Page 3 of Colorado K-9 Rescue

S he’d been given orders to wait for Agent Knox and the sheriff to arrive.

She and Mocha stayed outside enjoying the cooler air rolling in as the sun started to set behind the mountains, casting rays up onto the clouds and creating an orange hue.

Mckenna turned toward the light and closed her eyes, enjoying the heat across her face.

Something so simple, and yet something she never took for granted anymore.

Tires crunching on gravel made Mckenna open her eyes and turn around. The sheriff’s vehicle parked next to hers followed by the stereotypical black SUV, or “bu-car,” as she’d heard the agents call it, with Agent Knox inside. Mocha gave a happy whine and wagged his tail.

“Be cool,” Mckenna said. “You may not be forgiven yet. What got into you today?”

Mocha tilted his head and Mckenna massaged his floppy black ears, receiving a happy sigh in response. The newly elected sheriff stepped out of her vehicle and Mckenna waved. She didn’t know Charlotte or “Charlie” well, but she’d heard good things.

The other sheriff had overseen Mckenna’s case, and she always suspected that he’d only wanted the limelight.

He loved nothing more than giving press conferences and telling everyone how he’d solved Mckenna’s kidnapping.

Something about him always rubbed her the wrong way and she hated it when she had to speak to him about her case.

Agent Knox took off his sunglasses and stared at her for a moment.

Mckenna did her best not to lock gazes, but then decided why not?

She wasn’t going to back down. An FBI agent didn’t scare her.

Not after what she’d been through in her life.

Putting a hand on her hip, Mckenna gazed back, vowing to make him break eye contact first. She hated to admit it, but it wasn’t hard to keep looking at him.

“Rugged good looks” was one description that crossed her mind.

She would bet money that he was ripped and in good shape.

Probably worked out every day. Nope, he wasn’t hard to look at, and for a second today, he’d seemed almost nice.

Maybe there was more to him than everyone thought.

Or maybe not. She’d heard he was unshakable when defense attorneys grilled him in court and that he’d closed some good cases, but there was supposedly one that went wrong.

That was the case that preceded his transfer to the Denver office.

That could explain his tough-guy persona.

Agent Knox strolled toward them, and Mocha started wagging his tail. Was that a small smile on Knox’s face? It only happened for a fleeting second, but Mckenna could have sworn that the tough-guy exterior broke for a moment. To her surprise, Agent Knox came up to her, “Parker.”

“Knox.”

“Sorry I yelled at you and your dog earlier. Here’s your ten bucks back. I appreciate your thought, but you were right, he was being a dog. Typical Lab trying to eat everything. You might need your ten bucks to replace other things he eats.”

Mckenna didn’t know what to say, but she took the money and shoved it into her front pants pocket. “Thanks.”

They all headed up to the front of the house. Before they could ring the doorbell, a pale, thin woman opened the door.

“Hi, Ms. Hendrix,” the sheriff said. “Thank you for meeting us tonight. I know this is hard, but this is Agent Knox and he’s going to be helping with this case. We’re fortunate he’s involved. The FBI’s resources will be a big help.”

“Thank you,” Ms. Hendrix said, stepping inside. “Please come in and just call me Brenda. I’m Lily’s mother. Autumn’s parents and little sisters are inside. Autumn is Lily’s best friend, so we’re all like family. We’ve known each other since the girls were in grade school together.”

Mckenna would guess that she was normally quite attractive, but the stress of the situation was already taking its toll. And this was the beginning. Mckenna’s mom had told her about not being able to sleep, the worry, the crying and the anger—the strain on the entire family.

They all sat down, and Autumn’s two younger sisters asked to pet Mocha. Mckenna gave them permission and they squealed with delight as he licked their faces. For a moment they could forget that their sister and her friend might not be coming home.

She heard Agent Knox take the lead in asking questions, but one of the fathers interrupted. “I want to hear from her. I want to know what she thinks.”

Mckenna realized that he was pointing in her direction. Everyone was staring at her, and she froze. What did he mean he wanted to hear from her?

“Sir, I don’t understand,” said Agent Knox.

“I don’t either,” said Mckenna. “What do you want to know from me?”

“You’re, you’re that girl who was kidnapped, but you came home. You survived. My daughter can survive, right?”

Mckenna swallowed hard…memories of her own nightmare, when she had become a victim, came flooding back.

I had been to a party. Drank hard, had a good time, had been saying goodbye to my high school years before I was about to go to college. Getting Cassidy to cover for me at home with Mom and Dad, the big sister telling me to be careful, but have fun.

Then nothing.

Until I woke up and didn’t know where I was.

My shoes and jacket were gone. I was in an old building.

I could hear a creek and there was a terrible smell—like rotten eggs.

I huddled in the corner, shaking, wondering when my parents would realize I wasn’t home.

Would Cassidy be in trouble for covering for me?

She didn’t really know where I was going.

I only told her about a party. But I left out the part about it being a secret party that only a few kids knew about.

He came into the room where I was. I was already crying, but the fear made me start sobbing.

He’d come over and crouched down, a mask over his face.

He’d taken a finger and wiped away my tears.

Then he’d said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart.

I’m going to let you go. I promise. There’s nothing better than a good game of catch and release. ”

There was a water bottle that he left behind. I drank some of the water and fell asleep again. When I woke up it was early morning and there was a window. I took an old chair in the room and hit the window until it broke.

I shimmied out and gashed my side, but I didn’t care.

I’d run track in high school and at this moment, I knew I had to run hard and fast—this was the race for my life.

There were weird trees, but I couldn’t stop to comprehend what made them odd.

My feet pounded and I heard laughing. I think he was on an ATV, shooting and coming after me.

I slipped and then changed direction. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew if I had any hope of surviving, I had to hide until he gave up looking.

But who was she to say if their daughter would or wouldn’t come home? How could anyone answer that question?

“We have no idea if your daughter’s case is like mine,” Mckenna gently answered.

She could see the fear in his eyes. The waves of anxiousness sweeping through his body.

Brenda cried and folded her hands in her lap.

They wanted to hear an answer Mckenna couldn’t guarantee.

The other girl’s parents stared blankly.

When a trauma occurred, reactions were so different for everyone.

The father spoke again, “We want to know what your experience was like. What are they going through right now? How scared are they? We need answers. Your kidnapper was just released. Do you think it could be him?”

“Sir.” Mckenna gathered her wits and found the deep spot inside her where she had discovered strength before.

“I can’t answer those questions. This isn’t about me.

This is about your daughters—” she glanced at her notes “—Lily and Autumn. This is about bringing them home. You need to let the sheriff and Agent Knox interview you and your family. I’m here as a victim specialist. I’m here to help you with resources so you can learn more about your rights.

I’m not here to tell you about my personal experience.

Please, let Agent Knox ask you some questions. ”

Mckenna thought the man would argue, but he nodded and turned and waited for Agent Knox to speak. Silence filled the air and then Agent Knox cleared his throat. Mckenna caught him staring at her again, only this time there was a look of curiosity on his face. That’s the way it always was with guys.

They became curious when they found out that she was “that girl” from a Dateline or 20/20 episode.

She’d discovered the hard way that the interest in her wasn’t about her as a person, but rather to have an inside look at a terrible story.

It was almost odd to Mckenna that she had gained celebrity status for a while.

She’d worked hard to “disappear” and not be hounded by the media.

Agent Knox now gazed at her as if he recognized Mckenna. She didn’t like it and, apparently, Knox was no different from everyone else. To them she was a specimen to be studied rather than a human being.

He thought of her as another case. One he could learn from or something. She’d encountered that too. Law enforcement always wanted to use her case to “teach” officers better response tactics. Mckenna was sick of it and vowed she would have very little to do with the agent once this case was over.

For now, she was stuck with him.