Wild Rescue (21 page)

Chapter 85

Bryce walked,
and I drove my ATV to where he had crashed the night before. Bryce’s vehicle was buried in the scrub oak and scratched up, but we were able to get it out and head to the farm. We had lost five alpacas worth tens of thousands of dollars. I prayed we’d get them back before the Morrises got home, but my biggest concern was Whitney. She was in no condition for a bumpy ride like that.

Every one of the others seemed spooked. Last night had taken its toll. After we fed them and while we were cleaning the stalls, a car pulled up to the front gate. Doors slammed.

I looked at Bryce. “Who could that be?”

We walked out to find three people heading toward us. Denise, her mom, and her dad.

“Get ready to get chewed out,” I said.

Denise’s dad spoke first. “Ashley?” He put his hand on Denise’s shoulder and puffed his cheeks. “I want to apologize for last night. We heard what happened. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

I bit my lip and nodded.

“Denise told us what really happened at school and at the amusement park,” her mom said. “We were unfair to you.”

Denise looked at the ground and spoke softly. “I really didn’t see that girl get attacked.” I wondered if her parents made her say it.

“There may still be time to save Buck. Can you help us find the girl?”

Chapter 86

It was Ashley’s idea
to look at Leigh’s high school yearbooks. She had two of them, so we started with the most recent.

Denise described the jogger as about Mom’s height, long hair that looked dyed black, brown eyes, and a small mouth.

“Anything weird about her?” I said. “Scars or something?”

“Her hands were mostly red from the blood,” Denise said. “But she had dirty fingernails. And there was something on her arm, maybe a tattoo. Her sleeve covered most of it, but I think it was round.”

“Her hair could be any color,” Ashley said as she flipped through the yearbook. Denise picked out several girls who looked something like the jogger, and Ashley kept a list.

Sam’s truck pulled up, and he ambled toward the house wearing sunglasses. His smile made deep lines in his face, and he hadn’t shaved. “What’s going on, Bryce?” he growled.

I followed him inside, telling him everything we knew about the case. He felt sure the police would find the alpacas. “The whole herd’s been tagged electronically. You sure about this Eddie guy?”

“As sure as I can be,” I said. “But he’s not working alone. No way he could have taken those animals by himself.”

“And this girl—”

“Bryce!” Ashley yelled.

I ran outside. Ashley had two yearbooks open. She pointed at a senior picture in one. “Denise thinks this might be her.” She held up the other yearbook. It showed two girls in a hallway mugging for the camera, their sleeves rolled up and striking a muscle-man pose.

Denise said, “She has a tattoo on her arm.”

The girl’s hair was lighter than in the other picture, but the tattoo was there, and her face looked similar.

I read the name underneath the senior picture aloud. “Janice Snodgrass.”

Chapter 87

Things were coming together,
and none too soon. Denise had to go home, and Bryce and I tore through the phone book looking for Snodgrass. There was only one listing.

An older woman answered. “Janice is my daughter,” she said carefully. “Who is this?”

I told her my name. “She was attacked by our friend’s dog, and my brother and I wanted to see how she was doing.”

“You must have the wrong person,” she said. “Janice hasn’t been attacked by any dog.”

“Can we talk with her?”

“I’ll tell her you called.”

We had to find Janice or Eddie if we wanted to save Buck.

“Let’s pay a visit to Mrs. Snodgrass,” Bryce said.

Chapter 88

It was late in the afternoon
when we parked our ATVs at Mrs. Watson’s house and made our way through town. Mrs. Snodgrass’s house sat across the street from an old elementary school near a dead oak tree. Her concrete porch was cracked and had pulled away from the house. The place looked big enough for one person, maybe two.

I knocked on the screen door, and it rattled against the frame. A white-haired woman with thin arms hobbled toward me. “Whatever it is, I don’t want any.”

“Not selling anything, ma’am. Just need to talk with Janice.”

“She’s not here.”

“Know where I can find her?”

“She went camping with her boyfriend in the mountains.”

“Sounds like fun,” I said. “Do you know where?”

She shook her head. “They left yesterday afternoon pulling a big trailer—don’t know what that was for. What do you need with her?”

“It’s actually a matter of life and death,” I said. I handed her a card with my cell phone number on it.

She looked at it skeptically and stuffed it into her apron.

We headed back to our ATVs. While Ashley stopped to see Mrs. Watson, I went to the court at the middle school where Toby was shooting hoops. I told him what had been going on and said, “Keep an eye out for a long trailer with alpacas in it.”

Chapter 89

I couldn’t help imagining
trying to explain what had happened to Buck and the Morrises trying to tell their boys why they didn’t have a dog anymore. The whole thing felt hopeless. Buck was going to die. No question about it.

I was worried about Whitney too. I dug out the emergency number for the vet and was surprised when a woman answered. She knew Whitney well.

“You’re right to be worried about her,” she said. “Any kind of trauma could send her into labor, especially since she’s this far along. They usually have their young before noon, and by evening the little things are up and running around. As soon as you find her, call me. I’ll want to check her out.”