End of the Road (Ghost Stories Trilogy #1) (20 page)

Chapter Forty-Four

Deputy Sheriff Elena Rosaline Hernandez

28 years old

July 2014

This wasn’t my first
wildfire, but it was certainly the worst. Once the embers started to jump, I
helped close the highway, which pissed off a lot of travelers. Too bad.

I left my cruiser parked
across the two lanes with the lights flashing, set up construction barricades
on each side and walked up to the main staging area. My eyes burned from the
smoke, which also made my lungs heavy. When I approached an ambulance one of
the EMT’s handed me a paper surgical mask. “This won’t do much, but it does
help.”

“Thanks,” I said with a
nod and continued on, pulling the mask over my head and securing it in place,
noticing the difference immediately with my breathing.

“Hernandez, over here,” my
Lieutenant said. He stood by his Tahoe with two firefighters and another
sheriff’s deputy I knew all too well, Eric Wilcox, my ex-husband.  When I saw
him, I reflexively sucked in some air and exhaled slowly. Despite being
divorced for over a year, the sight of Eric still managed to cause a dull ache
in my chest.

“Sir,” I said when I
reached him, briefly acknowledging Eric with a polite nod. Keeping it civil, as
my therapist had instructed. He nodded in return before looking away.

“Hernandez, I need you to
stay by your cruiser and secure the area. We don’t need any civilians or media
getting in the way. Only emergency personnel are allowed in this vicinity.” Our
Lieutenant’s eyes passed from me to Eric and back again. “Wilcox will accompany
you, but no fights this time.”

“I understand. That’s in
the past…won’t happen again.”

Even though we were
divorced, Eric and I were with the Northern Command of the Yavapai County
Sheriff’s Office. Normally I was in my cruiser doing my own patrol, but we had
been called in as reinforcements to assist the Southern Command. I couldn’t
afford to let Eric push my buttons. The last time, the screaming match that
ensued in the parking lot at the station, almost cost me my job. Of course it
was during the middle of our nasty separation and emotions ran unchecked. Things
had improved since our divorce had been finalized, but Eric had selfish tendencies
and I didn’t think he’d ever grow up. I think he wanted to get me fired since
it would make his life a lot easier. I wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction.

We walked in silence back
toward my cruiser. He was busy ignoring me and I was more distracted by the
fire. The smoke offered an occasional glimpse of flames; which were less than a
half mile away. I caught a glimpse of something else; a man and a woman, dressed
in outdated street clothes. They were visible through the smoke one moment,
gone the next.

“Oh my God, there are
people down there!” I yelled and grabbed onto Eric’s jacket sleeve.

“Where?” He looked at
where I was pointing.

“Down there, at the
bottom of the hill.”

“I don’t see anyone.”

“Right there, the guy is
wearing a blue shirt, the woman has red hair.”

“Nope, I don’t see
anyone. Seeing things now?” he asked, his lips curling up into a smirk. “Maybe
you should get some help?” he added as he walked away.

“Ha ha asshole, I already
am and my therapist can confirm I’m not crazy!” I hollered after him. His
laughter was drowned out by a helicopter passing overhead.

I shook off his comments,
annoyed with myself because I did sound irrational. I stopped and glanced down
the embankment. Emerging from the smoke were the man and the woman. They each
dragged a firefighter behind them to the base of the slope; then they vanished.
I ran to the edge of the highway and stepped over the guardrail.

“Hey!” I lifted up my
facemask and called after the people who disappeared.

“Elena, what the hell are
you doing?” Eric said from behind me and I jumped. My foot slipped on gravel
against asphalt and I almost fell down the embankment. Eric grabbed onto me and
helped me catch my balance.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“There are firefighters down there. They succumbed to the smoke.”

Eric leaned over the
guardrail. “Shit, did you call for assistance?”

“No, I just saw them.” I
hadn’t finished speaking and Eric was already calling it in. He turned his back
to me and I hazarded another glance, hoping to see the rescuers. If they were
down there, the smoke concealed them.

“I did see civilians, I
wasn’t hallucinating.”

“Well if you did see
them, which I don’t think you did, they’re probably in the same condition, if
not worse than those guys.” He nodded in the direction of the firefighters.

“I’m going down to take a
closer look. If they’re in trouble, they’ll need help.” Slipping the mask back
over my mouth and nose, I started to move.

“Elena!” Eric called
after me, but I was already half skidding, half sliding down the embankment.
The sand gave away easily under my weight and I didn’t fight it. A few branches
scratched at my face and I closed my eyes to protect them. My landing wasn’t
graceful, but at least I didn’t fall on my ass or break a bone. A commotion stirred
behind me and I glanced back. Four EMT’s were following at a slower pace in
teams of two, each team carrying a stretcher between them. Knowing the firemen
were going to get assistance, I ran into the thick of the haze.

The smoke swallowed me up
and I might as well have not been wearing a mask for all the good it did. I
coughed and wheezed, squinting my eyes since visibility was reduced to where I
could only see about two feet in front of me. Beyond that was a blurry haze of
shadows. A loud popping noise caught my attention and I hurried towards it only
to encounter a smoldering carpet. The ground undulated with low lying flames; the
popping came from dry twigs being devoured.

Whoever those people were,
they were gone. As much as I hated to return to Eric without proof of their
existence, I turned and started to run back, but tripped over a large piece of
rusted metal. I landed with a whoomp, my teeth clamped down on my tongue, my
eyes opened wide with the sudden pain. They were immediately assaulted with
smoke and dust. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe and was aware of the
approaching fire as my feet grew increasingly hotter inside my boots.

Chapter Forty-Five

I was floating on my
back, yet there was pressure under my neck and behind my knees. I couldn’t make
sense of what was going on. I opened my eyes and realized the man I saw earlier
was carrying me. I tried to say something, but started coughing instead.

I must have passed out
again for I woke up on the ground, at the base of the embankment.

“She’s coming around!” an
EMT, kneeling next to me administering oxygen, said. I turned my head to see
who he was talking to and saw Eric standing a few feet away. “Help me move her.
We need to get out of here!”

Eric leapt into action
and helped hoist me on to a stretcher and then he grabbed the handles by my
feet. They lifted me and began to climb up the steep incline. Once the EMT’s
footing slipped and we slid backwards. I gritted my teeth and braced for a
fall, but none came. When I opened my eyes, I could see behind us and how close
we had been to the wildfire. Less than twenty feet remained between the flames
and where I had just been laying. If that man hadn’t rescued me, I would
certainly be dead. This thought sent a chill down my spine.

Our progress was slow and
bumpy. Embers blew past us on the hot wind. Both Eric and the EMT were drenched
in sweat; Eric’s brown uniform almost black from moisture. My eyes stayed fixed
on the approaching blaze. We finally reached the top where another EMT was
waiting. He relieved Eric and they loaded me into an ambulance. The chaotic
scene from earlier was gone as the ambulance was the only vehicle left.

“It jumped and we had to
evacuate,” Eric explained.

“That fast?” My question
muffled because of the oxygen mask. I pulled it off of my face. “What about the
man who saved me, did he get evacuated too?”

“What man?
     “The one who carried me to safety? He has on a blue shirt, early to
mid-thirties.”

“I don’t know who you’re
talking about, Elena,” Eric said, but he didn’t look me directly in the eyes
when he did. Instead, he focused on a spot just above my shoulder.  During the
brief three years Eric and I were together, I learned to read him pretty well.

He was lying.

I started to call him on
it, but the EMT shooed him out before climbing in and shutting the doors.
Eric’s face appeared in the rear window where he waved once and was gone. That
was all right; I’d talk to him later and make him spill.

Turns out I didn’t have
to wait very long. Not even an hour after being wheeled into the hospital Eric
came strolling into my room.

“Hey Sunshine, how are
you feeling?”

“Like I’ve smoked three
packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day since birth.”

Eric laughed and sat down
on the edge of my bed. “Yeah, the nurses said you have severe smoke
inhalation.”

“Since when did my
condition become public knowledge?” I asked.

“Well, I told them I’m
your husband.”

“Ex-husband.” I reminded
him. 

“A minor detail. Plus, I
think I won them over with my good looks,” he said this with a smile, which
reinforced his statement. His teeth were brighter than the sun streaming in
through the window.

“Whatever,” I grumbled
and tried to roll onto my side away from him, but the wires and tubes from the
various machines hooked up to my body prevented this. I gave up and stayed on
my back.

“How long are they
keeping you here?” Eric asked.

 “Your new friends didn’t
tell you?”

He smiled again and shook
his head. “My looks can only get me so far.”

I started to laugh which
turned into a gigantic wheezing and coughing fit. With every heave of my chest,
it felt like my lungs were being forced through a paper shredder. Damn his charm.
That always managed to get me to forgive him for being an asshole. Well, almost
always.

“Hey easy.” Eric grabbed
my hand.

It took a few minutes for
the spasm to calm down. When it did, he handed me a plastic cup full of water.

“Why are you being so
nice?” I asked.

“You could have died.”

“I didn’t.”

“Still…” he gazed at my
face, the usual hardness in his blue eyes softened.

I broke eye contact to
fiddle with my hospital bracelet. “I called your parents. They’ll be here
soon.”

“Thanks. Hey, can I ask
you something?”

“Sure.”

“What did you see? I know
you lied back there, you saw something.” I watched him closely and saw the
hardness returning to his eyes. “I almost died,” I reminded him. “But some man
saved me.”

He didn’t answer right
away and a vein throbbed in his temple when he clenched his jaw. “I’m not
sure…it’s going to sound crazy.”

“You accused me of the very
same thing not too long ago; I think I can handle it.”

He glared at me and sighed.
“Fine, but I warned you.” Eric paused first before beginning. “You ran down the
slope and disappeared so quickly. I kept looking for you, but saw nothing. The
EMT’s who went down behind you came back up with the two firefighters, but there
was still no sign of you. Did you hear me calling?”

“No, the popping was so
loud and there was even like a dull roar in the background.”

“I heard that too. Anyway,
about the time the EMT’s loaded up the ambulance with the firemen; the fire jumped
the highway - about a quarter mile from where I was standing. That’s when the
evacuation began and when the media showed up.”

“The media?”

“Yup, the Channel 3 news
van just pulled right on in and parked next to Lieutenant Adams’ Tahoe.”

“No way. I bet he loved
that,” I said with a smile, picturing his face turning four hundred shades of
red and him nervously blurting out “no comment” whenever the camera swung in
his direction.

“Yeah, he let you and I
have it for not securing the highway. When I explained to him where I had last
seen you, he was almost speechless with anger. He told me you were my problem and
I needed to figure out where you were. I managed to convince him to leave an
ambulance and crew behind just in case.”

I shrugged my shoulders,
not surprised at my boss’ reaction. He wasn’t exactly a favorite with Human
Resources. Well, Eric and I weren’t either.

“I was beginning to get
worried, knowing you can be impulsive, and hoped you wouldn’t deliberately
endanger yourself. So, I told the EMT’s I’d radio for them if their services
were needed and climbed down the hill to find you.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have
to go very far. I reached the bottom and started to head in the direction where
I last saw you, when you appeared.”

“You did see the man who
helped me?”

“No, Elena, I didn’t. You
were being carried, that was obvious, but I couldn’t see by whom or what. You
were suspended in mid-air and nothing supported you.”

“What? That doesn’t make
sense.”

Eric looked at me, really
looked at me and I could tell he was being sincere. “I know, but it’s what I
saw.”

I didn’t know what to
say. A man carried me, this I know, but why couldn’t Eric see him?

I was very aware of Eric
holding my hand and found the soft pressure of his grip reassuring. When we were
married and had quiet moments like this, it was easy to picture us growing old
together. A wave of regret washed over me and I blinked back tears, remembering
exactly where we went wrong.

**** 

I met Eric my first day
on the job and I went on ride-alongs with him. Having moved to Prescott from
Phoenix, I needed to become familiarized with the territory.

He was sweet, funny, charming
and needed to come with a warning label. So, yeah, I fell for him, but didn’t
let on right away.

After a few weeks of
getting acclimated, Eric asked me out for a beer after work.  

“Purely business, right?”
I asked before accepting. Getting ahead at work was a goal of mine, but I
planned to come by it honestly.

“Yes, of course.”

So I met him at a bar off
of the main square in Prescott. We sat on stools, a comfortable distance apart
and each ordered a beer; which we sipped in silence for the first few minutes.
This is when I first noticed that our silences weren’t awkward. We probably
didn’t have to a say word that evening, but we eventually did talk.

Eric asked me why I
wanted a career in law enforcement and not the fluff answer I gave him in the beginning
about keeping people safe and making a difference.

“What do you mean?” I
asked.

“Because that reason is
so generic. Here, I’ll go first.” He signaled the bartender for a refill and
began. “The serve and protect thing, I get that, but honestly, I like the
power. All my life I heard about situations where there’s something illegal going
down and an officer steps in. His presence alone, the authority the badge
represents, tips the balance of power away from the criminal.”

“So you have a hero
complex?”

“No...That’s not what I
meant.”

I sneaked a peek at him
out of the corner of my eye as I tipped my glass back. “Control, then. You like
asserting control,” I said after taking a sip. He didn’t say anything, but by
the way he smirked, I knew I hit the nail on the head.

“Okay, I’ll play,” I
said. “Where do you think I was born?”

Eric straightened up in
his stool and gave me his full attention. “Um, Mexico?”                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

“Wrong! U.S. born and
raised. That assumption is one of the reasons I wanted to become a cop…to prove
that not every Hispanic looking person is an immigrant. We are put in a box and
labeled. I’m determined to break the stereotype.”

“Relax; I was just
fucking with you. Seriously though, you’re harboring a serious grudge. What
happened?”

“You’re going to be sorry
you asked.” I emptied my glass and gestured for another round.

“As long as you’re buying
this round,” Eric said with a grin and finished his beer.

“There have been at least
four occasions where I have been pulled over and I know, but can’t prove, it’s
because of profiling.”

“How do you know?”

“Ever since high school
I’ve wanted to be a police officer, so I stayed out of trouble, studied state
law, memorized the driver’s manual like my nana did the Bible and adhered to it
in practice, yet I’d still get pulled over.”

“You could have had a
brake light out or something.”

“Nope, I’m convinced I’m
a victim of racial profiling and it’s so frustrating not being able to prove
it.”

“Are you working on an
internal investigation?” Eric asked me, his face expressionless except for his
blue eyes which were narrowed as he glared at me. “That’s a quick way to not
make friends in the department.” At first I thought he was messing with me
again, but he even moved incrementally away from me to physically distance
himself. Our previous lighthearted banter all but evaporated and was replaced
with tension.

“What? No! Why do you say
that?”

“Because the sheriff’s
office has been investigated for profiling in the past and here you are all
fired up and ready to prove there’s corruption in the system. Six months ago we
had a sergeant and a captain resign as a result of an internal investigation.
That wasn’t about profiling, but it wouldn’t surprise me that you’re plying me
with some drinks trying to get information to support your case.” He drained
the rest of his beer and slammed the glass down on the counter then stood up.
His stool scraped across the wooden floor. “No thanks, I’m not risking my
reputation or career.”

“But, you’re the one who
asked me out!” I stammered. This turn of events had caught me completely off
guard.

“Whatever and I’m paying
for this, I don’t want it to appear that you bought me drinks for info either.”
He slapped a twenty dollar bill down and left without saying another word to
me.

I watched him walk out,
my mouth hanging open in shock.

The sound of the
bartender chuckling caught my attention and I twisted around on my stool to
face him. He stood behind the bar in front of me drying a glass and was
obviously amused at what had just happened.

“What’s so funny?” I
asked.

“Seems as though Eric’s getting
a chance at some retribution.”