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CHAPTERFIVE
The roadto Badlands National Park was familiar, but that didn’t make her feel better. The feeling in the car was completely unfamiliar. Heather tried to breathe deeply and get her emotions under control. Dad might be at the coordinates they’d found. It could also be a trap. The men who took him could be waiting for her and they’d want the thumb drive.
Allen had insisted they leave the real one at the police station and would pick it up again afterward, before they went to her house. He carried a lookalike in his pocket in case those coordinates had been left to start a trade. She still didn’t want to go back to her house. Home had always felt like the one place she could be herself and relax, even though it was also her business. She doubted she could ever relax there again.
“What’s on your mind?” Allen asked her as they exited off I90, heading for the park. Even that far away, areas of lightly striped rock dotted the landscape, foretelling the beauty that was to come.
She’d always loved the Badlands. So many people came to South Dakota to see the monuments and the Black Hills, the historical sites and the museums, but the Badlands always seemed like a secondary point to the travelers she spoke to. For her, it was the main attraction.
“Life isn’t what it was two days ago. I’m shocked things could change so much, without warning.” She gripped the handle on the door as much for support as for tactile reassurance. “I don’t know how to handle this.”
“I’d be surprised if you did. Most people couldn’t handle this in stride. If it makes you feel any better, I think you’ve done really well.”
His quiet words bolstered her, but did little for her anxiousness. “What do I do? Normally, I’d have prepared for a hike. I’d have all my gear. I don’t have anything for safety or even gloves to protect my hands from the rocks. They are acidic. We’ll have dryness and mild chemical burns if we have to touch them, not to mention our oils damage them.”
He slowly nodded his head in agreement. “Would it help if I told you I called the Park Service after you finally fell asleep this morning and told them what we were up against? They not only offered a guide, but equipment. We won’t be going in there alone. Plus, the Park Service has jurisdiction over the park. If anything illegal is going on there, they want to know.”
Heather closed her eyes and let images of the park wash over her. While it was called the Badlands, to her, God’s beauty showed through. When sunlight broke over the tops of the rock formations, splashing light over everything around, it was proof of God’s artistry. That might never be the same for her after today.
“Couldn’t they have left one part of my life untouched? They ruined my house, they took my father, they threatened me. Now, they’ve ruined the one place that is most like church to me. This is the place I’ve always felt my heart open to pray. They are ruining that too.” Tears burned her eyes.
“Nothing can take God’s peace from you. No human is strong enough. He will still be with you. He’ll restore that for you.” Allen’s words held so much confidence she assumed he had to have been through something just like her situation.
“How do you know?”
He glanced over at her for a split-second, then back onto the long, straight road that led to the loop. “When I was young, that place was a small fishing hole. I didn’t go to church, but I’d had an elementary teacher who was a Christian. While she never proselytized, that was how I knew there was a God. She created a natural curiosity that I quenched by looking for answers.”
“I think everyone needs a quiet space, be it a church, a closet, or nature.” She wanted to believe her world would be right again, but couldn’t see it now. Maybe God could, but she couldn’t, which was what faith meant. She had to have faith that the place she met God would be restored or He’d find her a new one.
“So, who are we meeting?” She changed the subject because feeling so much doubt left her ashamed. Was her faith that small?
“His name is George, and he’ll be guiding us to those coordinates using his GPS. That’s better than what my phone could do. He’ll know the safest way to get there.”
She nodded, searching her memory for any of the rangers named George. She knew a few of them, but not all. “I don’t know him. I suppose he’s safe though. There’s no way these men could know you were going to call in so early in the morning to have a plant in there.” Suddenly, her thoughts would only go to the worst possible scenario. Maybe she was in self-preservation mode.
“I was actually shocked there was anyone there to answer the phone. I don’t think that’s usual.” He laughed. “George said they were there working on some restoration project before the park opens.”
God had to be looking out for them. “Good. If he knows that area, then having him around won’t be strange if there are people staked out at that location. But if they’ve been seen before, he might recognize them.”
“That could work in our favor or against. If they go to the park a lot, he could assume they’re just usual visitors. I’ll let him know it’s likely he’s seen these people before. I wish I could’ve gotten a forensic artist to come in so you or Oliver could’ve given us a sketch of the men who took your father.”
It had only been a day and already her mind was wiping the memory like it was aware the image of those men put her in danger. “Being a photographer, I’m actually pretty good at drawing. I could try. Maybe tonight.” She closed her eyes and tried to call to mind the image of the man who’d chased her out of the bushes and into Oliver’s garage.
Her heart clattered as she remembered racing for her life into the garage, the shot embedding itself into the flimsy metal of Oliver’s split two-stall garage door. She remembered thanking God Oliver had left the right side open. Without it, she’d probably be dead.
“That would be helpful. If we have a drawing, we can put it out to the television stations and start getting leads. If you’re really good at it, maybe we could hire you on cases like this?”
She wasn’t trained for that and wanted nothing to do with law enforcement after Luke had left her. There was no way she would ever want a job where it might be expected that she make police work more important than family or relationships.
“I’m not sure that’s a job I would want. No offence, but officers can be singularly focused, and I don’t ever want to be that way.”
Glancing at Allen to gauge his reaction cemented her feelings. His jaw tightened where he clenched it. Of course he loved his job. How could he do such dangerous work if he wasn’t completely invested? They had to be focused. While she’d thought that was wrong after Luke, she now saw the benefit to the officer, but she still didn’t want a relationship with one.
“How about on an as-needed basis? It would help me in rare cases like this.”
Heather took a deep breath. Allen had done nothing but help her. He’d put his own home in danger. He’d given up his privacy, taking her to a place he hid from everyone else. She owed him.
“I could do that. Not often, but if you needed me to help, I could. Assuming I have the right talent. I could be horrible.” She’d only ever drawn landscapes. Faces were completely different.