Burn Out (23 page)

Her throat was so swollen
from the heat she couldn’t scream for help. Not that anyone could
probably hear her, anyway. The fire seemed to have consumed the
room in less than a minute. It was hopeless. She was going to die.
She half-crawled to the coffee table and hid underneath it. She
knew the fire would find her under there, helpless and vulnerable,
but she somehow felt safe. Starting to lose consciousness, her last
thoughts were of Mack. As her eyes began to close, she imagined him
coming through the door to rescue her.

Red got to Paul’s house in
record time. From the hotel, it would normally take about ten
minutes. He made it in five, running every red light and stop sign.
He saw the smoke before the house even came into view. He quickly
called Rachel to let her know what was going on. Parking the car at
the curb, he ran up the front door and threw it open. The intense
heat pushed him back. He could see the whole living room was
engulfed in fire and smoke. He stood back and scanned the room as
best he could. He saw a foot sticking out from under the coffee
table.

Red ran back to his truck
and grabbed Maggie’s blanket he kept in the back seat. He used the
water hose by the front door and soaked the blanket as best he
could. He heard the sirens and knew help was on the way, but he
didn’t think there was much time left. He had to act now to save
Stacy.

He covered his body as best
as he could, took a deep breath and ran through a wall of flames.
Grabbing Stacy by the feet, he pulled her out from under the table
and reached down to pick her up. Using a fireman’s carry, he threw
her over his shoulder, covered both of them with the blanket and
headed back out the front door. He collapsed onto the front yard,
still holding on to Stacy.

Santa Rosa Beach, Thursday
evening

Rachel walked into the
hospital room where Red was lying in a bed covered in tubes and
wires. The doctor told her Red had suffered from a mild heart
attack after rescuing Stacy. He also had bandages on his hands and
feet where he suffered second and third degree burns. As soon as
she sat down, he opened his eyes.

“
Hey buddy. We have
matching bandages.” Rachel held up her right hand where she was
burned.

He smiled faintly. “Is
Stacy okay?”

Rachel nodded. “She is
doing just fine. She had some smoke inhalation and minor burns, as
well. Stacy is a tough cookie. Doctor said she can probably go home
tomorrow.” Rachel gently smoothed the sheet over him. “We are both
very grateful for what you did.”

Red lifted his left hand
and waved it away. “It was nothing. I was there at the right
time.”

“
Yes, you were. Any later
and Stacy might not have made it.”

“
Rachel, there is something
I need to tell you.” Red cleared his throat. “There is another
reason why I came here.”

Rachel felt her stomach
tighten in a knot. “Go ahead.”

“
We got a lead on
Mallory.”

Rachel’s heart skipped a
beat. “What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“
Janine wanted to be sure
it was valid before we proceeded. I just found out this morning
that it may be worth checking out.”

Rachel wanted to scream. He
should have told her sooner. Whether or not the lead was valid was
up to her to decide. But she treaded lightly. She didn’t want to
add stress to Red’s already weakened heart. She supposed they were
just trying to protect her.

“
What lead?”

“
Janine got a call about
another missing girl. An American couple was on vacation in Mexico
when their daughter was kidnapped,” Red said. “Her parents were
staying at a resort hotel. While their daughter was sleeping, they
went for a quick drink at the pool bar. The mom went back thirty
minutes later to check on her and the little girl was
gone.”

“
What does this have to do
with Mallory?”

“
I’m getting there.” Red
took his time getting the facts right. The pain meds were making
him groggy. “After a search of the resort, she wasn’t found. They
called in authorities and searched the entire island. The little
girl wasn’t found. The police thought since they were rich
Americans, there eventually would be a ransom, but nothing ever
came in.”

“
When did this
happened?”

“
A few days ago. Now the
FBI is involved. We got a call at the office the day after you left
to come here. A maid at the resort came forward and gave the FBI
information about a child kidnapping ring. Her son also works at
the resort and she found out he was involved. She was struggling on
whether to do the right thing and turn in her only son. She finally
came forward and told the authorities what she knew. When they
busted the son, the FBI took his computer.” Red paused and
collected his thoughts.

Rachel’s heart was beating
fast and she started sweating.
Please
don’t let my little girl be dead.

“
They found some
information on the computer which led to some other names of the
people involved in the kidnapping ring.” Red took a deep breath.
“Scott Jensen was on that list.”

Rachel was stunned.
“Janine’s ex-husband?”

“
Yes.” Red knew this would
be hard for her to hear. Scott had worked for Rachel’s husband for
a short time at the car dealership. This was before she even knew
Janine.

“
Why would Scott be on the
list?”

“
The FBI is investigating
that Rachel. They have talked with Janine, but she claims she
didn’t know anything about it. So far, the authorities haven’t
located Scott.”

“
Scott may have had
something to do with Mallory’s disappearance?” Rachel put her hand
over her mouth in disbelief.

Red nodded his
head.

Sam was reunited with her mom and
children. She gave birth to a son on April twenty-first. She named
him Breck, after the brother and father she lost. She has not
identified the father, although most people assume it was Mack’s.
Sam filed for divorce, put her house and land up for sale, and
returned to work at the fire department.

Ken was sentenced to twelve years
in jail for his part in the marijuana operation. He is currently
serving his time in the Walton county jail.

Mack was given a funeral with
honors. He was laid to rest in the same cemetery as Sam’s brother
and father.

Red recovered from his injuries and
is back to work at Florida Omni Search.

Rachel is working on her latest
lead to find Mallory.

Stacy quit her job at the Miami Sun
and decided to freelance for awhile. This was her last article she
wrote for the Sun.

Missing Firefighter Found
Alive

by Stacy Case

Samantha Collins, firefighter with
Santa Rosa Beach fire department, was found alive yesterday. She
was being held captive by Paul Hart, also a firefighter with
SRBFD.

Acting on an anonymous tip
Thursday morning, Florida Omni Search located Collins on a hunting
property owned by Paul Hart. “She was being held against her will
in an abandoned hunting cabin,” said founder Rachel
Scott.

Chief Gladstone of Santa Rosa
Beach police department said Samantha was found in pretty good
shape and is being evaluated at a local hospital. He also commented
Paul Hart is currently at large and wanted by SRBPD for
questioning.

Paul Hart was arrested this past
February along with Ken Collins, Samantha’s husband, for marijuana
trafficking.

“
Right now, there is no clear
motivation on why she was kidnapped by Paul Hart. We haven’t had a
chance to question Samantha in depth yet,” Gladstone
said.

Samantha’s mother, Nora Prince,
said to us, “This is the best moment in my life,” after hearing
Samantha was alive. She wanted to thank Rachel and Florida Omni
Search for helping locate her missing daughter.

“
It was truly a miracle we found
her. I just hugged her and told her over and over she was safe
now,” Rachel Scott said.

Nora said her daughter has been
through some “really horrible circumstances and was mentally
tortured” during her imprisonment. She declined to elaborate due to
an ongoing police investigation.

Paul Hart has a twisted history
with her daughter, according to her mother. “They dated in high
school and Sam broke up with him before she met Ken. Paul was also
friends with Ken and was arrested as a co-conspirator in his
marijuana grow operation.”

Prince described Samantha’s
current mental state as “terrified and extremely
anxious.”

“
Samantha Collins is under police
protection until Hart can be located,” Chief Gladstone
confirmed.

There is a $10,000 reward
for any information leading to the capture and arrest of Paul
Hart.

A Sneak
Peek
…
to another
Rachel Scott and Florida Omni Search missing person
case.

Asylum Harbor

My name is Amber Knowles and I am one
of the thousands of people who go missing every day. Of course, the
day I went missing started out beautiful with lots of sunshine and
not a cloud in the sky. My parents had dropped me and my two best
friends off at the Tampa dock. We were taking a cruise on the
SeaStar Cruise line to the Bahamas. This was our high school
graduation present and a chance to let loose before
college.

My parents weren’t too happy to see me
go. They were worried – with good cause I suppose. You see, my dad
is the Governor of Florida and he planned on announcing his intent
to run for presidency in the next election. He was a little
concerned about sending his only daughter on a trip without any
security. I fought desperately for that freedom and he finally gave
in.

Now, I kinda wish he did send
someone.

The first day we set sail to Key West.
My best friends, Nicole and Rowan, were just as excited as me to
spend a couple of hours shopping and hitting the famous Duval
Street. We even managed to score some margaritas at Sloppy Joes.
However, that night back on the ship was when the fun came to an
end for me.

After a nice dinner, we decide to
check out the nightclub Aqua. As we approach the door to Aqua, I
see a cute guy in a white uniform with the SeaStar logo. He
introduced himself as Josh McCain. He is a VIP host. I know it
sounds clique, but Josh has the most beautiful green eyes I have
ever seen. He walks us to a private room and tells us to let him
know if we need anything.

After an hour of dancing, I start
feeling sick to my stomach. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or if
I am getting seasick. Probably a little of both.

“
I’m not feeling well,” I
tell Rowan as I lay my head down on the edge of the sofa in the VIP
room. The velvet feels cool against my skin.

“
I’ll go get you some
water,” Rowan says. “Stay right here.”

A few minutes later Josh walks in with
a glass of water. “I ran into your friend at the bar. She said you
weren’t feeling well. I offered to bring this to you,” he says
sweetly, handing me the ice cold water.

I take a sip and immediately I feel my
stomach rolling around.

“
I don’t feel so
good.”

“
Do you want to go lay
down? I can walk you back to your cabin and get the ship’s doctor
for you. It’s probably seasickness.”

“
That’s okay.” I tell him.
I feel embarrassed for being sick.

Rowan and Nicole walk back into the
room to check on me.

“
Hey, you don’t look so
good,” Nicole says.

“
You want us to go back to
the cabin with you?” Rowan offers.

“
No, that’s okay,” I start
to protest.

“
I offered to walk back
with her. I can get some medicine from the commissary shop for
her,” Josh tells my friends.

After a few minutes of encouraging me
to go back to the room, I finally give in and let Josh walk me
back.

On the walk back to my cabin, he tells
me he is from California and has worked with the cruise ship for
about eight months. I can’t help but wonder if he is flirting with
me.

I tell him I just graduated from high
school and will be attending Florida State University this fall. “I
plan on becoming a veterinarian and they have the best program in
Florida,” I tell him. “Plus, it’s close to home, which my parents
like.”

What I don’t tell him is what it’s
like being the daughter of a prominent governor and all the stress
and problems it causes me.

We get to my cabin, which I can tell
he is impressed by.

“
Wow, the penthouse suite.
You must be someone special,” he says. The penthouse suite costs
like $8000 for the four-day cruise. If he only knew.

I don’t reply and immediately lay down
on the sofa. My stomach is still rolling around and now I am
getting a headache.