“Okay.” It was always worse when kids were involved. “Okay. How long ago did she call?”
“Not two minutes. I called you as soon as I hung up.”
“Deputy...” Roman glanced at Frankie.
“Lakeman.”
“Deputy Lakeman, this is Roman Salazar.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Deputy Lakeman, are you alone at the station house?”
“No, sir. Deputies Knight and Bradley just got back.”
“It might be good to have someone stay with Mr. Hideman’s daughter until we know what’s going on. Can you handle that?”
“Sir, I can tell Deputy Knight—”
“I want you there. You’ve already spoken with her, you know what’s going on. You get over there now, okay? We’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”
“Yes, sir.” Surprise echoed through the car. “I’m on my way right now. Matt and Fletcher are on their way to meet you. Frankie?”
“I’ll call you on your cell when we know something.” Frankie glanced at Roman as he reached over to disconnect the call. “You sent him out there.”
“Yes. I’ve read the regulations. I’m authorized to pull from the sheriff’s department during an emergency. Besides, Ozzy is one of our volunteers, correct?”
“Yeah, no, I know.” Frankie took a curve a bit too hard and the back tire came up off the ground. “I’m just surprised is all. Luke usually keeps him tied pretty close to the desk.”
“Why?”
Frankie winced. “It’s not my place to say.”
“It is if I say it is. Is Lakeman not up to the job?”
“Quite the contrary, Ozzy’s a great deputy. When he’s given the chance. Luke tends to be a bit overprotective when it comes to him, is all.” She didn’t think now was the time to fill Roman in on Sheriff Luke Saxon’s personal history with those under his command. He took their safety to heart—probably more than most would.
“I read Ozzy’s file last night,” Roman said. “He’s determined and tenacious. I also read where he’s dropped over sixty pounds in the last eighteen months. Any idea why?”
“You’d have to ask him that. There!” Frankie whipped off her glasses and caught sight of the front end of the ancient Chevy Impala sticking out from the overgrown brush. She slammed on the brakes and was out of the car in an instant, her boots crunching in the gravel of the road as she raced to the car. “Oliver!” The car’s passenger side had plowed into the tree, uprooting smaller trees around it. The driver’s door was open, the two front tires flattened. A heavy branch had dropped on top of the car and lay like a hot dog in a metal bun. The windshield and back window had shattered and collapsed, completely obscuring the back seat. Blood soaked the driver’s seat. “Roman! He’s not here.”
“H-help.” The small cry burst against her ears. “I’m stuck.”
“Parker?” She waved Roman over from where he was searching the surrounding brush. She stepped back, and as she did, her foot slipped. She almost hit the ground before she caught her balance. The car tipped, the front wheels inching off the ground. Her stomach lurched, but she remained calm, her training kicking in. She held out her hand as Roman reached her, stepped carefully to the side and felt the edge of the ground give way. “Hey, buddy.” Frankie looked into the back seat and found the little boy curled up on the floor beneath the tree and caved-in roof. “That doesn’t look very comfortable. How about we get you out of there?”
The little boy sobbed and shook his head.
The car trembled and tipped another inch. “Okay, that’s okay, Parker.” Frankie held up her hands, urging him not to move. In the distance she heard the distinct rumbling of the station’s engine making its way up the road.
“You know what? Can you do me a favor and just stay really, really still? I’m going to talk to my partner over here about the best way to get you out and back to your mom, okay?”
“Okay.”
Frankie grabbed Roman’s arm and drew him to the side. “We’ll have Matt and Fletcher start looking for Oliver once they get here. As far as Parker, part of the problem with roads like this is they’re so overgrown we can’t know they’re dangerous until they are.” She motioned to the thick shrubbery hiding the sharp drop-off leading to a creek bed thirty feet below. “That car’s about to go over. We need to try to brace it with something.”
“Can he really not move?” Roman asked.
“I don’t—”