Page 62 of Twin Jeopardy

She grinned, a little numb and a lot excited. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

“We’ll iron out the details later.” He kissed her on the lips. “Right now, I need to go.” He started to open the car, then stopped. “Be careful. V is still out there somewhere.”

“It’ll be fine,” she said. “It’s broad daylight, and there are tons of people around. When I get to the condo I’ll lock myself in. I promise. And you be careful too. Don’t fall off a cliff or anything.”

“I won’t.”

She waved goodbye and walked the three blocks to her mother’s house. But her mother wasn’t home. Neither was Mitch. Disappointed but undeterred, Tammy pulled her bicycle from the garage and set off toward the condo by the river.

Chapter Twenty

“It’s a miracle anyone spotted this guy down there,” SAR volunteer Harper Stanick said as she and a dozen other volunteers stood on the narrow shoulder of the highway, staring down into the canyon below.

“If those two guys hadn’t decided to climb the cliff today, no telling how long he would have lain down there,” Tony Meissner said. He looked around. “Where are they, anyway?”

“I sent them on their way,” Deputy Ryker Vernon said. “We’ve got their names and contact info. They’re locals, so they shouldn’t be hard to get hold of if we need to talk to them later.”

“They were pretty shook up,” Deputy Declan Owen said. “They said they have no idea who the guy is. I think they were being truthful.”

Danny lowered the binoculars he had been using to study the figure of the man below. “I can’t tell if he’s breathing or not,” he said. “And there’s a lot of blood. We need to get down there, ASAP.”

“The descent is straightforward enough,” Tony said. “But bringing him out is going to be pretty technical.”

“Sheri, you and Tony go down first,” Danny said. “Hannah, you’re the medical on scene. Caleb, you and Vince up for following them down?”

“Sure thing,” Caleb said.

“Of course,” Vince answered. He had trained half a dozen times on similar climbs. He had never had any trouble and was anxious to try his skills in a real rescue situation.

Danny assigned other volunteers to help with the ropes and provide backup as needed. Ryker and Declan had already closed the road to traffic. Now they set about establishing a landing zone for a medical helicopter, should one be needed.

“Any idea how he ended up down there?” Vince asked as he and Caleb gathered their equipment.

“Solo climbing?” Caleb suggested. “Not a good idea, but people do it.”

“There aren’t any ropes, or even anchors at the top,” Ryan said.

“Maybe he set an anchor and it pulled out.” Eldon made a face. “If that happened, he’s done for.”

“No sense speculating,” Tony said. “We’ll find out when we get there.”

The quartet carried their gear to the edge of the canyon above where the body lay. Tony and Sheri decided on the best place to set anchors, then directed the others in laying out the ropes, carabiners, brake bars and other equipment they would use to lower themselves to the man in the canyon and eventually bring a litter up to the top again.

They were all aware of the need to reach the man as soon as possible, but no one rushed. Safety required precision and attention to detail. They wanted the man to live, but not at the expense of any one of them.

Sheri started down first; then Tony set out, ten feet to the left of her. Experienced climbers and competitors on the climbing circuit, they descended smoothly and swiftly. The canyon walls were jagged but stable, providing plenty of hand-and footholds when necessary, though the two were able to glide down long stretches of the wall. Tony landed first, followed seconds later by Sheri. The others watched from the top as they surrounded the crumpled figure on the ground.

“He’s alive,” Sheri radioed. “Nonresponsive. He’s lost a lot of blood. There’s a head wound, but I don’t see any ropes or a harness or other gear.”

There was a pause, the crackle of the radio; then Tony transmitted: “This was no climbing accident. This guy’s been shot. Right shoulder. He’s got probable broken bones and the head injury. Get that chopper over here. We need to bring this guy up ASAP.”

“Hannah, you ready to go?” Danny asked.

“I’m there.” Hannah was already at the edge of the canyon, poised to begin the descent.

“Caleb, you and Vince take the litter and the vacuum mattress, and a helmet for the injured man. Ryan and Eldon, you set the high-angle rigging to bring up the litter. I’m calling for the chopper.”

As soon as Hannah reached the bottom, Caleb and Vince set out, the litter and other equipment distributed between them, along with extra lines that would eventually be used to haul the patient in the litter to the surface. Eldon and Ryan took the belay position at the top and lowered them down the cliff.

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