It was wet, dark, and the temperature was dropping. Sharon was worried that time was not on their side. She pushed aside some brush, trying to keep her feet underneath her as she and Flynn made their way down a sloped area towards a residential road. The search was taking too long and they hadn't found any trace of the child.
Flynn slipped his cell phone back into his pocket after taking a quick call. "Willis says the abandoned house is clear. Emily isn't inside. Maybe someone else took her from the apartment, Captain. Maybe she's not out here."
"Andy, you know those times where you just have a feeling?" She paused to catch her breath and push the wet hair from her eyes. Luckily, she only really needed her glasses for reading, she'd given up wearing them in this downpour.
"Your gut is telling you she's here?" Andy took her elbow as his last step slid him closer to her position.
"Yes." She nervously glanced up at him. "I know when working homicides cops shouldn't—"
"Hey." He gave her a small smile and moved his hand from her arm to the small of her back. "Homicide cops know all about gut feelings. If there is nothing else to go on, always lead with the gut."
She smiled. "I appreciate you—"
"Louise, Louise come back here. Damn dog. Louise!"
Provenza's shout had them both turning their flashlights towards their left side and downward to a curve in the road below them.
A dirty white bundle of fur raced through the brush. An old police lieutenant in a white cloth hat followed at a much slower pace. They saw him tumble as he lost his footing.
"Louise?" Flynn shook his head. "He named the dog, Louise?"
"An ex-wife?" Sharon guessed, talking as she climbed down the slope. Not for the first time, she made a mental note to thank Officer Hernandez for her running shoes. She'd have to buy her another pair, she'd never get the mud out of these.
Flynn followed, breathing heavily. "Nope. No Louise. Not unless Provenza's got a new ex-wife he hasn't mentioned." Flynn mumbled off a list of names, hesitated, then changed the order of several. "Nope. No Louise."
"We better see about him. If he's hurt, I'll never hear the end of it from Taylor."
They picked their way carefully towards Provenza who was covered with mud and mad as a wet cat, but standing.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Sharon moved her flashlight, checking him from his bare head to his muddy feet. "You seem to have lost your hat...and one shoe."
"Captain, I am not a mountain goat. I'm telling you right now, we need to get the right people with the right gear out here. The rain is getting worse. This whole area is going to be one big mudslide soon." He pointed towards the road. "That low area is going to be underwater. We need the fire department out here."
"I called them a half hour ago, Lieutenant. Trust me, I'm not enjoying this hike any more than you are. But for now, we're all Emily has."
They were still looking towards the road when the small dog suddenly reappeared on top of it. She stared towards them and began barking.
The skinny lab, the small dog's companion, zoomed past, clumsily knocking into Provenza and catapulting him down the muddy slope on his ass. The lab didn't slow down despite, Provenza's shouts of "Stop. Thelma. Stop."
"Oh." Sharon grinned, carefully making her way towards her downed fellow officer. "That explains the name."
"I don't get it," Flynn grumbled, before hurrying after her. "Just stay down this time, old man. We're wasting time chasing after you instead of looking for the kid."
"Just shut up," Provenza said. Despite Flynn's advice, he got to his feet again. "And somebody shut that damn dog up."
Sharon noted that Provenza appeared to have only injured his well-padded dignity. She bypassed him to reach the dogs. The lab, although not barking, was franticly pacing back and forth near the culvert pipes running under the road. She had a very dirty stuffed rabbit in her mouth.
Using her flashlight, Sharon looked at the pipes and the ditch on either side of the road. Drainage from the area was collecting and splitting, moving through the drainage pipes in two fast moving streams. The pipe nearest her was filled with rushing water; the second was only partially filled, some scrap boards on one side of the wide road, blocking the entrance, decreasing the flow coming in. She bent down and looked inside the one pipe. The beam from her flashlight caught the movement of one small, white, bare foot.
"For the record, I don't like this," Provenza said as she handed him her slicker, suit jacket, badge, and gun. "What if you get stuck in there?"
"Then you'll be in charge, Lieutenant, just like you've always wanted." She considered a moment and handed him her jewelry too. "You better not lose my stuff."
Provenza blanched and handed the jewelry off to his partner. "Take care of this for her. You seem to be able to remain on your feet."
Flynn pocketed the items. "Sharon, let me try. I—"
"You what? What can you do, Andy?" She glanced around at the four men gathered around her, "None of you will fit in that pipe. And the water is getting deeper. Face it, we don't have any good options. Right now I need everyone to stop trying to talk me out of it and instead give me some support."
"What do you need us to do, Captain?" Officer Andrews was speaking for both himself and his young partner.
"Find a way to block the water coming in. Buy me some more time."
"You got it." Both uniform officers moved away, searching for material to add to the boards already partially slowing the water.
Sharon looked down at her remaining clothing. Her t-shirt was soaked, clinging to her like a second skin. She wished she'd worn jeans, something that wouldn't tear or catch on the metal, but her dress slacks would have to do. She glanced again at the pipe opening. No use thinking about the fact that she was slightly claustrophobic.
"I don't guess anyone has a rubber band?" At their blank looks, she resigned herself to fighting her hair too.
The dogs were both barking now, the noise setting her teeth on edge. She turned, stretched out her arm, and pointed a one finger at them. In her loudest voice, she said, "Both of you shut up, right now! I mean it. You've done your part, now BE QUIET!"
The silence was immediate.
"Uh, Captain?" Provenza pointed towards down to the water she was standing in. "Is that a—"
Flynn pulled his gun and fired. A long dark snake, missing its head, floated away. "Flooding must have disrupted a nest. There may be more."
"Oh, God." She got down on her knees before she lost her nerve. Lying down inside the pipe, she began to inch her way forward on her stomach, using her forearms and toes. Snakes, culverts, stray dogs, cranky old men, and major headaches...she should have stayed in Internal Affairs.