Chapter 2

The bitter cold was unbelievable for the last week in April. But these storms that swept in off Lake Michigan could turn back the season in the blink of an eye. Dominic held tightly to the rope as he felt his fingers begin to freeze. He had to get down the embankment quickly, not only to possibly save the life of whoever was in the car, but before his fingers became useless from the cold.

The wet snow was slippery and more than once he almost lost his grip on the rope as he began to lose the feeling in his fingers. But he reached the bottom of the embankment quickly, grabbed the crowbar, and waded into the water. The water was shallow, just barely up to his knees, but it began to deepen quickly once he was five feet from the shore. The car was about fifty feet out, and he wondered how much farther he could go with his head still above the water. That question was answered quickly as he stepped into a hole and accidentally swallowed a mouthful of the cold water. But it was just a hole, and he pushed on, the water up to his beard. The car was still twenty feet away, its taillights and rear wheels still above the water, but not much more.

* * * *

Back on the roadside, Joyce was surprised to suddenly find herself bathed in light as a four-wheel drive pickup truck approached, the four lights mounted on its roof chasing the darkness away. A man jumped out.

“You guys sure got here quickly. I live in the house on the other side of the pond. I was just getting into bed when I saw this car go in the pond from my upstairs window. It took me a few minutes to throw on some clothes and grab a few things that might be useful. The winch on my truck might come in handy.”

“Yeah, we made a wrong turn in the poor visibility and were just a mile or two away when the call came in,” said Joyce. “Thanks for coming out to help. We may need it.”

* * * *

Back in the pond, it was time for Dominic to begin to swim. The water was unbelievably cold, but he was within five feet of the car. Shoving the crowbar in his waist, he tread water on his way over to the back of the car, hoisting himself up out of the water enough to be able to breathe normally as he evaluated the situation.

There was only shallow water lapping at the car’s back window, meaning there was still a fair amount of air in the trunk and, hopefully, the interior of the car. Being careful not to put too much weight on the vehicle, which might make it sink faster, he turned on his flashlight and peered in the window.

At first, he could see nothing as the light reflected off the water and the glass. But as he looked more carefully, he saw a body. It was in the back seat of the car.

He tried the back door. It wouldn’t budge. Immediately he took the crowbar from his waist and smashed the back window. It took several hits before the glass broke all the way through, and he kept clobbering it until most of the pieces were gone. The water began to pour into the car faster. He knew he didn’t have much time. He crawled inside.

The young man was face down in the water. It appeared either he hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt or perhaps had crawled into the back seat, seeing it as his most likely way out. And then maybe passed out from hyperthermia.

Quickly thanking God that it was a young man, and therefore light in weight, he reached into the car and took hold of the man’s arm. But that wasn’t going to work. He was wedged between the front and back seat. Dominic would have to maneuver into the car to pull him out.

Taking a deep breath, he crawled under the surface of the water and stuck his head in through the broken glass. He would have to get inside the car along with the victim in order to be able to haul him out. Hanging upside down in the car, his feet hooked on the back fender, he grabbed the young man by the waist, and was able to pull him free. His body had a bit of buoyancy, and that helped a little as Dominic began pulling him out of the car.

But the effort involved with all this ran him out of breath, and he had to briefly surface to breathe, cursing himself for having to let go of the youth. Going underwater again, he grabbed the young man and began to pull him out through the window. But then the body became caught on something and would move no further.