Eighteen

Frank held the toothbrush bag while Ben put on a daypack with water and other basic supplies for the search. He clipped a small two-way radio on his belt, gave the other one to Frank, and put Bool in his working harness. The harness was necessary for any control over Bool-and for the safety of both Ben and the dog. Once on the trail, the big bloodhound would become oblivious to everything but the scent-he’d walk out into traffic if he was trailing someone who had stepped into the street. David had once told Ben of a time when Bool had been following the trail of a lost hiker, and had gone halfway over a cliffside before David managed to haul him back-the hiker, it turned out, had fallen to his death at the same spot several hours earlier.

Ben wasn’t very optimistic about what they’d find in this type of search environment today-concrete and asphalt wouldn’t hold the scent the way a more natural environment would. But Bool had surprised him before.

“Since we’ve got blood drops in the hallway leading toward the back door,” he said, “let’s start on the back porch.”

Frank had done search work with Ben in the past, and knew that his role would be that of “second man.” Ben would be focused on the dog, while Frank followed at a short distance to ensure Ben’s safety. He’d keep a clear view of the search terrain, call for back up if needed, and take control of the dog if Ben was hurt. With luck, he’d also have the role of helping Lex Toller once he was found. If a suspect was with Lex, Frank would be the one to apprehend him.

When they reached the Tollers’ back porch, Ben took the plastic bag from Frank and removed the toothbrush. Making sure the dog had his nose directly over the bristles, Ben said, “Find ‘em, Bool!”

With Bool, this pre-scenting-giving the dog a “sample” of Lex’s scent to work with-was essential. The dog put his nose to the porch and immediately caught a trail, almost pulling Ben off his feet as he headed to the side of the house. From there, he quickly found a small opening and was ready to burrow under the porch before Ben called him back and praised him.

A burly uniformed officer who had been watching them with some curiosity said, “He’s not under there. That’s one of the first places we looked.”

“You looked under the house?”

“Yes, sir. Figured if he was scared, that’s where he might hide. I didn’t crawl, but I used a flashlight-”

“Let’s take another look,” Frank said.

“Hold Bool,” Ben said. “I’m in jeans, you’re in a suit. Let me crawl.”

“There’s no one under there,” the officer said again.

Frank said, “Maybe you should be the one to crawl.”

“I’ll go,” Ben said again, to the officer’s relief. “I took up anthropology knowing I’d get to play in the dirt.” He took a flashlight from his pack and got down on his stomach.

When the leg of his jeans pulled up enough to reveal his Flex Foot prosthesis, he heard the cop say, “Oh, Jesus, fella, here-let me do it. I didn’t know you were a cripple.”

Ben looked up at Frank with a look of mock horror. “I’m a cripple? When did that happen?”

Ignoring the officer’s flustered attempts to explain himself, Ben put his head through the opening, which looked just wide enough for his shoulders. Bool whimpered, wanting to follow.

Ben didn’t immediately go further. He could see that someone else had already crawled there.

“He might not be in here now,” Ben called to Frank, “but he’s been here. The dirt’s soft under here, and I can see hand and footprints. Not big enough to be a man’s.”

They seemed small even for an eight-year-old, he thought. He tried to avoid the boy’s path. The prints seemed to be both coming and going, but he wasn’t sure. There were also stains in the dirt that might be blood. Brushing aside thick cobwebs that hung from the joists, he made slow but steady progress. Finally, beneath the front of the house, the trail came to a halt. There was a hollowed out place, a small burrow roughly a yard long and eighteen inches deep. He pointed the flashlight into it and drew in a breath.

“Frank,” he said, using the radio. “He’s not here now, but I think he has been. And I’ve found his toys. Come around to the foundation vent at the front of the house. You can see it through there.”

Frank brought Bool back to his crate before heading to the side of the house. He then crouched down looked into the vent, which was missing its cover-assuming that one might have once been on it. Ben’s flashlight illuminated the hollowed out space in the dirt. In addition to a red lunch pail and Thermos, he saw a neatly arranged collection of toys and other playthings-miniature cars, a bag of plastic toy soldiers, a flashlight, a grass-stained baseball, a toy periscope, a mirror, a magnifying glass, and two model airplanes that had seen better days.

Frank looked into Ben’s face and saw the question that was on his own mind reflected there: what kind of life had this child lived here, if he hid with his toys beneath the house?

“A periscope, flashlight, mirror, and this-” Ben said. He held up an index card that someone had laminated in plastic. A handwritten cheat sheet for Morse code. “Everything a secret agent-or a kid hiding from his dad-needs.”

Frank looked at the houses across the street. Several could be seen from the crawl space vent, including the Kendalls’.

His cell phone rang. He saw his partner’s number on the display. “Pete? What’s up?”

“Anonymous call just came in saying the kid is alive and well in the woods near Lake Arrowhead. Location was fairly specific, but I thought you might want to know. San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department is already on the way up there.”

“A call.” Frank rubbed his hand over his forehead, thinking about what Pete had just said. “This hasn’t been out on any media yet, right?”

“Right. No public information release yet.”

“Any trace on the call?”

“Payphone near a convenience market. We’ve got someone on the way there now, but I’m sure she’s long gone.”

“She?”

“Caller was female, sounded young.”

“The aunt?”

“Not unless she can be two places at once. I was talking to her again when the call came in.”

“But it was local? Not from Arrowhead?”

“No, from here in Las Piernas. Makes me worry about the kid, though. It gets damn cold up there at night. Maybe Ben could go up there with the dogs. What do you think?”

He looked back at the Kendall house, thought of Ralph Kendall saying that Jordy had been “out all night.”

“Frank?” Pete asked.

“I’ll talk to Ben. Meantime, do me a favor and try to find out if Jordy Kendall has a girlfriend.”

When Frank, Ben, and the dogs arrived at the search area in the mountains, the Sheriff’s Department already had a command post set up, and searchers out, but without any luck. Ben had worked on searches in the area before, and introduced Frank to Greg Fischer, the deputy in charge.

“Ben,” Fischer said, looking at his filthy jeans and shirt, “you fall down or something?”

“No, but I take my weekly bath on Sunday, so this only has to last another day.”

Frank asked, “Any property near here owned by a family named Kendall?”

“I’ll check,” Fischer said. Ten minutes later, he told them, “Down the road, about half a mile.” He gave Frank the address. “You want to tell me why you want to know?”

“Just a hunch. Co

“I need to coordinate from here, but give me a call if you think you’re on to anything. Think we might need a warrant?”

“I don’t know. We’ll call you if it looks that way.”

At the Kendall property, Ben harnessed Bool again. Before long, the dog had picked up a trail. It seemed to lead from the house to the driveway, and down the road a short distance, but the dog lost it after that.