Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1) (13 page)

Kellee met Sarah’s eyes. “Do you have them?” she asked, still teasing the dogs with the hidden treats.

“Yep,” Sarah replied, “at least for the moment.”

Kellee rewarded the dogs with a piece of a small treat she’d kept hidden in her hand.

When the dogs were finished with Kellee, they turned toward their handler. “Platz,” Sarah commanded. Both dogs responded quickly, settling into a sphinx-like position on the ground beside the truck. They kept their eyes glued to Sarah. They were having a difficult time trying to contain themselves.

Panting and antsy, Gunner could just barely stay in a down position. He continued to flip his hip from the right side to the left never taking his eyes from his handler. Sam stayed in his original position, but an occasional tremor surfaced across his body as he tried to remain in place.

“Settle, Gunner,” Sarah quietly commanded the dog. “Good boy, Sam.”

“Ready to head over?” Sarah asked Kellee.

“I’m ready. Looks like we have everything.” Kellee scanned the area immediately surrounding herself, Sarah and the dogs. She wanted to make sure no one had dropped any equipment or left anything out.

“Watch.” The dogs looked at Sarah. They locked eyes with her. Sarah waited a moment. She looped their leashes around her hand. “Free,” she told them. The dogs jumped up to run, but hit the end of the leash and their prong collar. They immediately caught themselves and settled down, keeping an eye on their handler.

The merry band walked over to the mule beside the command unit. Sarah recognized its driver from a search-and-rescue class but couldn’t recall his name.
If he had been one of the search dogs,
she thought,
I wouldn’t have a problem remembering his name!

“You sure you don’t mind me tagging along?” Dave politely asked again. “I think it would be a good idea just in case the dogs find something.”

“Just in case?” Sarah said with a smile. “I hope you have more confidence in us than that!”

“Oh I do,” Dave quickly replied. “But to be honest, I really want to see you in action. Working two dogs. I mean see the dogs in action,” he backpedaled with a grin.

“I’m sure the dogs won’t mind,” Sarah replied back, testing him.
I wonder…

The small band of humans and dogs made their way over to the mule that was parked outside the command unit. Sarah sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. She scanned her surroundings. Fluffy white clouds dotted the azure skies above Lake Marburg. The temperature hovered in the mid-seventies, a mild breeze drifted through base. Bits of sun bounced off the lake’s water and reflected through the trees. Sarah couldn’t imagine a better time of year or a better place to be. She loved the outdoors. Autumn was upon them, harvest season. Her favorite.

Reality set in when they reached the all-terrain vehicle that was to be their ride to their search task.
I can’t believe we are searching for him!
Dark thoughts of the victim crossed her mind again. It angered her to think he was the subject of the search and all the effort and commotion.
The creep really wasn’t worth this endeavor,
she thought
. Stop it! Focus on being positive. Positive energy!
With that notion, she refocused on the task at hand and why she was in this business.

Contemplating her assignment, Sarah considered the area they had been assigned to search. Sarah knew as a first responder, it took good search strategy combined with pure luck to actually find the lost subject in your sector. History of the missing person as well as interviews of family and witnesses was always a big help in deciding on an area to search—all items they had taken into account.

Search management was still trying to glean as much information on the subject as possible. New details were always emerging during a search. They were still trying to determine how the subject was dressed, what type of foot gear and shoe size he had. His wife hadn’t proved to be much help. Aside from some possible mental issues, alcohol and drug abuse, the subject didn’t appear to have any other major health concerns.
Like that wasn’t enough
.

Dave sidled up beside Sarah and Kellee. “What can I help you with?” he asked as he looked down at the dogs lying by his feet wagging their long bushy tails.

Sarah had them lay down when they reached the mule. Gunner and Sam stretched as far as they could to sniff Dave and his pants. It was evident that Bella had left her smell all over Dave. With her oily skin and coat, it was hard not to be covered in her scent after working or caring for her.

“Hey guys,” Dave offered to the dogs as he bent down to ruff them along the side of their heads and scratch their ears. The dogs continued to wag their tails in response.

“You can throw my field pack into the back of the mule,” Sarah said as she let the heavy, densely crammed backpack slide from her shoulder and arm onto the ground beside the vehicle. The pack hit the ground with a heavy thud.

“Whoa,” Dave remarked. “Glad I don’t have to carry a pack like that while working out in the field. What in the hell do you have in there?”

Feeling confident at the moment she replied, “Everything,” with a smug tone.

“Well, I sure as hell don’t doubt it,” Dave replied. “Especially after what all I saw packed into the back of your truck.”

“You can also run the radio today if that’s okay with you.” Without waiting for a reply from Dave, she started to remove the radio apparatus from her body. She ripped the Velcro strap open, removed her cap and carefully pulled the radio harness over her bandana that fit snug around her head and hair.

“Oh hey, not a problem. Would be glad to,” Dave replied as he accepted the equipment and responsibility.

As they loaded up the gear and dogs into the mule, Kellee grabbed a few more bottles of water and granola bars from the table in front of the command unit. Both women checked to make sure their GPS units were set on the same Datum as search management. There were different longitude and latitude measurements available and they needed to be sure that their units were set on the same one the management team was using. If not, their GPS coordinates would not match what was used in base camp.

Sarah pulled her compass from where it hung from her belt loop. She used a little key that was attached to the lanyard and placed it in a keyhole in the back. She turned the key until she had added eleven degrees to her compass bearing. Search management was using magnetic north instead of true north. Confident she had set the declination correctly, she dropped the compass back into her BDU pants pocket.

Dave and the driver went over the best route to their search sector. The two men were deep in discussion debating who knew the best track.

Sarah looked at Kellee. For some reason Kellee was wearing a huge grin. She appeared to be in a great spirits.

“So what’s got
you
in such a good mood?” Sarah asked kiddingly.

Kellee made sure Dave and the driver were still distracted, and answered, “Well, actually, if you must know,
you
.”

“Me?” Sarah asked quizzically. “Am I really that interesting?” She flashed her eyelids and lifted her chin mockingly

“Just thinking about how far you’ve come since our first meeting. How far
we’ve
come. I’m so proud of you,” Kellee continued.

Sarah felt like Kellee was trying to give her a boost of confidence and also make her take responsibility for today’s mission. She knew Kellee wanted to make her stand up and be ready for whatever they might find out in the woods today.

“Proud?” Sarah asked.

“Yes. You’ve done so well becoming a first responder and training Sam and Gunner. I’m also impressed you’re taking this on and standing up to the challenge. I know it’s not gonna be an easy task for you. I’m glad I’m here with you. Just the thought of going out on your first wilderness search as the lead dog handler is enough to make anyone nervous,” Kellee retorted lighthearted. “This search is more involved physically and mentally than yesterday. Between the amount of ground and the terrain we need to cover and follow a map, this will not be an easy undertaking.”

“Oh, I know. But I love working the woods and forest the best. It’s Gunner and Sam’s favorite type of problem and terrain.”

There had been a time in Sarah’s past where she could have gone either way on her path and direction in life. She had the choice to overcome her dark past and move on to a better life. Or she could have succumbed to it and repeated that misery all over again.

It was a chance meeting six years earlier when Sarah had first encountered Kellee. Sarah, a young redhead, had held herself with defiance and at a distance. She knew she was witty and intelligent but she kept her emotional and personal distance from everyone, never allowing anyone into her personal space. She carried an internal sadness, a kind of deep darkness in her soul that followed her everywhere. Sarah called it her “baggage.” Weight she hoped to rid herself of one day.

Sarah had opened up to Kellee little by little when Kellee gained her trust. She had shared some of what she’d had to endure in her years in the foster home system. No one else knew or cared to know. And that was fine with Sarah, the less people knew about her past life, the better she felt about herself. But Kellee had been there when Sarah needed someone. She had helped Sarah bloom into a responsible person. A strong person.

Helping Sarah into the back of the mule, Kellee turned her attention to Gunner and Sam who were still in their down command beside the vehicle. She picked up both leashes and braced herself to trudge after the joyful animals. “Free,” Kellee told both dogs when they met her eyes.

Sam and Gunner jumped up and bolted toward Sarah and the mule, which was only a yard from where they had been. Dave dropped the mule’s tailgate as the dogs closed in.

“Hup!” Sarah commanded. Both dogs jumped into the back of the mule as Kellee let their leashes go. “Good job!” Sarah lavished praise on them. She in turn picked up their leashes, and gave them time to find a comfortable spot to settle down.

Dave and Kellee clambered up the steps on the side of the vehicle and found a spot to sit and hang on.

“All aboard? Ready?” the driver asked and Sarah nodded her head. The driver took off in the direction of the search sector.

Boy, I hope I’m ready for this
.

Perfect
. Eva smiled. She was content with how the event was playing out. She was also content with Sarah, at least for the time being. Eva was happy with how well Sarah had received the news as to who the subject of the search was. Yes, Sarah did squirm at first, but she regained her composure and that was what counted. It wasn’t the initial reaction that mattered, but how well she recovered.

About time! About time you toughened up and took on the challenge.
Eva wished Sarah was more emotionally savvy and stable. She was better than she had been in the past, but still not as tough as Eva. This was the main reason Eva still stuck around to keep an eye on her. If only Sarah would take matters into her own hands. But Eva knew she wouldn’t. So she stayed. Eva was close enough to watch, but far enough to be physically out of Sarah’s life.

She watched as the searchers loaded the mule with equipment, people and the dreaded dogs. She hated the dogs. That was one thing she really didn’t understand about Sarah. They were stupid animals. She would be so much better off without them.

The closer the search party got to deploying to their chosen search sector, the more excited Eva grew. It was hard to control her pleasure and satisfaction.
I can’t wait for this to unfold!

Lurching forward, the mule pulled out of the horse trailer parking lot. It groaned and struggled at first from being so weighted down. Sarah sat facing the rear and watched as the incident command unit and base camp disappeared from view. She stared off, deep in thought.

“You okay?” Dave asked.

He touched her shoulder. Sarah jumped. “Did you say something?” Sarah tried to regain her composure. She scrambled for words and tried to make up for flinching at his touch. “Sorry, contemplating today’s search strategy.”

“Just seeing if you were still with us,” he laughed. “You seemed lost in another world. You doing okay? You and the dogs had a long day yesterday and right back at it today.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Wondering what we may encounter, what the dogs may find. That’s all. Isn’t it about time to do a radio check?” Sarah changed the subject to shift his attention.

“Yep, on it.” Dave picked up the microphone. “Base, Team Echo calling in for a radio check.”

Releasing the call button, he waited a few seconds and was rewarded with, “Base copies Team Echo, coming through loud and clear.”

“Team Echo leaving base, heading out to starting point of search sector,” Dave continued with the transmission.

“Base copies. Check in again when you are ready to begin task.” Base repeated back the information Dave had given and asked them to check in every half hour.

“The area we’re headed to has a few hills and ravines. Nothing major as far as steep or too difficult terrain. Radio signal should stay strong throughout the search area,” Dave explained.

Sarah barely listened as Dave went on about the radio. He seemed happy to have something to talk about. It was another responsibility she had delegated and put all thought of it out of her own head.

As the driver headed east, he crossed an open field, followed a horse trail as far as he could and then had to get back on the asphalt road because the mule couldn’t fit along the trail. They crossed a bridge that spanned a small branch of Lake Marburg.

The driver wound through another parking lot by the southeast edge of the lake and headed down to pick up a section of the main trail where it had been theorized the subject might have hiked. This part of the trail consisted of a well-groomed bridle path that would take them to an area of substantially tall, un-timbered soft pines.

The ample stand of pines had originally been planted to be harvested for the local paper mill. But that was years ago, back before the park existed. Once they dammed the creek and turned the area into a park, all the lands surrounding the lake became state property. Any trees within the new boundaries of the park were no longer allowed to be timbered.

The once fertile farmland within park boundaries was now at nature’s whim. What resulted was mainly scrub with a few scattered hardwood trees dotting the landscape here and there. Thirty years later, a forest had grown and there were now several mature trees, but the scrub was still plentiful. It had grown up along many tree lines and caused several trees to slowly die as vines and scrub eventually choked them out.

This stand of pines would be the southwest boundary—the initial starting point of their team’s search sector depending on a few determinates. First, the search party would need to check if the predominate wind continued to flow from the north within the tree line. Sometimes the air flow differed within diverse areas of terrain.

Next, they would need to consider other hazards or difficult areas the team might encounter in their direction of travel. If all looked good, they would start out from this point to begin to grid their sector—walking in straight lines from one end to the other as the dogs were turned loose to search for any humans.

Sarah and Kellee pulled their maps out as they bumped along in the red and black mule. Kellee was studying the Codorus State Park map which showed all the man-made trails and other park information pertinent to visitors. The park map was on a different scale than the topographical map Sarah was using. Although the park map was pretty and offered good information, it wasn’t drawn to any specific measure. Its purpose was simply to help visitors and hikers stay on marked trails.

By contrast, Sarah’s topographical map was referred to as a “7.5-minute map.” It was the size and type of map her canine team trained with and utilized while deployed. Most search teams used that scale because of its availability and accuracy as far as terrain. Every inch of the United States was mapped and set up in this style. They were called 7.5-minute quadrangles because they showed an area 7.5-minutes of longitude wide by 7.5-minutes of latitude high. Each inch on the map was equal to 24,000 inches on the ground—or 2,000 feet.

To the average civilian, these maps looked like a foreign language. But seasoned search responders understood their mysteries and were grateful to be issued them—especially if the maps were printed in color.

Opening her topo map fully, Sarah looked over their search sector again. Her map not only showed the layout of the land, but also the elevations in grid lines. All of the details of the lake boundaries, forestation, swamp areas, creeks, roads and nearby buildings were noted. The map was further broken down into 1,000-meter boxes with 100-meter grid ticks. This would help the search team identify their exact location within their sector down to the meter.

They had been assigned an area which started at the large stand of pines and extended well over 900 meters from west to east. It ended at the park’s northeastern border where another set of pines backed up to private property. The western border was the lake itself and would not be even because the shoreline zigged and zagged. The width of the sector would change depending on how far the shoreline turned in or out from north to south.

Their northern boundary was the peak of one of the park’s most elevated hilltops. Running north to south, the sector was about 800 meters wide.
A pretty large wooded area to cover,
Sarah thought,
but between three trained search personnel and two trained air-scenting canines working as a team, we should be able to take our time and clear the area well.

Taking a closer look at the map, there didn’t seem to be any difficult natural obstacles that stood out. As far as Sarah knew, downed trees, low-lying scrub and sticker bushes would be their biggest adversaries today. At least as far as the terrain. But Gunner and Sam would be tempted by the lake. She wasn’t sure how she would manage that one yet. Nor had Sarah completely come to terms with how she’d feel if they actually located her scumbag foster brother.

Gunner and Sam loved the water and would swim at any opportunity that presented itself. She hadn’t let them swim during yesterday’s water search though because she was still on guard. She was afraid search management might have frowned upon it. Sarah had been lucky to keep Gunner restrained in the boat during his entire water search. He had been known to abandon ship during training for a fun romp in the water.

I can see the headline in the local news now, “Search Dogs Abandon Lost Man to Play in Lake.”
Sarah laughed out loud. Kellee turned to look at her. “Just thinking my biggest problem today will be keeping two furry searchers out of the water!” Sarah grinned.

Dave gave both women a puzzled glance.

“They’re both avid swimmers,” she shouted over the whining of the mule’s engine. “Sam and Gunner love getting in the water. I bring them over to the lake to swim during the summer months.”

They continued to roll along to their destination. Dave smiled at Sarah, looking at the dogs and shaking his head as if he understood.

“The lake will be a good resource to cool the dogs off if they get overheated,” Sarah commented. “They’ll be working physically harder today than yesterday. This is a pretty large sector. The dogs have a lot of ground to cover.”
And so do we
, Sarah thought.

After a twenty-minute ride to their sector’s starting point, the driver pulled up to a wide open area along the trail, not far from the pines and the lake’s edge. The mule came to an abrupt stop. The dogs shifted and scattered for a moment, then stood up to regain their balance.

“Easy,” Sarah whispered to them as she held their leashes tight. She didn’t want the dogs to exit the mule suddenly. She took a quick 360-degree glance of the area before disembarking. She noticed several large puddles from recent thunderstorms. “Slight miscalculation,” she voiced to Kellee as she pointed to the standing water. “I thought most of the water in this area of the park would have been swallowed up by the loamy soil.”

“I guess so much water came down so fast that the ground couldn’t soak it all up,” Kellee retorted. “We just need to make sure to keep Sam and Gunner from drinking out of those puddles if we can. Looks like mosquitoes have already been here,” she said, pointing to the puddles full of larva.

The driver of the mule jumped out and opened the tailgate. He helped Sarah, and then the dogs unload from the rear of the vehicle. Sarah took both Sam and Gunner to a shady area and had them lay down. “Stay,” she commanded. She returned to get her supplies and backpack and set the equipment on the ground beside her dogs. Dave and Kellee grabbed their field packs and did a quick check of the vehicle.

“Got everything? You guys all set?” the mule driver asked.

Dave turned to Sarah. “You good?” he asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes over the back of the mule, her dogs and her pack.

“Looks like we’re good to go,” Dave stated.

The driver put the tailgate up with a loud smack. He hopped back up into the front seat with a little effort. “Okay, if you all are sure you have everything you need, I’m gonna head back.” He deftly maneuvered the vehicle around and shouted, “Stay safe!” as he started back west to base camp.

Yeah right. With that asshole out here?
Sarah looked over to Gunner and Sam.
I guess I’m the only one here who knows what this guy is really capable of.
She would never forgive herself if something were to happen to her boys.