“Patrolman Samuel Jenkins,” he replied and extended his hand. The Washington State Patrolman had first spotted the Dodge Ram and he had just finished an interview with the Muldens. “We may have gotten a break.”
Angela took his hand and said. “Great, let me have it.”
“The men and the truck were spotted about fifteen minutes south of here on Magillian Road,” he said and released her hand. “It would appear they were trying to commandeer a new vehicle.
“We have a cooperative agreement,” he continued, “with the US Border Patrol and they have a bird on its way but it won’t arrive for a few more minutes.”
“We don’t have time to wait. Direct it to the last known site, please. I’m heading that way now.”
“If it’s just the same to you, I’d like to lend a hand.”
“Happy for the assist,” she said. “Bring some of the troopers with you, too, but let’s keep enough here to continue with the roadblock. We don’t want the fox to slip through a hole in the back fence. Why don’t you gather them ‘round.”
Samuel spoke with two Ferry County sheriff’s deputies who manned the roadblock. When he finished with them, he gave a loud whistle and swung his hand over his head in a circle a couple of times. The officers caught the sign and gathered on the southbound side of the highway.
“Good afternoon. My name is Special Agent Angela Hawk. Yes, I’m FBI. Obviously we’re doing more than looking for a stolen pickup truck. I want to give you a quick briefing as we’re on a severe tick tock and we’ll be running out of daylight in the next few hours.
“We’re looking for two men and a teenage woman. We’ve reason to believe the girl was abducted and raped in Los Angeles three days ago. We also know as of last night, she was still alive. Our goal is to keep her that way. Originally, there were three abductors but one of them was found today shot and killed. In addition, they’re wanted for questioning in two states on counts of murder and armed robbery. These are some real bad boys, here. Reports are they’re headed for Canada, and we need to stop them before they get there.
“We now know the location of the men as of twenty minutes ago, a mile or two east of the highway on Magillian Road, and we’re on our way there to pick up their trail. If you can mount up, you are welcome to join us. Just remember, they are armed and very dangerous, so if you find them, don’t approach without back up.”
No sooner had she finished than the men and women officers of the State Patrol and county sheriff, were back in the cruisers. Some made U-turns and others headed straight out, but all traveled south in a loud cacophony of sirens and whirring strobe lights.
She watched for a moment as travelers swerved off the road on to the soft shoulders in both north and southbound lanes to let the procession pass, then she mounted her black beauty and joined the chase.
Tony found some half inch jute rope inside the barn and a steel dirt rake with a handle broken to a nub. He hoped the rope would be heavy enough and not rotted through somewhere. He tied the rope to the rake’s frame and with Rudy’s help, secured it to the front bumper of the old Subaru. After he got back into the driver’s seat, Tony shifted the transmission into reverse and eased his foot on the accelerator. Rudy meanwhile held the tines of the rake against the inside of the door frame. After the slack went out of the rope, the door began to swing open.
As the door moved, however, Tony saw the barn began to list even further. The door had been supporting the structure’s weight. Tony watched with a wary eye. He didn’t want to be trapped under the debris of the fallen building, but as he continued to ease backward, he saw that once the door came free from the ground, the barn stopped collapsing. He felt relieved. The opening now wide enough to let the car pass through, he applied the brakes.
Rudy hurried to untie the rope from the front bumper, and then held the door open wide enough for Tony drive through. Then Rudy tied the rope to the rear bumper and guided Tony as the car pulled the door shut.
The inside of the barn was illumined by shafts of daylight that streamed through plentiful holes in the roof, but Tony left the headlights burning while he looked around. The barn had been abandoned for several years. The lights caught some movement on the back wall and he saw this was home to field varmints, but it would make do until the sun went down. On the right side of the barn, a loft which still had some hay rose more than a dozen feet from the floor. It might make a comfortable place to stretch out for a while. About half way down, a ladder spanned the distance between the dirt and the loft’s wooden frame. He couldn’t tell if the rungs would support the weight of a grown man after years of neglect, but he could test it later.
The left side of the barn held the remains of a couple of corrals on the ground floor. One of them had a gate still intact, swung to an open position. The other’s gate lay on the dirt floor. The wooden four by four support post long ago gave up the battle with decay and released the rusted screws that had held it and the gate together. Of the two corrals, this one had a large pile of hay stacked against the back wall of the barn. The barn’s dirt floor was strewn with debris, and patches of moss grew beneath the holes in the roof. The rest of the barn was empty except for the stench of dried manure, hay and mildew in the air, and the rhythm of large raindrop’s drum on the frail roof.
Rudy had been worried about Natalie as he hadn’t heard her rustle in the backseat for several minutes. As soon as their hiding place was secure, he dropped the rope and rake head and ran to the back door of the Subaru. He opened it and gasped. Natalie lay motionless and wasn’t breathing.
_____
©
Jearl Rugh 2012
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