His shoulders sagged, just as the roof of the property collapsed with a loud crack, sending sparks billowing into the sky. Worse still, the woods at the far side of where the oil tank had stood, the undergrowth was ablaze.
The town’s antiquated fire engine came to a squealing halt. The crew jumped out of the cab, and they did what they had trained for in their spare time. Frank walked over to them to speak with Ed Grimes.
“We’re too late to save the property,” said Ed. “Best we start on the woods.” He held up his hand. “Looks like a northwesterly. A slight change in direction and it’ll whip through the undergrowth and burn the town to the ground.”
Frank lived in the general direction of the breeze. His wife Judy would be asleep. If they lost control of the fire in the woods, the sparks could beat him driving over there if she didn’t answer the phone. He hurried back to his vehicle, and locating a reverse crawl gear, he backed out of the ditch. Parking in the direction to head home, he pressed the button to wind down his window.
Frank heard a metallic clanking sound in the direction of the fire engine. He could see one of the crew tapping the outlet valve with a hammer. The crew already had the hose rolled out, but with two of them now grasping the wheel, they couldn’t open the valve.
“Wind up the hose, and move the engine near to the woods, “Ed ordered.
“What about the valve? It’s stuck.” One of the crew called back.
“We’ll use a wrench to lever it and it’ll free it up. It’s freshly packed with graphite seal to stop it leaking, that’s all.”
Frank watched them load up, then drive around the corner. Practiced or not, he wasn’t about to trust part-time amateurs to put the fire out in the undergrowth, even if it was in the early stages. This year’s drought had left everything tinder dry. He selected the number of the Department for Forestry and Fire Protection from his contacts and pressed call.
Frank explained the situation.
“Okay, leave it with us. We’ll get a ground crew out there with an investigator and initiate an airdrop. We’ll call you on this number as we approach so you can clear the area.”
Frank closed the call. Jim pulled up in his vehicle.
“What the hell’s happened,” Jim asked. “Brett’s going to be none too pleased.”
“Tell me about it. He’s sure to fire me. I fell asleep. I don’t have a clue what caused it, maybe faulty wiring? We’ll know more when the forestry fire investigator arrives.”
Jim sucked air through the gap in his front teeth, and then said, “Bit of a coincidence with forensics due later today. It could be that someone didn’t want us to find evidence they’d been here. We could be looking at arson.”
“Oh, God, I need to let Brett know. By the look of it, there’s going to be nothing for them to investigate. He’ll need to let forensics know.”
They walked around the back of the property on the opposite side of the road for them to keep out of the radiating heat.
“Listen, he’ll be asleep now,” said Jim. “Wait for the investigator to arrive from the forestry fire department. He might find some reason for the fire other than arson. No need for Brett to know you were asleep. It’s not as if you could cover all four sides of the property. I’ll phone him later. You need to get to Amy’s camp, remember?”
Frank looked across at the remains of the property, still alight. Burning wood had landed on the sheet of UVPC, melting the sheeting that covered the bloody tracks.
Franks cell phone rang and he answered.
“ETA, fifteen minutes for the airdrop. Clear the area.”
“Okay,” said Frank, “consider it done.”
Frank called Ed on his cell.
“You need to get out of there now. The wildfire department’s sending an airdrop.”
“Who called them? Oh, never mind. Okay, we’ll pull out, now.”
Frank and Jim opened a gate in the hedgerow, and set off walking up the slope of the field. Daylight had broken when they heard the drone of the aircraft and they both dropped to a crouch.
Frank considered the events that had played out over the last eighteen hours. Frank wondered if his change of career at his age for a regular wage and a shiny badge was worth losing the freedom of working as a tourist guide. Worse, some of the townsfolk that he considered friends now shunned him. A drink in Ed’s bar was no longer a pleasure, with some of his drinking buddies shuffling away from him to carry on their banter in hushed tones.
Frank looked upward. The aircraft swooped low, dropping its payload of fire retardant and water over the woods. An orange cloud descended from the aircraft’s tank and landed with a thud, followed by a hissing and steam rising. The scene triggered a flashback to the final throws of the Vietnam War back in seventy four, with C123s spraying Agent Orange over the canopy of the jungle. They were supposed to have stopped using it then, but he knew different. He was young then, twenty years old, invincible. It would take thirty-eight years for the arthritis now tugging at his neck, and the pains stabbing in his ankles to tell him otherwise.
Three helicopters followed, their Bambi buckets strung below on cables. One at a time, they dropped their load. The last one hit what was left of the surgery, washing away debris, and the UVPC to one side, with the force of the payload hitting its target. Frank buried his head in his hands. All that was left of the surgery had collapsed into the cellar, with a mixture of steam and smoke rising from the blackened charred wood. He knew for certain that that was the last of any clues washed away.
Something bugged Frank. It was hot and dry and not because of the fire. No one used their heating this time of year. He realized that the pipe stuck in the tree trunk was part of the outlet pipe to the oil tank. A vision flashed through his mind. He recalled that the handle for the valve attached to the oil tank pipe. It was in the open position.
Chapter 11
TED and Oliver had been gone for over thirty minutes, when Gyp started to whimper. Over at the woods, Amy could see flashlight beams dancing behind the tree line.
“They’re back,” Amy said.
Amy, Tanya, and Louise, rose up from their chairs by the campfire.
“God, I hope Johno is with them,” Louise said. Her face was ashen, and her hands were trembling.
Amy took hold of Louise’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Ted appeared first, then Oliver, but Johno wasn’t with them. Louise turned to Amy, throwing her arms around her and sniffling. Amy rested Johno’s rifle against her chair and cuddled Louise.
“There, there, let’s wait to see what they have to say.”
Tanya joined them in a group hug. Louise pulled away as Ted approached.
“Sorry, girls, there’s no sign of him. We followed his tracks along the shoreline, but when they hit the pebbles facing the woods, all we could do was to search out there in the trees.”
“He could be hurt. He could’ve fallen down a ravine. We need to get help,” Louise said, and fell to her knees, crying. “This is all your fault, Ted Carter, getting him drunk.”
Ted inspected his boots.
Amy took out her cell phone. There was no signal.
“Everyone, check your cell phones, mine has no signal,” said Amy.
“None of us ’ll get a signal here,” said Ted. “I’ll need to drive away from the mountains to get a signal. Did Johno have his cell with him?”
“No, it’s in our tent?” said Louise, and dried her eyes with her sleeve.
Darkness turned to gray hues of dawn, with the rising sun still hidden behind the mountains to the east.
“It’s no good blaming anyone,” said Amy, “Accusations won’t help find him. We need to phone my dad and ask him to arrange for a search party.”
Louise hauled herself to her feet. “Ah, sticking up for him now,” she said.”
Ted threw his flashlight on the pebbles.
“I didn’t make him drink the damn stuff. Besides, he was sober enough to put his pants and sneakers on outside the tent. Amy’s righ
t; we need to get to an area where we can phone her dad, instead of bickering at whose fault it is, and sniveling. He’s my friend too. I really am sorry, Louise.” The apology was delivered with sincerity.
A rifle shot rang out from the direction of the woods. All heads turned.
“Could that be Johno,” Oliver asked.
“No, I have his rifle,” said Amy.
They all exchanged puzzled glances, then faced the woods. Gyp sniffed the air and then growled.
“Get behind us,” said Ted, and pulled at Oliver’s T-shirt. Ted slid his rifle in front of him and held it loosely. Oliver followed suit, and stood beside him. Gyp ran off toward the tents. Amy looked over in time to see Gyp disappear into her tent. When she snapped her vision back to the woods, a huntsman appeared. He wore camouflage dress from head to toe, and he was resting a hunting rifle in his arms. Ten yards to his left, another one appeared, and then another one ten yards to his right. Amy could make out one more moving at the tree line as the three approached.
“It’s the preppers,” said Oliver. “Maybe they can help us find Johno.”
“How do you know them?” Ted asked
“I don’t know them, except they chased me and Johno away from their camp when we were kids out hiking, years ago. Their place is over at the old silver mine quarry. I’ve seen them around since. They always wear those green and brown bandanas to match their camouflage gear,” Oliver said. “They have a bug-out base near here for when the world ends, or all the electricity is knocked out by sunspots. That’s why they’re called preppers... always prepared.”
Amy had seen documentaries on the cable channels about the survivalists. She thought they were nutty as chocolate-chip cookies, but hers was not to reason why as long as they could help. As the first one joined them, he held his arm to shield his eyes. Amy looked over her shoulder. The sky had an orange cast as the sun peaked over the mountain.
“Can you help us?” asked Ted. “Our friend’s gone missing in the woods. You’ve not seen him, have you? You can’t miss him really, two hundred pounds, five foot four, and walks with a wobble.”
The guy stood in front of Ted, honked phlegm into his gizzard and spat it out on the fire.
“Can’t say as I’ve seen him. Maybe you can help us? We’re looking for a feral dog that’s been running off with our goats this past week. Strange looking crossbreed, large, black and white coat.”
Amy pushed her way through.
“I saw something. Last night in our camp. It could have been your dog. I saw it rear up on two...”
Amy felt the dig of Ted’s elbow in her side. Their description sounded like Ted’s dog, Polly, a strange cross between a Husky and some other breed that he kept locked up in his back yard. Then she remembered. Polly was there the night she’d slept at his cabin, or was it the night before?
“Take no notice of her,” Ted said. “It was probably a shadow of a possum from the light of the Tilley lamp that she saw. This is Amy, the sheriff’s daughter. We’ve phoned her dad to set up a search party.”
The preppers exchanged glances. Amy wondered why Ted had given her a title of the sheriff’s daughter, and lied about calling her dad, but then they did look intimidating. One of them repeatedly stretched his neck and lifted his chin, sniffing the air in Amy’s direction. Amy thought it an odd disposition. He fixed his vision in the direction of Amy’s tent, continuing to sniff, before turning and ushering the lead prepper to one side, then whispered in his ear. The lead prepper stepped forward.
“We’ll look for your friend. Best you pack up and go back to town, for when your dad sorts out a search party.”
“We’ll go with you,” said Ted. “The girls could pack up and head to town.”
“No offence, son, but we wouldn’t want you to get in the crossfire if we come up against the dog. We like to work alone. If we find your friend before the search party arrives, we’ll bring him here. What’s his name for when we call out for him?”
“Johno,” said Louise.
The preppers spread out, stepping backwards the way they came, as if it was part of their survival-game drill. The prepper with the annoying sniffing habit, kept his gaze toward the direction of the tents, until they turned at the tree line, and then disappeared into the woods.
“What do you make of them?” said Tanya. “What oddballs.”
“At least they said they’d search for Johno,” said Louise. “What should we do now?”
“I think we should do as they say. Pack up and head to town,” Amy said.
“But what if Johno returns and we’re gone. I’m staying here. You can all go,” said Louise.
Ted stepped forward. He was pre-occupied, judging by the expression on his face.
“Amy’s right, we should all go. Did ya see the way that slime ball looked at Amy and sniffed at her? I wouldn’t trust them to leave you alone here, Louise. The sooner we get gone, the sooner we can get back here and have the mountains teaming with townsfolk searching for Johno. In the meantime, those four preppers looked like seasoned hunters. They’ve a better chance at finding him than we do. We can leave Johno’s tent here and write him a note to wait for us to return. No, in fact I’m telling you, that’s what we’re doing, and we’ll leave all the tents.”
Amy looked at Ted in admiration for taking charge and considering Louise’s welfare. Ted unstrapped his backpack, took out a bottle of water and doused the fire.
“Come on, let’s do this, chop, chop,” said Ted.
Amy ran with Louise to her tent, then waited for her to write the note. Gyp peered out of Amy’s tent, then joined her. They ran back to the rest of the gang, and then hurried to their vehicles. Amy turned to look at Ted.
I’ll go with Louise and Gyp in Johno’s pickup,” Amy said.
Ted set a solemn stare.
“I understand. Listen, about last night. It won’t happen again,” Ted said. “The drinking I mean, not the having fun. Look, I can’t explain, but trust me, yesterday was a bad day...”
Amy put a finger on his lips.
“We’ll talk about it later,” she said. Amy reached up and kissed his cheek.
Ted smiled and strutted to his vehicle. They set off in convoy, with Amy taking the lead.
Four miles along the road and they were still surrounded by mountains. Amy glanced at Louise. She had her head in her hands. Amy could see a vehicle coming towards them in the distance. As it neared, she noticed the row of lights on top of the SUV pickup that told her it was one of the deputy-sheriff’s vehicles. Amy switched on her hazards, flashed her headlights, and slowed, coming to a stop at the side of the road. She recognized Frank’s smile through his windshield as he pulled up alongside, and then wound down his window.
“You’ve saved me a journey,” he said. “Your dad sent me out to make sure you were safe. There could be a wild dog on the loose. Did you get his text message?”
“Yeah, we’ve heard about the dog, but I never got Dad’s message. Anyway, never mind that. Johno’s gone missing in the woods up near Breakers Lake. We need a search party. He could be hurt.”
“Whoa there, young lady, slow down. Roll back a bit. How’d you know about the dog?”
“Some hunters came into our camp saying to watch out for a feral dog that had been taking their goats. They were hunting for the dog. They’re out there now looking for Johno, four of them.”
“What did they look like?” Amy described them. “Sounds like the same four who helped Jim move a stag off the road over at Claymore yesterday. Listen, your dad’s in LA. Go and see Ed Grimes and ask him to meet me over at the lake with a search party. I’ll have a scout around. I may be able to pick up Johno’s tracks.”
“What’s Dad doing in LA?”
“Ed will explain.” Frank scribbled in his notebook, and tearing off the note, he handed it to Amy. “Here, as soon as you get out of the pass and you can get a signal, phone my missus. Tell her I’ll be late.”
He wound up his window, then drove on down
the road.
“What the hell’s all this about the dog?” Louise asked. “I hope it’s not attacked Johno. Still, I feel better knowing Frank’s going to look for him. Dad says he’s a legend when it comes to tracking. God, I hope Johno’s safe.”
Meeting up with Frank had definitely perked her up, when she started asking questions. Maybe it was to distract her from her troubled mind. Amy couldn’t be sure.
“Do you think Ted’s on the weird side after last night. I mean, what do you really know about him? All I know is that he moved here a year ago, and he loves his practical jokes at everyone’s expense. Oh, and according to Johno, he’s a wiz with computer software.”
“Well, I know more about him that he knows about me, but that isn’t much. He’s never asked when my birthday is, and he’s never asked why Mom’s not with us. It’s not something I’m ready for volunteering the info to him yet, but I thought he’d have asked.”
“What does he do for a living?”
“Research, is all he says, but he says it’s a secret. Says his parents fund him. I know he lives in his Grandma’s cabin, but I don’t know her name. I don’t even know his parents’ names, only that he’s from Beverly Hills, and his mom and Dad are in the film industry, working abroad. He went to a private high school. Dad knows the one. It must have cost his parents a fortune, he says. They must be ticked off he didn’t go on to uni.” Amy sighed “It’s his key that drives me mad.”
“What key?”
“It’s the key to a locked room at his cabin that he keeps on a chain around his neck.”
The Killers Amongst Us: Chimera Dawn Chronicles Page 8
