Page 36 of Rescue Them

“Then we take it to the police.Get pictures of everything, leave it all untouched, and get the hell out of there.Agreed?”

“Yes,” Lyle said before pulling out of the parking spot.He drove around town to avoid traffic, and they soon found themselves at the back access road.It seemed quiet, so Lyle made the turn and they followed it to where they had pulled off before.They neither met nor saw anyone.“What do you think?”

“Go the rest of the way, but make sure you turn around in case we need to get out fast,” James said, and Lyle nodded before continuing.

Maybe a tenth of a mile later, the road opened into a cleared area of grass that had been trampled by car tires and people.Lyle turned his car around, and they got out.“This has to be where they parked.”

“And the trampled grass leads over there,” Lyle said.They hurried over and followed a path through some trees to another open area.A depression had either been dug or was natural; it was hard to tell.James took pictures as they neared it.He could just imagine dogs down there with a crowd of people around it.Straw littered the ground in places, and he could almost see the ring of bales that might have made up the edge of the fighting ring.

“They used straw.That’s an easy way to get the ring built and torn down quickly.”He walked the edges, his nose wrinkling.“Gasoline over here.This must be where they had a generator for the lights.”He took more pictures.

“Look,” Lyle said softly, and James followed his voice to the far side.

“What is it?”

“They dug a trench,” he whispered.“I bet that’s where they….”

James groaned and took more photos.“They put the losers.Yeah.Let’s not disturb it.We need to check out the ring itself.See if you can find blood.”He inspected one half.

“Or maybe worse,” Lyle said, and James hurried over to where bits of dog skin, maybe from an ear, rested on the dirt.James took more pictures, and they continued looking.He took lots of pictures of everything just in case.

“Let’s get out of here.Now.It’s getting late, and we need to be away if this is a fight night.”He headed for the car, and Lyle followed.They drove back down the access road to the main street.Lyle was just about to make the turn when a truck came up on them from the north.It was too close for him to turn.

The truck stopped and the window lowered.“What are you doing back here?”the driver demanded.

James went into the story they’d come up and he noticed that Lyle had his phone up, ready to dial for help.“We heard there was a pretty lake and a trail out to it, but that must have been misinformation.Is this your land?If it is, we’re sorry.”James was ready to tell Lyle to take off.

“Yeah, it’s my land.”

“We’re sorry,” James said.“You have a nice day.”Lyle made the turn once the truck backed up, and they headed down the road.The truck turned onto the access road, and James craned around to see if the driver decided to follow them.

“I don’t think he was happy that we were there.I wonder if he knows what’s been happening.”James wondered if he was ignorant of the goings-on or a part of it.

“He didn’t seem angry or anything, just curious.I suppose if he had been part of the dogfighting, he would have given us more trouble, and he’d likely have blocked us from leaving.I’m in the camp that he’s in the dark.But I suppose you never know.”He sighed.“So where to now?”

“The police department,” James said.“We have to turn over what we have and do it fast.Let them take it from here.I’m not going to confront these people.”

“I’m not either.”Once they reached town, Lyle turned toward the north side, drove to the police station, and parked in a visitor spot.

“Good.Remember, we say nothing about taking the dogs.Just tell them what you saw in the guy’s backyard.Nothing more.”

“Got it,” Lyle said, and they entered the station and went up to the desk.

“Can I help you?”an officer asked.James almost took a step back.The officer was huge and… well, intimidating as all hell.But he straightened his shoulders.

“Yes.I’m James Groves, and this is Lyle Summers.We have some information regarding a dogfighting ring in the area.This information includes the location of the fights, pictures, and at least one of the men who is doing the fighting.We need to speak with someone.”

The officer actually smiled.“That would be me.”His name tag said Redmond.“Officer Red Markham.”He pulled out a notebook.“What can you tell me?I’ve been on the trail of these fighters for two months.

“We have plenty,” James said.

Red called back for another officer to take his place at the desk.Then Red ushered them inside and into a conference room.“Why don’t we start with your names and contact information.”James provided his, and then Lyle did the same.

“We can show you on a map where the fighting has been happening,” James said, and then told Red the whole story.How the man came into the shelter, and how that raised their suspicions.Lyle provided the address of the fighter and the conditions of the dogs in his care.

“He was loading dogs in the back, fighting ones, so I called James and we followed him… here….”Lyle indicated on a map.“We were just there a little while ago and took these pictures.We didn’t touch anything.”James pulled out his phone and went through the images.Lyle sat quietly and let him explain everything.“We think this trench is where the losers were disposed of.The ground was soft, but we didn’t dig.There is blood on the ground, and we found where we think they brought in a generator.They spilled fuel.And they use straw to build the ring.”He went through picture by picture.“I can send you all of these.”

“And you just came from there?”