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“Josh! Are you out there?”
He was probably too far away to hear her, but even when she’d lived here as a kid, everyone knew that these woods weren’t a safe place to be. Please, Lord, let him be okay.
The prayer played like a litany in her mind as she crossed the dimly lit park and started into the woods. Every few minutes she used the whistle and called out Josh’s name, then adjusted her direction and continued on, fending off sharp pine branches with one upraised arm and holding the flashlight with the other.
She tripped over downed branches and rocks hidden by the grass and weeds. Barb-covered vines and stinging nettles grabbed at the tender flesh of her calves and ankles.
The terrain fell away into a strip of marsh. She cautiously made her way across, her running shoes squelching in the cold, reeking muck. Near the other side she stepped into a deeper spot and fell forward, both hands buried in mud and rotting vegetation. She lost hold of the flashlight, which sank into a brackish pool of water.
Darkness descended with grim finality.
Something gray and wolflike suddenly loomed huge on the bank above her, its eyes glowing, and in that brief moment of disorientation she nearly screamed.
The wolf-creature whined and scrambled down the bank, but danced back and forth at the edge of the bog.
“Oh, Harold!” Relief flooded through her as she made her way to solid ground and sank to her knees next to him. “Why on earth are you way back here?”
He bounded back up to the top of the bank and looked down at her, whining with impatience.
Cupping her hands at her mouth, she took a deep breath, then yelled as loud as she could. “Josh! Can you hear me?”
This time, she heard him.
She crawled up the steep bank, grabbing at exposed tree roots for balance, and finally found Josh at the edge of a small clearing.
“Hey, kiddo, how are you?” she asked softly. “Are you hurt?”
Weak moonlight filtered through the lacy branches overhead, revealing his dirty, tear-streaked face. “I-I’m sorry about taking Harold for a walk. I know you’re mad.”
She hunkered down next to him and ran a hand over his cheek. “Honey, I appreciate your help with my dog, and I know you did your best. Right now, the only thing that matters is that you’re all right. What happened?”
“Harold got away from me and ran way back here. When I saw the dead guy, I got real scared and started running for home.” He moved his right leg and winced. “I hurt my ankle.”
“Dead guy? Where?” She ran a hand over Josh’s leg and gently examined his ankle. It felt warm and swollen.
“B-back over there.” Josh shuddered as he jerked his chin toward the other side of the clearing. “He’s sitting by that big log.”
“Are you sure he’s dead? Maybe he’s just sleeping.”
Josh shook his head violently at the memory. “His eyes are open, and he smells sorta funny. He didn’t move at all.”
“I need to go check. Maybe he’s really sick. Harold will stay right here with you. Okay?”
The boy’s eyes widened with fear.
She withdrew her cell phone from her jacket pocket and called Zoe. “I found him. He’s okay—don’t worry. Just a little scared.”
“Thank you, Lord. Where...how? Can I come get him?” Her sobs and joyous laughter burst through the receiver. “Thank you so much. Oh, Sara, thank you!”
After Zoe calmed down, Sara gave her directions and asked her to notify the deputy to say Josh had been found, then handed the phone over to the boy. “Here, your mom is going to call back as soon as she reaches the deputy. You can talk to her while I go check out the guy you saw.”
Josh paled. “Don’t leave me, please!”
“I promise, Josh, I’ll be right back.” Sara ordered Harold to stay, then started across the clearing.
Once beyond Josh’s line of vision, she drew her semiautomatic. There were other possibilities besides a coma, illness or death. If the guy was strung out on something, he could be dangerous. If he had friends with him, that could be even worse—but Sara couldn’t take the chance that she might be leaving someone to die.
Ahead she could see the form of a log. She scanned the area for any sign of movement. Nothing.
