H: A Time To Gather Stones Together
Chapter 2
"Stay on the phone with me Kieran." Horatio feared the worried youngster might hang up on him without giving him their location. "I'm at …" he squinted out the window through the blowing snow, "Central Avenue. There's a shop on the corner… Dave's Sport Shak?" There were voices just out of reach of the earpiece of the phone and Horatio had just made up his mind to make a right when Kieran's voice sounded in his ear again.
"Mr. Horatio, we think we know where you are. Go … left and drive up to the second stoplight. Theres …" Liam's voice could be heard in the background as Horatio swung the car in a wide turn, narrowly missing a minivan and tow-truck out on the first of many runs. Kieran's voice was back in his ear now, "… railroad tracks to go over then the next stoplight is the one you turn left at."
"Ok, son." Horatio drove as fast as he dared, while encouraging Jo's young nephew to remember any other landmarks on the way to the park. The difficult driving conditions and following Kieran's directions helped Horatio keep his mind from churning up images of Jo being pulled beneath the icy waters of the river.
"Come to me Roxie! That's a girl!" The black and white shepherd pit bull mixed breed took a few more experimental steps closer to her foster mistress, carefully sniffing the ice as she did so. Jo concentrated on the trailing leash, stretching out across the ice as far as possible. One foot was almost numb from the freezing water that was seeping inside her boot. If she didn't get the puppy soon, Jo thought grimly, she would have to hope Kieran and Liam called 911 because she wasn't going to be capable of climbing that hill back up to parking lot alone, with or without Roxie. "Come Roxie!" Jo tried the command the trainer had suggested when they had gone to the free puppy training clinic at the local pet retailer. Roxie stopped sniffing the ice and looked at Jo, then put her head up and sniffed the air. The dog looked comical, with one black ear flopped over on the white fur that circled one side of her face. If Jo hadn't been so cold she would have laughed out loud.
"I see you Mr. Horatio!" Kieran's voice suddenly shouted in his ear. "That's me and Liam jumping up and down waving at you! We're under the tall light!" With an inward sigh of relief Horatio pulled the SUV in beneath the streetlight emitting an eerie orange/gold glow into the surrounding parking lot. Reaching over, Horatio pushed open the passenger door, ordering the boys to get inside. The boys both began to explain at once as Horatio awkwardly slid off his leather shoes and slipped his feet into the new Sorell boots he'd bought. Holding up his hand, he got the boys attention.
"Where is your aunt now?" he asked, his other hand on the door handle.
"In the river at the bottom of the hill," Kieran answered, his lips quivering from cold and fright. Both boys were shaking inside the warm vehicle and Horatio quickly made a decision he was quite certain would be unpopular with the Park Service.
Looking from Liam to Kieran, he asked, "Is there a paved path?" Two heads nodded solemnly and both boys quickly hopped into the rear seats, buckling themselves in as Horatio put the vehicle in Drive and bumped the vehicle over the snow covered curb.
While Roxie's attention was caught by something she was hearing in the woods or up the river, Jo eyed the red leash, a mere 3 feet away from her outstretched hand. Mentally crossing her fingers that the puppy would continue to ignore her, Jo crouched down and began to carefully stretch out on the ice, wriggling to the left where the ice seemed thicker. Inching forward, Jo was within reach of the leash when she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The CRACK of the ice echoed off the bare trees and Jo felt her shins come in contact with the black water. Fighting down the panic, Jo took a deep breath and made a grab for the leash just as headlights suddenly lit up the ice like a stage. It was enough to send the canine skittering several feet to the left. With a groan, Jo carefully tried to drag herself more to the left.
"JOSIE!"
'Was that Horatio calling?' Jo wondered, shaking her head. 'I must be closer to hypothermia than I thought.'
After directing the boys to stay inside, Horatio practically leaped from the vehicle.
"Josie, it's Horatio! Can you hear me?" He was carefully making his way down the bank to the shore. Roxie had begun to bark excitedly, perhaps recognizing the red-haired man who had such crunchy sunglasses. She side-stepped her way another five feet down the river until she was practically at the bank.
"Here Roxie!" Kieran's young voice rang out in the darkness and Jo heard the excited hello bark of the puppy before a car door slammed.
'I've got to get off this ice,' Jo thought grimly. "I'm hallucinating." She carefully began to wiggle backwards, feeling for footing on the slippery rocks beneath the moving water.
Horatio splashed into the water, the tall winter boots he'd put on doing their job and keeping his feet dry. "Josie! Josie!" He reached into the water and managed to grasp her waist as soon as she was close enough. Dragging her to the bank, it was several long minutes before he was able to struggle up the short incline. Once she was on solid ground, Jo began to shiver from her unplanned dip into the river. She looked up at her rescuer, his blue eyes bright in the lights from the SUV.
"Horatio? How did you get down here? I thought I heard a car door?" Several strands of red hair had fallen across his forehead, and unthinkingly, Jo reached up a mittened hand to move it away.
"Oh Josie!" Horatio could see that her lips were turning blue and she was shivering. "I need to take you to a hospital Sweetheart. Can you put your arms around my neck?" Josie shook her head, and opened her mouth. No sound came out and she looked confused. Horatio had to lean his head closer to hear her when she tried again.
"No hospital. No…" she shook her head, leaning against him and closing her eyes. "Not supposed to drive down here."
Horatio looked at her and decided now was not the time to argue. "I agree, Sweetheart, so lets get our of here before we get caught, hmmm?" He lifted her up with difficulty. She was a dead weight and he could feel the wetness from her water-logged jeans soaking through the fabric of his slacks.
TBC