Two Reasons to Run

by Colleen Coble

  By now, her family might know she’d checked herself out. She had no idea where to find Victor for sure, but his home would be the best place to start since it was closest.

  Jane looked around Augusta’s car. “You have an extra gun?”

  “Sure, but you can’t shoot it. Your arm is immobilized.”

  And she was a lousy shot with her left hand. “Good point, but I don’t like going in without protection.”

  “You have me. I can outshoot you, boss lady. You saw my stats.”

  True again. “Okay, you got me. You’re the designated shooter if any firearms need to be drawn.” She put her hand on Augusta’s arm. “Good work, Augusta.”

  “Thanks. We could call in Jackson too.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I don’t know what we’re going to find at Victor’s.” She grabbed the handset on the dash and called dispatch to tell them to send backup. Jackson should be only fifteen minutes or so behind them.

  * * *

  What a stupid, pigheaded thing to do. When the nurse had told him that Jane had left the hospital, he couldn’t believe it.

  If Jane were here right now, Reid would have chewed her out. But her tenaciousness was one of the traits that made her so endearing. When no one answered Augusta’s number, he sat on the edge of his bed and swung his legs over.

  Will’s dark eyes filled with alarm. “What are you doing, Dad?”

  “Get the wheelchair, son. We’re busting out of here too.”

  The doctor had released him for discharge, but the paperwork was too slow in coming for Reid’s peace of mind. Charles had already left with Parker, and nothing was holding him here. Well, other than the fact he’d find it difficult to drive. Will couldn’t legally drive, and though he’d done a fine job last night in the heat of danger, he couldn’t let him break the law today.

  Megan and Olivia had gone to the cafeteria for breakfast and were bringing back food for Reid and Will. They should be back any minute. Reid expected them to argue with him too.

  He couldn’t ask Olivia to drive. She was getting weaker by the day, and he couldn’t put that stress on her.

  Could he drive? While Will went after a chair, Reid flexed his right foot, the one scraped by the chain. He could flex it okay. He eased to his feet and tried to put some weight on it. A little pain and it felt like a lump of lead, but not bad. He wiggled it some more. The more he moved it around, the better it was getting. He could drive.

  His instructions were to elevate and rest his feet and ankles as much as possible, but there were no broken bones. The leg caught in the bear trap was more painful when he tested it, but it wasn’t excruciating. Will still had Jane’s keys, so Reid could take her SUV.

  The problem was finding where she’d gone.

  Jackson.

  Olivia and Megan returned with a bag of beignets and a tray of coffees. “Megan, could I borrow your phone? I’d like to talk to Jackson.”

  She didn’t ask questions but handed it over. Olivia told him the number, and he punched it in. Will came back with the wheelchair and stood waiting for Reid to climb in, and he held up his index finger in a one second motion.

  “Officer Brown.”

  “This is Reid Dixon. I need to catch up with Chief Hardy. I’ve got her gun and personal belongings.”

  Not a lie because the bag with her firearm and dirty, wet clothing was right beside him. What had she worn out of here? Maybe she’d had spare clothing in the SUV. At least she’d had enough sense to make sure Augusta was driving.

  They would make a sorry army with both of them injured. And she’d be furious with him if he showed up.

  “I’ll let her know,” Brown said.

  “She might need her gun right away.”

  “She’s with Detective Richards, sir. She’ll be fine. And from what I understand, she can’t use her right arm, so I don’t think she needs her sidearm.”

  Reid slumped and sighed. “Look, Officer Brown, I’m worried about her. I think she’s going to need backup.”

  “She already asked for backup, and I’m on it. It’s not your job, sir. It’s mine.”

  The officer wasn’t going to divulge any information, and Reid curled his other hand into a fist. “Take good care of her, Officer Brown.”

  “Take some advice from someone who has watched this worry play out in his own family, Mr. Dixon. My dad is a police officer, and I’ve watched my mom worry every day until he comes through the door at night. Trust Chief Hardy to do her job and do it well. She is one of the most qualified officers I’ve ever met. And leave her welfare in God’s hands.”

  The words struck Reid square in the chest. He hadn’t been doing a good job of trusting God lately. Love fermented worry in ways he hadn’t realized until he’d gotten to Pelican Harbor. For all his talk to Jane about trusting God, he’d picked up his worry every time he’d put it down.

  “Thank you, Officer Brown, I’ll keep that in mind. You’re a good man.”

  Reid ended the call and handed the phone back to Megan, then looked at his son waiting so patiently. “If we’re going to love a police officer, Will, I guess we’ll have to learn not to worry.”

  Will’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “You’re worried about Mom? Dad, she’s a freakin’ giant when it comes to justice. There isn’t a criminal strong enough to kill her. Look at her. She ripped out her own IV and walked out of here. I’d be worrying about the guy she’s after.”

  Reid grinned. “Well said, Will. Well said.”

  Forty

  Jane swiped on Olivia’s phone when she saw Senator Fox’s name. She motioned for Augusta to head out in the predawn darkness of the quiet town. “Senator, I apologize for calling so early, but I’ve got an urgent situation that affects many lives.”

  “Chief, I owe you, and that’s the only reason I’m calling at this hour. What’s so urgent?” At five thirty in the morning, Senator Fox’s voice was rough and sleepy.

  “A possible terrorist attack on the Zeus oil platform.”

  Jane plunged into the details she’d learned. “Do you happen to know Victor Armstrong? He sells commercial real estate here in town and is on the city council.”

  “I’ve met him.”

  “He lost a daughter a few years ago. Very tragic.”

  Jane heard rustling in the background, the sound of a coffee grinder. Pelican Brews wasn’t open yet, but she could use a shot of caffeine herself. The lingering effects of the anesthesia made her feel numb and sluggish.

  “I think I heard a little about Belle’s death at the time. She drowned off Fort Morgan? The riptides can be dangerous out there.”

  “I have it from a reliable source that Belle deliberately swam far from shore, too far to be able to make it back even without a riptide. She’d been despondent after an incident at college.”

  “What kind of incident?”

  “It appears she was having an affair with Steve Price, and he dumped her.”

  “How would he be able to punish Steve by blowing up the platform? Your theory is a little wonky, Chief Hardy.”

  “There’s an important inspection happening today, and Steve will be there. I need your help, Senator. That platform needs to be evacuated immediately, and Homeland Security is more apt to move fast with your backing.”

  “I’ll call them right away. Do you know where Armstrong is?”

  “I’d hoped he was at his home, but I haven’t gotten there yet. I need to interrogate his associate.”

  “All right. I’ll get Zeus evacuated and the threat shut down while you gather evidence on your end.”

  “I’ll talk to him first. I have no real evidence for an arrest.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  When the call ended, Jane laid the phone in her lap. “Before we talk to Victor, I want to speak with the guy who kidnapped Will.”

  Augusta nodded and turned into a parking lot to head to the jail. “I couldn’t get anywhere with him, but you can try.”

  The SUV hit a pot
hole exiting the parking lot, and Jane gritted her teeth against the pain that jolted through her shoulder. The pain meds were wearing off, but it was too early to get the prescription filled for more.

  She’d get through the next few hours and then tend to her injuries.

  * * *

  Jane looked through the interrogation room door at the man who’d nearly killed them all. Jonathan Cook looked smaller and not so dangerous dressed in prison garb.

  “Stay close,” she told Augusta. “I’m no match for him if he comes over the table at me.”

  She swallowed four ibuprofen with a sip from the bottle of water in her hand. She had one for Jonathan, too, though she doubted something so mundane would soften him up.

  Augusta nodded and opened the door. She let Jane enter first, and Jane wished she’d had time to change out of the hospital scrubs. A uniform would have held more authority, and he would remember how much he’d hurt her.

  His hard brown eyes swept over her. “You look a little worse for wear, Chief.”

  “I’m fine.” The fire in Jane’s shoulder intensified as she remembered that first moment the bullet had slammed into her shoulder.

  His smirk made her want to pummel him, but she settled in the chair and slid a bottle of water in front of him. “When did Victor Armstrong first contact you about this project?”

  His smile faded. “You have him in custody?”

  “It took a while to figure out, but you’re his patsy, aren’t you? He’s throwing you under the bus.”

  “I always knew he would.” Cook’s dark eyes flashed, and he clenched his fists in his lap. “I didn’t have anything to do with the McDonald murder. It was all Victor. I just disposed of the body.”

  “Keith drowned before you tied him to the girder?”

  “Dex threw him overboard. No one can survive a fall from that high up.”

  Dex. She’d thought he might be more than a courier, but he was in this up to his eyeballs.

  His evasive answer told Jane everything she needed to know. “Was Dex your contact, or did Armstrong give you orders directly?”

  “I don’t deal with lackeys. You’ve found all this out a little too late, Chief.” The mockery was back in his eyes. “The rig will begin to malfunction any time now.”

  Jane showed no emotion. “Homeland Security has it under control and disabled the rogue program.”

  Cook blinked. “Armstrong said it couldn’t be detected.”

  Her guess based on the little she’d learned from Keith’s emails had been correct. They had to stop the program from executing. She nodded to Augusta, who pulled out her phone and shot off a text to Senator Fox to alert her how the sabotage was planned to play out. Jane could only hope Homeland Security had the best computer specialist in the country on it. Would shutting everything down stop it?

  The pain in her shoulder intensified as more of the pain med wore off, and she winced as she rose and nodded to Augusta. “Detective Richards will take any other information. Cooperate with us, and we’ll reduce the charges.”

  Murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, the list went on and on. She called Jackson and told him to get an arrest warrant for Dex. “He killed Keith and took the pictures of Bonnie. He’s a big part of this.”

  “I’ll get right on it, Chief.”

  Leaving Augusta to finish up, she went to her office, where she sank into a chair. Her eyes were gritty, and every muscle in her body protested at the abuse they’d suffered in the past few hours. The thought of a comfy bed enticed her, but she couldn’t rest. Not until Zeus was locked down, and her beautiful Gulf was safe.

  She longed to talk to Reid, to rest in his strength, but he’d try to talk her out of what she had to do. He might be sleeping and not even know she’d checked herself out of the hospital. She hoped so.

  She leaned back in her desk chair and thought through the next steps. The senator had promised to call with any news on her end, and Jane needed to make sure she’d gotten Augusta’s text about the plan’s details. She reached for the phone and called.

  “Chief, I was about to call you.” The senator’s voice was brisk and alert. “Homeland Security raided Price’s office and had him order the rig shut down and evacuated. The workers are being airlifted off the rig as we speak. We sent out helicopters and boats. They should all be off in the next few minutes. Computer experts are onboard now as well, and I hear they’ve located the file and stopped its execution.”

  Jane closed her eyes briefly. “Thank you, God.”

  “Amen. And thank you, Jane. Well done, Chief Hardy, well done.”

  Jane’s eyes burned, and she blinked back relieved tears. “Thanks to you, Senator. We’d have been too late without your intervention.”

  “I did very little, Jane. I merely informed the right people of your discoveries. Now get some rest, Chief.”

  “I still need to arrest Victor.”

  “Federal agents can do it unless you want to.”

  “He messed with my town. I want to get him.”

  “Have at it then.”

  “I’ll do that, Senator. Thank you.”

  Jane gritted her teeth at the pain when she rose. The smart thing to do would have been to let federal agents arrest Victor, but this was personal.

  Forty-One

  He’d better get used to worry.

  Reid sat on a lounger to elevate his feet on the back deck. He listened to the bullfrogs as the sun came up over the trees. His ankles throbbed, but it wasn’t too bad since he’d taken some ibuprofen with breakfast.

  Will came through the door with a cup of coffee and handed it to Reid. “Have you heard anything from Mom?”

  “No, but she can’t really call me since I don’t have a phone. As soon as the store opens, I’ll get us new ones.”

  He wrapped his hands around the hot mug and sipped his coffee. It would be a perfect morning if Jane were here with them. He couldn’t help worrying even though she was an excellent officer and had backup now. Things happened. Officers died in the line of duty. The only way to live with that day after day was to remember God knew the hour and day of each of their deaths. He could die in a car accident or from a brain tumor before Jane took a bullet.

  Life was unpredictable, but death wasn’t the end, just the beginning. That fact was often hard to remember.

  “Megan’s going to come and get me for church if that’s okay.”

  “That’s great. I’m going to keep my feet elevated today.”

  “Good plan. I’ll wait out front for her. She should be here any minute.” Will took his coffee with him and vanished around the side of the house.

  A shower sounded great. Reid still had sea salt in his hair and on his skin. He’d get cleaned up when he was done with his coffee. He took a sip and heard tires on the crushed oyster-shell driveway. He assumed it was Megan until Scott came around the side of the house.

  “Saw your boy out front.” The attorney wore gray slacks and a white button-down shirt. His hair still glistened from his morning shower. “I had something I needed to talk to you about, and I didn’t want to wait until our next appointment. This isn’t something I wanted to discuss over the phone.”

  When he approached, he looked at Reid’s bandaged ankles and discolored skin, visible in the sport shorts he wore. “What happened to you?”

  Reid told him what had happened. “We’re all going to be okay though.”

  Scott settled on a chair beside Reid. “This is probably bad timing then.”

  “No, it’s fine. What’s up? Did you hear from Lauren’s attorney?”

  “Unfortunately, I did. This will come as a shock, Reid, but you remember I told you about Nevada’s funny law about death in absentia?”

  “Yes.” Reid didn’t like the sound of the unfortunately.

  “Lauren can make the case that she’s actually still married to you. She came back in time to set aside the decree about her death, which also nullifies our assumption that the marriage is no longer in effec
t too.”

  Reid felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He straightened and shook his head. “That’s not possible.”

  “I’ve done some research, and it’s possible a judge could rule that way. The law hasn’t been tested, and in other states if someone comes back, the marriage is as invalid as any claim to property. But her return basically nullified the death in absentia. You never filed for divorce while you waited to have her declared dead, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  This was a nightmare. Just as he and Jane were getting closer, and he’d told her he loved her, they’d have to deal with this. And his faith had balked at the thought of filing for divorce. Which was why he didn’t. Now what did he do? Lauren had committed adultery, which was an allowable reason in the Bible for divorce, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “We can file for divorce now though, right?”

  “Right. But it adds another wrinkle because she can sue for half your estate. Half the house in New Orleans, half this house, half your assets. Now, I don’t think a judge would rule in her favor, but it’s going to cost more to extricate you from all this in court costs. You might be better off to offer her a settlement and get it over with.”

  Everything in him balked at the idea of giving Lauren even one penny more than he had to. She’d hurt Will so badly that he didn’t want to fund her to damage someone else.

  “I’d rather see if a judge will rule in my favor and set aside the marriage.”

  “I thought you’d say that. I’ll file the necessary paperwork, and we’ll see what happens. I can understand you not wanting to deal with her and maybe have to give her more than you want.”

  How did he tell Jane this news? It would be hard to swallow. He’d seen the love in her face last night, even though she’d had trouble saying the words. He’d allowed himself to dream they would be a family soon and live here together.

  Now all those plans were in jeopardy. They’d need to discuss it. If she wanted him to pay off Lauren, he’d do it.