Take a Deep Breath (Lake of the Pines) (10 page)

Liv walked down the road toward the hiking path, but there
was no sign of Sara. Liv thought she might throw-up, but knew she had to hold
it together. Giving into the panic would not help her find Sara.

“Did you find her?” Liv called to Cam.

“Not yet.” Cam came back to where Liv was standing. “She’s
not at the playground.”

“Oh, God! Where could she be, Cam?”

“We’ll find her, Liv. She couldn’t have gone that far.”

Liv looked down toward the dock. Cam knew exactly what she
was thinking.

“She knows, better than to play near the water without me.”

“Yes, she does. She’s a smart girl. I’m sure she didn’t go
down by the lake.”

“You’re right.”

“Let’s go take a look, just to be sure.” Cam draped his arm
over her shoulders as they walked down the hill toward the dock together. The
lake still churned from the storm. The waves hit the shore hard and pulled
back, a tangle of seaweed and drift wood left in its wake. The wind caught
Liv’s hair and blew it in a halo around her head. Her face full of worry, she
scanned the small strip of beach. Unmarred no footsteps or paw prints marked
the sand.

“It doesn’t look like she’s been down here this morning.”
Cam pointed toward the smooth sand.

“Thank God. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened
to her.”

“Don’t even think that way. We’ll find her. I’m sure of it.”

“It’s just not like her to wander off like this and not tell
me.”

“I’m guessing she wandered into the woods with Pup-Pup and
got turned around. Let’s call 911 and get a search team out looking for her.
She hasn’t been gone for more than an hour. We’ll find her.” Cam punched the
number into his cell phone and handed it to Liv.

The phone rang twice on the other end before an operator
picked up.

“911, where is the location of your emergency?” a calm voice
asked.

“Yes, this is Liv Reynolds. My eight-year old daughter,
Sara, is missing. She was out in the front yard of our cottage playing with her
dog. I went out to check on her 20 minutes later and she’s nowhere to be found.
We’ve looked everywhere for her. It’s not like her at all. I don’t have any
idea where she could have gone. She knows better than to play near the water
and we didn’t see any evidence of her on the beach near our dock. We think she
wandered into the woods with her puppy and got turned around.” Liv related what
she knew to the operator without taking a breath.

“Okay, ma’am. Slow down a little. We’re here to help you and
we’ll send a team out looking for her right away. Let me get a few things down
first. What was she wearing? What does she look like?”

Liv wracked her brain trying to picture what Sara was
wearing. “She is about four feet, two inches tall and weighs around 70 pounds.
She has on a hot pink t-shirt no wait that was yesterday.” Liv pictured her
daughter gathering the sticks. “This morning she had on a yellow and pink
flowered tank top and purple shorts with purple flip flops. She had her hair
pulled up in a ponytail. It’s medium brown in color and her eyes are blue. ” As
Liv continued her voice steadied. “She was with her puppy – a fluffy white
mixed breed – part terrier.”

“Got it,” the operator then followed up asking for the exact
location where she’d last seen Sara along with where Liv could be contacted.
“Now, I want you to stay near the cottage in case she comes back home.”

“Okay, I will.” A few moments later, she hung up. Cam stood
behind her and put his arms around her as she leaned back into him sobbing.

“This is my fault. I should’ve been watching her better. Ron
was always on me about that.”

“Stop, we’re not going to play the blame game. It won’t help
find Sara.”

“I feel so helpless.”

Hannah pulled into the driveway. She quickly got out of the
car and made her way to where Cam and Liv were standing.

“I was at the camp store, when I heard one of the rangers
say he heard on the scanner that a little girl and her dog were missing. The
description sounded a lot like Sara. Please tell me it’s not.” By the looks on
their faces, she knew it must be true.

“Oh Gram, she was outside gathering sticks in her wagon one
minute, and the next she was gone. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”

“They’ll find her. The search and rescue team here is the
best. Come on inside and I’ll make us some lemonade.”

Liv collapsed into the rocking chair. She felt as if someone
had knocked all the wind out of her.
How could everything be so perfect one
moment and so completely horrific the next?
She thought. She wondered how
she would make it through the next few minutes, hours, days or however long it
took to find Sara.
What if they didn’t find her or worse what if the found
her and she was… Stop!
She needed to distract herself from negative
thinking and jumping to conclusions. She should call Ron and let him know what
was going on with Sara, but the thought of his wrath and loathing towards her
was more than she could stomach at the moment. He was in D.C. on business
anyway, she rationalized. He couldn’t do anything from there, but worry.
Besides, she didn’t know his hotel information. She’d call him when she knew
more. Once they found her.
If they found her…
Once again her mind
circled back to the negative. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Cam came up behind her and rubbed her back as he talked to
his father on his cell phone. A moment later he hung up.

“Dad, my Uncle Roger, and their friend Eric Brunswick are
headed down to the ranger station to see what they can do to help in the search
for Sara. He’s going to talk to a couple of our neighbors on the way and get
their help too.”

“Thanks Cam, I appreciate their help more than you can know.
I wish I could be searching for her too.”

“The operator is right though. You need to be here in case
she finds her way home.”

“I know. Waiting has never been my strong suit.”

“I’m going to go join the search party. I’ll stay here with
you though, if you’d rather not be alone right now.”

Liv looked stricken. She didn’t want Cam to go, but on the
other hand, the more people out looking for Sara the sooner they’d find her.
“No, you go. I want you to. I’ll be okay here with Gram.”

“Okay. I’ll call you with any news.” He kissed her cheek
before heading out the door. She heard the engine of his pickup turn over and
the gravel crunch as he backed out of the driveway. Hannah returned with a tray
of glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. She poured one for Liv and handed her the
glass. Liv took a small sip. Hannah’s lemonade was the perfect blend of sweet
and tart.

“Did Cam leave?”

“He went to join the search party.”

“I’m sure they’ll find her soon.” Hannah took her
granddaughter’s hands in her own. “Pray with me.”

Liv nodded and bowed her head.

“Lord, please help the rescue team find our sweet, little
Sara and bring her home to us. Wherever she may be, please keep her safe and
calm. We ask that you be with Liv and me as we wait for her return, knowing
with you nothing is impossible. Amen.”

“Amen.” Liv repeated. She rocked in the chair and closed her
eyes a moment. She wished she could escape into sleep and wake up to find all
of this had been a horrible nightmare. She sighed and got up from the chair.

“I’m going to go take a walk around the cottage again.”

“Okay, I’ll be here knitting if you need me.”

Liv let herself out the front door and stood a moment on the
porch. She wandered over to Sara’s wagon, looking for any clues as to where she
might have gone. The red wagon was half-full of the stick’s she’d been
gathering. Liv began to pick up a few more that were scattered around the yard.
Pretty soon the wagon was overflowing with the sticks and branches. She pulled
the load over to the wood pile behind the cottage and dumped it. Four loads
later and except for the branches that were too heavy to move, the yard was
clear of the storm debris. Liv rubbed the back of her neck. She was sweaty and
dirty, but at least she’d kept herself from having an anxiety attack.

She went back into the cottage. Her grandmother sat dosing
in her knitting chair. Liv took a quick shower and returned to her favorite
chair by the window. She sat and watched the lake, trying to make her mind go
blank.
It only takes minutes for a child to drown. Stop. She knows better
than to go down to the lake alone. Stop. Someone must have taken her.
The
worst-case scenarios played over and over in her mind. The hours passed and
still Sara hadn’t returned, nor had anyone called with news.

“Come on Liv, let’s go sit on the back porch and get some
fresh air.” Hannah joined her in front of the window. “I’ll go get us a plate
of cookies and a deck of cards. We can play gin rummy while we wait for the
good news.”

“I really don’t feel like cards right now Gram.”

“I know you don’t, but it’ll help keep your mind busy.”

“Okay, I guess that’s a better plan than sitting here
worrying myself into a panic.”

“Good, I’ll meet you on the back porch.” Hannah disappeared
into the other room to find the cards and pad of paper and pen to keep score,
while Liv took a fresh pitcher of lemonade and their glasses with her to the
picnic table on the porch. A few moments later Hannah appeared with a plate
full of cookies and then dealt them each seven cards.
Leave it to Gram,
Liv thought.
She always knows what to do.
Lemonade, cookies and cards
always makes everything better at least for a bit. Over the years Liv, her
sisters and her grandmother had played thousands of hands of rummy, eating
cookies and laughing away their problems.

“Rummy!” Hannah laid her cards down. “That’s three in a row
now, I think.”

“Deal them again. I think I’ve gotten too rusty at this
game.”

A crowd of search and rescue volunteers from the county
stood in front of the ranger station waiting for directions from the team
coordinator. Cam saw his dad and uncle standing at the back of the crowd and
joined them.

“Thanks for coming, Dad. I really appreciate it and so does
Liv.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. We’ll find the little girl.”
Max reassured his son.

Cam nodded. “What’s going on? Have they started the search?”
He gestured toward a tall, muscular man with a radio in his hand. He wore a
bright yellow shirt with the words “Rescue” written in black across the front
and a large backpack on his back. He had a serious expression on his face as he
directed the people unloading equipment. He seemed to be the man in charge and
it was obvious he knew what he was doing.

“I’m not sure. We just got here a few minutes ago and they
haven’t given us any direction yet. We need to get this show on the road though
and bring that little girl home to her mother.”

“I’m sure, they’re just trying to keep things organized so
we don’t search one area three times and miss another area completely,” Roger
put in.

“You’re probably right,” Cam agreed with his uncle. “Where’s
Mr. Brunswick?” Cam  looked for his father’s best friend.

“Right here Cam, I grabbed a couple of trail maps for us,”
Eric said handing one to Cam. “You’re all grown up now. Please, call me Eric.”

Cam glanced over the map. “Thanks Eric. I appreciate you
coming to help with the search.”

“We all want to find Sara. She couldn’t have wandered too
far. Your dad said she’s only been gone an hour tops, right?”

“Yeah, and every minute she’s gone is one too many.” Cam was
getting agitated standing around. He wanted to find her now. He knew Sara had
to be scared. Thinking of her alone in the woods, possibly hurt was twisting
his gut. He couldn’t imagine the little girl out in the woods overnight by
herself.

A few minutes later the SAR leader brought two-fingers to
his mouth and whistled to get the attention of the volunteers. “Okay. I know
everyone is anxious to start looking for Sara. The best chance we have at
finding her quickly is to stay organized. My name is Luke and I’ll be leading
this search operation. I’ll be dividing you up into teams. We’ll split up to
cover the various trails in the park first, and then we’ll make wider and wider
passes from there until we find her. We’re going to start in this area.” Luke
pointed to the map of the park that showed visitors the various hiking,
mountain biking and snow mobile trails. “We’ll concentrate on the 100 acres of
woods surrounding her family’s cottage where she was last seen. I’ll assign one
of our trained SAR team members to each group of volunteers. Each team will
have a backpack of first aid equipment and other survival essentials. While our
mission is to find Sara, we need to stay safe ourselves and look out for each
other as well. Each person will also have a radio, so you’re in constant
communication with the command center. We’ll be using channel two. Also, if
anyone from Sara’s family is here, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Luke began to divide people up, hand out equipment and
assign them to various search areas. Cam made his way through the crowd to talk
to Luke. “Luke?”

He turned around. “Yes?”

“I’m Cameron Preston, a good friend of Sara’s family. Her
mother and grandmother are waiting at the cottage in case Sara comes home. Her
father is out of town on business. They’re the only family around right now, so
I guess I’m the family representative.” Cam then went on to introduce Max,
Roger and Eric.

“It’s great to meet you.” Luke shook each of their hands.
“Sorry it isn’t under different circumstances.”

“Me too.”

“You guys will be with me. We’re going to cover the side of
the Horse Shoe trail that shoots off the Big Loop trail. We’ll do a line search
from the middle of the trail. We’ll be looking for any traces of her foot
prints, clothes, shoes, dog leash, or any clue that could lead us to her. We’ll
blow these whistles and call her name as we slowly move up the trail. We want
her to hear us and call back. Hopefully once she realized she was lost, she
stayed put.”

“Okay.” Cam nodded understanding.

“We want to find her in daylight.” Luke continued to talk as
they made their way to his Jeep and climbed in. “Her chances drop once night
falls. The search becomes harder, but not impossible.”

“I understand. So, what are our chances at finding her in
the daylight?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Sometimes we find the lost
person in a couple hours, other times it takes days. If she doesn’t get scared
and hide or keep wandering, we should find her sooner.” Luke didn’t want to
scare them, but he also didn’t believe in giving false hopes. He pulled into
the parking lot of the Horse Shoe picnic area. The trail started behind the
main shelter house. He handed each of the men a whistle. “That being said, I intend
to find her today.”

The saturated ground and fallen limbs from the storm made
the search more difficult. The mud made the trails slippery and parts were
washed out. The five men spread out and walked in a line, searching the trees,
bushes and ground for any sign of Sara. Luke’s trained search dog, a muscular
German Shepherd named Pogo sniffed the ground in front of them. He disappeared
into the brush and came out again back and forth, back and forth. They blew
their whistles and called to Sara.

Cam wiped the sweat from his eyes. They’d searched the area
almost four hours and hadn’t seen any sign of her. His calves burned as did his
lungs. He couldn’t stop though, wouldn’t stop until he found Sara. The sun was
high in the sky overhead. Cam guessed it was close to two o’clock in the
afternoon. He heard a stick break on his right and called for Sara. He waited a
moment, but heard no reply. They pressed forward trying not to get discouraged.
Luke was methodical. They slowly and tediously searched an area before moving
on. Sara was a smart girl, Cam told himself. He remembered her saying how she
liked to hike with her mom. She explained to him how in second grade she
learned about the ‘hug a tree’ rule. If she ever got separated from her mother,
she was supposed to hug a tree until someone came and found her. He hoped in
her panic she hadn’t forgotten what she learned.

An hour later they came to the cut off where the Horse Shoe
trail turned toward the west and the Big Loop trail veered off toward the east.
The five men stood in the cross-roads to discuss their options and strategy. A
huge oak tree lay in the middle of the path. The storm had blown the giant
over, roots and all. The exhausted men leaned against it, drinking water as
Luke radioed back to the command center to see if there was any news from the
other teams about Sara and let them know what direction they were taking.

“No one’s found her yet,” Luke told them. “Another group is
coming up on the west side of the Horse Shoe trail, so we’ll head off toward
the Big Loop. I’ve a good feeling about it.”

Cam screwed the lid back on his water. “Let’s go, then.” He
stood ready to resume the search.

Luke assessed the other men, who looked a little more worn
out than Cam.

“Are you guys ready? Or do you want to rest a few more
minutes?”

“I’m good,” Max replied. “I can keep going a little while
longer.”

“Me too,” agreed Roger.

“Eric?”

“I’m ready too.” Eric seemed out of breath.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to over-do it out here.”

“Well, maybe I should rest a little longer.” Eric felt a
little light headed.

Cam walked over to where Eric was standing. He didn’t like
the older man’s color. Eric’s shirt was soaked with sweat. “Do you feel dizzy?”

“Maybe a little.” Eric sat back down on the fallen tree
trunk.

“Nauseated?”

“A little,” Eric answered honestly.

Cam looked in his eyes and pulled the skin up on Eric’s
forearm. “I’m worried you may be on the verge of heat exhaustion.”

“I agree,” Luke said joining Cam. “Have you taken a first
aid course?”

“You could say that. I’m an M.D.” Cam laughed.

“Great. That could come in handy. I’m a trained paramedic,
but having a doctor on the team is definitely an asset.”

“I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret or anything. I didn’t
even think to mention it.”

“Well it’s always good to know what the strengths of the
team are so we can take advantage of them if needed.”

“Makes sense, I wish I had more training in tracking right
now though.” Cam turned back to Eric. His color was starting to improve a
little. “Eric, I think you should stay here in the shade and rest. Here’s
another bottle of water. Keep drinking to help get yourself rehydrated.”

“I’ll stay with Eric,” Roger said. “I’m not in as good of
shape as I used to be. When Eric’s ready, we’ll take the path back down and
wait for you in the parking lot by the Jeep.”

“What about you Dad? It’s pretty hot. Do you want to go back
with these guys?” Cam asked.

“Hell, no, let’s go find Sara.” Cam knew his father was in
no better shape than his friends, but tended to let pride get in the way of
common sense. Over the years Max let his pride get him in trouble, when he
should have just quit and let it go.

“Are you sure Dad? Uncle Roger may need your help getting
Eric back down to the Jeep.” Cam offered his father an out without wounding the
man’s pride.

“Well, maybe it would be better for me to help Eric and
Roger. I should go where I can help out the most,” Max agreed, already sitting
back down on the fallen tree.

“Okay, that’s settled.”

“Ready?” Luke questioned.

“Let’s go.”

Luke whistled for Pogo and the three of them headed off
towards the Big Loop. Humidity hung thick in the air making it harder to
breathe. Both Cam and Luke were drenched in sweat, but continued to push
through the underbrush, calling for Sara and then pausing to listen for a reply.
About a mile and a half down the path, Pogo put his nose to the ground and
began to wag his tail wildly.

“He’s on to something,” Luke called out to Cam.

Hope rose in Cam’s chest and he put up a silent prayer to
let it be Sara. Cam blew the whistle loudly, simultaneously with Luke and
called her name again. They paused to listen. Faintly in the distance, Cam
heard the barking of a small dog.
Pup-Pup.
Cam’s heart leapt.

“I think I hear Sara’s little dog barking.” Cam pointed due
east.

“Maybe that’s what Pogo smells.” They turned and headed in
the direction of the barking. They blew the whistles again and called out. The
little dog’s barking got a little louder. Cam and Luke moved quickly toward the
sound. Pretty soon, Pogo began barking loudly too. Moments later Cam and Luke
came over a rise and found Pup-Pup and Pogo nose-to-nose with each other. The
fur on Pup-Pup’s back stood straight up as she growled at Pogo. Pogo cocked his
head at the little dog as if to say, “Really? What’re you going to do to me?”
Luke whistled for Pogo and the dog obediently fell into heel at Luke’s side.

“Pup-Pup,” Cam called. On recognizing a familiar face,
Pup-Pup ran to Cam, dragging her pink leash behind her. Cam picked her up and
stroked her back as he scanned the area looking for Sara. He put the little dog
back on the ground. “Okay, girl…Where’s Sara? Take us to her.” The little dog
started jumping around and headed off toward a dried up stream bed that sloped
down into a ravine. Pogo was already on Sara’s trail, nose to the ground. Luke
ran to keep up with him, followed by Pup-Pup and Cam. Pogo stopped at the edge
of the muddy slope. Both dogs barked non-stop. Cam and Luke looked down into
the shadowy ravine.

“Sara! Sara!” they called out to her. No answer. Cam scanned
the ravine, dread filling him. She had to be here somewhere. Then he saw her
small form lying next to a fallen branch. She didn’t move. “Oh God, please God,
no!”

Luke saw her too and was already descending into the ravine.

“I’m right behind you.”

Luke reached the little girl first. Her eyes were closed and
her face contorted in pain. Her right ankle was bent at an unnatural angle.
Luke moved the girl’s hair back away from her face. She was warm. He placed his
thumb on her neck and found a pulse. “She’s alive.” A smile covered Luke’s
face. This was the best part of his job. A few seconds later Cam fell to his
knees next to Sara. Luke removed a blanket from his pack and covered Sara. He
then radioed back to the command center to let them know they’d found Sara and
were assessing her injuries. He requested an ambulance meet them at the Horse
Shoe shelter house.

“Sara, Sara,” Cam tried to rouse the girl. He took her hand
in his and squeezed it. “Sara, Honey. Wake up. It’s me, Cam. Wake up, darling,”
Cam continued to try to get the girl to open her eyes, while Luke found the
materials to tend to Sara’s injuries. Besides the broken ankle, she had a small
cut above her right eye and a scrape on her arm. Pup-Pup found her way down
into the ravine and licked Sara’s face. Her eyes flew open in a start. She
instinctively tried to get up and cried out in pain when she moved her injured
leg. She started to cry.

“It’s okay, I’m here. You’re safe now.” Cam comforted as he
reached over and brought her into his embrace. Relief washed over him as he
held her. She sobbed uncontrollably against his chest, unable to speak. A few
minutes later she lifted her head.

“I want my Mommy. I want to go home.”

“I know you do Sweetie. We want you to go home too and we’ll
get you there as soon as we can.”

“I’m Luke,” Luke said kneeling next to her. “I’m here to
help you too. You’ve been so brave. It won’t be long now before we get you back
to your mom.”

“Okay. Is she mad at me?”

“She’s not mad at you,” Luke assured her, “Just very
worried.”
Liv.
Cam needed to call her and let her know the good news.
He dug his cell phone out of his pocket. No signal. Hopefully someone at the
command center had called her already.