The Vacuum

Part 23

The air was sticky and warm when she climbed off the plane and onto the makeshift runway. Some of the others around her whined unconsciously at the change in temperature and humidity. Alex smiled and pulled her hair up into a messy bun on the back of her head. She looked around with a grin, camera already up and raised as she took pictures of the dissolute old airfield and the surrounding area. The others moved over to pick up their bags and equipment before going to be briefed by their guide by his dusty black jeep.

A warm wind moved over the expanse, sending up dust particles from the open, beaten down airstrip. The earthen smell of it, the warmth...something drew her in and turned her face in the direction it carried flyaway curls.

She looked over, eyes falling to the shadow of the mountains to the west. Her boot-clad feet moved with it, longing to be stretched after the intensely long plane ride. Beads of sweat were starting to form on her neck already, streaking down her flawless skin.

"Ms. Connors." She looked over at the rest of the group, turning her camera up to the little of reporters and the man that would be guiding them through the dangerous and war-torn terrain. "No wandering now."

She smiled slightly. "You'll never find what you're looking for if you don't wander a little bit." She joked her life philosophy at them.

Alex pushed open the glass door to the police station in town, finding the front room empty. She cocked her head to the side as she looked around at the few pictures and plaques on the stucco walls as she waited for someone to come into the lobby.

She frowned as she looked at a picture in the center of the walls of two men. One the old sheriff and one new deputy. The sheriff was a plump middle-aged man while the deputy looked younger with a square cut jaw. The dates scrawled out on little golden plates under each photo, indicated that they had died on the same day about a year ago.

"Miss Connors." The young deputy said coming into the room. He snapped the manila file closed in his hand as he looked at her in surprise. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." He wasn't expecting anyone associated with Mac to be here without handcuffs on and a bench warrant issued.

Alex looked back at the pictures on the wall before turning fully to him. "I just came to make sure Toby, that man from the bar, made it out alright." She told him.

The deputy nodded and put the folder down on his desk. "Can I get you a water or something?" He asked her, walking over to an old miniature refrigerator. She could hear the vibration of its electronics just like she could practically feel the shake of the air conditioner in the flimsy structure. Clearly, law enforcement wasn't a huge priority in this town.

"Sure." Alex said, taking a seat in a chair he gestured to.

"I escorted him out of town last night." The officer told her, coming back over and handing her a dripping water bottle. "He seems worried about you Miss Connors."

"Just call me Alex." She told him, taking it. "And Toby should have been more worried about me getting hurt when we were in a relationship and maybe he wouldn't have lost the right to be concerned."

The deputy sat down with a grunt in front of her and nodded slowly. "Can't really blame him too much with the company you're keeping down here."

Alex eyed him as she took a long drink. "If this is your way of fishing to see if I know anything deputy...it kind of sucks." She finally said.

The officer sighed. "I'm just warning you Alex...lots of people go missing down here."

"Canyon spirits," Alex muttered under her breath.