Burn Out

by Traci Hohenstein

  Samantha’s best friend, Tammie Knowles, repeated the same sentiment.

  “Sam would never run from her problems. She was concerned about money and wondered how she would support her and the kids without Ken, but she was working it out. She would never leave them at a time like this.”

  Santa Rosa Beach authorities are considering Lt. Samantha Collins a "missing and endangered adult.” Anyone with information is asked to call the Santa Rosa Beach police department.

  The news article confirmed everything Nora had told her. Rachel emerged from her office to find Janine at the front desk. She was training a new volunteer to answer the phone.

  “Janine, I’m going to drive up to Santa Rosa Beach after lunch. Will you find out what volunteers we have up there and put them on standby? Also, I’ll need the number for the fire marshal’s office. I want to call them on the way and set up a meeting for when I get there.”

  “Ok, I’m on it. Red just left to run some errands, but he can help out when he gets back.” Janine grabbed her notepad to take notes. “What about Peter and Rankin? You want them to go with you?”

  Peter Moore and Rankin Smartz were part of her search team and usually went on all search and rescue cases with Rachel.

  “Just let them know what’s going on. I’ll call as soon as I meet with investigators and get a better handle on the case. This is not going to be your run-of-the-mill disappearance case. I can feel it.” Rachel gave her the details of the conversation she had with Nora and what information she gleaned from the news article.

  “Are you taking Maggie with you?” Janine asked. Maggie was a black lab Rachel had since she was a puppy. She bought Maggie for her daughter on her second birthday. Maggie was her only companion since Mallory’s disappearance. She rarely went anywhere without her.

  “Not this time. I was hoping she could stay with you and Jack,” Rachel said, smiling hopefully. Jack was Janine’s ten-year-old and he absolutely adored Maggie.

  “Of course,” Janine said, smiling. “Jack has been missing her lately.” Jack was abducted by Janine’s husband when he was two years old after a nasty custody battle. Rachel was still dealing with the loss of her own daughter and had seen the news about Jack’s disappearance. She reached out to Janine and together they helped track down Jack and his father. They formed a tight bond and opened up Florida Omni Search together. Janine had a drive and determination equal to Rachel’s.

  “I’m going home to pack, so call me on the cell with the information when you get it. Pretty please,” Rachel said.

  “Bossy,” Janine replied back.

  “You know you love it.”

  “Do you need me to make hotel arrangements for you?”

  “No, I already took care of that. I’m going to stay at a rental house my friend Michelle Couch owns. You remember Michelle?”

  “Sure. You guys went to FSU together.”

  “That’s right. She’s a psychologist and lives near Santa Rosa Beach. Thankfully she owns a few rental properties in the area and graciously offered to let me stay at one. I’ll call you with the address and number when I get there.” Rachel gave Janine a hug goodbye.

  They had a great working relationship. Janine had full custody of Jack now, so she rarely travelled with Rachel. She had years of administrative experience and was better equipped to run the office. On the other hand, Rachel liked to get out and meet people. She also had an amazing sixth sense and had a knack for knowing what made people tick. The arrangement worked well for them.

  Rachel walked back to the parking lot and unlocked her truck. It was another change in her life. She had traded in her black, 7 series BMW for a black four-wheel drive Tahoe. She climbed in and headed home.

  Rachel actually had two homes. When Mallory went missing she couldn’t bear to sell her house. In the back of her mind, she felt one day Mallory would come back home. And she didn’t want strangers living there if that happened. So she kept it empty except for a live-in maid and her husband, who was the maintenance man. One day she knew she would have to sell. It didn’t make sense to put over a hundred grand in maintenance and taxes to keep a house she would never live in again. Her second home was a cute Florida bungalow near the beach. It was three bedrooms. One for her, an office, and a guest bedroom. She had a small pool, hot tub, and a nice yard for Maggie. She was rarely home, so it suited her nicely. And it was a quick drive from the office.

  It didn’t take Rachel long to get everything she needed for the trip. She always kept a suitcase packed since she travelled on the road quite a bit. Ever since Mallory disappeared, her longing to help others got stronger.

  Rachel heard her phone beep, letting her know she had a text message. She checked her Blackberry. Janine had sent the phone numbers she needed to get started with the case.

  She called the fire marshal’s office to make an appointment with the lead investigator, Jeff Stanton. Jeff said he was familiar with her work. Rachel Scott and Florida Omni Search made national headlines when they were involved in finding Amber Knowles, the only daughter of Florida governor, John Knowles. They agreed to meet at his office the next morning at eight a.m.

  She threw everything in the back of her Tahoe and went inside to get Maggie and her things. When she took Maggie to Janine’s, she always packed extra food and toys in case she was gone longer than she expected. She grabbed the bag of Science Diet dog food and reached into the wicker basket for Maggie’s favorite squeaky toys. The purple dinosaur, a yellow duck, and a red plastic ball all went into a baggie.

  Maggie sat watching Rachel with great interest, her thick black tail wagging. Her tail was so long and heavy it would probably be illegal in some states. One unintentional whip of her tail would leave a bruise on someone’s leg.

  The loyal black lab jumped in the Tahoe. Rachel rubbed Maggie on top of her head. “Good girl. You’re going to Jack’s house for a few days. Aren’t you a lucky girl?”

  Maggie gave a cheerful bark.

  Chapter Five

  Santa Rosa Beach, FL Monday 10:30 AM

  Ken Collins paced in his eight by ten jail cell thinking how fucked up his life had become in such a short amount of time. He reflected back to just a few days ago when he got the worst news of his life.

  “Get up, Ken. You got a visitor.” The prison guard rapped on his cell.

  Ken threw his legs over the top bunk and jumped down. He wasn’t expecting anyone. His lawyer came by every Tuesday like clockwork to discuss his case. But today was Friday. He wondered what was up. Ken walked with the guard down the long hallway towards the visitor’s room. However, the guard kept walking.

  “Where are we going?” Ken asked, puzzled since they past the visitor’s room.

  The guard kept walking in silence.

  “I thought I had a visitor,” Ken mumbled as they kept walking, going through two security doors. They stopped in front of the warden’s office.

  What the hell, Ken thought. This could be really good or really bad. The warden wasn’t known for having social visits.

  The guard rapped on the door and opened up. “Ken Collins,” the guard announced as he opened the door.

  “Thank you. You can leave,” the warden said to the guard. “Ken, please, have a seat.” The warden gestured to a chair across from his desk.

  Buster Radcliffe, the nameplate read on the putty-colored metal desk.

  “Ken, I know you are wondering what you are doing here,” Buster began.

  Ken nodded his head.

  “Well, you do have visitors, but before you see them I wanted to talk to you first.” Buster straightened up in his chair. He was six-foot- five and even though he was on the skinny side, he was solid muscle. With thick red hair and a smattering of freckles across his face, he looked a lot younger than his fifty-four years. Ken thought he looked like Howdy Doody.

  Buster and Ken had a long friendship which started when Ken was promoted to Captain at the police department. Ken sent many men to this same jail. They had appeared in
court together. They were both members of the local Kiwanis and Rotary club. They ran in the same social circles. Yet Buster treated Ken like any other prisoner. He acted like he never existed outside the prison walls.

  “Ok,” Ken said. He was a man of few words.

  “There is no easy way to say it. Your wife has disappeared.”

  Ken came out of his chair. “What?”

  “There was a fire last night over at the farmer’s market and Sam and her crew responded. They were inside the warehouse trying to find the owner’s son. After they pulled him out, Sam went back in.” Buster paused. “There was an explosion.”

  Ken’s face drained of color. “But I thought you said she disappeared?” He had trouble getting the words out. “Is she hurt?”

  “I don’t know. They found her helmet outside the back door of the warehouse. The state fire marshal’s office is still investigating. They searched the warehouse, she wasn’t found. Police Chief Gladstone is here to see you and he can tell you more about what happened. Your lawyer is present, as well. I wanted to let you know what was going on before you met with them.”

  Ken slowly sat back down in his chair. “Thank you.” He didn’t know why he said that. His beautiful wife was missing and he was in jail and couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  A million thoughts went through his head. Sam left him, was his first thought. She couldn’t take the strain of his trial, all the mounting bills and pressure of the investigation. So she just got up and left. That was the best-case scenario because it meant she was alive. Or, someone was out for revenge and Samantha was hurt, or worse.

  “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Buster got up from his chair and walked over to the door. He gave Ken a hardy pat on the back. “Good luck, son.”

  Ken followed the same guard back down the same hallway they had just walked from ten minutes ago. This time the guard stopped at the visitor’s room. It was a large, surprisingly clean and bright room with many tables and chairs. A large box of toys sat in the corner, along with a small bookcase which held children’s books and magazines. Ken never wanted his children to see him in a place like this. He asked Sam and her mother not to bring them here. He would rather they remember him as a good dad. Not a common criminal.

  He recognized his former boss sitting next to his attorney.

  “Ken, I’m sorry about Samantha,” Chief Gladstone said.

  Suzette Breland, his attorney, nodded in agreement. “We are all shocked by the news. I take it the warden gave you the story?”

  “Yes, he just did. Some of it. What happened?” Ken felt a numbness come over him as he sat down at the table. .

  Chief Gladstone went through the events the night of fire. “No one knows why Samantha went back into the fire. We did a search last night and again at daybreak around the area of the warehouse. Nothing was found, except Sam’s helmet. But we are still investigating. Your mother- in- law came to the scene this morning. She is obviously very upset. She said she was going to call Florida Omni Search to assist with the search.”

  The chief took a long look at Ken. He wore the standard issue gray prison uniform with a white t-shirt underneath. His hair was brown with gray streaked throughout – kept clean and short, military style. His face was graced with wrinkles and his eyes were the color of iced tea. Light brown with golden hues. He was obviously visibly shaken.

  “When was the last time you spoke to Sam?” Chief Gladstone asked.

  “Tuesday. She came for visitation with her.” He pointed his thumb toward his lawyer, Suzette.

  “We went over her testimony for the trial,” Suzette said, picking at her nails. She had painted them a bright pink color which matched the bright pink highlight piece in her hair. She dressed a little promiscuous, but she had the reputation of a bulldog in the courtroom. She didn’t take no for an answer and fought like hell for all her clients.

  “How did she sound to you?” Chief Gladstone asked.

  “Like always. She was a little stressed about the trial and about money. But she seemed to be holding up pretty good.” Ken sighed.

  “She didn’t mention wanting to leave the area or get away from it all?”

  “No, absolutely not. She wouldn’t leave the kids,” Ken said. “What are you getting at? That she was planning on leaving us?”

  “I’m just trying to cover all the bases, Ken. You know how this works.”

  “Well, I’m telling you she wouldn’t leave. Sam doesn’t run away from her problems.”

  “How about threats? Anyone been threatening her?”

  Ken shook his head. “You mean the local drug cartel?”

  “Anyone at all.”

  “No. I don’t know she would tell me if she felt threatened by anyone. Sam tries to be the tough one. And she wouldn’t want me to worry about anything while I’m in here, anyway.”

  “How about you? Have you gotten any threats while in here?”

  “I haven’t exactly been making friends,” Ken said smugly.

  “Ok. If you think of anything else, let me know.”Chief Gladstone looked Ken over for a few seconds. “I’m really sorry about this, Ken. I know how much you care for your family.”

  Ken nodded his head. “Thanks.”

  “I’m going to talk to the judge today to see if we can get a postponement,” Suzette said. She pushed her chair back and stood up. Today she was wearing a tight blouse with a short, dark skirt which showed off all her assets in all the right places. Ken wondered how she got away with dressing like that in the courtroom. It just suited her perfectly, though. “In light of everything that has happened, I don’t think it will be a problem.” She told him goodbye and left the room.

  “Ok. If we are done here…” Ken said.

  “I’ll be in touch, son.” Chief Gladstone said as he got up to leave.

  Chapter Six

  Santa Rosa Beach, FL Tuesday 6:00 AM

  After a long, twelve hour drive from Miami to Santa Rosa Beach, Rachel had a hard time getting up and ready for her meeting. Michelle set her up with a nice beach house overlooking the beautiful sugar sand beaches and crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico. She wanted to stay in bed listening to the waves crashing and the calls of the seagulls.

  Santa Rosa Beach was a small coastal town which was home to about ten thousand people year around. During the summer tourist season, the population soared to about fifty thousand, give or take a few people. Most people who lived here were either retired or serviced the tourist industry – fishermen, hotel workers, restaurant employees, real estate agents, and kitschy clothing and gift boutique shops owners.

  She drove over to a popular local diner called the Donut Hole to grab a cup of coffee before her meeting with the fire investigator. The waitress took her order of French toast and bacon and she settled in to read the paper. The Walton Sun had run a full length feature about Samantha and the warehouse fire. Rachel read the highlights of the article again.

  “Hi. Excuse me, but are you Rachel Scott?”

  Rachel looked up from the newspaper. She studied the man standing before her. He was tall, good looking with thick, dark hair and kind eyes. She put him to be around mid to late thirties.

  “Yes. And you are?”

  “I thought I recognized you from the news shows about missing people. Samantha’s mom said you might be coming up here to help us.” He held out his hand to her. “Mack Dixon.”

  She instantly recognized his name from the article she just read. “Ah, Samantha’s partner from the fire department.” Rachel shook his hand. “I was reading about the case in the paper. Please have a seat.” Rachel motioned to the chair across from her.

  “Sorry to disturb your breakfast, but I just wanted to say hello and see if there was anything I could do to help.” Mack sat down. “Sam is not only a co-worker but a good friend of mine.”

  “Sorry to hear what happened.” Rachel paused while the waitress sat down her food and offered Mack some coffee. “I’m meeting with Jeff Stanto
n this morning to go over the particulars of the case. Anything you can tell me about Sam would help.”

  “Sam and I are close. We’ve known each other since grade school. Her husband and I are also good friends. I was best man at their wedding.” Mack let out a deep breath. “I keep going through my head what happened that night and nothing makes sense.”

  “What did happen that night?” Rachel asked. “I read a little bit in the paper, but it doesn’t tell me much.”

  “Well, all day long Sam seemed a little distracted. She had gotten a phone call around dinner time that upset her. She didn’t want to talk about it when I asked if she was okay. There isn’t a lot of privacy at the fire station. I just figured it was Ken. His trial was scheduled to start this week and she was going to testify.”

  Rachel chewed absently on her thumbnail. It was a bad habit she picked up recently when she was deep in thought. “Do you think Ken’s involvement with marijuana had anything to do with her disappearance?”

  “I hope not. It does seem a coincidence Sam disappeared right around the time his trial was supposed to start. I have thought about it.”

  “Did you get a chance to talk with her again?”

  “No, we got the call about the warehouse fire just a few minutes later.”

  “How many were on your shift?”

  “Five, including me. Sam is the lieutenant and we had Charlie Bryne, the district chief and two other firefighters on duty that night.”

  Rachel pointed down to the newspaper she was reading. “The paper doesn’t tell me much. Maybe you can you walk me through what happened. Give me a better understanding on how she disappeared?”

  “Ok. Well, we arrived on scene in less than five minutes. The owner was there waiting for us. He was the one that called it in. Apparently, his son was late for the family dinner they had every Sunday. His dad went back to the market when his son didn’t answer his calls. The son is diabetic and he got worried something happened to him. By the time he got to the market, the smoke was too thick for him to attempt to enter the building. Our crew went in to help find his son while the rest of the guys started pulling hoses to put out the fire.” Mack paused to take a few sips of his coffee.