The Challenge(21)
“Are you insane? You let her go up a mountain with a bunch of kids? What were you thinking? How irresponsible are you in that dream world you live in? Are you ever going to grow up? I can’t trust you with her for five minutes. You’re never taking her back there again, if you can’t keep her safe.”
“I shouldn’t have let her go,” he admitted. “Most of them are her age. They’re all good kids. All boys, except Juliet. I thought they’d take care of her, but something must have happened. I just hope they’re okay. I think they got turned around and lost somehow. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but I just heard a few hours ago, and I didn’t want to wake you with this kind of news.”
“I’m coming out there,” she said with both vengeance and terror in her voice. “If something happens to Juliet, Tom, I’ll never forgive you,” she said angrily.
“I won’t forgive myself either. Life can’t be that cruel.” But they both knew it could be. Other people had lost children in circumstances like this. Accidents, illnesses, plane crashes, motorcycle and car accidents. No one was exempt from the whims of fate. He couldn’t bear the thought that their beautiful, innocent daughter might be injured or dead or afraid. It ripped his heart out when he thought of it.
“How do I get there?” his ex-wife asked him in a shaking voice. He told her what airline to take, the connection she’d have to make, and what airport she’d arrive at. Fishtail was situated between two fairly major airports, each an hour away, and flights from JFK landed there.
“I’ll meet you if you want me to. We have a meeting with the chief ranger at six a.m., an hour from now. Some of the most important ranchers’ kids are in the group, they’ll push everyone to organize the search parties quickly and keep looking ’til they find them. No one wants these kids to be lost, no matter who their parents are.”
“I’ll see you soon,” she said. “I’ll text you what flight I’m on.” It was only after she hung up that she started to sob and couldn’t stop as she threw some clothes into a carry-on bag, dressed rapidly, rushed downstairs, locked the apartment, and took a cab to the airport. The last thing she wanted was to go to Fishtail, Montana. All she wanted was to bring her daughter home, alive and whole. And then she never wanted to see Tom Marshall ever again. If his carelessness and irresponsibility were the cause of Juliet’s death, she would never forgive him. Tom knew it too.
Chapter 6
When Chief Ranger Harvey Mack walked into the Pollocks’ living room at six in the morning, he filled it with his presence and the aura around him. The word Anne always used to describe him was “huge.” It referred to his size, the power of his presence and personality, and the way people responded to him. He was six feet five with the widest shoulders Tom had ever seen. He had a stern expression, which broke into a smile at regular intervals, long arms, big hands, long legs. He had a deep voice, which seemed appropriate, a mane of dark hair with gray at the temples, and piercing dark eyes. He was someone whose authority was unquestionable.
He could be tough when he needed to be, and gentle as a child when a situation warranted it. He was a born leader. He had played college football at the University of Michigan, been a Navy SEAL for ten years after that, and had been decorated several times. He had been a forest ranger for more than twenty years now. He had frequent dealings with the military, when they needed to call in the National Guard for emergencies, and was one of the highest-ranking forest rangers in the state.
He came to the meeting in his ranger’s uniform, and still had his military bearing. His size made him seem ominous until he spoke, and his face creased into a warm smile when he saw Anne and Pitt. He hugged Anne and told them both how sorry he was that their son was momentarily out of sight, but he assured them convincingly that they would find him soon and have him back home. Harvey was someone you immediately believed in and knew you could count on. He spent most of his time on horseback, but had flown a reconnaissance and rescue plane early in his career as a ranger, and had come up through the ranks quickly and steadily over the past two decades. He lived nearby in Big Sky. Fishtail and the Beartooth Mountains and Granite Peak were all part of his territory. He knew the area, and particularly the mountains, like his own backyard.
When he walked into the Pollocks’ living room, the parents gathered there stopped talking and stood up to greet him. Anne had put a basket of muffins and pastries on the table, and had handed each of them a cup of coffee when they came in. Most of them had been awake all night worrying about their children. Harvey knew all of the local residents, and made it his business to know the people in his district. Pitt introduced him to Tom, whom Harvey had spotted immediately, and explained that he was Juliet’s father. Pitt had given him all seven names of the missing children the night before. Harvey knew each of the children too, except for Juliet. He appeared frequently at community events, and spoke at the local schools about responsible use of the national and state parks, how not to cause forest fires by careless camping procedures, and the potentially dangerous animals that lived in the mountains. They had several injured tourists every year who fed the bears or did other foolish things. The locals knew better, but kids sometimes tried to show off their bravery or taunted the animals with disastrous results.
He stopped to speak to Marlene for a minute and asked about Bob. She had left him sleeping with a hospice nurse watching him so she could come to the meeting about her sons. She told him briefly about Noel’s insulin. He already knew about it since Pitt had mentioned it to him the night before. Harvey was acutely aware of the dangers the seven kids were facing, and he had a medevac team in place, ready to take off in a helicopter within the hour. He explained to them that they would have two rescue helicopters in the air all day, combing the area. They knew the point the kids had started from, where the horses had been tethered. They had a map of all the trails and had calculated how far the children could have gotten on foot within twenty-four hours. There were a number of trails they could have taken. Some were blocked by the flash flood now. There were also red zones, which presented the greatest risks to the kids because of the sharp drops, dangerous ledges, and ravines and crevasses. One or several of them could have fallen, and might be trapped now, while the others tried to extricate them. This could be why they hadn’t come home.