"No," Dean said. "I'll be fine. You stay with Billy." It was the man's turn to nod.
Dean felt tension on the line. As he looked over his shoulder, his rescuers were already at work on the death scene. They both looked up. "Thanks," they said in unison as Dean was winched upward. As if in celebration, the fireworks ended in a fury of light and muffled noise.
All that was required on Dean's part was to remain standing upright and pick his path around obstacles while his position was monitored by blinding lights from below and above. He cast his eyes downward, away from the brightness, and saw little except the ground in front of him. He heard others as they expertly rappelled down past him to the accident site. He stumbled the last few steps onto the road and into a glare of lights and buzz of activity.
One member of Mountain Rescue grabbed him under the arms while another unfastened his line, but he shook off their ministrations while he tried to focus on the activity going on around him. A tow truck had already arrived and its flashing lights competed with a half dozen others while at least a dozen people moved about, with most of their activity directed downward. Bare to the waist, Dean trembled in the cool mountain air until someone tossed him an old flannel shirt that smelled of sweat and cigarettes. He was peppered with questions from the rescuers, many of whom he recognized, but he held responses to a negative shake of his head and Billy Langstrom's name.
Dean was seated on the step of a rescue vehicle when Lydia was pulled up to the road. Her trousers were black with mud front and back, her pant leg torn, and her left knee bloody. She was staring down at the ground and didn't see Dean. Acting Sheriff Fitzgerald moved out from behind the lights and strutted over to her. She looked up, somehow seeming small in spite of her height, but there was fire in her eyes.
"Where were you?" she hissed at Fitzgerald.
"In town. I didn't get your call. You're out of range up here." Fitzgerald smiled and added, "Great job!" He tried to put his arm around her but she moved away. He noticed her bleeding leg and yelled to a medic. "Hey, we've got an injured officer here. How about taking care of her?"
Dean stood up and Fitzgerald noticed him for the first time. "What are you doing here?" He turned to Lydia Larkin as one of the EMT personnel hurried over. "Did he run the kid off the road?"