Chapter 5

Unexpected visitor

David and Danielle were having a nice breakfast the next morning, discussing their training plans when they got buzzed from the intercom mounted to the front gate.

"May I help you," David inquired? He looked into the video display and was taken aback at the sight of a four-wheel drive Sheriff's rig at his gate.

"Yes, David, this is Sheriff Henderson. May I come up to the house?"

"Most certainly, Sheriff."

David then buzzed the gate open. He and Danielle looked at each other wordlessly. They watched with great interest as the fully loaded Ford Excursion pulled up the long drive. Danielle clenched David's hand, and her hand was drenched with sweat. They walked out to the porch to greet their visitor.

The Sheriff, a tall slender man, stepped out of the Excursion and began to walk to the porch. David met him half way and extended a hand. "Good morning, Sheriff, how are you today," David asked.

"Fine David, just fine."

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I had an early breakfast, but thank you anyhow."

By now, the two men had completed the walk to the porch, and David turned to Danielle. "Sheriff, have you met my wife Danielle?"

"No, I don't believe that I have."

"Danielle, this is Tom Henderson, the County Sheriff. Tom, this is my wife Danielle."

They completed their introduction and made appropriate small talk. The Sheriff inquired as to when the baby was due, and Sharon responded that it was "very, very soon." David invited the Sheriff in, but the Sheriff replied that he could not stay long and that they could easily conduct their business on the porch.

"You may not be aware, David, but we've had a couple more kids go missing. This is the second set of kid to vanish in the last three years."

"Sheriff, did you ever find the first two kids" David asked?

"No, we suspect they are somewhere out west, probably in California. We are pretty confident that they ran off together and there has been no trace of them or their car. We suspect that these two kids, Tony Davidson and Ellen Walker, may also have run off together. These latest kids are a bit more experienced than the first two, and there have been discipline problems, so we think they might be on the road."

"Yet," the Sheriff continued, "I want to make sure that all of the bases have been covered. I'm putting together a crew of men to do a thorough search of the area around the old abandoned quarry. There are a number of open pits there that could conceal almost anything, plus the terrain around there is quite rough, and we need to do a thorough pattern search. Would you be available to help, starting tomorrow morning?"

David hesitated less than a second, "Count me in Sheriff. Where and when do you need me?"

"We're all going to gather at the entry road to the quarry about 6 a.m. tomorrow. I suspect that it will take us two, possibly three days to do a complete search. You don't have any diving experience do you?"

"Diving?"

"Yeah, the County has a diver on contract for underwater searches, and the like, but I was hoping a few of the men would know how to dive so that we can finish with that part of the search early, and save the County some money."

"No, I don't have any diving experience, so I can't help you there. Is there anything you need in terms of equipment?"

"No, the county road department has offered us the use of any heavy equipment and manpower we need. Feet on the ground will be most helpful if you don't have diving experience. Speaking of feet, wear good, comfortable boots with good ankle protection."

"Great, I'll be there."

The sheriff thanked him and turned to go, when Danielle spoke up, "Sheriff, is there anything that I can do to help?"

The sheriff paused and looked at her. He thought for a minute and gently said, "The terrain there is pretty rough for anyone as far along as you are. Otherwise, I'd invite you along as well."

"Tell you what, Sheriff, I'll gladly bake some treats for the searchers if you can have someone come pick them up? In addition to being as big as a house, I can't drive the truck very well in my present condition."

The Sheriff chuckled as he climbed into the Expedition. "What time?"

"Noon would be fine, Sheriff."

"Noon it is," he said, and drove off.