Page 9 of Special Agent Raven
A voice followed him, soft and low, almost a whisper.
“But who sent Raven?”
Chapter Seven
Raven sensed a change in Cane from the moment they left Winona’s cabin. Just before they stepped outside, Amelia, bordering hysteria, ran to him as they were getting prepared to leave. The small girl clung to his legs so hard; he had no choice but to either pick her up or forcefully push her aside.
“Where are you going, Cane? Are you coming back?” The terror in the child’s voice rang through the room making every adult wince with sympathy at the panic she emoted.
Raven watched him battle past demons that almost won out, but at the last moment he seemed to understand that the child needed his reassurance more than he needed to keep his distance. He crouched beside her. “Yes, darling, we’ll be back. I promise. Both of us.” He let her hug his neck and even kiss his cheek before he stood to put her in Winona’s arms. “Nana will be here with you and Josh. And look, Koda is worried about you as well. Stop crying now and do whatever Nana says. Okay?”
“Okay.” Sniff. “I be good. Come back really soon.”
“We’ll try.” He roughly pushed his way past Raven to get out the door while both women watched him go. Shocked, Raven caught Winona’s look and saw her grandmother’s soft stare follow the big man. She’d seen that same regard before. Both worry and affection had taken over the old lady’s expression until she looked at Raven. That’s when love replaced the rest. “Be careful, child. It’s going to be a very long night. Come back when you can.”
Driving into town, Raven could see what Winona had meant. There were people milling about everywhere now that the rain had slowed and the wind had softened. Some voices were quarrelsome, others were filled with dreadful worry, and even more were frightened about what was going to happen to them now that they’d lost everything.
She saw resilient husbands trying to calm their worried wives, and maybe even worse, wives holding tearful husbands in their arms. Men who’d done their best to provide and now faced the emptiness of their future while feeling too tired and beaten to rebuild.
How can anyone reassure folks who lost everything they owned? Worse yet, who lost loved ones? The tragedies were unfathomable.
Leaving the truck, Raven with Cane beside her headed to the emergency shelter to look for the Deputy and found him trying to bring some order to the chaos. Once they got his attention, she ventured, “Palmer, you look exhausted. What can we do to help?”
Upon seeing her, Palmer appeared to shrink some, like a person carrying too much weight and not strong enough to handle it. “Lordy, I’m glad you’re b-back. It’s a n-n-nightmare in here.” He nodded toward Cane and reached to shake his hand before grumbling, “Everyone wants a-answers, and I d-don’t have any.”
“Okay. Calm down. Just tell them the truth. Can’t share what you don’t know. It might not be what they want to hear, but it’s the truth. Look, so far, what have the first responders organized? Do they have enough boats to get around to every area that’s been affected?”
“I d-don’t know. See that’s what I-I m-mean. Everything’s a m-mess. You best go t-talk to Henry. He’s the Fire Chief. As far as I-I know, his c-crew st-started sending out some f-folks to look for s-survivors. But we d-don’t have a whole lot of e-equipment for this t-type of emergency here. I s-sent out word to the p-places around us, and they’ll h-help when they c-can. P-problem is, many of the roads are f-flooded or washed away. It’s not easy t-to get through until the highway c-crews re-p-pair the d-damage.”
Obviously exhausted after this long speech, Raven’s heart went out to the man. Trying to do his duty, yet falling short of the ability to cope himself, Palmer needed help in a big way.
“Don’t you have more hands at the jail? I seem to recall a younger deputy being trained last time I was here.”
“Y-yeah. He left. D-didn’t much like w-working wi-without being stoned. Noah f-fired him. We g-got a re-pl-placement, but he’s s-stuck on the other side of the highway.”
Raven shook her head. “Bad time to be lacking staff. Okay. Where do you want us?”
His relief would be comical if not for his sincerity. “There’s a small r-residential d-district to the west of t-town, and I’m getting a lot of 9-911 c-calls about looters. Some f-folks are still trapped, and others are t-trying to leave their homes but need rescuing. Can you t-take my own motorboat and ch-check it out? I wouldn’t t-trust just anyone to t-take it, but I know you can handle any k-kind of motorized vehicle, Raven.”
She grinned, knowing he was referencing her growing up years where they couldn’t keep her away from anything with a steeringwheel and a motor. Those urges got her into trouble more than once. “Sure. No problem. Where’s your boat?”
Palmer’s huge sigh of relief would be funny if the situation weren’t so dire. “At my h-house. You know the way.”
“Yep, I do. Number 4 highway, right?”
“Y-yeah. The b-boat’s t-tied to the small d-dock behind the house, and the k-key is under the f-front seat. Word is… that area wasn’t fl-flooded as badly as the other s-sections. You sh-should be able to get there with your j-jeep.”
“We’re off then. Anything else you need?”
“No. Not much we can d-do here so f-far, but Raven, maybe you should t-take your b-badge and g-gun. Lately, we’ve seen a l-lot of b-bad elements and law br-breakers around the v-vicinity.”
“Got it. We’ll keep in touch.” She waved her phone at him before turning away. All this time, Cane stood behind her never saying a word. Now, she turned to him as they headed toward the jeep. “If you’d rather stay here and help out, that’s fine. From what Palmer said – actually, more like what he didn’t say – I’m thinking things might be a bit dangerous.”
“I got that impression as well. No, I’d rather stick with you. Did he mean it when he said to take your gun?”
“He did. You know I’m a federal agent, right? I always carry my badge, and I locked my weapon up in my vehicle before I started the trip. Guess, now I’m glad that I keep them with me.”
Cane stopped and pulled out a soggy wallet from his back pocket. Inside, he had a plastic driver’s license that he passed to Raven. “Says here I’m a sheriff with the Harris County Department. You wouldn’t happen to have a second weapon I can use, would you?”