Last Girls Alive (Detective Katie Scott #4) - Jennifer Chase Page 0,101

them both into the small closet and wrapped her arms around him to shield him. As the building collapsed, this little closet held fast, protecting them in a small pocket of air.

“I’m here,” Shane said. He sounded strange, as if he were in another room.

“Where are you? I can’t see much,” she said.

Katie crawled slowly, mindful of pipes and wiring—she didn’t know if there was electricity still coursing through the lines. She used her hands to feel her way. A tiny crack of light was above them—hopefully a good sign—with light and oxygen reaching them.

A hand grabbed hers, making her startle. “I’m here,” he said.

As Katie neared him, she saw an outline of a body lying on its side with an arm pinned beneath timber. “Shane,” she said. “Can you move?”

“A little, but my arm…” he said breathlessly. “I can’t move my arm.”

“Okay, I think we’re close to the outside so let’s see what I can do.” She began feeling around to see if she could move the obstructive wood. “Wait, what’s that sound?”

The deputies had all pitched in and began carefully pulling pieces of lumber and supports away from the outside, trying to find any area where there was an air pocket or chamber where Katie and Shane might be.

Soon, the fire department and volunteers arrived to help.

McGaven saw Chad drive up in his vehicle. He ran to meet him. Cisco was riding shotgun, panting and pacing back and forth as if he knew that Katie was in trouble. “Hey, man, glad you got here quickly.”

Chad looked grave and barely keeping it together, but said, “Great idea. Cisco can find where Katie is before we do.” He stopped McGaven. “Do you think that she survived that?” he said in a barely audible voice. He looked at the giant heap of rubble of a once large mansion.

McGaven gritted his teeth, and said, “The sheriff said if anyone could survive that it would be Katie.”

“Wait,” said Katie. “Hear that?”

“Yeah,” said Shane weakly.

“Someone’s here. They’re here to rescue us. Help! Help!” she yelled. “We’re here!” She waited but no one responded. “Help!” she yelled again.

“They can’t… hear us…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you moved and try again. Okay? The important thing is that help is here.”

He nodded and exhaled an agonized breath.

Katie surveyed her area just like she would do if she was out in the mountains or studying the crime scene. Keeping her focus, she did a 360-degree slow circle. It was tight and there were a few obstructions, but she managed.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m being straight with you, okay? Don’t answer, just nod or squeeze my hand if you understand.”

He nodded.

“We’re in a small cubbyhole with only a tiny crack of letting air, which means we only have so much oxygen. But we’re fine for now, okay?”

A squeeze of her hand.

“Let me see if I can move this,” she said. Trying to push or pull the wood amounted to not moving or budging it at all. It was clear that Shane probably had a broken arm, and maybe a shoulder or collarbone too. She didn’t know how bad or if there were compound fractures.

She heard his ragged breathing.

“Shane, stay with me, okay?”

He barely squeezed her hand.

Katie leaned in and could see that he was fading and would be unconscious soon. She needed to find a way out—fast.

Dust trickled down, making the pocket of air heavy and difficult to breathe. Katie coughed and tried to clear her throat but it was becoming worse. She couldn’t stop coughing and suddenly felt woozy so she leaned back and closed her eyes.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” called one of the deputy sheriffs. “I thought I heard something. Quiet!”

Everyone stopped working and listened. Silence, but that didn’t deter them as they kept working to pull wreckage away.

“Okay, let’s get Cisco working,” said McGaven to Chad.

“I can work him in a quadrant search. That’s probably the most efficient way in this type of setting.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “Hey.”

Chad turned to face McGaven.

“She’s going to make it—if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Katie—she’s a fighter.”

Chad gave a weak smile and turned to hike over to the other side with Cisco. “Okay, buddy,” he said to the panting dog. “We’ve been here before.”

Cisco barked. It was clear that he sensed a heightened urgency.

Chad unclipped the leash. “Cisco, search. Find Katie. C’mon, boy.”

The dog barked again, spun two times and began systematically using his nose to find Katie in between boards, down in crevices, and across the top