Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1) (16 page)

Sarah was in a panic. The dog had solved the direction in which the scent was coming from and now was on a mission to get to the source of the scent.

Breathing heavy, Sarah and Dave sprinted after where they had last seen Gunner. It was tough terrain, straight up a steep, wet incline. The loamy soil was deep and slippery. Finally busting through the trees, Sarah let branches whip back. They caught Dave in the face as he followed close behind.

Winded after barely making it to the top, Sarah shouted, “Wait.” Dave stopped in his tracks. They had completely lost sight of Gunner. The dog must have taken off swiftly in the direction of the scent source. He could really move quickly when he wanted to. It had been much easier for Gunner to make the ascent and continue moving toward his target.

Sarah couldn’t hear the dog’s bell; she wasn’t sure which direction he had gone. They stood still for a long moment and listened.
There it is!
She heard Gunner’s ring tone. Instant relief. She pointed off to the northeast, but before they could move, the bell stopped again.

Another wave of panic set in. She remembered who they were searching for and immediately feared for her dog. Sarah saw Dave unclip the top of his leather gun holster.
Does he know more than he’s letting on?
Sarah wondered. Their eyes met, still holding their stance, listening and waiting. Suddenly a dog could be heard barking in the distance.

“Gunner! It’s Gunner!” Sarah choked out. “He’s found someone! That direction,” Sarah pointed as she took off running.

Dave followed close behind. They could barely make out the sound of a dog barking furiously in the distance. Sarah was confident he had made a find—a human find. But she couldn’t know who, at least not yet.

She was frantic. She wanted to get to Gunner as quickly as possible. Sarah silently feared for her dog. Images from years past crept into her mind again as she thought of the missing asshole and his capabilities.

Holding her breath as she ran, her head became dizzy.
Stop it! This is craziness.
Mentally, she tried to regroup. She didn’t want Dave to see her unwind.
Breathe deep. The dogs need you in a solid mental and stable condition.
The dogs would be able to tell if she was not at her best. They would question her leadership role in their relationship. Gunner and Sam would feed off her nervous vibes and might not work as well. The dogs depended on her to take control of the situation. They needed her to be confident and be there to reward them if they made a find.

Once they had topped the hill, the woods had given way to a more open forest, dotted with a few large, mature hardwoods. There was very little scrub or underbrush. Several young saplings had taken advantage of the area. The forest floor was covered with rotting leaves from the previous autumn.

Sarah stopped again to listen. She looked around and observed the area for a moment. Remembering the first rule was to keep yourself safe,
Don’t rush in,
crossed her mind.
Make sure the area is safe.
She looked around in a full 360 degrees and listened. She didn’t see anything suspicious or signs of would-be danger. She could only hear Gunner as he continued to bark. His voice was becoming rougher and raspy. It sounded like he was putting everything he had into his indication.

Dave and Sarah took off in the direction of Gunner’s barks. As they closed the distance between themselves and the dog, Sarah could just see Gunner’s bright orange vest through the shorter and sparser trees. She could partially make out a barking and bouncing German Shepherd as he pounced off his front feet with every bark. The dog was on the other side of a very large, downed tree. The old hardwood partly blocked their view of Gunner.

Sarah could make out the dog’s head and top of his back, but she couldn’t see who or what was the subject of Gunner’s indication. Whoever or whatever it was, was lying on the other side of the tree as well.

As Sarah and Dave closed in, Sam headed across the top of the hill from the main trail. He ran parallel to the crest following a hot track. His nose was down to the ground tracking whoever lay on the other side of the downed tree where Gunner was parked.

Kellee, out of breath, had slowed down to a jog trying to keep up with Sam. Sam was moving too fast. He made it to the downed tree, circled it and came running toward Sarah. He took a flying leap at her torso and bounced off her chest. Making eye contact with Sarah, Sam took off back to the tree. Gunner’s attention and indication never faltered as Sam came back and circled once more.

Jumping up on Sarah was Sam’s indication that he had found someone. Instead of barking and staying with the subject as Gunner did, Sam did a recall, re-find as his indication to make sure Sarah was paying attention to him. He was telling his handler, “Follow me.”

Both indications were natural behaviors that the dogs presented while in training. Sarah just brought the behaviors out more in-depth, and rewarded Sam and Gunner when they offered them naturally. She had allowed the dogs to use their own “strong points” and cemented them until they were proven and reliable. Gunner unsurprisingly was a barker and Sam loved to jump, so inherently, the actions worked well.

Within seconds, all three of the searchers were closing in on the dogs and the downed tree. As Sarah approached, she verbally rewarded them. “Good boys! What a great job!” She was caught up in the moment.
The dogs had made a find! They worked so well!

Then reality hit. A real subject was involved.
Check yourself, Sarah,
she told herself.
Calm down.

She saw construction-type boots sticking out from the end of the tree. It appeared one leg was pulled back slightly while the other leg was flat against the ground.

“Hello, hey? Search and Rescue. Can we help?” Sarah yelled.

“Dwight, Dwight Harrison? Hello? Dwight?” Dave called out the subject’s name in his booming voice a few times.

Sarah shouted again, “Hello. Search and Rescue.”

They called out a few more times without a reply.

“Police,” Dave called out half a dozen times without a response.

Kellee pulled her GPS out to allow time for it to adjust to the surroundings.

Each searcher tentatively moved forward to make sure the area was completely safe.

Gunner glanced at Sarah as she approached. He turned back to the subject and continued his indication. His barks were becoming whiny, stressed. The dog was still excited, but also starting to fatigue. He kept his indication up knowing that his reward was coming soon. That motivated the dog even more.

Sam and Gunner whipped their tails with vigorous excitement. Covered in mud with burrs stuck in his coat, Gunner had drool and spittle around his snout and down the front of his chest. Sam appeared to still be well-groomed aside from his chest where he had laid down in a mud puddle to cool off. Sarah watched as they continued to bark and jump at her with eagerness.

“Good job, guys!” Sarah continued with verbal praises. Regrouping, she spoke calmly and with confidence to the dogs. The subject hadn’t responded and didn’t appear to be conscious. She needed to make sure the dogs didn’t disturb him. Or his body.

As the searchers got closer to the subject, they could tell the man was face up, lying on his back. There was a faint yet unmistakable smell. A mass of flies swarmed the body. The soil was darkened around him, leaves wet with a dark sticky substance. It didn’t appear to be from the recent rains.

Sarah’s eyes widened. The wind shifted and sharply wafted her way. A clearly identifiable smell hit her. Her nose scrunched, assaulted by the stench. She instinctively covered her mouth and nose with her forearm and shirt sleeve.

The subject didn’t look right. In fact, he looked really messed up. She turned her head sideways as if to change the setting. His skin had grayed, almost waxy and thick. A look of terror stood frozen upon his face. The mouth hung agape with eyes fixed, staring straight up at the sky.

Sarah was glued in place, fascinated. She had subconsciously grabbed both dogs by the collars. She stood staring fixedly at the subject. The dark, sticky substance seemed to be everywhere. Her eyes took in the scene, but her brain had a difficult time understanding and processing exactly what she was looking at.

“Sarah? Sarah?” Dave called a few times. “You okay?”

Finally, Sarah took a few steps back. After a couple deep breaths, she tried to clear her head.
Bad idea
. Coughing, gagging, she glanced over at Dave and Kellee.

“Oh my god,” Kellee whispered faintly, “unbelievable
.
” Kellee closed her eyes, shaking her head as she looked away.

Sarah needed to reward the dogs. They had done their job and done it well. But Sarah found it hard to move, to take her eyes from the body. She was mesmerized.

“Not at all what I was expecting to find when we started out a few hours ago,” Dave stated as he surveyed the body.

“I don’t think any of us were expecting to make a find like this,” Kellee seconded.

“Should we check for a pulse?” Sarah asked. Dave and Kellee both just gave her a blank stare then smiled.

“Uh, doubt seriously this man has a pulse, Sarah,” Dave shot back with a laugh. “He looks like he’s seen better days.”

Kellee finished noting the GPS coordinates. Tree cover had made it difficult for satellite reception and it had taken several minutes for the location to update. She pulled out her notebook and jotted down several bits of information like the time, their location and the find. She noted everything she could think of.

“Make sure you hold onto the dogs okay, Sarah? We need to keep this area as undisturbed as possible,” Dave said.

“Sure thing,” she responded automatically, continuing to stand in place holding onto the dogs. Dave’s words weren’t registering. She wasn’t connecting the dots.

“Maybe you should take them out to the trail to play with them so they don’t disrupt the ground around the body any more than they already have.”

“Okay,” Sarah said. “In a minute.” Her feet felt cemented in the ground. She was in awe.

It had taken time for Sarah to realize what had transpired. She had been completely caught up in the moment of her dogs’ find. All of the relevant details hadn’t registered at first. Her brain wasn’t processing. It had been several years since she had seen her foster brother. But she recognized him. He appeared to have aged quite a bit.

She looked the area over again and observed the body closer.
Oh my!
It finally clicked.

Holy crap!
Thoughts ran wild through Sarah’s head. It had taken her a moment to process everything. The scene was in disarray in her mind.
Could the subject have committed suicide?
Something didn’t look right. The sight wasn’t adding up.
But search management had reported him as being despondent
. Then it finally hit her.
This dude’s been taken out!

She began to sort out each detail, slowly scanning the body and her surroundings again. From his facial expression, or what was left of it, it was clear he wasn’t expecting to meet this unfortunate end. His neck appeared slit. It was laid open, slashed from ear to ear.

The open laceration around his neck was surrounded by fly activity. His arms extended outward from both sides. It seemed he had tried to grasp at the ground, leaves and dirt still partially clenched in his hands. Pants and briefs were below his waist and past his knees. His heavy leather belt with a large brass buckle lay to the side. A long silver chain full of keys poked out from underneath him.

The body was dark, bruised around his loin area, but what really caught her attention, was that it looked like his penis and testicles had been severed. At least what she could see of the area due to the swarm of flies there.
Oh my god, what the hell happened here?

She couldn’t take her eyes off of the body. Flies buzzed about, landing on the searchers, irritating the dogs. They were everywhere. The shiny, metallic pests with wings hovered above the man’s body in small erratic frenzied clouds. There were several of the insects around his head and face. Some were throughout his eyes, nose and mouth. Sarah was fascinated by their activity.

The searchers moved closer to the body. The wind continued to change and whip in different directions on top of the hill. It sucked the smell in one direction away from them but a moment later the pungent scent was pushed into their faces again. It hit them hard. Bile rose up in the back of Sarah’s throat. She took a physical step back still clinging to Gunner and Sam’s collars.

“I need to move away from this,” Kellee stated, “we’ve done our job here.”

Sarah looked up at Dave who was already on his cell phone, not the radio. She could overhear him speaking with search management. He looked at Sarah as he spoke and put his hand up. Sarah stayed in place as Dave discussed the scene with someone in base camp.

“I’m sure, I’m sure. No, there is no possible way he did this to himself. No, I’m not mistaken.” Sarah watched Dave as he continued to survey the surroundings. “Yes, yes, it’s the subject of the search.” Dave was beginning to sound annoyed. He slowly spun in a full circle. It was evident he had switched from search-and-rescue mode to officer-in-charge mode. His stance and the tone of his voice made it clear he was now the one in control. Sarah had no problems with that. She was happy to defer this mess to someone else.

Kellee came up behind Sarah and offered to help leash the dogs. Sarah handed her Sam and his leash while she snapped Gunner’s to his flat collar. Both dogs were quiet, but staring at Sarah, wondering when they were going to get their toys and play session. Sarah knew what they wanted—what they were waiting for with their intense looks. But she needed to wait for Dave to give further instructions. This was a crime scene. They may have already disturbed evidence and she wanted to keep that to a minimum.

“So?” Sarah asked as she watched Dave pocket his cell phone.

Dave directed his attention to Kellee. “I need you and Sarah and the dogs to head out to the main trail and wait there. Do you think you can find the way you and Sam entered and try to follow that trail back out?”

Kellee looked over her shoulder in the direction they had come. “I won’t be able to follow our path out exactly, but will do my best.”

“Do you need help with anything?” Sarah directed the question at Dave.

“I’ll need more flagging tape. Think I’ll need all of your rolls if you don’t mind. I need to cordon off the area,” Dave explained, waving his arms and pointing his fingers, “and secure this whole area.”

Kellee fished her one roll out of her pants pocket and tossed it to Dave. Sarah pulled the roll out of her pocket as well. She located another roll in her backpack and chucked them both at Dave’s feet. “Do you think that will be enough?” she asked in a serious tone.

Dave gathered up the rolls. “Think so. Regardless, it will have to do.” He stuffed two rolls in his pocket and started to tie the end of the other one to a tree. “Try not to disturb much on your way out to the main trail. I’d appreciate it if you could draw your map and write up any notes or comments you have about our search sector and what you saw.”

“Will do,” Kellee replied.

“Okay, we’ll be careful. You okay with us rewarding the dogs once we make it out to the trail?” Sarah asked. Due to the nature of what was discovered, she didn’t want to appear brash. But she also needed confirmation that he didn’t think they would be disturbing anything by rewarding the dogs out on the trail. Sam and Gunner were energetic, boisterous during a good play session and would end up moving dirt around and dislodging patches of plants. Sometimes they brought a little bit of earth back with them when they would fetch a ball or Frisbee.

“Oh no, that’ll work. You make sure the dogs get a great reward. They did an awesome job. The mule driver should be able to drive all the way up the main trail to pick you guys up. It may be a while though; the lieutenant will have to wait on the crime scene technicians and the ME to show up. They will be coming by way of the mule as well. Can you check Bella when you get back to camp? Make sure she has water and is okay? I’m sure she’ll be wondering where I am. I’d really appreciate it.” Dave looked around again at what he was facing. “Who knows how long this will keep me,” he said in an exasperated tone. Clearly, it wasn’t what any of the searchers had planned on.

“Okay, not a problem. I’d be happy to check on her when we get back to base camp. In the meantime, while we’re waiting up here for the mule driver, we’ll take care of rewarding the dogs and do our maps,” Sarah responded. She had gained her full composure finally. This was the first time she had come across a dead subject so far into the decomposition process.
Dave must think I’m some kind of an idiot,
she berated herself.
Check for a pulse?
Smiling, she laughed at herself.

“What’s so funny?” Kellee asked.

The more Sarah thought about the situation, the more she couldn’t contain her laughter. “Oh, I dunno. Maybe that statement I made about checking for a pulse when it was so obvious the man was dead?”

Kellee laughed as well. “What gave it away? The cloud of blow flies or the smell of rotting flesh?” she asked smiling at Sarah.

Sarah held Gunner’s leash near his collar to keep him close to her body. She turned around to follow Kellee and Sam out to the main trail. Kellee moved slow and deliberate, carefully placing each step as she made her way. The women remained observant in case they saw anything that could turn out to be a clue. Neither spoke as they concentrated on getting themselves and the dogs out to where they could relax.

They had more than 100 meters to traverse between where the body lay and their endpoint. Sarah was thankful the dogs were cooperating. They walked quietly like two well-behaved gentlemen. Sam and Gunner seemed to be able to read the situation well.

As they neared where the edge of trail met the woods, Kellee found the hole in the wall of scrub and brush she had cut through earlier to follow Sam. She turned around to point at it, showing Sarah where they could crawl through the sticker bushes to get through to the trail.

“Boy, it’s thick through here,” Sarah stated, referring to the vines and plants that blocked the forested area from the main trail.

“I think just enough sunlight comes through where the trail was forged that the sticker bushes and undergrowth get a chance to grow up along the trees here. The overgrowth chokes out a lot of the mature trees and eventually causes them to die.”

“Not to mention, it’s a pain in the ass to get through.” Sarah held onto both dogs as Kellee went through the cut out area first. Once Kellee was on the other side, she called to the dogs. Sarah let both dogs through one at a time.

Finally it was Sarah’s turn. She started to step through the debris trying to be careful. She let out a few choice words when her backpack caught on some thorns, making it more difficult for her to get all the way through. More thorns and stickers poked through her long-sleeve shirt and tore at her skin. Pulling as hard as she could, the sticker bushes gave way and Sarah gracelessly came crashing down into the dirt, tripping over the rest of the vines. Kellee couldn’t help herself. She laughed so hard that Gunner and Sam backed away thinking there was something wrong with her.

“It’s okay, guys. We know she takes delight in seeing her teammates make a fool out of themselves.” Sarah stood up and tried to brush as much of the mud and debris off her pants, shirt and pack. Teammates reveled in seeing a member do something stupid. “Thankfully she forgot to pull her camera out,” Sarah continued to speak to the dogs. “Payback is hell, just remember that!” Sarah stated with a twisted smile.