by Nancy Mehl
Tony snorted. “I don’t know. Had nothing else to do yesterday morning.”
“I’m sure you could have spent your time looking for our deputies. Wasn’t that more important?”
“Don’t be an idiot. And don’t make me tell you how important you are to all of us. It’s embarrassing.”
Although Batterson’s first reaction was to chew Tony out, he couldn’t do it. Maybe it was the meds they had him on, but the loyalty Tony had shown made him feel emotional—too much so. He quickly changed the subject.
“I . . . I used his phone,” Batterson said.
“We know. We initially thought he gave you his phone because he wanted to know who you’d call.”
Batterson’s mind was moving slower than normal, but fear suddenly gripped him. “I don’t think that was his first thought, but I’m sure he checked his phone after he took it back. I-I called Doug . . . and Karen.”
“I know that too. We’ve got Karen and Marlon somewhere safe. Don’t worry.”
Batterson sighed with relief. “Thank you, Tony. So when’s the last time you heard from Howard and Sloane?”
“I talked to Casey just a few hours ago.”
Batterson frowned at him. “Wanna tell me what she said?”
Tony glanced around. Batterson got the feeling he was looking for the doctor. “Tell me now, Tony. I mean it.” He tried to sound tough, but the truth was, he was pretty sure he couldn’t stand up by himself even if he managed to get out of bed.
“She . . . she said the FBI had arrived and that they were handing Valerie Bennett over to them.”
“What?” Batterson felt faint. He fought to stay conscious. “I told you I didn’t call them.”
“I know, Chief. Look, I didn’t tell you the whole story earlier. The FBI located the house. Our people were gone. We’re doing everything we can to find them.”
Batterson was silent for a moment. He’d called Karen first so she’d let Marlon know he was okay. He wanted to let the boy know he was alive. He’d lost his mother and had nightmares about being left alone. Batterson’s reaction was pure instinct. He’d always put his job first . . . even through his three marriages. The one time in his life he’d made another human being his priority, it may have cost his deputies their lives.
“We know you talked to Doug and Karen,” Tony said. “Was there anyone else?”
Batterson shook his head. “It’s my fault. I should have called the FBI first.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tony said, his voice stern. “I would have called Kate first. It’s the way love works, Chief. And again, you had no idea you wouldn’t be able to make another call. Don’t crucify yourself with some kind of false guilt.”
“It’s not false guilt. It’s—”
“So there wasn’t anyone else, Chief?” Tony said, interrupting him.
“No. That was it.”
“Here’s something else you’re not going to like,” Tony said. “Valerie Bennett’s been in contact with Mattan for a while, feeding him information about us. She heard the phone call to Doug and shared with him that you planned to call the FBI.”
Batterson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Our witness betrayed us? Why? Is she working with this Mattan guy?”
“No. We believe he has Ms. Bennett’s sister and has been threatening to kill her.”
Batterson leaned back against his pillow and swore. “She’s the reason he bombed our office. She’s responsible for the people we lost.”
“No, Chief. Mattan and Al-Saud are responsible. Ms. Bennett was only trying to protect her sister.”
Batterson waved his hand at Tony. “Maybe. Go on.”
“We believe when Mattan checked your phone, he saw there wasn’t a call to the FBI. That’s when he got the idea of sending someone to show up pretending to be the Feds. He thought you were dead, so no one would know the difference. But when the men Mattan sent talked to Doug and Casey, I believe they found out you were still alive. I’m sure they told Mattan, and then he sent our fake nurse.” Tony took a deep breath and let it out. “Of course, this is conjecture. We’re really flying blind here.”
Batterson heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Had ten minutes gone by already? “Have you brought the real FBI in on this yet?”
“Tom’s talked to them. They’re working to help us now. They found the location of your ex-wife’s house. Look, Casey and E.J. Queen are highly trained deputies. They’ll watch out for our witness and keep themselves safe. I’m sure of it.”
Batterson studied Tony for a moment. “What about Doug? You didn’t mention him.”
“Sorry, Chief. Just forgot. It’s been so crazy, and I haven’t had much sleep.”
Batterson started to question him again when Dr. Silver came up and put her hand on his shoulder. “That’s it for now.” She pointed her index finger at Tony. “He needs rest. Check with me in a few hours. If he’s doing okay, I’ll let you talk to him again.”
“Thanks, Doc. Take care of yourself, Chief.” Tony walked away quickly as if he were trying to escape.
Batterson half listened as the doctor talked to him about what would happen next in his recovery. Tony was keeping something back, and it worried him. What was it he was afraid to tell him?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
They’d been on the road for almost three hours. Casey was tired of having a gun pointed at her. She’d been watching Tucker closely. Was he getting tired? If he started to nod off, maybe she could get the gun away from him, but what would happen to Valerie? Would they really abuse her? Casey was pretty sure these guys would do whatever they had to in order to get their money. She couldn’t take the chance that something she did might lead to Valerie getting hurt.
She reached over and switched on the radio. A country station came on, and Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” drifted through the speakers. One of her favorite songs.
“Turn that noise off,” Tucker snapped. “I hate country.”
“Well, I like it,” she said. “I need something to keep me awake. Unless you want me to fall asleep and run into someone, we need to keep it on.” She really didn’t feel tired; she just needed the distraction. Her head was pounding from trying to figure a way out of their situation. If she and E.J. didn’t do something before they reached their destination, neither one of them would live past this day.
Tucker grunted and shrugged. “Whatever. I guess since this is probably the last music you’ll ever hear, you may as well listen to what you want.”
The argument she’d used to get him to let her play the country station replayed in her head. She glanced over at Tucker. No seat belt. What about Valerie? An image of her getting into the car flashed in Casey’s memory. She’d definitely fastened her belt. What about their captors? She had no idea, and there simply wasn’t any way for her to be sure.
She looked around at the traffic. The sun was up now, lots of people on their way to work. Was her plan too dangerous? More than anything, she wished she could talk to E.J. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw him staring at her, a half smile on his face. Was he thinking the same thing she was? She slowly reached up and tugged on her seat belt with her right hand. When she did, E.J. nodded. Still, she couldn’t be sure they were on the same page. It might be crazy, and she didn’t want to do it unless he was in agreement.
“Any way we can stop for coffee?” she said to Tucker. “I could use the caffeine boost.”
“No stopping,” he said emphatically.
“Okay, but isn’t picking up some coffee better than me falling asleep and crashing into another car?”
Tucker stuck the gun in her side. “How’s this for a shot of adrenaline? No stopping unless Jerry . . . uh, I mean Palmer says it’s okay. Ya got that?”
“All right. Sorry. Guess I just need to keep my head down,” she said. Once again she sought E.J.’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, he nodded again. She was convinced he understood. Now she just had
to wonder if she really had the courage to go through with her plan. Her heart raced in her chest, and she prayed God would protect them.
She kept the car at a steady pace and waited for the right moment. It took almost thirty minutes for her to find a semitruck she could get behind without making it seem suspicious. She tried to pull back and get into position two different times. She needed some space between her car and the truck. Both times someone pulled into the gap, forcing her to abandon her plan. Casey also had to make certain the car Valerie was in was right behind them. Finally, with her third attempt, everything was lined up just right. With one more look at E.J., she began to speed up.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Tucker yelled. “Slow down!”
In response she punched the accelerator. The driver behind her increased speed just as she’d assumed he would. She saw E.J. raise his cuffed hands to cover his face. Then Casey closed her eyes and buried her face into her one free arm. She slammed into the back of the semi. Immediately the car holding Valerie hit them. Though she’d tried to prepare for it, when the airbag inflated, it punched her in the face like a heavyweight boxer putting all his strength behind his fist. She started to black out but fought against it with every ounce of determination she could muster.
She stomped on the brake and shifted the car into park. She looked to see where they were. Her car was about fifty feet behind the semitruck. Thankfully it hadn’t ended up in another lane. No other cars had been hit. Trying to stay conscious, she unhooked her seat belt and looked to her right. Even though the sight before her was what she’d expected, she quickly turned her head away, her stomach churning. Tucker had gone partially through the windshield. His body was torn and bloody. Without looking at him again, she reached over and grabbed his gun. Then she twisted around to check on E.J. His head was bent over, and for a moment she was afraid he was badly injured. But then he moaned, raised his head and blinked at her.
“Are you all right?” he mumbled, his words hard to understand.
“I’m fine. I’ve got the gun. We need to get out of here so you can rescue Valerie.”
He nodded. “You’ll have to help me.”
Casey realized she needed the key to the cuffs. Pushing back the nausea threatening to overtake her, she reached into Tucker’s pocket hoping the key was in the left side of his pants. Her hand closed around a key ring. She pulled it out of his pocket and then crawled out of the car, trying to stand to her feet. She could see the other car now. The front was crushed almost flat. Its windshield was spotted with blood, the glass cracked in several places.
Had the other men worn their seat belts? If so, would they be getting out of the car with their guns drawn? Casey pulled on the back car door. At first it wouldn’t budge. She finally got it to open but not all the way. After fumbling with the keys for a few seconds, she found the right one. She leaned in, unlocked E.J.’s handcuffs, and unfastened his seat belt.
“You sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“I’m just sore,” E.J. said. She was thankful he wasn’t badly injured. He slowly scooted out of the car. “Give me the gun,” he told her.
“I’ll take care of it,” she insisted. “You look dazed.”
“Please, Casey. Don’t argue with me. We’re not in competition. I’m bigger and stronger. And I want to see what’s going on in the other car.”
Reluctantly she handed him the gun. “I’m a better shot than you.”
“I know that, but we may actually need brute strength. Besides, I’m a larger target than you.” He gave her a crooked smile.
“Fine, but I’m coming with you.” She knew he wanted to protect her, but she didn’t need him to watch over her. She was every bit the deputy he was. Still, knowing he cared about her so much made her feel good.
As they approached the black SUV, Casey noticed other vehicles stopping around them, people staring. Many of them were taking video on their smartphones. A couple of people started to get out of their cars, probably wanting to help. But when they saw the gun in E.J.’s hand, they quickly retreated, some even speeding away from the scene. Casey couldn’t blame them.
E.J. held the gun in front of him as he pulled the driver’s door open. Anderson’s head was bent forward. He was either dead or unconscious. Palmer hadn’t fastened his seat belt. He hadn’t been thrown through the windshield like Tucker had, but he’d struck it hard enough to crush part of his head. He was obviously dead.
Casey opened the back door. Valerie stared at her, panting, her eyes wide. “What . . . what happened?”
“We’ve had an accident,” Casey said. “Come on. We need to get you out of here right away.”
Valerie unhooked her seat belt and tried to push herself over to the door. “My body really hurts.”
“It will for a while. You’re going to have to fight through the pain.”
From somewhere behind them came the shrill whine of a siren.
“Thank God,” Casey said. “The police.” She turned to E.J. “You’d better put that gun away. I’d hate to see you shot by the cops.”
“Good point.” E.J. gestured toward Casey’s car. “Let’s go over there and wait,” he said to Valerie.
“Hold on a minute,” Casey said. She noticed the tote bag of phones the men had collected lying on the floor and grabbed the bag. “I’m tired of not having a phone.” She opened it and dumped everything onto the ground. Finding her burner phone, she snatched it up and put the phone in her pocket. She thought about getting Valerie’s phone, but then decided to let the police secure it.
She was getting ready to follow E.J. and Valerie when Anderson grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She twisted away and ran toward E.J.
“He’s conscious!” she cried out. “Be careful.”
Before E.J. had a chance to respond, Anderson climbed out of the car and fired his weapon, barely missing E.J., who pulled his gun from his waistband and fired back. Anderson was hit but not stopped. He fired again. At first, Casey thought he’d missed. Then she felt an odd sting in her side. When she looked down, she saw blood seeping onto her white blouse.
Anderson had taken cover behind the open car door. E.J. fired two shots at him and then sprinted over to a man idling in a white sedan. He yanked the door open and ordered the man out. “I’m a Deputy U.S. Marshal and I need this vehicle.”
Although the man looked as if he wanted to argue, his eyes never left E.J.’s gun. Finally he nodded and ran from his car. E.J. led Valerie into the back seat and ran back for Casey, who was crouched behind the back of her ruined Cruiser.
Anderson stepped out from behind cover and raised his weapon.
“Watch out, E.J.!” Casey shouted.
E.J. turned and fired at Anderson, who’d ducked down once again. E.J. grabbed Casey and ran with her to the white sedan. He shoved her into the back seat next to Valerie. Then, after firing one more shot at Anderson, he slid behind the wheel, stepped on the accelerator, and began to navigate between the two lanes of stopped traffic. Casey prayed as the sides of the car scraped against other vehicles. Motorists who’d exited their cars to see what was going on had to jump out of the way.
“Careful! Don’t run into anyone,” Casey said.
E.J.’s jaw was set with determination. “They’re gonna have to take care of themselves.”
“What about the police?” she asked.
“Can’t wait for them. Not with Anderson shooting at us.” He came to an open spot and took the exit.
“Pull over,” Casey said. “We can call and get some help.”
He shook his head. “We need to get someplace safe.” He looked at her in the rearview mirror. “What if Anderson did the same thing we did? He could be right behind us.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Casey wasn’t certain how badly she was injured, but their witness was in trouble. It was her job to make sure Valerie stayed safe. Right now, nothing was more important than that. Not even her own life.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
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br /> Tony rushed into the temporary office set up for Tom Monnier while the rest of the building was being repaired. “Tom, have you seen the news?”
Tom shook his head. “No, Tony. I’ve been a little busy.”
“You’ll want to see this.” Tony handed Tom his phone, then clicked on a story that had just aired on a national news channel.
They both listened as a reporter relayed the details of a frightening scene unfolding on a Pennsylvania highway. As Tom watched, he saw a man get out of a car that looked as if it had crashed into the back of a semitruck. The man rushed toward the car behind them while a woman from the first car followed him. The man reached into the second car and pulled out a passenger, a woman. He began to lead her away when a second man got out and began shooting at the other three. The first man ran over and pulled a bystander from his car, pushed him out of the line of fire, and ushered the women inside as he fired back at the shooter. Tom gasped. “That’s Casey!”
“Yeah, and that’s Valerie Bennett. The man there is E.J. Queen, the deputy from D.C.”
“And where was this? How long ago?”
“Not too far from Pittsburgh on Highway 70. The video was taken about half an hour ago.”
“Call law enforcement in the area. I’ll contact the bureau. We need a chance to find our people and bring them in before Mattan goes after them.”
Both men got on the phone, and Tony prayed they could get help to their deputies before Mattan ordered their executions.
E.J. drove until he found a road that didn’t look well traveled. He turned and kept going until he arrived at a small town that looked deserted. He wasn’t sure just where they were. Somewhere in Pennsylvania. The last sign he’d seen on the highway was Cranberry. That didn’t mean anything to him.
He pulled behind an abandoned service station. When he turned around to say something to Casey, he noticed the blood on her blouse.
“Are you all right?” Not waiting for an answer, he jumped out of the car and ran around to where she sat.
She waved him away. “I’m okay. The bullet just grazed me. Bled a lot at first, but it seems to have stopped.”