Blind Faith - Sharon Sala Page 0,27

set it beside them. “And that’s Tony’s cap we borrowed, in the sack. The backpack had been hidden in the crevice beneath a rock. Animals had dragged it out, likely after the searchers had passed that area, and it was the reflection of sunlight on the metal dog tag that revealed it to me.”

“Oh wow. Granddad’s dog tag from World War II,” Baxter said.

Charlie nodded. “That’s what put me on the right track. I left the hiking trail above and took one that led down into the canyon and found the pack. I radioed the rangers of the location and then kept searching. But there was no sign that Tony had ever been anywhere near the pack. No footprints. No body. No blood. No nothing. All I could think was either he hid it for some reason and was going to come back for it and didn’t, or someone did something to him and hid it to delay his being found.”

Macie moaned. “This is a nightmare. My poor boy...what he must have been going through...what he must have been thinking.”

“I think I would still be looking if it hadn’t been for Wyrick. Once she got hold of the cap, she keyed in on Tony and told me she thought he was in a cave of some kind... She knew it was dark and long, like a low tunnel, and it was. She said she thought he was still alive, and he was. And she told me to get off the trail and which direction to go into the woods, and I did, and that’s when I found the boot. That put me on the right trail to finding him.”

“Found what boot?” Baxter asked.

“I found one of Tony’s hiking boots wedged in between some rocks. I brought it with me, but it was wedged so tightly that it took two men to pull it out. I think he fell from the trail above. With all the injuries he had, and the length of the fall, I don’t know why he’s still alive. I have no explanation for how he got his foot free from that boot, because he broke his leg and ankle. I don’t know how he got across a rock field into that cave, but I assume he crawled, because that’s where I found him. After I found the boot, I began calling his name, and he finally answered with one scream. But it was enough. I found him in the cave, and the rest you know. He’s going to have to fill in the blanks, but those boys lied. I don’t know whether his fall was an accident or intentional, but they knew what happened to him. I think they just expected the searchers to find a body, and that would be that. Only he lived through the fall. And if he hadn’t gotten free, he would have died from exposure or animals, and that would have sealed their story.”

“What do we do?” Baxter asked. “Wait for Tony to get better so he can tell the police or—?”

“No. I have a plan,” Charlie said. “When we get back to Dallas, I’ll take it from there and keep you updated. You two just worry about your son, and when you get back, I’ll return the backpack and his boot.”

“And his cap,” Wyrick added.

“Yes, and his cap,” Charlie said.

* * *

A short while later, a doctor walked into the waiting room.

“The Dawson family?” he asked.

“Yes,” Baxter said, as he and Macie jumped up.

Charlie and Wyrick stood with them, waiting.

“I’m Dr. Mack. He made it through surgery better than I expected. He had some internal injuries and has a concussion. We removed his spleen, repaired some muscle tears and set two broken ribs. He has pins and screws in his leg and ankle and two broken fingers on his right hand. We’re concerned about infection and pneumonia. He was without medical treatment too long, but we’re pumping him full of antibiotics. He’s in a drug-induced coma to let his body work on nothing but healing, and he’ll be in ICU for the time being.”

“What about his leg? Can you save it?” Baxter asked.

“We’re going to do everything we know how to make that happen, but he’s fighting some serious infection right now. It’s too soon to make any kind of predictions,” Dr. Mack said.

“When can we see him?” Macie asked.

“They’ll move him into ICU. There is a waiting room there. The nurse’s desk will tell you how to get there. After