The deputies pushed around him and hurried over to the dozer. One of them crawled up and placed his fingers on Anthony’s neck. “He’s still alive. We’ll take care of him. See if you can find his accomplice or the woman he abducted.”
Seth stood in the middle of what had once been a room and took a deep breath. “Callie!” he yelled. “Please answer me!”
He waited for a reply, but none came.
She had to be here somewhere, but where? His knees went weak at the horrible possibility of what could have happened. Had she been run over by the dozer and dragged along underneath the big machine? He turned and stared at the bulldozer. What if her body was underneath?
The officers rushed past him and ran toward the wrecked dozer, but all Seth could do was stare helplessly at the piles of rubble. Within minutes the deputies had Anthony stretched out on what remained of the floor. Now was the time to see if Callie was underneath that monstrous machine, but he couldn’t move. What would he do if he found her mangled body? He shook his head and took a step backward.
One of the policemen who’d accompanied him to the farm stepped up next to him. “Detective, are you all right?”
Before Seth could respond, a rustling sound to his right caught his attention, and he turned his head to stare. A large pile of debris lay scattered across the floor. He swept the flashlight beam across the splintered pieces of wood, and then he saw movement.
“Callie!” he yelled as he leaped across the floor to what had once been the side wall of the room. Then he heard it again, a muted cry that sounded like a puppy’s whimper. “Help me,” he yelled to the others as he dropped to his knees.
An officer joined him, and together they dug into the pile of debris. Her arm appeared first, and he paused only long enough to check her pulse and then say a quick thanks to God that she was alive. He tore into the pile again.
Within minutes they had uncovered her entire body and lifted the ceiling beam that had fallen on her and pinned her to the floor. He pressed his trembling fingers to her neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse.
“How is she?” the officer asked.
“She’s alive, but she needs medical attention. What about Captain Wilson?”
“He’s unconscious. The sheriff’s deputies have called for an ambulance. It should be here any minute. There’s something else, too. My partner just found the body of A.D.A. Abby Dalton in the other room. She’d been shot.”
Seth wrapped his fingers around Callie’s and stared into her face. “And she would have been next if we hadn’t gotten here in time.”
He closed his eyes and offered up a silent prayer. God, please don’t let her die. I have to let her know I forgive her for hurting me and that I still love her. She doesn’t have to love me in return, but please let her live.
* * *
Callie tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t. She tried again, but it was no use. Where was she? Something told her she needed to get up, but she couldn’t make her body move.
Her eyelids stilled, and she had almost fallen back asleep when she heard a voice. She frowned and tried to concentrate on what it was saying, but it sounded so far away, almost like it was echoing from a distant mountain. But that couldn’t be. There were no mountains in Memphis.
The voice called again, this time closer. She strained to hear what it was saying.