The Adventures of Ranger Ramona Ch. 01

Ramona went home and straight to bed. She was asleep within minutes.

It was almost two o'clock when the red phone began ringing.

It took a minute for Ramona to realize what she was hearing. The red phone had not rung on her watch before. She wasn't even sure what to say when she answered.

She fumbled for the phone and flipped it open.

"Rangers service. This is Ramona. How can I help you?"

The voice on the line sounded young, rushed and very anxious. Ramona caught something about a lost child but had to ask them to slow down and start again.

"This is Mike at Headwaters State Park. I'm just the overnight guy. Night watchman, like."

"How old are you, Mike?"

"Sixteen."

"Okay. Well, calm down and tell me what's going on."

"It's a little girl. She's seven years old and her parents woke up and she's gone."

"When did they realize she was missing?"

"About an hour ago. They come and got me, and we been looking for about a half hour."

Ramona looked at the time. "I can be there in about twenty minutes. Now, listen to me carefully, Mike, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Ma'am. Ramona rolled her eyes. "Her mom and dad are probably freaking out, so what they need the most right now is calm people around them. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what to do."

"Just pretend you do for now, honey. I'll get there as quick as I can. Meet me at the park gates."

Ramona threw on her uniform and rushed to the jeep. She considered calling the lieutenant, but she remembered what Piney had said about the red phone. Emergencies are blood or fire, everything else, handle it.

The moon was waning and the sky was bright with stars. After the long hot day, the night air felt crisp and refreshing, and Ramona came fully awake. As she sped down the dark country roads, the wind rippling her hair through the open windows, she felt exhilarated. She wasn't going out to direct traffic or clean up roadkill. This, at last, was real rangering.

She made it to the park in just under the twenty minutes she had promised. Mike was standing near the entrance shack, bouncing nervously from foot to foot. Ramona pulled up and he climbed in the passenger seat.

"Oh, man, I'm so glad you're here," he said in a shaky voice.

"It will be okay, Mike. Show me where the parents are."

He directed her down the park road about a half mile. Every fifty yards or so, a side road led off to a campsite, each containing about ten camp lots. "Number Three," Mike said, and Ramona turned left at the third road.

She pulled into a clearing, surrounded by a jumble of tents of all shapes and sizes. A dozen or more people stood in the center of the clearing, all but one holding lit flashlights. As Ramona descended from the jeep, the woman without a light quickly came to her.

"You need to help us find our baby," she said, her cheeks glistening with tears in the dim light.

"I will, ma'am, what's your name?"

"I'm Muriela Hernandez" the woman said. This is my husband, Ernesto."

Ernesto shook Ramona's hand. "We are from Worcester Mass. This is our first camping trip. Our Maria, she knows nothing about the woods."

"She's seven?" Ramona asked.

"Yes," Muriela said, grabbing Ramona's arm and squeezing. "She must be scared to death. A man at the store told us there were wolves in the forest."

Ramona rolled her eyes. "No, there aren't any wolves.

When did you last see Maria?"

"We all went to sleep when we got back from the fireworks. I got up to go pee about one o'clock and she wasn't in the tent."

"Does she know anyone here? Did she makes friends with any other children in the camp?"

They both shook their heads. Ramona looked around at the circle of worried onlookers. "I assume everyone has checked their tents?"

They all nodded and muttered affirmatives.

"And your cars?"

A few people replied that they had, while the others hurried to inspect their vehicles.

"Did she have a doll, a stuffed animal, a favorite book or toy with her?"

"No," Ernesto said, "Why?"

"She might have lost it or forgotten it somewhere and gone to look for it."

Ramona looked around the clearing. "Where have you searched?" she asked.

"Just right here around the tents," Ernesto said.

"Okay, well, if these folks want to help, what they can do is just expand that. Search a little further around the immediate area. But don't go out of sight of the tents. We don't want to have to search for two people. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez, I'm sure we will find your daughter and she'll be okay, so I don't want to scare you, but I am going to call the sheriff's department and give them a heads up on the situation."

"Oh, I called them while I was waiting for you," Mike said, "I hope that was alright."

"No, it's fine. It was the right thing to do."

Ramona took a few steps away from the others and concentrated on the problem. A little girl from the city isn't going to wander into the dark woods unless she is really scared, she thought, and if she were, she'd have likely been screaming. No one heard a sound.

She surveyed the clearing with her flashlight. There were two ways in and out, the lane to the main park road and a path that led off under the trees.

"That's the path to the latrines, right?" she asked Mike.

"Yeah," he said. She started toward it and he followed close behind. "You stay here, buddy, you're in charge until I come back."

Mike stood taller, beaming with pride, and Ramona headed down the path, scanning her flashlight from side to side.

She reached the pair of wooden outhouses and carefully checked inside and around them. As she was finishing her inspection, her phone rang.

It was Piney.

"Ramona, where the hell are you?" he barked.

"I'm out at the state park. We got a missing child report."

"Yeah, the damn sheriff called Bebb and woke him up. Why didn't you answer the red phone when he called?"

Ramona patted her pockets. "Oh shit, I must have left it on the table..."

"Well, nothing the chief hates worse than a late night call. He's headed your way and he's as mad as a hive of hornets. I'm close behind him, but he will be there first."

"Thanks for the heads up, Piney."

Ramona hung up and tried to put the lieutenant out of her mind. She looked around the latrine area. The path continued past them and she remembered that these campgrounds shared outhouses with their neighbors. The other end of the path would open up to site four.

She closed her eyes and imagined being a little girl, sleepy, having to pee and coming down here, alone in the dark. How likely was it that when she exited the outhouse, she had gone the wrong way down the path?

It was only thirty yards or so to the other camp site. It looked almost exactly like the one she had just left. She was still holding her phone, and called MIke.

"It's Ramona," she said. "Ask the parents what kind of vehicle they have."

After a few seconds, Mike came back on the line. "Ford minivan."

"What color?"

After another short pause, "White."

Ramona walked to the center of the clearing and slowly turned, shining her light on each vehicle. It passed over a minivan. It was not a Ford, and it looked like it was tan. She turned off her flashlight. Under the glow of the stars, it was white. She went to it and shined her light in the back window. There was a little girl curled on the back seat, sound asleep.

Ramona turned the light so that it shined on her own face and rapped lightly on the window. The girl woke up and saw her. She looked frightened until Ramona smiled and waved, then she sat up, rubbed her eyes and opened the door.

Ramona took her hand and helped her out of the car. "Hi, Maria," she said, "My name is Ramona. Your mom and dad sent me to try to find you."

Maria looked at Ramona's uniform. "Are you a police?" she asked.

"No, honey, I am a forest ranger."

The girl frowned. "You're a girl."

"I am! Now, come on, let's go see your mommy and daddy." She put her hand on Maria's shoulder and walked her to the latrine path.

"I had to go wee wee," the girl said, "And when I came back, I couldn't find our tent. So I got in our car, because I was afraid there might be wild animals. But it was the wrong car."

"I know, baby, but that's okay. What you did was smart." She dialed Mike on the phone. "I've got her. Tell them she's safe and sound."

"Cool," he replied. "Hey, there are more rangers here now."

"Okay, we will be there in a few minutes."

Just after they passed the latrines, Ramona saw two beams of light bouncing ahead of them. Ernesto and Muriela rushed to their daughter. Muriela swept her into her arms, and Ernesto hugged the two of them, then turned and hugged Ramona.

"You saved her," he said.

Ramona shook her head. "She didn't need to be saved." She explained what had happened, but he continued to slap her on the back until they reached the camp three clearing.

Lt. Bebb and Piney were standing near their jeeps. Bebb was glowering, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Ramona ignored him for the moment, squatted down, hugged Maria and said goodbye, then went to face him.

"You want to explain the situation, Greentree?" he snapped when she drew near.

"The girl was over at the other camp..."

"I don't mean the girl. Why didn't you answer the red phone when I called?"

"Yeah, sorry chief. The call came in and I was rushing to get here and left it at home."

"Why didn't you call in that there was an emergency?"

Piney cleared his throat. "That's on me, Wes. I gave Ramona a pretty narrow definition of what constitutes an emergency."

"You her lawyer, Clarence?" Bebb asked.

"Nope."

"Her union rep?"

"Not hardly."

"Then keep your council."

He turned on Ramona again. "How do you not think a lost child is an emergency, Greentree?'

"I figured I wouldn't know if it was a real emergency until I got onsite and assessed the situation."

"With the vast knowledge you've gained in your three months experience as a ranger?"

"She found the girl about ten minutes after getting here," Piney muttered. Bebb glowered at him.

"Alright," he said, "We can argue that point, but there is no argument that running off without the red phone is a serious mistake." He jabbed a finger at Ramona. "You are suspended, two days without pay. Starting now."

He marched back to his jeep and Piney called after him, "Come on Wes, it's Fourth of July weekend. We can't do with only two rangers."

"We only got two rangers," Bebb said as he slammed his door shut.

Ramona bit her lip as she watched him drive away, kicking up gravel behind him. She was determined not to cry. She hadn't cried since she was fourteen and her parents told her they were separating. She sure wasn't going to let Wesley fucking Bebb make her cry.

Piney scratched his chin. "That's some bullshit, Ramona," he said, "But you should have made sure you had the phone."

"I did everything by the book, Piney."

"You did," Piney nodded, "But the book isn't always the word, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do."

He nudged her with his elbow and pointed. "Look over there."

Ramona looked to where he had gestured. Ernesto and Muriela were sitting side by side at a small campfire, holding their daughter between them. Muriela held Maria's hand while her father leaned down, speaking quietly to her and stroking her hair.

"That's what counts, Ramona, not Wes Bebb's damn opinion. Now, go home and get some sleep."

CHAPTER NINE

It was midmorning when Ramona woke up. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so late. Even so, she lay in her bunk for another ten minutes, thinking about the previous night's events.

Forgetting to take the red phone when she went out had been a mistake, but Lt. Bebb's reaction seemed all out of proportion. She had always known she'd run into resistance if she became a ranger. She had actually gotten less than she had expected. But Bebb wasn't just some camper or hunter who grumbled about taking orders from a girl, he was her boss.

She got up, showered and made bacon and eggs for her breakfast. As she ate, she pondered what to do with her days off. Aaron had gone to Massachusetts for spend the holiday with family. She couldn't call Grant, she had pretty much left it up to him to decide if he wanted to still see her. Isabel would be preparing for her party. She chuckled and shook her head when she realized that all of her initial thoughts of how to spend her free time involved her sex partners.

She considered hiking one of the trails she had not tried yet, but the thought of running into Carl Dwyer turned that idea sour. If not for Isabel's party, she could drive to Ellsworth and visit her mother, or even down to Portland to see her dad.

She didn't really feel much like going to a party, but she had told Isabel she would, and that was that. If it had been one of her usual Sunday night gatherings, that might not be so bad, but apparently, this was a big annual event that she held for the entire Pond community. I'm just not that social, Ramona thought.

Still, the issue at hand was how to fill the hours before the party. There really wasn't much to do in town. But she didn't have to stay in town. She had plenty of time to drive down to Skowhegan, and a supply run wasn't a bad idea.

She gassed up her truck and bought an iced coffee at Saw Whet Variety and headed out of town. She rolled down her windows and cued up a Lucinda Williams playlist on her phone. Before she had gone ten miles, she had forgotten all about Wesley Bebb.

Her first stop in Skowhegan was at Taco Bell. It's amazing what you miss when you are living in the ass end of nowhere, Ramona thought as she munched on her tacos and nachos.

After lunch, she went to Walmart, where she loaded a cart with groceries and toiletries. As she made her way to the check out lines, she passed the women's clothing section and it occurred to her that one of the reasons she was less than enthusiastic about attending Isabel's party was that she felt out of place with the mostly wealthy summer folks that would make up the guest list. She might feel more comfortable if she looked more like she belonged.

She browsed through the rack of dresses. Most of the dresses she looked at seemed too gaudy or too frilly or like something an old lady would wear. She had been a blue jeans girl all her life, and did not trust her own taste in nicer clothes. Picking out the wrong thing would be worse than sticking with what she had.

She was about to give up when she saw a round sales rack, set a bit apart from the others. She started circling it, and after a couple of steps, stopped. The edge of a dress caught her eye. It was a deep blue, almost purple, and appeared to be made of some soft fabric. She ran her hand down the sleeve and felt rich velvet.

Maybe a bit hot for summer, she thought, but she pushed aside the other dresses to get a good look at it. It was simple; sleek and short with long sleeves and a low round neckline. She checked the size and was disappointed to see that it was too small for her. She looked further around the rack and saw two more of the same dress. One of them was in her size. She held it up and looked at it and knew she wanted it. It was a little more expensive than she had expected, but she could put it on a credit card.

She took the dress to the fitting room and quickly changed into it. She was surprised at how excited she was. Since when did she care about clothes?

She looked in the mirror and barely recognized herself. She looked great in the dress. It was probably too short, though; the hem was at the middle of her thighs. Sorry, Isabel, she thought, but I am definitely wearing panties under this.

She changed back into her jeans and shirt and returned to her cart. She realized that she'd still be wearing this lovely dress with her work boots or sneakers, so she went to the shoe department.

Heels were still a bridge too far, but she found a pair of black lace up sandals that she thought would look nice. Of course, that meant exposed toes, so she bought a bottle of nail polish on her way to the front of the store and, on a whim, some lipstick and eye makeup.

As she checked out, the cashier looked at the dress and then at her.

"Wow," she said, "You're going to kill in this."

Ramona left the store smiling. She would look fantastic, and she got a kick out of knowing that the upper crust denizens of Merganser Pond would never imagine that she bought it at Walmart.

She went to the McDonalds drive through, bought a chocolate milkshake for the road and headed back to Saw Whet.

It was nearly five o'clock when she got to town. There would certainly be hors d'oeuvres at Isabel's party, but she was self conscious about making a pig of herself, so she stopped at House of Pizza and bought an Italian sandwich.

When she got home she ate the sandwich, then freshened up and polished her toes and fingernails. As she was applying the makeup, she tried to remember the last time she had worn any. High school graduation, she thought.

She put on her new dress and laced up her shoes, then looked into the tiny bathroom mirror. Unable to see much, she got her phone and, holding it at arms length, took a full body selfie.

"Oh, wow, I'd fuck me," she said when she saw it. She looked at the picture again, then shrugged, slipped the top of the dress down and took off her bra. Better yet, she thought when she had pulled the dress back into position.

She checked the time. Isabel had said the party would start at seven. It was ten minutes till. Good, she thought, no way do I want to be the first to arrive.

She checked her makeup one more time, grabbed her purse and went out to her truck. When she climbed into the drivers seat, the dress rose up to her hips. "Yep," she muttered, "Gotta wear panties with this dress."

Isabel's driveway was already full when she arrived. She wondered why more of the guests hadn't walked; most of them lived less than a mile away and it was a beautiful summer evening.

She parked on the side of the road, popped a breath mint in her mouth and walked up the long driveway.

A handful of guests were chatting on the patio where she had sat with Isabel on the day they met. Ben and Elaine Kaplan were among them. They called her over and introduced her to the others, but Ramona didn't bother to try to remember any of their names. They were all in couples, and all at least forty years old. She wondered if there would be anyone closer to her age in attendance. As soon as she thought she could slip away unnoticed, she went into the house.

There were a dozen more guests in the living room, most of them milling around the bar. Ramona did not recognize anyone. She passed through into the dining room. She had been right, the table was covered with appetizers of all sorts: canapés, pastries, quiches, bowls of shrimp and platters of cheese and beautiful displays of cut fruit. She picked up a cube of cantaloupe and popped it in her mouth. From around a corner, she heard a murmur of voices and a familiar giggle.

She crossed to the hallway that led to the kitchen and bathroom. Isabel was leaning against the wall. She was wearing a knee length white dress. A long, sheer silk scarf was draped over her shoulders. Natalie Dufour was leaning against Isabel, dressed in a black cocktail dress not much longer than Ramona's. Her husband stood beside them. They all turned to look at Ramona as she peered around the corner.

"Mon Dieu!" Isabel exclaimed, "Show yourself, ma cherie, what are you wearing?"

Ramona stepped self consciously into the hall. Isabel smiled and squeezed Natalie's shoulder. "Look at her, ma amie, she is delicious."

"I would like to dip her in chocolate," Natalie said. She reached out and ran her hand down Ramona's sleeve. Looking over her shoulder, she said to her husband, "And what do you think?"