“I’m sorry, but no one is allow in,” the officer spoke as he stopped Kent.
“I’m Kent Palmer with Chambers Search and Rescue. Rita Chambers called me in.”
“Okay, you’re on my list. Go in about half a mile, take the first right fork, you’re looking for site number one twenty-nine.”
“Thanks, Officer,” Kent said, and slowly started forward. He stopped suddenly and leaned out his window. “If this gets hairy, I’m calling in some help.” He gave the names of his friends to the police officer, watched as he wrote down what he said, and continued forward. Ten minutes later he was parked on the side of the road, had Tator out of the truck, and suited up. He looked down at the pup, and said firmly, “Show time.” Then he started forward.
“Kent,” Rita said as soon as she looked up and saw him. She waited until he came to her. “You’re the only one from the class I called in. No offense to them, but I don’t think they’re ready for this just yet. I only called you in because of the way you’ve been training Tate. I think you’ll be a big help. I also took your military experience into consideration when I called you.”
“Thanks, what do we know so far?”
“This is Michael’s picture,” Rita said as she handed him her phone. “This was taken yesterday.”
“Good, so it’s current.”
“Yes, the parents put Mikey, that’s what they call him, in his section of the tent last night. They stayed up for a few more hours before retiring to their own side. It is a three-room tent with the middle being like a breezeway where they kicked off their shoes and jackets. Mom checked on him, he was sound asleep. They arose at seven this morning and he wasn’t in his tent.”
Kent looked at his watch and saw it was going on ten. Three hours missing. “What was he last wearing?”
“We hadn’t gotten to that yet,” Rita said, and indicated for him to follow her.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kelp, this is my associate Kent Palmer, and his dog, Tate. What was Mikey wearing the last time you saw him?”
“His green Incredible Hulk pajamas. It’s a tee shirt and shorts.”
Kent looked at Rita and could see she thought the same thing he had. Green clothes in green foliage, it would be hard to spot him right away, especially with his blond hair. They got all the information, then Kent pulled a large baggie from his pack.
“Do you mind if I take a piece of his clothing?” At their confused look, he gently explained. “To give the dogs Mikey’s scent.”
“Oh, sure, let me get you something.” Mrs. Kelp started toward the one side of the tent, but Kent stopped her.
“No, let me get it, we don’t want different scents to confuse the dogs.”
“Oh,” she said, then pointed to the three-man tent on the other side of the site. “Mikey slept on the left side.”
“Thank you,” Kent said gently, then started forward. Inside the tent he found a dirty tee shirt and smiled when he used the bag to pick it up with. He retrieved another bag and picked up a pair of equally dirty shorts. Back outside he showed the parents what he had.
“Why would you want something dirty?” Mr. Kelp asked.
“Because if Mikey played hard while wearing these, then I’m sure he worked up a sweat. That would give off a stronger scent than clean clothes fresh from the laundry.”
“Oh.” The Kelp’s looked on helplessly, but Kent rushed to reassure them.
“We will do everything in our power to find your son and get him back to you.”
“Thank you.” The Kelps stood there in each other’s arms. Kent stepped back to go over to Rita.
“Thank you,” Rita said as she took the bag with the tee shirt in it.
“For?”
“For not promising them you’d bring him back alive. You said you’d do everything in your power. That’s better than an empty promise of bringing him back alive.”
“I agree, that’s why I said it. Before we do this, do you want me to call in my buddies. The ones that went on search and rescue missions with me while we were in the Air Force. I called and gave them the heads up already. They said they could be here as soon as I give the call.”
Rita looked uncertain, so Kent reached out and took her hand in his. “Only if you want them here. I don’t want to step on your toes.”
“It’s not that, I just don’t know how long this will take. Not that there’s a time limit on this, I’m not saying that.”
