Page 38 of Twin Jeopardy

“The Grubers live on County Road 7, near Coal Canyon,” Danny said. “Nicholas left the house on foot about nine o’clock last night. The sheriff wants to get Anna and her search dog, Jacquie, out there first to see if the dog can pick up the trail. We’re on standby to assist in a ground search if they don’t find him.”

Everyone shifted to look at volunteer Anna Trent and the black standard poodle at her side. The dog, Jacquie, wore a blue vest withSearch Dogin large white letters on the side. “We’re ready,” Anna said.

“You and Jacquie can ride with me,” Deputy Jake Gwynn said.

He, Anna and the dog left, and the others moved in closer to Danny and Deputy Ryker Vernon. Bethany was there, standing next to Harper, across from Vince. She caught his eye and he nodded, then quickly looked away. He really didn’t want to encourage her attention. “We’ve established a staging area for search volunteers at the lumber mill about a mile from the Grubers’ home,” Ryker said. “If you’ll make your way there, you’ll be handy if we need you to help search or if we find Nicholas and he’s injured.”

While several volunteers piled into the Beast, Vince opted to drive his own vehicle to the lumber mill. Or rather, the car his mother had insisted on lending him when she learned of the damage to his truck. The white Ford Escape was newer and more luxurious than Vince’s truck, but he missed his own vehicle, which was still at the sheriff’s department impound yard, awaiting the completion of their investigation. Vince wasn’t pressuring them to give it back because he doubted he had the funds to pay for the work the truck would need to restore it.

Set back off the road in a stand of tall Douglas fir, the small mill specialized in deck railings, rustic benches and other rough-cut lumber projects. Though the saws were silent today, the smell of fresh sawdust hung in the air. Vince parked beside Ryan Welch’s pickup and opened the driver’s-side door to let in the scented breeze.

Ryan came over to stand beside Vince and was soon joined by Caleb and Eldon. “I hope Anna and her dog find the kid,” Eldon said.

“He’s probably just hiding out somewhere,” Ryan said. “I did the same thing a couple of times when I was his age—blew up at my parents, then just had to get away for a while.”

“Yeah, I guess I did too,” Eldon said. “But I’d go stay with my aunt—my dad’s younger sister. And she would call my dad and let him know where I was.”

“I would go and stay at a friend’s house for a couple of days,” Caleb said.

The others looked at Vince, who shifted uncomfortably. “I guess I was lucky,” he said. “I never fought with my parents.” Even if he had, after what had happened with Valerie, he wouldn’t have walked out on his mom and dad. It would have worried them too much not to know where he was, even for a few hours.

A loud whistle split the air, and they all turned toward the sound. Danny was standing in the bed of a pickup, motioning for everyone to gather.

“Anna and Jacquie found Nicholas,” Danny said when everyone was assembled around the truck. “Apparently, he got disoriented in the darkness and slipped or fell into the canyon. He’s okay, except he thinks he broke or sprained his ankle. We’re going to have to get him out.”

Relief that Nicholas was alive and not in imminent danger energized the group. They gathered equipment and set out to hike to the spot where the teen had fallen. A middle-aged man and woman, both with short hair in shades of brown, were already there. The man lay on his stomach, his attention focused on the boy sprawled fifty yards below. The woman sat beside the man. They both looked up as the rescuers approached. “We’re Nicholas’s parents,” the woman said.

“We’re with Eagle Mountain Search and Rescue.” Danny introduced himself and shook hands with each of them. “If you could wait back there, away from the edge, we’ll have your son with you in no time.”

“All right.” Mr. Gruber glanced down into the canyon. “He’s barely hanging on down there. Are you sure you can get to him without him falling?”

“We’ll take care of him.” Danny put a hand on the man’s shoulder and gently urged him farther back.

The rescuers moved in, the challenge of what they needed to do quickly apparent. The soil along the edge of the canyon was loose, crumbling and raining down onto the boy below repeatedly as they worked. “How are you doing, Nicholas?” Danny called down.

“I’m worried I’m going to fall,” came the thin, strained reply. “My ankle’s hurt, and every time I try to move, more rock falls.”

“Stay still and hang on,” Danny instructed. “We need to get things set up here, then we’re going to come down to get you.”

“Okay. But hurry.” Nicholas’s voice trembled with fear, but Vince thought he heard determination too.

They were forced to establish an anchor on a tree across the road and ended up using a shovel to dig to more compacted soil before Eldon began the initial descent. Vince helped with the rigging, monitoring the ropes and pulleys and passing whatever equipment Ryan requested as he helped first Eldon, then Danny to descend. Vince found himself holding his breath as the men searched for solid hand-and footholds, the descent slowed by the need to continually reroute to more stable ground. No wonder the kid had fallen.

“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to do anything so dangerous.”

Vince looked back and found Bethany standing there. She was focused on the scene unfolding below. Then her gaze shifted to him, and the brief, shy smile he had come to associate with her flashed across her face. “I’ve been doing a little climbing in Caspar Canyon. Sheri and Hannah and some of the others held a kind of clinic for female volunteers.”

“That’s good,” he said.

“At least I know the names of everything now so I can help with the gear.”

“You’ll get more comfortable the more time you have in.” Vince remembered his early days with the group, when he had been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the job they did and uncertain where he fit in with the team.

Bethany was focused on the rescue efforts again, which gave Vince time to study her. She had her dark brown curls pulled back in a low ponytail, and exertion or the breeze in the canyon had reddened her cheeks. She wasn’t beautiful, exactly, but cute, in a girl-next-door kind of way. Valerie had been like that. In fact, she and Bethany had the same hair and the same dimple in one cheek. His heart stumbled in its rhythm at the thought, and he stared harder, waiting for some spark of recognition. But nothing happened.

He cleared his throat, and Bethany shifted her attention to him once more. “How long have you been in Eagle Mountain?” he asked.

“Two months.”

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