Killing Hour - Lisa Gardner [135]
“The cavern’s big,” Mac muttered. He tried the pebble trick and got the exact same results. “From the website it sounded as if it were several rooms connected by long tunnels, and some of the rooms are the size of small cathedrals. Maybe this pipe leads to one of those chambers, letting in some natural light.”
“We need an entrance,” Kimberly said.
“No kidding.”
“I’ll stay here and keep yelling. You and Nora Ray see if you can’t find another opening. Maybe you’ll hear my voice echoing through and that will help. Besides . . .” Kimberly faltered. “If one of the girls is down there, I don’t want her to think we went away. I want her to know that we’re coming. That it’ll be over soon.”
Mac nodded, giving her a look that was hard to read. He and Nora Ray resumed their frantic scouring of the woods. Kimberly got down on the dusty ground, placing her mouth next to the rusty pipe.
“This is Kimberly Quincy,” she called. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she started with the basics. “I’m with Special Agent Mac McCormack and Nora Ray Watts. We’ve come to help you. Can you hear me at all? I can’t hear you. Maybe, if you’re too weak to yell, you could try banging on something.”
She waited. Nothing.
“Are you thirsty? We have water and food. We also have a blanket. I understand the caverns are cold, even this time of year. And boy, I bet you’re sick to death of the dark.”
She thought she heard something this time. She paused, holding her breath. A thud against the rocks? Or maybe a cold, frightened girl, trying to drag her body closer to the hole in the sky?
“A whole team is coming. Search-and-rescue specialists, karst specialists. They’ll have all the proper gear to be able to get you out of there. And trust me, if you think it’s cold down there, wait ’til you find out how hot it is up here. Must be a good hundred degrees in the shade. You’ll be missing that cool hunk of rock in no time. But I bet you’ll love seeing the sun again. And the trees and the sky and all the smiling faces of us rescue workers, who can’t wait to meet you.”
She was still talking. Rambling, really. Funny, her voice had grown thick.
“You don’t need to be afraid. I know it’s hard to be alone in the dark. But people are here now. We’ve been looking for you a long time. And we’re going to go into the cavern, we’re going to bring you back up to the light and then we’re going to find the man who did this, so it never happens again.”
Sounds now. Loud, startling noises like the crunch of gravel. Kimberly jerked her head up in excitement, then realized the noise wasn’t coming from the stovepipe. Instead, she saw two dusty trucks pull in straight ahead. One had a sticker of a bat glued to the driver-side window.
A door banged open. A man sprang out, already running to the back, jerking down his tailgate, and tossing out gear.
“You the one that reported the lost caver?” the guy yelled over his shoulder. The second truck had already come to a halt and was now shedding two more men rushing for gear.
“Yes.”
“Sorry for the delay. Would’ve been here sooner if not for that damn tree. What can you tell us of the missing caver?”
“We believe she’s been abandoned in the cavern for at least forty-eight hours. She doesn’t have proper gear, and was probably left with only a gallon of water.”
The man drew up short. “Huh? You want to try that again?”
“She’s not a caver,” Kimberly said quietly. “She’s just a girl, a victim of a violent crime.”
“You’re kiddin’?”
“No.”
“Ah hell, I’m not sure I want to know anything more after that.” The man turned to his two companions. “Bob, Ross, you catch that?”
“Girl, no gear, lost somewhere in the cavern. You don’t want to know anything more.” The two other men didn’t even look at Kimberly. They were busy pulling on long johns in hundred-degree heat. Then they grabbed pairs of thick blue coveralls and jerked them on over the long underwear. Both men were sweating profusely. They didn’t seem to notice.
“I’m Josh Shudt,