Deadly Connection

by Lenora Worth

  “And we need to find this shooter fast,” Belle said.

  “Agreed.”

  Belle scanned the alley where they crouched in the narrow doorway of a closed closet. Another shot came close, hitting the ground at Emmett’s feet. Justice waited in his position across from Belle, then barked and looked north. Belle heard people shouting and prayed they’d take cover until she and Emmett could help.

  “I’m calling for backup,” she whispered. “Then we move in.”

  Emmett nodded and watched while she made the call. “10-10. Shots fired inside City Wide Storage.” She named the address and their location.

  Justice barked again, his nose in the air. Then he glanced back at her, eager to go.

  “Good boy,” Belle said, shifting low to the ground. “I agree.”

  The shots were coming from inside the building and most likely this floor. Someone must have followed them and waited for an opportunity.

  Emmett managed to dive into another corner across from them. “I can’t see anyone.”

  Another shot rang out, pinging the concrete between units.

  “I’m taking Justice along the open catwalk,” Belle said. “You try to sneak out the back exit.”

  “Belle?”

  “Emmett, let me do my job.”

  He nodded and scanned the corners. “I’ll cover you until you’re out of sight.”

  Lifting her head, she accepted that, then made another move. “Go,” she ordered Justice. “Go. Find.”

  Justice started up the catwalk and then sniffed to the left, two aisles over. Giving him the silent signal to halt, Belle crouched down, then peeked around the row of storage closets and saw a movement on the other side of the long aisle. The shooter, inching closer.

  A bullet whizzed past her head and Emmett returned fire from behind her. Belle moved to the next corner, Justice following close, and waved Emmett to go. Then she sat back a few minutes and listened to running feet and shouts. She was about to make another run for it when she heard someone around the corner.

  Justice emitted a low growl that told her he’d picked up the scent again. “Stay,” she said, giving him a hand signal to back it up.

  Belle lifted around the corner to peek.

  A round of fire came at her and she retreated back, bullets pouncing and pinging past her and hitting the catwalk floor and concrete sides near the open air.

  Then Emmett came up behind her, returning fire. “Belle, let’s go!”

  Belle lifted and took another glance. The man dropped down and rolled around the corner.

  “I see the shooter, Emmett. I can circle around.”

  “No, I’ve alerted the manager and he’s getting everyone out. They’re all headed away and down the back stairs. That leaves us and him until backup gets here.” Motioning to where the shots came from, he added, “We need to wait and let him come to us.”

  She didn’t want to put anyone else in danger and if she went after the man now, he could grab a hostage to get him out of here. But she could go around and between units to get closer. But by the time she could sneak up on the shooter, they should have help surrounding the perimeters of the building.

  “Let’s try again,” Emmett said when the sound of footsteps and voices settled down.

  “Behind you,” she said to Emmett. Then she shot once and did a quick sprint to the next set of units. She pointed to the last few rows of units across from them. “We can’t get out unless we make a run to the very end units. And he’ll be running that same way.”

  “Copy that.” Emmett glanced up. “We need to make the stairs and get on a floor over him. Spot him from the catwalk.”

  Belle motioned okay. But footsteps took off up the way. “There he goes.”

  Belle saw a man dressed in dark colors moving in a crouch along the row where they’d planned to hide around the corner. “I think I can get in a shot.” She got down and belly crawled as close to the corner as she could. “I’m going to send Justice in and then I’ll make a move.”

  “Dangerous,” Emmett said while sirens wailed in the distance. “Wait for backup.”

  “Justice can take him,” she retorted. “I have to get over the fear of him being hurt again. He’s trained, same as me.”

  Justice barked an agreement on that.

  Belle lifted up and then shouted, “Attack.”

  The dog hurled through the air with teeth bared, but the man spun up and took off, his heavy footsteps echoing between units.

  Justice followed in a fast, eager trot.

  Belle hurried along with him, not sure where Emmett was since she’d taken off without him.

  She made it around the corner and spotted the man going down the stairs to the parking garage. The opposite direction of where the manager had led the people away, thankfully.

  Justice stayed on the man’s trail with Belle sprinting behind him.

  The man stopped at the bottom of the stairs when she and Justice reached the landing. “Stop,” Belle called out. “Put the gun down.” He fired but missed. Then he took off running.

  Emmett came up behind her and fired after him. They spotted the man as he reached the other end of the parking lot where a sign stated Employee Parking Only. He hurled over barriers and sprinted toward a navy-colored car, Justice racing after him.

  Justice kept barking and snarling. The man turned, his features shadowed by dusk, and shot haphazardly into the air. Then he opened the battered car door and jumped into the vehicle. A moment later Justice jumped up against the driver’s side door, all teeth and bark.

  The economy car had seen better days, but it cranked and revved before heading out of a small exit on the east side of the building.

  Belle shouted to Justice to halt and ran with all her might, praying Justice wouldn’t get shot or hit. But the car peeled out and skidded around a corner before she could get in a shot.

  “Come,” she called to Justice. Justice snarled but he retreated back toward her. Belle heard the car’s squealing tires as it sped away.

  “Did you get the license number?” Belle asked Emmett as he came hurrying behind her.

  “No, I couldn’t make it out in the dark,” he said, stopping to catch his breath. “We should have chased him in the truck.”

  “We wouldn’t have made it, anyway,” she said, gulping in air. “Justice almost had him.”

  Belle sent a description out over the radio. Officers came running and surrounded them. Belle and Emmett quickly gave an update. Reports of officers in pursuit came back.

  After they’d secured the building and made sure everyone else was safe, Belle turned to Emmett. “At least I got a good look at that messed up door on the driver’s side.”

  “Did he look like your man?”

  “I can’t say,” she admitted. “He had on gray baggy pants and a lightweight hoodie and big sunglasses. Could have been anyone.”

  “But only a few would shoot at us. Namely, two that I can think of.”

  “You mean the two men we’re after?” Belle asked as they turned toward Emmett’s truck.

  “Yep.” Emmett made sure she and Justice were both inside before he got in and put the vehicle in drive. “Lance Johnson and Randall Gage.”

  “But Randall doesn’t know we’re looking for him,” Belle said, wondering again if Emmett had been in touch with Randall.

  “If he’s in the area and he’s seen us together, it wouldn’t be hard for him to figure out. He might have been warned by someone in cahoots with him. I’ve put out the word so people might have been asking around.”

  “Would your cousin shoot at us just to scare us? Or would he shoot to kill? Because we know Lance Johnson is a lousy shot and so was this person today.”

  “Who knows at this point,” Emmett said. “They both might have motive to keep us quiet. But you’re right. Th
at person had every opportunity to shoot to kill and he missed.”

  Belle let that realization soak in as they headed out of the storage lot. She could see Lance Johnson wanting to kill her but Emmett’s cousin? And would he really shoot his own relative?

  If he killed once, he could easily kill again.

  Then word came over the radio that they’d lost the car in pursuit. Apparently, whoever this was knew his way around Brooklyn enough to elude a police chase. Where had he gone?

  “I’m liking Lance Johnson for this,” she told Emmett. “Let’s find Randall and bring him in before we jump to any more conclusions,” she suggested. “It’s a stretch that this could be him, but he did live here once and could be tailing us, too.”

  “Yeah, same as it was a stretch that you’d find one of my relatives who might be involved in a cold case from twenty years ago?”

  Emmett had a point. What were the odds?

  She needed to keep this case and all the facts front and center and get the job done. They had to find both Lance Johnson and Randall Gage soon. Because not only was she in physical danger on all sides, but her heart was becoming more and more open to getting to know Emmett better, too.

  She sure didn’t need to add dealing with an interesting, hard-to-read man to her to-do list.

  SEVEN

  By the time they went their separate ways, Belle was too tired to focus on anything but sleep. Her boss had called her and reprimanded her heavily about not listening to orders. “I’m not telling you again, Belle. Stay home tomorrow or I’ll put you filing away evidence down in the basement.”

  “Yes, sir,” she’d replied while they stood inside Gavin’s office. “I didn’t think this would turn into an ordeal.”

  “Someone is trying to kill you, Belle. That is an ordeal and one you need to take seriously. You went out with the marshal when you were supposed to be off duty and recuperating.”

  She didn’t argue that she also wanted to take Randall Gage seriously. But she did want to stay on the case and since she didn’t want to lose this job, she had to settle down and wait for at least twenty-four hours or risk being in even worse trouble.

  “I’ll look these files over tonight,” Emmett told her back at the precinct, once Sarge was done with her. “If I find anything helpful, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Did he let you have it, too?” she asked Emmett.

  “Not in the same way. He mostly glared at me and then asked about the shooter. But he did say he’s got people searching for the car we described. It seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “I should be out there, too.”

  “No. You’re supposed to go home. Don’t push it, Belle.”

  Emmett hadn’t exactly ordered her around. The concern in his voice held her steady. That and the exhaustion taking over her whole system.

  “Okay,” she said in sharp acceptance. “I’m leaving right now. Justice and I will watch an old movie.”

  “Now I know you’re tired. You didn’t argue with me.”

  She smiled and then made a face at him. But he was right.

  Her throat muscles were still sore, tight and burning and her whole body seemed locked in a death grip she couldn’t shake. She’d held it all in but now it shouted at her with every step she took. Plus, she needed to see her family. She’d been making excuses since the other night when Emmett had come to her apartment with her. Had that only been last night?

  Usually, she’d poke her head in at breakfast, grab a piece of toast or a bagel and head out to work. Then she’d stop by at night and nibble on leftovers and give her parents a kiss before crashing in her own place. Her mother started speculating if she didn’t show.

  Sure that Cara had reported the whole scene of her and Emmett in the dark kitchen of their parents’ home, Belle needed to make an appearance before she could go to her own apartment and get some sleep. Her mom would come looking and then Belle would get a lecture about settling down and getting married. Her mother prayed she’d give up her dangerous job and find something more suitable. That would never work. Belle wasn’t cut out to be an office worker or a stay-at-home mother. She needed to be out in the city, helping other people.

  Around nine o’clock, she entered her parents’ apartment, using the key she always had on hand, Justice following excitedly since he loved her family.

  “Belle, is that you?”

  “It’s me, Mamá.”

  Gina Montera lapsed into Spanish, fussing over her oldest daughter and telling her to sit. She needed to eat.

  “I’m not hungry,” Belle replied, slipping down onto a dining chair, the feeling of being home and safe overtaking her. “I just wanted to report in. Things have been kind of wild at work this week.”

  “I’m your mother, not your boss,” Gina pointed out, her short dark curls framing her oval face. “You don’t check in with me, you come by to see your poor mother, show me you are alive and okay. This is my one rule.” Pulling out sliced turkey and sandwich bread, she shoved a plate in front of Belle and then stared at her neck, her dark gaze slamming against Belle’s face. “What happened to you? And don’t tell me you have some stalker but I’m not to worry about it. Mothers worry.”

  Belle cringed and chewed on a chunk of spicy turkey. “I got into a fight with a bad guy and I don’t think he’s done with me.”

  Gina shook her head and put a hand to her mouth. “He did this to you? Is he the one who left that envelope? The one you warned us about?”

  “I think so, but I’m fine,” Belle said, lifting her collar a bit. “And I have people watching over all of you, too.” He grabbed me at the park, but I had help.”

  “The man your sister saw you with last night?”

  “Sí.” Belle nibbled the bread, then took a drink of tea. “He’s a US marshal who’s helping me with a cold case. We had a meeting and he came along just in time.”

  “I’m thankful for that.” Gina flicked Belle’s uniform collar. “As if you could hide that from your mother. You need to settle down and get married. This is not the work for you.”

  “We’ve discussed this,” Belle said for the hundredth time. “I like what I do. I like protecting people.”

  “But not yourself.” Pointing to Justice, she asked, “Where was this one when you were attacked?”

  Justice’s ears went up and his dark eyes widened as if he wanted to explain but felt too fuzzy to do so. He let out a soft whimper and then put his head back on his paws.

  Belle didn’t want to go into detail about Justice getting hit with a tranquilizer dart because she’d get another round of fear and condemnation. “Nearby, but Justice did his best and between him and my friend, I’m here and I’m okay. Sorry I missed dinner again.”

  She stood and stretched. “Is Papá in bed already?”

  Gina nodded. “He’s tired. Your brother and he had words again.”

  “About?”

  “Joaquin seems to think he can run around with whomever he pleases. The crowd he’s with now is not a good one.”

  “I’ll talk to him again,” Belle said on a frustrated note. “He could get into serious trouble if he keeps this up. I won’t always be able to run interference.” She thought about Randall Gage and felt sure Emmett’s father and Emmett, too, had done their best to help him when they could. But the man was in his sixties now and could be getting away with murder.

  How did a person live with that kind of guilt?

  “We both try to tell him this,” her mother replied, tears in her eyes. “But your brother thinks he knows more than we do. He is stubborn and determined.”

  “Well, so am I,” Belle replied before she kissed her mom on the head. “Anita and Cara?”

  “Up in their room, supposedly going to bed early since they start summer jobs this week working at Uncle Rico’s café.”

 
Belle nodded at that. She remembered earning money working at Rico’s Café just around the corner from their apartment building. Her uncle had encouraged her to follow her dreams and never forget her roots.

  “I’m glad they’re working and close by at that.” Then she pushed her plate away and took a long sip of her mother’s tart lemonade. “Has anyone come around this week? Asking questions? Anything like that?”

  “No, but we’re watching carefully, just as you said.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mamá. I don’t want it spilling over on all of you.”

  “You’d tell me if there’s more right?”

  “I’ll tell you if you need to know, yes, Mamá.”

  Gina shook her head. “Now I’ll worry.”

  “Don’t. You know I watch out for all of you.”

  “What about you?” Gina asked. “Does your new friend watch out for you?”

  “He tries,” Belle admitted, thinking about how she and Emmett had somehow meshed in spite of being forced together in a strange way. “If I let him.”

  “You need to start letting more,” Gina reminded her. “I want grandchildren before I’m too old.”

  Belle accepted a motherly kiss and then went down to her place with her mother’s parting words in her head. Did she want children?

  Emmett came to mind again and she shoved that image away. She would not put a man like Emmett Gage in the same thought with a passel of kids. She’d only met him a little over twenty-four hours ago. Not much time to plan out a future.

  And way too soon after she’d dumped Percy Carolo, a man who wanted to be a police officer but didn’t want to accept the rank-and-file authority that required. She wouldn’t compete to prove her worth with another law enforcement man, even if this one actually knew what he was doing and seemed to treat her equally.

  Nope, she wouldn’t go there. Not tonight. Too tired, sore and sleepy. But her mind whirled with why Lance Johnson had it in for her. Then she moved to the puzzle of Emmett’s cousin Randall and why he might murder a married couple and leave the young child, Penny, who’d been home at the time, unharmed. Could he have done the same thing again two months ago with the Emerys and little Lucy?