Vibrations (24 page)

“Who was he?”

“His name was Mathew Sherman. He
was nine.”

Whitney felt her insides
shrivel up. She wished she could just go to sleep and not think. She didn’t
have the energy to make it to the crime scene that minute anyway, so Nick
didn’t have to worry. She ran to the bathroom and vomited her wonderful dinner
into the fancy toilet.

She tried to make herself think
of something besides all the suffering she had felt for the last six weeks. One
of the tricks that she’d tried in the past was to make up a story in her mind. She
was the heroine, and it was a romance novel. They lived on a peaceful island
with no crime and no poverty. This time she made Nick the handsome leading man,
and they lived happily ever after. When her mind drifted back to the horror of
her real world, she imagined herself having another baby and what it would look
like. By the time she fell asleep that night she had more kids than she could
count and she and Nick were still young and beautiful.

“This is a picture of Dustin
Simmons. He is eight years old, and plays on the SVWC. He was last seen camping
up on the Mogollon Rim. The captain was handing out a picture of the boy. He
had called them early that morning with the news that another boy was missing. Nick
and Whitney had driven back to take part in the search. Agent Hollerman had
driven up there already and he had asked for Whitney.

“A group of dads had taken some
of their team members for a weekend camping trip since their playing season was
over. There is a possibility that he’s lost in the woods, but it doesn’t look
good. His age and association with the SVWC means that he could be our next
victim. Agent Hollerman has arranged for Whitney to be escorted up by chopper. If
we find a crime scene he’ll send for more assistance. The boy is from
Ahwatukee, a small town just south of Phoenix. I’d like Nick and Teddy to head
over there and start asking questions. Sergeant Sanders and Elliot are going to
interview Ann Marie Kensington to find out if she can tell us who went on the
trip and what parents went along. We also want to know how many people knew
they were going. Any questions let me know. Everyone get your gear and get
going. Let’s find this one alive.”

“Wait.” Whitney was looking at
the picture and holding up her hand.

“I recognize him. Nick, isn’t
this the boy that was at the game we saw. He’s the one that slid into third and
banged into the third baseman. The fathers were shouting at each other.”

Nick agreed and they decided
they should start interviewing the other boy’s dad first. They all filed out of
the room and Nick pulled the captain aside.

“I don’t want Whitney going
alone.”

“She’s going up to Showlow to
see if she can help find the boy. If he’s just lost, she’s just the ticket they
need to find him.”

“He’s not lost. We both know
that. What if they find a crime scene? Who will be with her to make sure she’s
OK?”

“They have two other agents
there to keep an eye on her.”

“I’m going with her.” Nick
stood up straight and looked the captain straight in the eye. He didn’t care
what his boss thought about it, he was going with her. Captain Edwards could
see the determination in his eyes.

“Fine. Go ahead. I know if you
stay here you won’t be able to concentrate on your job. Get someone else to
assist your partner in the interviews today. But…stay out of her way. Do not
stop her from doing her job. Understood?”

“I’ll do my best.” Nick grinned
and walked off looking for Whitney. He found her in the back of the station
helping to load supplies in the truck. They were planning for the long haul,
just in case. They would be camping in the mountains and it got cold up there. Nick
let her know he was going and then left to get the rest of his gear. They drove
in Whitney’s truck out to Falcon Hill Airfield. Nick didn’t get to speak with
Whitney alone until right after they landed.

“So you were just going to come
up here with no one to watch out for you? Were you even a little concerned?”

“I’m sorry. I can hardly think
right now.” She smiled sweetly at Nick. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Someone has to feed you when
you wake up.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t
come to that. Maybe he’s lost and we’ll find him.”

“Yeah, right.”

They entered the search and
rescue tent. Sheriff Johnson brought them up to speed on the search. Nick
wanted to talk with the other campers, and Whitney couldn’t wait to get out into
the woods to look for Dustin. Nick let Whitney make her arrangements and he
started talking with the campers. The father of the boy was sitting in a chair surrounded
by young faces. When he saw Nick approach he jumped up and met him half way.

“Well, can I go look for my boy
yet?” The man was shaking with anger and fear. “They made me wait here to talk
with detective Naylor. Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. Why don’t we
walk and talk. You can point me in the direction of the search effort while you
explain what happened. My name’s Nick.”

“I’m Gerald Simmons. Sorry.
It’s been a hell of a day. Dustin was sleeping in my tent so I know he was
there most of the night. When I woke up about six this morning, he was already
out of the tent. I thought he had to go to the bathroom, or he just wanted to
get the fire started first. He liked to show everyone how good he is at
campfires. He knows his way around the woods. Then when I couldn’t find him I
woke everyone up. No one had seen him. We started yelling his name and we broke
up into groups. There are twelve of us here. Eight kids and four adults. Everyone
else was here. I don’t know what happened. He would never wander off like that.
He knows better. Plus he’s afraid of bears.”

The last sentence came out
shaky as the distraught father choked back his tears. He led Nick to the
campsite and pointed in the direction of the search parties. Nick told him to
go on ahead while he checked out the campsite. They had chosen a remote spot on
the top of a ridge. They had hiked for almost ten miles before they reached
camp. It would have been very hard for anyone to follow them up here, unless
they had trailed closely behind. Dustin’s father had said they camped here a
few times before. Maybe someone knew where they were going already.

There was no sign of struggle
and there were so many footprints around he wasn’t able to determine if there
were more than four adult prints. The searchers had probably combed through the
area a few times already. The edge of the ridge was very steep, and would take
an experienced climber to traverse it. If the boy had fallen down the ridge,
they would probably have heard his screams. Nick could see searchers at the
bottom of the ridge, but no sign of Dustin.

He checked the tent the
Simmons’ boy had slept in first. Dustin’s backpack was sitting open with his Game
Boy sticking out the top. His sleeping bag was open but folded in half, like he
had planned to get up for the morning, but didn’t want to wake his dad. An
experienced camper closes the bag after rising so it will stay warm and dry. His
flashlight was still next to his bag, so it had been light when he left the
tent.

Nick circled around the back of
the tent and out toward the woods. If he had risen early and needed to go to
the bathroom, he probably didn’t go far into the woods. He walked a few feet
and found a pile of kindling. Maybe he had decided to collect more wood before
he started the fire. If so, why had he put it down here? He continued farther
back into the woods and found a four different trails heading off in different
directions.

Nick walked down the trail to
the right that the father had taken. After a few minutes he came up on one of
the search teams. He made his way to the lead and found Dustin’s father and
Whitney. She was walking back in his direction.

“Nick, did you find anything?”

“No, did you sense anything?”

“I haven’t learned anything
from the other campers. I need to go somewhere quiet and try to locate him, in
my mind. Can you come with me?”

“Yes…of course.”

“I knew you’d say that, and I
knew you’d probably cuff me to your side if I went alone.” She gave him a peck
on the cheek and walked back up the trail. Whitney led him back toward the
ridge, so she could see the valley, and be near the campsite.

She sat down on a large stump
and tried to get comfortable. Nick kept himself a few feet away. He didn’t want
to get in her way, but he wanted to be nearby in case she needed him. He watched
her roll her shoulders and try to get relaxed. Her back was straight and her
legs were crossed in front of her. His eyes continued to scan the ridge and the
woods behind them. Soon Whitney grew still and silent.

Whitney slowed her breathing
and concentrated on the sound of it coming in and out of her body. She needed
to be relaxed and focused. She allowed her mind to become open to all the
vibrations around her.

At first she just sensed Nick’s
presence. He was happy to be here with her, but worried about the chance that
the killer was close by.

Whitney tried to reach beyond
Nick. She was able to sense some of the people searching for the boy. She
continued to reach out, but it was hard to know how far her ability could
reach. What if he wasn’t close by? If he were already dead, she wouldn’t know
it. What if she touched the killer’s mind? Would she know it? Would he know she
was doing it?

She tried to calm the thoughts
bombarding her and clear her mind. She sat quietly searching for a boy who was
lost, or in fear. There were so many people on the mountain right now; it was
difficult to tune them all out. She felt someone that was in pain and tried to
focus on that. It could be a small boy. The person was afraid of something. She
couldn’t get enough to know much more. It could be one of the other young boys
that were camping. They were probably terrified since Derrick had disappeared. She
stood to try to get a better sense of the direction of that specific thought
pattern.

Nick saw her stand, and moved
in closer. She still had her eyes closed and she started to take a step. Nick
reached her side and took her elbow.

“Hey, where are…”

Whitney held up her hand for
him to wait, and pulled her arm away. She stood for another minute and took
another step. Nick just placed himself between Whitney and the ridge and got
ready to catch her if she fell. She took another step and lifted up her hands,
palms facing out. She seemed to be trying to feel something with her hands.

Whitney continued her slow
progress in the direction she felt the thoughts were coming from. The feelings
didn’t get much clearer, but she became more convinced that she was headed in
the right direction. She finally opened her eyes and lowered her arms. She
looked at Nick and shook her head.

“I couldn’t find him.”

He could see the tears in her
eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “You tried honey. You can keep
trying. Let’s not give up yet.”

“I’m not giving up. I’m
just…scared. Scared he’s out there somewhere with someone that wants to hurt him.
I don’t think he’s nearby. If…if…he’s alive.”

They joined the search party
for a while, but Whitney couldn’t keep up. Nick stayed back with her so she
could rest.

“Did you wear yourself out up
on the ridge?”

“For some reason, tuning into
other people’s vibrations takes a lot out of me. I’m not sure I’ll be much help
right now. I need to go back and rest, and eat.”

Nick walked back to the supply
tent with her and collected their things. The local police had erected tents
for the searchers to sleep in when they needed rest or it got dark. Some of the
rescue teams had brought their own gear and made camp. Whitney found an empty
cot and tried to take a nap.

Nick found a spot a small
distance away from the other tents and setup their tent. He got all the gear organized
and filled their backpacks with more supplies. He made sure they had enough
high-energy food in case Whitney needed to refuel. He took the cot next to
Whitney and fell asleep.

Whitney woke a few hours later
feeling ready to try again. Nick was at the large tent in the middle that
served as a command post. She could see him huddled around the maps with the
other rescue workers. Agent Hollerman was the first one to see her and he waved
her over.

“How are you Whitney? I see
you’ve come out of seclusion.”

“Hi Roger. Yeah, Nick convinced
me it was for the best. I would have been here if you needed me anyway.”

“Well, we need you. Still no
sign of the boy. Did you pick up anything helpful?”

“From what I can tell, the
other campers aren’t responsible. They all have one thing on their minds,
finding Dustin. I tried a search for him, but didn’t come up with much. I felt
something I’d like to check out farther east. I thought Nick and I could head
that way and I could give it a try again.”

“Sure. Just bring a radio so we
can keep in touch.”

They walked over to the maps
and came up with a plan. Nick and Whitney would work their way east, around the
edge of the rim. If she didn’t find anything they would continue to aid the
search on the way back by heading north and then coming back toward the other
search teams.

They stopped at the food tent
before they headed out and ate lunch. Volunteers were dishing out food and
handing out water bottles. Nick gave Whitney a small backpack and wriggled into
the larger one. He wanted to be sure they had climbing gear, and survival gear
should they run into trouble. They each carried a copy of the map and a radio.

They started walking and Nick
started whistling. If the boy was lost, he would hear the sound and yell out.
If a killer had him, it wouldn’t matter because he wouldn’t be this close
anymore. Nick kept a steady but slow pace to keep Whitney from tiring.