by Laura Scott
No! She stumbled, almost going down to the concrete floor at the thought of Nate being hit. She tried to turn back, to see what had happened.
Nate lowered his weapon, his expression grim. Damon was on the floor, curled in a ball, his arms covering his head. “Don’t shoot, I’m not armed, don’t shoot!” The sobs came from deep within, and she almost felt sorry for her old boss, even though she knew he was complicit in the crimes Craggy Face had committed.
Craggy Face swayed, his hand pressed to his bleeding chest, a look of surprise on his face. As if in slow motion, the gun in his hand fell from his grip, clattering loudly against the cement floor. “You shot me.” The words came out in a surprised tone as he slowly sank to the floor.
“Stop! Police!” The shout came from up above and suddenly there were several cops thundering down the stairs to the basement. She had to move out of the way to give them room to get by.
“Nate? Are you hurt?” She raked her gaze over him, searching for injuries.
“I’m fine, but the box of phones isn’t.” He gestured toward the bullet hole that had gone into a box mere inches from where he stood. She understood he’d had no choice but to shoot Craggy Face in self-defense. Nate abruptly stepped forward, pulling her into his arms. “Are you all right?”
Her knees went weak as the initial rush of adrenaline began to fade. “I—think so. Scared, but not hurt. But I had to leave Lucy in the bathroom...” She swallowed a sob.
“Lucy’s okay. Officer Kuhn has her.”
She closed her eyes on a wave of relief. “Leaving her behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I need to call Officer Kuhn.”
“Of course.”
She reached for her phone but once again, there was no service. She’d need to wait until they were up in the alley.
One of the cops pressed a towel to the bleeding wound in Craggy Face’s chest while another cuffed him just in case. The officer then handcuffed Damon Berk, as well. Damon didn’t protest; in fact, he almost seemed grateful to be with the police, his eyes red and puffy from crying.
It was over.
“Let’s get out of here.” Nate’s voice was low and husky in her ear.
She nodded, forcing herself to step away from the warmth of his arms. Without hesitation, she headed up the stairs.
In the alley, she was about to pull out her phone, but then saw Office Kuhn and Lucy standing near several police officers.
“Lucy!” She rushed forward to take her niece into her arms. “I’m so happy you’re okay.” She lifted her gaze to the injured officer. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m the one who owes you an apology.” Kuhn’s expression was contrite. “She kept crying and the ambulance crew felt we were both fine, so I thought it best to bring her to you.”
“Thank you.” Tears pricked Willow’s eyes.
Nate came over to join them, his expression mirroring her relief. He reached out to stroke the little girl’s back, his touch so gentle it made her heart ache. Lucy went from her arms to his, as if needing Nate’s strength. He held her close, his low voice and strong arms offering Lucy a solid male reassurance she didn’t possess.
He’d be such a good father, if only he’d let himself believe in God’s strength and endurance.
She summoned a shaky smile. “I knew you’d come for us.”
His blue eyes were dark with concern. “I was almost too late.”
She shook her head. “No, you were right on time.”
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a three-way hug. “I put my faith in God and prayed. He showed me the way.”
Her heart melted at his profession of faith. “I’m so glad to hear you say that.”
Nate pressed a kiss to her temple. “I couldn’t believe it when you turned to run toward me. Did you hear the stairs creaking?”
She shook her head, resting against him, breathing in his woodsy scent. She always felt safe and secure in Nate’s arms. But then she lifted her head to look up at him. “No, I didn’t hear the stairs creak at all, I just decided to run. Figured it was better than waiting to be—you know.” She didn’t want to use the words shot and killed in front of Lucy.
Murphy nudged Lucy’s foot, causing the little girl to shift in Nate’s arms to look down at him. “Good doggy,” she whispered.
“Yes, Murphy is a good doggy.” Willow was surprised at how silent the yellow Lab had been despite all the activity going on in the basement.
“You need to get home.” Nate’s voice held a note of remorse. “But I can’t go with you. I need to stay here.”
She felt herself tense. “Why? Because you fired in self-defense?”
He nodded. “Yes, and this means I’m on desk duty until the investigation is complete.”
Desk duty? A frisson of fear streaked through her. “But I need you, Nate. What about the boss? Craggy Face told me his boss wanted to deal with me personally.”
Nate’s brow furrowed. “I heard them talking about some boss. I still don’t understand why they want you, specifically.”
“I don’t know.” She shivered and cast a worried glance over her shoulder. Even standing beside Nate in the alley, with cops surrounding them, didn’t feel safe.
Was the guy in charge of this whole mess out there right now, watching them? Waiting for his chance to strike?
She instinctively moved closer to Nate, putting her hand over his where it rested on Lucy’s back.
“It’s obvious they’re selling stolen goods,” Nate continued. “There has to be hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise down there. And clearly Damon Berk doesn’t have the guts or the brains to be in charge of something this big.”
“Please, Nate.” She couldn’t ignore the deep need to keep him close. “Don’t leave us.”
Nate hesitated, and glanced around. “Okay, listen, I don’t want to leave you, Willow, but I have to stay at least for a while yet. Don’t worry, I’ll find someone to take you home and this time, I’ll keep a K-9 team with you.”
She tried to think of a way to change his mind. “What about the photograph?”
He glanced at her in confusion. “What about it? We already know Carl Dower was upset about you capturing his face.”
“No, I think there’s something more.” She thought back to the way she’d edited the picture, blurring the background to bring the craggy features into sharper contrast. “I think I may have captured something else in the image.”
“Like what?” There was an underlying urgency in his tone.
“I don’t know. But Craggy Face made a comment that the boss was upset about the photograph being displayed at the community college. I didn’t consider the photo being on display as a problem, but it doesn’t matter because I think there’s something else, too.” She met his gaze. “I need to find the original digital file, see if I can bring the background into sharper focus. It may give us a clue as to who the big boss is.”
Nate hesitated, and she could tell by the anguished expression on his face that his duty warred with the need to uncover the truth.
“Okay, we can check it out,” he finally relented. “Shouldn’t take too long to get the camera from the evidence room.”
“Thanks, but I have all the originals on my computer at home, too.” She released her breath in a soundless sigh of relief.
The photograph was the key; she just needed to figure out how to unlock the secrets buried within.
And maybe once they found the guy in charge, she and Lucy would be safe at last.
SEVENTEEN
Nate cuddled Lucy close, breathing in the calming scent of baby shampoo. He silently thanked God for giving him the strength he’d needed to save them.
The idea of losing Lucy or Willow was too much to bear.
He looked at his SUV parked at the end of the alley,
knowing full well he shouldn’t leave the scene of an officer-involved shooting. Yet he desperately wanted to take Willow and Lucy home. He told himself he was working the case, following a new lead, but he felt certain Sarge wouldn’t see it that way.
Before he could so much as take a step toward his SUV, though, Vivienne and her border collie partner caught up to him. She scowled, glancing between him and Willow. “Slater, where are you going?”
“I need to take Willow and Lucy home.” Even as he said the words, Vivienne’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head.
“You can’t do that. You know the protocol.” Vivienne glanced at Willow, who had taken Lucy from Nate’s arms. Her expression softened. “I know you’ve been through a lot, Willow, and I know you’re scared. But if you care about Nate at all, you won’t let him risk his job for you.”
“Now hold on,” Nate began, but Vivienne cut him off.
“You can’t leave. End of story.”
“She’s right.” Willow’s voice was low, soft and full of remorse. “I’m being selfish. You absolutely need to stay here and do your job, clear your name.” Her smile looked wan. “We’ll be okay. I’m sure one of the officers will escort us home.”
He pushed down a surge of anger. No, they wouldn’t be okay until they identified and arrested the big boss. The man who’d ordered Carl Dower to kidnap Willow and Lucy. The man in charge of this criminal endeavor, who ordered men, women and even a child to be killed without hesitation.
Leaving an officer on guard at her apartment hadn’t prevented Willow from being taken against her will. From being threatened and almost killed.
No matter what happened to him, he couldn’t bear the thought of failing to protect her again.
“I’ll look at the original digital images and let you know what I find,” Willow added.
“Digital images?” Vivienne raised a brow. “The ones you took of Carl Dower?”
“Yes.” Willow looked tired but still wore the familiar stubborn expression on her face, the one that refused to quit, no matter what. “I want to examine it more closely.”
Nate abruptly straightened. “I have an idea. My laptop is in my SUV, we’ll pull up the photos on my computer and enlarge the image so we can see if there’s anything in the background. We can also call Eden Chang for help. She’s a genius when it comes to uncovering hidden secrets.”
Vivienne didn’t look entirely convinced but nodded. “Fine, but don’t leave the scene. Sarge is on his way and will want to talk to you.”
“Understood.” He put his hand beneath Willow’s elbow. “Let’s go. My SUV is at the end of the alley.”
He led Willow through the mass of officers and crime scene techs to where he’d left his SUV only a short time ago, but it seemed like hours.
It was easy to remember the bitter taste of fear that had clogged his throat when he’d witnessed Dower dragging Willow into the back of the restaurant at gunpoint.
Thankfully, he’d gotten there in time. It had been the first time he’d ever shot a man in the course of duty, but looking back, he didn’t see that he’d had an alternative.
Carl Dower had fired first, leaving him no choice but to take out the threat.
Still, he knew that while he had Willow as a witness, the evidence would have to be carefully examined in order to prove his side of the story.
Especially if Dower didn’t survive his injury.
Shaking off the depressing thought, he opened the front driver’s-side door, leaving it ajar to help air out the vehicle. Willow placed Lucy in the car seat from the other side of the SUV as he booted up the computer and then linked his phone to access the internet.
“We’ll use the back. Murphy needs some water anyway.” He carried the laptop around to the back of the SUV, opened the hatch and set the laptop down. Murphy gracefully leaped into the back, drank some water, then jumped back down.
“Let me access all my photos.” Willow gestured to the screen. “Especially the one I took before I did the editing.”
“Have at it.” He watched over her shoulder as she logged in and pulled up the message and attached photo she’d sent to her photography instructor just ten days ago.
“This is the finished photo, after I blurred the background.” Willow minimized the photograph and went back in her files. “The original one is here, somewhere.”
“If you don’t find it, I’ll get an officer to pick up your laptop and bring it here.” Nate was anxious to see the original photograph on a large screen. There had to be something important that she’d unwittingly caught in the picture.
Something he should have thought about days ago, when she’d first shown him the photo on her digital camera. Had he let his emotional response to Willow and Lucy cloud his judgment?
As Willow worked, he stepped to the side and scanned the alley. Dower was hoisted into the back of an ambulance, the drivers no doubt rushing to take him to the closest hospital. Berk was still handcuffed and tucked in the back of a squad car. The crime scene techs were hard at work preserving evidence, but the number of cops that were around the area had dwindled.
The threat had been minimized and there were no doubt other calls coming in.
“I found it!” Willow’s excited voice drew his attention back to her. “I think I see someone in the background but I can’t make out the facial features.”
“Send it to me, so I can forward the original to Eden.”
“Okay.” Seconds later, his phone pinged with a text message. He relayed it to Eden, then called her. “This is the original photograph that Willow took. Can you sharpen the background?”
“I’m putting together a digital timeline of Dower taking Willow and Lucy to the alley behind the restaurant. Sarge wants it ASAP.”
“Okay, but this photo is important, too.”
She sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll do my best and will call when I have something, okay?” Eden didn’t wait for his response before disconnecting from the call.
“I’m getting it.” Willow glanced up at him. “Eden probably has better skills, but it almost looks like a woman in the background.”
“A woman?” He frowned, peering over her shoulder. The figure way in the back of the room did seem to have long blond hair. For a moment a flash of recognition flickered. “Deputy Mayor Theresa Gray.”
“I knew you’d figure it out eventually.” The scathing tone caused him to glance up in shocked surprise. The woman in the photograph was standing off to the side. In her hand she held a small yet lethal gun pointed directly at them. “Don’t move, or I won’t hesitate to shoot.” She lifted the gun a little higher and pointed it first at Murphy, then back at Willow. “At this range, I won’t miss.”
Nate’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. He’d found the true perpetrator a little too late.
“You’re going to get into the SUV, slowly,” Theresa Gray said. “Secure the dog in the back. Willow will slide in beside the brat, and you, Detective Slater, will get behind the wheel. We’re going to take a little drive. Trust me, no one will stop a police car.”
He glanced at Lucy, tucked into her car seat. She hadn’t noticed the danger yet. He needed to find a way to neutralize the threat before Lucy had to suffer yet another traumatic event.
He faced the deputy mayor, hoping, praying someone would notice what was going on. But they were mostly hidden behind the SUV. And everyone assumed the danger was over.
If only he’d taken Willow and Lucy back to their apartment as he’d originally planned! Too late, now. He’d protect them both with his life, if he had to. He gathered his scattered thoughts together and cleared his throat, stalling for time. “This won’t work. The original digital file has already been sent to our tech specialist. Killing us now will only make it worse. They’ll easily figure out that you are the one behind all of this.”
Instead of alarm,
a slow, evil smile creased her features. “I’ve already thought of that. I always have a plan, unlike Dower, who’s an incompetent idiot. It will be easy enough to pin this entire mess on Carl and Oscar Banjo.”
His heart quickened. “How?”
“I’ll claim I caught Dower in the restaurant talking to Berk as evidenced in the photo and suspected they were planning something. That I tried to figure out what it was, and soon realized Oscar Banjo was involved in something illegal.”
“Selling stolen goods in the Basement Bargains store owned by Oscar Banjo,” he said, finally putting the pieces together.
“Yes.” Theresa’s smile was smug. “My story will be that before I could go to the police, Dower kidnapped the woman.” She waved a hand at the alley. “The rest happened because of Dower, and Banjo panicked. Once you’re both gone and Banjo is arrested, there won’t be anyone who can claim anything different. It will be my word against Oscar’s, and, well, I’m the deputy mayor.”
He didn’t want to admit that she just might be able to pull it off.
“What about Berk?” Willow asked. “He knows the truth.”
The deputy mayor lifted a thin shoulder. “Don’t you know that accidents happen in jail all the time? Tsk, tsk.” Her gaze hardened. “Now move!”
Nate lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. The last thing he wanted to do was make the trigger-happy woman angry. Yet he knew there had to be a way out of this.
One that wouldn’t cause any harm to come to Willow or Lucy.
Willow stepped around to the side of the vehicle. He took a step to follow her, glancing down at Murphy. They’d have to make their move soon.
Before it was too late.
* * *
Willow couldn’t believe everyone around them was completely oblivious to what was going on. Granted there were fewer cops milling about, but several were standing and chatting nearby, unaware that they were being kidnapped by a crazy woman with a gun.