"We don't know. Evan's dad got a hold of the housekeeper who had no idea how long Evan had been missing. She thought he was still in his room. The Coast Guard is being dispatched, but Mitch and Larry are heading over since we're closer to the scene," he said. "They're hoping it's a hoax."
"I hope so too, but Evan's pretty messed up, and if he's still drinking I could see him doing something stupid," I said.
No one else had seen the condition Evan was in the night before. I wanted to kick myself that I didn't have Butch stop by his house earlier to at least make sure he had made it home. His father had to be majorly second-guessing the decision to send Evan back to Turtle Bay. I could only imagine the agony of feeling helpless in a situation where all you could do was sit and wait.
"Well, if he is out there, Mitch and Larry will drag his dumb ass back in. Maybe they'll even punch him in the face for me," he said, smiling.
We all watched as Mitch and Larry headed out together. I wasn't even aware that I was gnawing on my thumbnail until Josh placed an arm around me and led me to the break room. He sat me in a chair and handed me a cup of coffee. The storm raged outside, matching the current condition of my stomach. I took one sip of the coffee before nervous energy took over and I stood up to pace the room. Even that didn't work, so I joined Vanessa at her desk, figuring she would be the first to get any updates. The incoming calls had slowed down dramatically. Probably because of the loss of power throughout town. The storm must have affected cell service also because no one in the station was able to get anything on their phones.
I was pacing nervously in the lobby, gnawing my fingernails to the nubs, when Mitch's voice squawked over the radio. Everyone in the station huddled around Vanessa's desk since the swirling wind on his end made it difficult to hear Mitch clearly. "We've reached the location and spotted the surfer in the water, clutching his board. The waves are tossing him around, and it looks like he's trying to stay afloat but having a hard time," he said. "We'll call back with an update once we get him to shore." The silence after his update was deafening. If the looks on everyone's faces were any indication, there was still a long way to go before we could stop worrying.
The wait was maddening for all of us, especially since more than an hour had passed since Mitch had radioed in. Even Vanessa looked jittery, which did little to help my state of mind. She picked up the radio and pushed the button to see if it was still working, but acted just as frustrated when it chirped like it was supposed to. Every imaginable scenario ran through my head. Evan had been swept out to sea. A rogue wave crushed Mitch or Larry. My mind was my own worst enemy.
"Maybe I could try the sheriff's office to see if they know anything," Vanessa said right before the lights and computers in the main room abruptly cut off.
"Great. There go the generators," John said, grabbing a flashlight. He was next in command with Mitch out of the office. "Chris, let's go check it out," he said, tossing another flashlight to one of the patrolmen. Although it had been covered by clouds for most of the day, the sun was beginning to set, which only made matters worse.
"We should move everyone into the break room in case they can't get it back on. That way we can conserve the batteries in the flashlights," Vanessa said, looking reluctantly at the dead radio. I felt her pain. We had no lights, phones, computers, or even cell service. We were all but cut off from the outside world and any more contact from Mitch. We had no way of knowing what was happening.
Chapter 14
John returned shortly after with the news that the generators were shot. Apparently water had been flooding the shed that housed the generators all afternoon. The water ended up shorting them out, putting them out of commission.
"Damn, the city commission," John said, slamming his fist on the desk. "Mitch has been on them for months about updating that generator enclosure."
There was nothing we could do but try to conserve the flashlights. With no emergency lighting, it was pitch black in most parts of the building. We all moved to the break room as Vanessa suggested, but the people in the room were becoming antsy. Several of the patrolmen wanted to go out to check on Mitch and Larry, but John ordered them to stay put. "No one goes anywhere yet," he said. "We know the Coast Guard was en route, and Mitch and Larry know what they're doing. If we don't hear anything in the next couple of hours, I will take a couple guys to go see what's happening."
I couldn't help feeling a little guilty that I was also worried about Evan, who was responsible for Mitch and Larry being in danger. John pulled out a portable radio so we could at least listen to weather updates on the local talk station while some of the other guys moved extra chairs into the break room so there were more places to sit. "Do you think they're okay?" I asked, sitting next to Vanessa.
"I'm sure they're fine. This is what they were trained to do. Both have more experience than anyone here," she said solemnly. "They're going to be fine," she repeated with tears in her eyes. At that moment, I realized I had learned something new about Vanessa. Someone she cared about had gone into the water. I reached for her hand and she squeezed mine in return.
Time trickled by slowly. The break room soon became unbearable without any air conditioning or fans. Eventually some of us migrated into the hallway near the back door that we had partially open to let a little fresh air in the building. The overhang above the door kept the rain from coming inside too much, although it seemed like no one cared either way.
Josh and I sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against each other while we talked quietly. The moon must have been bright behind the dark clouds because the sky took on a soft white hue.
&nb
sp; "Are you worried about Mitch and Larry?" I avoided mentioning Evan's name for obvious reasons.
He took a moment to answer. I turned to look at him, wondering if he'd fallen asleep. His eyes were open and he was watching me carefully. "Truth?" he finally asked.
"Truth," I whispered, ignoring the acid that was churning in my belly.
"I think if things were okay, Mitch would have come back by now. He would want to be back here at the station. I mean, he is the chief. Come hell or high water he would have returned to check on things. Something must have happened to keep him from doing that."
I was afraid that was the case. Resting my head on Josh's shoulder, I swiped at the tears that had escaped my overflowing eyes. Josh put his arm around my shoulder and began stroking my hair to comfort me. Neither of us spoke again. The hours continued to tick slowly by and eventually I must have drifted off to sleep.
I woke up lying by myself with no idea of the time because I didn't wear a watch. It had to be morning because there was light outside. Even better was the somewhat cooler breeze that was blowing through the open door and the absence of pounding rain and brutal wind. Feeling groggy, I sat up feeling rumpled and definitely gross. I wanted to sneak into the bathroom to freshen up, but a bigger part of me was dying to know if any word had come in during the time I was out.
I made my way to the break room and sidled up to Butch and Buttercup. "Any news?" I asked.
"Not from Mitch, but Josh said that John took two other guys out a couple hours ago to find out what happened. They haven't returned yet. The news on the portable radio said the storm has already lost most of its strength and has moved up the coast," Butch said, taking a drink from his water bottle. "Josh also said by this afternoon we can go outside and start assessing the damage."
I nodded. It was annoying to not know what had happened with Mitch, Larry, and Evan, but the promise of the storm moving on was at least something positive. I looked around the room for Josh and found him across the room talking to some of the other patrol officers. He shot me a small smile but continued his conversation. The morning flew by as we put the station back in working order. The guys were all anxious to get outside to assess the damage in the surrounding area, but the standing order had been to stay put until we heard from John or Mitch.
Relief finally came when the power was restored and the lights flickered on. The air conditioner hummed to life, which helped with the comfort level in the building almost immediately. With power came the phone lines and computers. Vanessa picked up the phone with a shaky hand and called Mitch's cell number, but it was no use. Cell service had not been restored yet. She also tried raising both Mitch and John on the radio, but neither answered.
"Damn it. What good is a radio if nobody uses it?" she asked desperately.