Page 94 of Solid as Steele
“Hang tight in case we need your help with the women,” Wheeler said, in an unusually uplifting tone.
She nodded, hating the situation, but if she could help, she was glad to stay. And for her own sanity glad to remain put. She would witness the joy of the terrified women freed from their captivity without the memory burned in her brain forever of seeing them in the cramped cellar.
20
Owen followed Wheeler into the barn, where he flung open the cellar door. The women began crying.
Owen’s gut tied in a tight knot, and he offered a prayer for God’s guidance in their actions.
“Go first,” Wheeler said. “Say something to calm them, so they know it’s not Tovar and that we’re not going to hurt them.”
Owen cautiously stepped down the dark cellar stairs. He located the light switch and flipped it on, flooding the small landing with a warm yellow glow that belied the task at hand. A thick wooden door with solid hasp and padlock awaited him at the bottom.
He knocked on the door and did his best to introduce himself and Wheeler in Spanish. “We’ve arrested Tovar and are going to let you out. Please don’t rush the door. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. There will be people out here to help you.”
Sobbing noises sounded behind the thick wood, but a shout ofAlabanza Jesúsrose above it. Owen agreed. Praise Jesus. He hoped none of the women were hurt and in need of medical attention.
Wheeler stepped in front of Owen and tried a few keys in the lock before he landed on the right one, and the lock fell open. He stowed the keys in his pocket and dropped the lock in the dark corner of the earthen floor, then pulled open the hasp.
He looked at Owen. “Brace yourself for what we’ll see and smell. We’re going in.”
Owen gave a sharp nod and faced forward when his whole being wanted to run away. But running was in direct opposition to what a law-enforcement officer did. They were trained and had the desire to protect the innocent at all costs. Even if it meant seeing women who were terrified, stressed beyond the breaking point, and likely filthy from their time in captivity.
The sheriff pulled the door open, and the odor of human waste and unwashed bodies stormed out. Owen fought his gag reflex. Wheeler coughed a few times, but recovered. Owen sure didn’t want the women to see his disgust and add to their distress.
The small room was dark, smothering like a dungeon. He located a light switch outside of the room and flipped it on. The barest of light from a single bulb bloomed inside. The women gasped and closed their eyes.
Owen hadn’t expected this response. Not at all. They’d been kept in squalid conditions—that he expected—but the creep Tovar hadn’t allowed them any light.
Oh Lord, how could You let this happen?
Owen didn't believe he’d get an answer, but he had to cry out or he couldn’t bear what he was seeing. While the women remained standing as if frozen in place, blocking their eyes until they could handle the barest of light, Owen counted the number. Got to seventeen and added one for Juanita then had to scan the room for the final three. Two women squatted in a corner, and one sprawled motionless on the dirt floor among dirty food containers.
“Perdona.”Owen slipped between the women. “The one on the floor. What’s her name, and what’s wrong with her?”
“She needs water,” a nearby woman said in solid English. “Her name is Valeria, and I’m Elaina. No one has enough water, but she suffers more.”
Owen knelt next to her and cringed at her sunken eyes and loose skin—just a shell of a woman pretending to be alive. Sirens sounded outside the barn.
Owen looked at Elaina. “That will be the ambulances. Tell everyone I’m going to carry Valeria out first to get her immediate medical attention.”
“Sí. Sí.We thank you for your kindness. And will bring the other weak sisters out too. The rest of us can wait.” She turned to the women and fired off rapid, urgent words.
They moved like a wave toward the wall to make room for Owen. He scooped Valeria into his arms, the odor so intense he had to hold his breath until he got outside or hurl all over her.
He gulped a breath and glanced at Mackenzie. “Tovar didn’t give them enough water. She’s severely dehydrated.”
He rushed to the first ambulance as another one backed in next to it. The EMT slid down from the driver’s seat and came around the back.
“This is Valeria.”
The medic took a good look at her. “Let’s get her on a gurney. She’s badly dehydrated. Needs an IV immediately.”
“There are nineteen others inside.” Owen moved closer to the back of the vehicle. “Two more who are weak but not this bad. The others seem stronger.”
“I’ll get fluids started on her and then call in a third rig.” He climbed into the ambulance. “Let’s not waste time taking the stretcher out. Figure we can get her in here okay.”
Owen agreed, and with the EMT’s help, he eased Valeria onto the stretcher. She moaned and shifted, but didn’t wake.
