Page 22 of Second Chance At Love

Henry made his way at a more sedate pace, willing Max to pick up the phone. “Come on, come on.”

“Blow It Up Demolition, Max speaking.”

“Max, we have a lead on Holly’s whereabouts, but I need you to phone Molson’s brother Drew so he can get the police on it,” Henry relayed the address. “It’s Fountain Park.”

“I will call Drew and meet you there with my construction crew,” offered Max. “The more people, the more chanceof finding her.”

“I will call Everett, Gabe, and Ben,” mentioned Henry as he made his way onto the elevator. “Good luck.”

He waited until he was on the ground floor before going to the front desk and asking them to call him a taxi while he relayed the information to Ben over his phone. In the cab, hemanaged to make the other two calls, requesting an ambulance on standby from Gabe since they didn’t know what kind of condition Holly might be in.

At the park, Henry paid the taxi driver, and wished he were wearing better winter clothes. It had been a warm day for the first week of March but now that the sun was setting, the cold was creeping rapidly in, reminding him that winter wasn’t quite finished. Henry hoped they would find Holly soon as a chill went through him from the breeze which seemed to be picking up.

He should have thought about buying flashlights. Henry went on his phone, looking for a local hardware store and gave them a call. He paid an excessive amount for flashlights, blankets, gloves, and a warmer jacket in his size to be delivered to the park.

While he waited for the delivery the ambulance showed up and parked in the parking lot. Then Max and a bunch of other guys showed up in some trucks and vans bearing his company’s logo.

“Do you know where Molson is?” questioned Max as he approached Henry.

“”No. I assume he and Parker went into the park, that is if Parker caught up to him,” responded Henry as he rubbed his hands together. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep up in a walking search but maybe he could help coordinate or something. Fountain Park had a lot of walking paths, trees, scrub, a river running through it, and some buildings with a few fountains around. At this time of year it looked dull and desolate. Hardly anyone was around. The lighting was also poor in the park.

“We will start around the buildings,” decided Max as he talked to his crew. “Check if doors are open or locked. Look in trash cans, dumpsters, everywhere. Don’t think that any placeis too small. Check it all over. You all know what Holly looks like from her picture and the last search.”

The men nodded and broke into groups, bringing out flashlights as they walked towards the buildings.

“The police will recheck anything we do anyways but I don’t want to just stand here and wait,” said Max grimly as he looked at the park.

“You can go in. I’m waiting for some flashlights and gloves to be delivered,” mentioned Henry.

“I have extra,” offered Max.

Soon Henry was outfitted with a large flashlight, some work worn gloves, and a heavier coat. The pair of them started walking through the park, looking around for any sign of Holly. In the distance they could see more cars arriving in the parking lot.

“Police are here,” noted Max. “I should probably talk to Drew, tell him what we have covered.”

Henry nodded and kept slowly walking along. He had no intention of taking any of the harder paths or going through the scrub. It would be too much for him. He was making his way along one of the walking paths by the river, running his flashlight methodically over the area when the beam reflected back a black garbage bag.

Surely Tremblay wouldn’t?hoped Henry.

Looking around, he could see there was a group near the front of the park, getting instructions from the police on grid searching. They were too far away to yell at and from this angle, likely wouldn’t see Henry.

Gritting his teeth, Henry slowly and carefully made his way down the riverbank. Nearing the bag, he got to his knees and set the flashlight down. Tearing it open, he picked up the flashlight, relieved to see it was only someone’s trash.

Henry had a moment of thanks before getting to his feet.

That was when he slipped in the mud and fell into the cold water. The water was cold, immediately soaking his clothes up to his chest. It pulled at him, the current trying to make him lose his balance and drag him out further away from land. In panic, Henry dropped the flashlight as he grabbed some of the shrubs on the side of the bank. How far had he moved down the bank from where the trash bag was? Henry didn’t know. Had he gone under? From the coughing fit he was having, Henry thought so.

Pulling himself up into the thicket and sliding in the mud, Henry managed to crawl up the side of the riverbank. Somehow it had gotten quite dark while this happened and Henry wished he still had his flashlight. Stumbling along the path, he headed for the light of the buildings and parking lot. At the very least, the ambulance attendants would be there to assist him.

Shivering violently, Henry gasped for breath, his chest tightening. He wasn’t going to make it to the parking lot without taking a rest.

There was a playset nearby. Heading over, Henry gratefully sat down on the bottom of the slide, trying to breathe properly. He felt in his pockets for his phone and fortunately it was still there. He had put it in the inside chest pocket of the jacket and thankfully it was mostly dry even as the rest of him was soaking wet and muddied.

He would call Max, Henry decided. Max knew the building areas. He had seen where Henry had continued to search. He likely would best be able to locate Henry and get him some help.

Some searcher he had turned out to be, Henry thought ruefully as he dialed Max’s number with a shaking hand. He had almost gotten himself killed over a trash bag. He listened to the phone ring before it went to voicemail.

“Max, I’m by the playground near the river. I’m sure I didn’t get too far from where you left me but I need a hand gettingto the parking lot. I’ll try Parker’s phone next but you're my best bet on finding me since I lost my flashlight,” Henry calmly stated but it was hard to keep the tremor out of his voice as he shivered. The breeze was picking up to a full on wind at this point and was cuttingly cold. “I fell in the river so I’m a bit wet. I would appreciate it if you could hurry it up. Thanks.”