CHAPTER 10
At seven-forty-five the following morning, two vans pulled out of the parking lot at police headquarters. Huggy Bear and Captain Dobey were in the lead van along with two female officers who had insisted on joining the search, Minnie Kaplin and Linda Baylor. Linda had worked with Starsky and Hutch on a couple of undercover cases while Minnie was the department's resident computer specialist. It had been her diligence that had identified both Dylan and Noah. The second van held six more police officers, all volunteers who were willing to take as much time as needed to find their two missing co-workers. Two of the officers, Brad Kellerman and Roy Weaver, worked in the canine unit and had brought their dogs, animals that had been specially trained for use in search and rescue missions.
Huggy had exchanged his normally colorful attire for a pair of jeans and a plain red shirt. Even Dobey was casually dressed in a pair of kaki pants and a button down plaid shirt. The other officers were also dressed in casual clothing and rugged boots. Most of them wore lightweight jackets to conceal their weapons. Each jacket was a bright blue with BCPD inscribed on the back in large white letters.
The plan was to use the local police department as a temporary headquarters and to coordinate the search from there. Four officers from the Centerville Police Department would be acting as guides to search the rugged terrain around the town. To cover as much ground as possible, they would be splitting into two groups. Each group would be accompanied by two of the guides and search different locations. The officers would keep closely in touch by walkie talkie. Brad would go with one group and Roy with the other to utilize the two search and rescue dogs. It had already been decided that Dobey, Huggy, and the two female officers would stick together. Brad would be joining their group once the search got underway.
Centerville was a sleepy little town that echoed an earlier time in California's history. The historical old buildings in the downtown area had been built at the turn of the century and were still in good repair. The grass in front of the local police department was freshly cut and landscaped with colorful flowers and neatly trimmed hedges. It stood across the street from the courthouse with the town square in between. The quiet serenity of the town was a striking contrast to the hustle and bustle of Bay City.
Chief Mayler greeted his contemporaries from Bay City cordially and introduced them to the four officers from his department that would assisting them. Steve Collier, Robert Markwell, Ed Dressler, and Fred Gardner. After pleasantries were exchanged, the group of men got down to business. Steve Collier and Robert Markwell were assigned to Dobey's group as their guides.
Mayler and his men listened intently as Dobey briefed them on Starsky and Hutch's disappearance and the probable involvement of Simon Marcus' remaining cult members. From their grim expressions, it was obvious that they had all heard of Simon Marcus and the atrocities that he and his band of followers had committed six years ago. For over a year half of southern California had been terrified wondering where the band of crazies would strike next.
"And you think they're holed up somewhere up there in the mountains?" Mayler drawled. "There's a lot of places up there they could be hiding…it could take weeks to find 'em." He glanced at his own men and said, "Steve, Ed…any of you got any idea where they might be?"
"I'd say they'd probably be somewhere around Devil's Peak…that's the most isolated spot on the mountain." Markwell spoke up.
"It's also the hardest place to get to unless your half mountain goat." Collier grumbled.
"Nobody goes up there," Dressler added. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, "They could have found one of the old mining trails and cleared it enough to get up there."
"It'd still be a rough trek to get up there." One of Mayler's other men spoke up. "What about the old Indian Caves on the other side of Devil's Peak? They got tunnels that go all through the mountain."
After a few minutes of intense discussion, it was decided that Dobey and his group would check out the Indian caves while the second group checked out Devil's Peak. The two locations were separated by approximately ten miles of rocky terrain with large parts of it assessable only by foot or on horseback.
Since none of them had any idea how many cult members they might encounter even if they found them, it was decided that if either group found anything suspicious they would alert the others and wait for their arrival before attempting any type of rescue. The group of officers and Huggy went back outside where they gathered around the two vehicles. Collier was elected to drive. As the men and two women piled into the van, Collier pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, adjusting them so they sat comfortably on his nose. As he started the engine, he said,
"We'll drive as close as we can and then we'll have to go the rest of the way on foot."
"How far?" Dobey asked gruffly.
"About six to eight miles through some pretty rough terrain." Officer Markwell replied. He was a middle aged man with a deeply tanned and wrinkled weather beaten face. Washed out blue eyes stared out from beneath bushy gray eyebrows. Collier, on the other hand, was younger. In his late twenties, he was lean and muscular with the natural grace of an athlete. He was also deeply tanned with deep lines etched around the corner of his eyes and around his mouth.
Huggy leaned back in his seat, stretching his legs out in front of him and appearing to be disinterested in the casual conversation going on around him. In reality, every sense was on high alert, sizing up their two guides and observing his surroundings with a critical eye. Huggy and his friends from Bay City may be out of their element here in the mountains but Huggy depended on his street smarts to see him through.
Twenty minutes after leaving police headquarters, Collier pulled off the highway and parked the van. At Dobey's questioning look, he explained, "We could drive in further but it'll be easier to walk than to try and follow the poor excuses for roads that go up any further."
"But someone could drive in if they wanted to?" Linda Bayler asked
"Sure, if they had a sturdy vehicle and didn't mind a bumpy ride…not to mention a broken axle if they weren't careful. Like I told you…it's pretty rough territory up here."
Before starting out, each man (and woman) checked their supplies. Besides the weapons carried by all of the police officers, they each carried a bottle of water and a walkie talkie. Huggy was issued a backpack that carried some basic first aide items, 2 flashlights, matches, and some candy bars for quick energy.
"Stick close together and don't let each other out of your sight." Collier issued last minute instructions. "It's real easy to get lost up here if you don't know the area. And watch your step…we don't need anybody breaking an ankle."
"Do a lot of people come up here?" Minnie asked. Although she may not have the same amount of street experience as her co-workers, she had a sharp, analytical mind and a natural curiosity that made her an excellent cop.
"Not too much. Some of the townsfolk think the Indian Caves are haunted by the spirits of the tribe that used to live around here." Collier said with a smirk. "About the other ones brave enough to tackle the climb are some hunters during deer season. Otherwise, everybody tends to avoid this place."
"That would make it convenient for Marcus's followers." Rick Hunter, one of the officers from Bay City commented dryly. "A nice big mountain that most people tend to avoid."
"Complete with haunted Indian caves and a place called Devil's Peak." Brain Graves, another Bay City detective, added with a thin smile.
"Has anybody reported noticing anything strange going on in these parts lately besides the local farmers who've had animals coming up missing or killed?" Dobey asked as the band of officers began to walk up the gradually increasing incline that led up onto the mountain.
"Some of the locals claim to have seen strange flickering lights up near the crest of the mountain late at night." Markwell told them mumbling around a toothpick that he had stuck in his mouth. "And a couple of teenagers making out over by the lake said the devil chased 'em off…but they'd been drinking so nobody put much store in what they said."
Dobey and his men exchanged a knowing glance. They were all wondering the same thing. Had the teenagers seen some of Marcus's disciples dressed in their black hooded robes roaming the countryside?
The hike through the rugged terrain was rougher than any of them had anticipated despite the warning from the Centerville officers. The ground was rocky and uneven with large patches of overgrown grass and weeds. The weeds and grass hid potential dangers concealing hidden tree roots, rocks and animal burrows. All of the searchers watched their step, walking with care as they followed their guides up the steep slope of the mountain.