerting them that they were there.

  * * *

  Hank Raines was on his way to work when his cell phone rang, and when he saw who it was from, he grimaced. He and Charlie Dodge hadn’t parted on the best of terms, but that was all Hank’s fault, so whatever it was Charlie wanted, it must be important.

  “Hello.”

  “Agent Raines, this is Charlie Dodge.”

  “Good morning, Charlie. What’s going on?”

  “I have a favor to ask,” Charlie said, and then began to explain the story from the beginning.

  “Holy shit! That’s some bad stuff,” Hank said. “But you said the kid you found is still unconscious.”

  “Yes, but I’m not telling them that. And the crimes...on whatever level they fall under...happened in a national park, which means it falls under the auspices of the federal government.”

  “Under the Investigative Branch of the Nation
al Park Service,” Hank said.

  “Yes, but you’re still a Fed. And I’m assuming if someone confesses to a crime committed on federal property, you have the authority to arrest them.”

  Hank chuckled. “You would assume correctly. But they’d have to confess.”

  “Oh...they’re going to, because Wyrick will be with me. She scared the shit out of them enough on the first interview she had with them that they gave more info up to her than they did the park rangers when they reported Tony Dawson missing.”

  Hank remembered all too well how Wyrick had reacted when he’d tried to confiscate one of her “inventions.”

  “Okay, I’ll buy that, and yeah, sure. I’ll get my partner and meet you at your office later. What time?”

  “Eleven o’clock. I’ve got to get the parents to bring their boys into my office, which means they’ll have to get them out of school.”

  “See you then,” Hank said.

  Charlie disconnected, then went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Toasted frozen waffles and more coffee would have to suffice. No time to make eggs.

  He called the Wells family first while his waffles were in the toaster, and Randall’s mother answered.

  “Hello, this is Nita.”

  “Mrs. Wells, this is Charlie Dodge, of Dodge Investigations.”

  “Oh! Yes! Mr. Dodge! Do you have news?”

  “I have information you and your family need to hear. Will you please bring your son to my office this morning at 11:00 a.m.?”

  “What? Wait! Why can’t you just tell me now?”

  “Because I’m only going to tell it once, and I want both families here.”

  “Well, Randall is in school and—”

  “Check him out, Mrs. Wells, and bring him to this address,” he said, and then gave her the address to his office.

  There was a long moment of silence as the tone of her voice shifted.

  “Do we need a lawyer?”

  “I don’t know. Do you?” Charlie asked.

  Nita froze. It was the same response Wyrick had given her.