Page 54 of The Search

“Sure.” He struggled to his feet and stood swaying with one hand on the back of the chair. “If you’ll give me a minute to get the kinks out. I’ve stiffened up.”

He probably just didn’t want to admit that the long walk down the aisle was intimidating in his present state. “Do you want me to help you?”

He grimaced. “You won’t let me get away with anything, will you?”

“Pride’s pretty dumb if you’re hurting.”

“No one can ever accuse you of mincing words. Two minutes. If I’m not okay then, I’ll let you sweep me up in a fireman’s lift and carry me to my couch. Tell me why you hate mudslides so much.”

“I told you, they’re death searches. In an earthquake you have more of a chance of finding air pockets. When a mountain of mud comes down on you, you suffocate.”

“Like a snow avalanche?”

She shook her head. “Snow is easy because it’s porous, scent travels through it. Mud is different, the scent is sealed inside. It’s almost impossible for a dog to pick up the cone. And the dog thinks he can walk on mud, which leads to trouble. He can get stuck, get carried away, or go under, and sometimes you can’t get to him to help him. You have to watch him every minute.”

Her words were shooting out like machine-gun bullets. “You can’t search alone because you have to use one person as a spotter in case a searcher gets in trouble. And that happens frequently. Just getting a boot full of mud can be a death sentence. A handler has to make sure her rubber boots are well fitting and duct-taped on. Plus, it’s still raining in Taiwan, and we can’t search until the rain stops because the mud can shift at any time. So you sit and wait while the victims’ relatives stare and curse at you. Is that enough problems for you?”

“Shit.”

“Exactly. Are you sure you don’t want to stay on board the plane instead of going to the village?”

“I’m sure.” His gaze wandered over the occupants of the plane. “Nice people, but they must be as crazy as you to be willing to go through that. I’m afraid I was a little out of it when you introduced me. Tell me about them.”

Her gaze followed his. “The fiftyish man with the black Lab is Hans Kniper, he’s a vet and dog trainer. The small young man asleep by the window is George Leonard. He works at a supermarket in Tucson and trains dogs on the weekends. You met Boyd Medford, our team leader. I guess I know him best. He was with the ATF K9 unit before he bailed and bought a ranch. Theo Randall is the blond man with the black-and-tan German shepherd. He’s an accountant with a luxury hotel. Susie’s a stay-at-home mom with two kids and four German shepherds.”

“None of you have much in common.”

“Except a love of dogs and the willingness to train them to help. That’s enough of a bond.”

“Monty’s the only golden retriever. Three German shepherds, two Labs, and Monty. Are some breeds better suited than others for this kind of work?”

“You’d get an argument from every owner on the team. I think the only true qualifications are intelligence, the search instinct, and a good nose. Are you ready to move now?”

“Slowly.” He started carefully down the aisle. “Very slowly. Good night, Sarah.”

She watched him walk haltingly, stopping for a moment to step around Susie’s dog, Donegan. Susie looked up from her book, and he exchanged a few words with her.

Lie down, you idiot. You don’t have to charm everyone on the damn plane.

He had gone past Susie and was sitting down on the couch. He took a vial of pills from his pocket and swallowed a couple with a glass of water. Painkillers? If they were, he should have taken them before. At that moment, when he wasn’t aware he was being watched, his expression was haggard . . . and tormented. She could understand the haggardness—but torment? What devils were driving Logan?

Monty got to his feet, walked stiffly to Logan’s couch, and plopped down in front of it. He could always sense illness and pain, which was only another signal that Logan had no business on this trip.

And Sarah would have no business on this mission either if she didn’t stop worrying about a man who was too stubborn to worry about himself and get some rest. She sat down in the chair Logan had vacated and pushed it back until it was almost fully reclining.

Sleep. Don’t think about Logan.

Don’t think about that suffocating mud.

Taiwan would come soon enough.

God, she hoped it would stop raining.

The sun was shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky. All was right in Dodsworth, Rudzak thought with amusement.

“Why did you want to come here?” Duggan asked. “I told you it was too well protected to hit right now.”

“I just wanted to see it.” He gazed at the small brick building surrounded by ivy-covered stone walls. “What do the townspeople think is going on here?”