Page 107 of Race to Save Her

Katie had brought extra supplies and made sure her backpack had the necessary items they might need.

“Is Cisco coming?” said Chris.

“No, he’s sitting this one out. Not sure what we’re running into—if anything.”

“I think I might want to be a K9 handler.”

“It’s the best,” she said.

They took Katie’s Jeep due to its off-road capability. She drove to the boneyard of Pine Valley, which used to be brimming with energy. Times had changed, and so many manufacturers had either gone somewhere else or their work had simply dried up due to other technology and opportunities. She wondered how McGaven was doing and wondered if he was unhappy about going to the ranch acreage on his own.

“I think we take that road,” said Chris, pointing.

“That’s not a road.”

“Yeah, turn there.”

Katie made the right turn onto a track that hadn’t been used for a while. You could tell water ran straight down it when it stormed; any gravel that might have been there had been washed away. She glanced at the sky, it looked like they might run into some rain, but it wasn’t the rainy season yet, so she wasn’t worried.

The Jeep bounced and bobbed and weaved for a little ways as they slowly climbed the incline of the land. There were more trees than on the topical map, which worked in their favor. Her speed was about twenty miles per hour, pushing them closer to the time she didn’t want to be stuck out there.

“Cisco definitely wouldn’t have liked this,” she said as the Jeep continued to bounce.

Chris laughed as he hung on to the handle above the doorframe.

Finally, they approached the property. There was a dugout area just below the road leading to it, which was perfect to park in and gave them more cover if needed.

“This looks good,” she said. “There’s no way anyone would have seen us coming.”

Chris nodded as he took a serious look around. Each prepared their packs and weapons before moving forward.

“Remember, we’re doing reconnaissance to find out if there’s anything off here, or if the killer is here—highly doubtful, but we have to check.”

“What if there’s something going on?”

“Then we report it so our colleagues know before coming all the way out here. I don’t want any traps or unknowns to hurt or ambush any officer or SWAT operator… that’s why we’re here checking it out.”

Chris nodded. “What’s that?” he pointed to what appeared to be some type of piping.

“Not sure, but it looks like drainage or a conduit for electrical or plumbing.”

The two of them carefully climbed the hill until they reached a flat area behind two trees where they could hunker down. The air suddenly turned cooler and the wind dropped. The overcast sky made the surroundings darker than usual.

Katie removed two walkie talkies from her pack. “We might need these since cell connection is sketchy out here.”

“Wow,” said Chris. “I haven’t seen these for a while.”

“Don’t laugh, it might save your life.” Katie looked through her binoculars and scanned the yard. It looked abandoned, but there were two newer structures. One was a storage barn and the other some type of building or low-maintenance modular house.

“I don’t see any cameras or anything resembling technology,” said Chris.

“Nope. No one has been here in years—maybe longer.”

“I can’t quite see the barn,” said Chris.

Katie scanned the area where the piles of junk were. It was clear they had been there a long time—years. “I want to get a closer look.”

“There’s no one there. It’s an abandoned junkyard. More like a ghost yard.”