Unfounded Fears

Part 23

"Damn it!" Paul Blaisdell exclaimed. "What the hell is the kid doing?" The man swiped a frustrated hand through his gray hair.

Staring at the empty bed, Caine shrugged one shoulder. "I do not know."

Lo Si left the bedroom and reentered the living room. His wise voice penetrated the ears of the worried men. "There is a note."

The information sparked action and the two made a beeline to the main room. "What's it say?" Paul asked, grabbing it from the Ancient at the same time.

He opened up the folded piece of paper and read it. "It's from Peter. Claudia came over early. The two decided to take a drive in the park. He says he'll be back by mid-afternoon." The captain breathed a visible sigh of relief. "So, he's okay. Of course, we do need to talk about leaving the cabin with the door wide open."

Caine shook his head. "I do not believe that Peter is with Claudia."

Confused, Paul turned to the Shaolin. "What makes you think that?"

"I am not sure. I sense that Peter is in trouble."

Paul shook his head. "Peter's always in trouble." He thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. "Perhaps things didn't go well with Claudia. Maybe that's what you're feeling."

Caine shook his head. "No. Those are not the sensations from my son."

Paul sighed and dropped his head. "But he left a note."

"Yes," Caine responded simply.

"Damn it," Paul muttered and walked over to the picture window. Suddenly, he turned to the two Shaolin priests. "Look, I'm not willing to jump to conclusions. Peter left us a note. There's absolutely no other evidence that something is wrong."

Caine shook his head, but did not speak. Instead, Lo Si turned to the captain. "This is not a matter of 'jumping to conclusions.' Kwai Chang Caine senses his son is in danger. That is a fact."

Paul felt the heat rising in his face. "So because you," he pointed at the elder Caine, "have this special link, I'm supposed to believe that Peter's in trouble, even though nothing else supports that fact."

"Yes," Caine nodded.

Paul wasn't sure whether he was incensed by the conclusions being jumped to or the fact that Peter's father had been privy to a special link that Paul could never share. Regardless, Paul Blaisdell was a man who operated in fact, not in supposition or feelings. He would not lose hope that Peter was okay until there was reason to, and Caine's feelings of impending doom were not sufficient. . .at least not yet.

The sound of a vehicle approaching the cabin interrupted the heated discussion. "It's them," Paul stated, hope edging into his voice. He ran out the front door and onto the porch.

Caine followed Peter's foster father outside. Lo Si pursued. Paul jumped off the porch and ran to the truck, his movements disguising his age.

Before the truck had come to a full stop, Claudia already had the driver's side window down. "Is Peter here?" she anxiously asked the police captain.

Paul felt a knot form in his stomach. "No. His note said he was with you."

Claudia turned off the engine of the truck and climbed out. She shook her head, worry in her eyes. "He was. We were getting ready to take a drive through the park after he wrote the note. Before we could leave, we heard gunshots. . .very close. I knew it was the poachers and told him I had to pursue. He said he would back me up. He's a cop. I didn't see a problem." She shook her head, obviously upset.

"What happened?" Paul prodded, knowing that his foster son was in serious trouble.

"He didn't tell me he was hurt. If he had, I never would have allowed him to come," the woman explained, still fighting her frustration.

Paul reached out and grabbed the woman by the shoulders. "Claudia, what happened?"

"Peter came with me. We found tire tracks going into the forest off of one of the old trails not too far from here. We pursued on foot. We made it about a mile and Peter said he had to stop. I hadn't been paying a lot of attention to him. He looked really bad. Very pale. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that he was recuperating from an injury." The woman paused. "Damn it, why didn't he tell me he was hurt. I never would have let him come," she repeated.

Paul patted her shoulder. "Because he's Peter. He wouldn't let you go after them alone."

"But I wouldn't have been alone. I would have called for backup. I thought he was able to be my backup," she sighed.

Paul shook his head and then glanced at Caine, who responded with another shrug. Paul turned back to the woman. "Claudia, what happened?"

"We heard another round of gunfire, nearby. I told Peter to go back to the truck. I continued the pursuit."

"And?"

"And, nothing. I searched for thirty minutes, but found no other signs. I started to worry about how bad Peter looked, so I went back. He wasn't there. I. . ." she paused, taking a deep breath. "I looked for him, but there was no sign of him. I thought maybe he became disoriented in the forest and couldn't find the truck. I was hoping that maybe he was able to make it back to the main road and hop a ride back here." She was silent as she examined the ground in front of her. "I knew it was a long shot."

"So if Peter's not here, then he's still in the forest." Paul's statement was filled with apprehension.

Caine finally spoke. "Yes. And he is alone and in pain."

Paul nodded and then added, "And facing poachers."

Claudia shook her head, her face still showing her frustration. "I never should have brought him along."

"You had no way of knowing that Peter was hurt," Paul responded in a comforting voice. He then turned to his foster son's father. "So, do you know where he is? Can you sense that?" He didn't like that fact that his words were so harsh, but his growing fear for Peter's safety was overwhelming.

Caine seemed to ignore the anger. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. "No. I do not know where he is. I only sense fear. . .and pain."

Paul turned to the park ranger. "Can you take us to where you left him? Maybe if we all search for him we can find something."

Claudia nodded. "I'll take you there. I called in for backup when I couldn't find Peter. But I didn't stick around to show them where to look." She shot a guilty look at the men. "And with budget cuts, I'm afraid that we only have a few people who will be able to help search."

'We can find him," Paul stated, assuredly.

"I will stay here, just in case Peter returns and is in need of assistance," Lo Si offered.

"Good idea," Paul commented. He then walked over to his vehicle and unlocked the glove compartment. He pulled out his gun and a small holster. Checking that it was loaded, he turned to the group and nodded. "Okay. Let's go find Peter."

********************************

Within fifteen minutes, Claudia's truck stopped on an old, infrequently used, dirt road. The woman climbed out from behind the steering wheel. Paul and Caine climbed out of the passenger side. The ranger pointed to a spot in the woods. "There's the trail."

"And you only went a mile on it before you left Peter?" Paul asked.

"Yeah." She paused and then looked around. "I don't see signs the other units have been here yet. There's a lot of ground to cover."

"It's a big forest," the captain muttered. Claudia nodded in agreement. Blaisdell turned to Caine. "I don't know how I can help. You're the one with the link to Peter. I think you should lead the way."

Caine nodded and closed his eyes. He then opened them and shook his head, his words quiet. "I do not sense him now."

Paul spun on the man. "What? What does that mean?"

"I am not certain." His brown eyes flashed concern.

Paul inhaled deeply and set his jaw. "Fine, then I guess we do this the old fashioned way." Paul slung a light backpack over one shoulder and then checked his gun, which was now holstered at his side.

*************************************

The search party of three proceeded deeper into the forest, carefully watching for signs of Peter. After twenty minutes, Claudia halted the group. "This is where I left Peter. He collapsed against that rock." Her voice was filled with guilt.

Caine sensed her worry. "This is not your fault."

She angrily shook her head. "Just whose fault do you think it is? I'm the one who left him behind."

"Caine is right. Peter has a way of getting into trouble all by himself."

The foster father looked around the surrounding area. "Okay, Peter has a pretty good sense of direction. If he really did decide to go back to the vehicle, he would have had no trouble doing a 180 on this path."

Caine nodded in agreement. "We should check branches of the path. Perhaps Peter found a reason to stray."

Paul nodded, signaling his agreement.

The two men turned back and began to scan the areas on either side of the main path. Claudia followed from behind. She moved up next to Paul, leaving Caine to search on his own. "How would he know where Peter is?" she whispered.

Paul swallowed the twinge of bitterness rising in his throat. "He and Peter are very close. There is a tie between them that I can't explain."

"I thought Peter told me his father was dead."

"It was a lie."

Claudia stifled a surprised gasp. "He lied to me?" Paul shook his head. The woman frowned. "Caine lied to his son?"

"No. Caine thought Peter was dead as well. It's a long story."

The woman nodded. She looked behind her and saw that Caine had left the main trail and wandered several yards away. "He's odd," she mumbled.

Paul smiled slightly, but said nothing. Suddenly he stopped short and Claudia collided into his back. Paul didn't acknowledge her presence, however. Instead, he squatted down. His hand extended to the ground. He then muttered, "Damn."

"What?" Claudia asked, her uneasiness showing.

"Blood." Paul held up his red-stained fingers. He then called out to Caine. "Over here."

Kwai Chang Caine gracefully made his way through the overgrown bush and came to the captain's side. He, too, squatted down and touched the sticky red substance on the ground. His fingers also showed red. He closed his eyes and then quietly whispered. "Peter's blood."

End Part 23

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