Tucker

by Dale Mayer

  Bernie growled, searching the area.

  “Don’t move,” he said against her ear. “Just stay where you are until I get back.”

  And then he bolted above her and took off. She laid frozen in place, watching as he and Bernie took off in the same direction. Addie knew he had to leave, but, at the same time, damn it, she didn’t want to be out here alone. What if that shooter hadn’t been by himself? What if, even now, he was coming toward her because he’d found another way to get here?

  She lay on her back, too terrified to move, wondering what the hell was going on that they were even in this situation. She was grateful the dog was here to help, but, at the same time, she didn’t want to be involved in this. As she thought that, she stopped because, if she didn’t want to be involved in this mess, then what was she looking for from Tucker? If he would get into a mess like this again, did that mean she didn’t want anything to do with him? She laid here, sorting out her confused feelings, when he suddenly returned. She stared up at him, and he smiled, reached out a hand. “Is it safe?” she asked.

  “It is now,” he said. “Did I get him? No. But did I get a picture of his vehicle? Yes, and I saw him bolt into the vehicle and take off down the road.”

  “Did he leave the way he left last time?”

  “Yes,” he said, “and that’s how I found him.”

  “Right, because you knew the way he was going, so you jumped in ahead and got there first, so you saw the vehicle. Do you think he saw you?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, helping her up to her feet.

  She reached out a hand to pet Bernie, who looked like she was enjoying this. “Did you get hurt?”

  “Nope,” he said, but his fingers were busy texting on his phone.

  She waited until they stopped. Then she looked up and said, “At least you don’t need stitches again.”

  He laughed. “No,” he said, “I’m fine.”

  “Does this happen a lot with you?”

  Something must have been in her voice because he stopped to face her and then shook his head. “Honestly, no. I’ve led a very simple life since my accident.”

  “And before that?”

  “Only on the job,” he said, “but then it’s what I was sent in to do. I knew who I was going after. I was with my team, well-armed and well-trained.”

  “And that makes all the difference, doesn’t it?”

  “It does, indeed.” He gave her a searching look, reached out, and opened his arms. She fell into them, so grateful when they closed securely around her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t even think about how shocking that must have been for you.”

  “I’ve just never been in anything like this,” she said. “The only violence I’ve had any exposure to is from my sister.”

  “And she’s bad enough,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to get touched by this.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, trying to shake it off. But she was trembling.

  He shook his head, held her that much closer, rocking her in place.

  “So now what?” she tried to ask calmly.

  “Now we’ll head back to your place,” he said. “The rehearsal’s this afternoon, and we need to get there in time, and I need to make sure that the cops are picking up this vehicle.”

  “What if he ditches the vehicle?”

  “I thought of that,” he said. “I really hope he doesn’t. That’s also why I’m hoping that he didn’t see me because that would give us a little bit more time to get in our vehicle and go after him.”

  “Do you know which direction he took?”

  “Heading back the way we are.”

  “So then we will be following him? Is that wise?” she asked.

  He nodded slowly. “Yes, but I also don’t want him to know that we’re after him.”

  She nodded, and the two of them walked back at a hurried pace but not a flat-out run. “Have you got somebody up ahead looking for him?”

  “I do,” he said. “The same cops from the arson case.”

  “Interesting,” she murmured. “Well, let’s hope they get him before anything else happens.”

  “That’s the plan,” he said cheerfully.

  She finally eased back and said, “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this.”

  “Don’t ever apologize for that,” he said. “Nobody should ever get accustomed to this level of violence. Nobody wants to,” he said. “It’s much too painful for everybody.”

  “I guess,” she said with half a smile. “We just don’t even think about violence to that degree, do we?”

  “No,” he said, letting the dog up into the front seat. He hopped into the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

  “You wanted me to drive,” she said after a moment.

  “Not a problem,” he said, smiling.

  “And still I would feel better if you want me to,” she said.

  He looked over and shook his head. “Not needed.”

  Tucker saw that Addie was quite shaken and with good reason. He had to leave her to track the other guy, and it had been worth it, but he’d also taken a gamble that could have put her in danger. Just even bringing her with him had put her danger. He wondered if it made sense taking her to the wedding. But just as he was about to argue that maybe she should stay home, she said, “I’m glad I’m going to the rehearsal and the wedding with you. It’ll be something completely different this weekend to take my mind off this.”

  At that, he winced. “If you’re sure you still want to?” he asked, shooting her a glance.

  She looked at him, nodded, and said, “Yes. I mean it. Besides I like Rodney.”

  “He’s a good guy,” he said. “I need to update him too.”

  “Wasn’t he supposed to be here?”

  “He didn’t make it yet. He’s probably just running late.”

  “Maybe,” she said with a doubtful tone. “An awful lot is going on right now. I think we’re better off to make sure that he didn’t get here before you.”

  “His vehicle wasn’t here,” he said by way of explanation, but he pulled out his phone, put it up on the dash, and hit the contact number.

  As the phone dialed, she said, “As long as he’s safe. I guess that is my concern.”

  When Rodney answered, he said, “Sorry. I’m not there yet.” His voice was hurried and out of sorts.

  “That’s all right,” Tucker said. “We came and took a look at the same location, just making sure that no clues were left behind.”

  “Was there?”

  “Well, we got shot at,” he said, “if that helps.”

  “Got what?” Rodney said, flabbergasted. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” he said. “We’re both fine. Bernie too. I went after him and saw him get into a vehicle. Do you know anybody who drives a small Honda Accord, an older model, in kind of a rust color? Like a dark orange-red.”

  “Yeah, it’s one of my painters,” he said. “Why?”

  “The shooter got into that vehicle and took off,” he said. “So, if you have a name to go with that vehicle, it would help us a lot.”

  “Jesus,” he said. “I think it’s Rural, but I can’t guarantee that he was the one driving.”

  “Nope, you can’t. That’s okay because we should have answers pretty quickly.”

  “Says you,” he said. “I hate to think he’s involved in this. He’s a nice guy.”

  “Call the detective,” Tucker said, “and fill him in on Rural too because they’re setting up a roadblock for him.”

  “Jesus,” he said, “just when I missed something, all hell breaks loose.”

  “Why did you miss it?”

  “Your sister had a meltdown this morning,” he said, “prewedding jitters.”

  “Great,” Tucker said, half under his breath, “not exactly something you can walk away from.”

  “No, especially not this morning. There was something about, you know, if I really loved her and that type of stuff.”

  “Sorry, man.”


  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you,” Rodney said. “Can’t believe you got shot at.”

  In the background, Tucker heard his sister.

  “Who got shot at?”

  Tucker winced. “I’ll let you go now.”

  “Chicken,” Rodney growled. “You could talk to her and let her know you’re okay.”

  “Well, you can tell her that I’m okay,” he said, laughing. And, sure enough, he hung up. He looked at Addie. “See? He’s fine.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” she said, shaking her head. “And I don’t blame your sister for having prewedding jitters. It’s a hard decision.”

  “I guess it is,” he said comfortably.

  “I’ve never been in that position, so I don’t know. Besides, she must have a reason for taking as long as she has,” she said, defending his sister.

  He grinned. “Don’t you worry. We both love her, no matter how many prewedding jitters she has.”

  She settled back. “I’m being foolish, aren’t I?”

  “Nope,” he said. “You’re cute when you’re upset.”

  She snorted at that. “That line work for you?”

  “Never tried it before,” he said with another big grin on his face.

  She sighed. “You haven’t been close to getting married yet?”

  “Nope, not at all. Never felt the urge. You?”

  “I’ve never had any relationships that got that serious.”

  “I think it takes a special relationship to get there,” he said. “You know? You either hit it off earlier or it doesn’t happen.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’d like to think that, for some people, they can grow into a long-term relationship that stands the test of time, but I just haven’t had too much experience with it myself. My parents are very good at enabling each other, but I don’t know that they’re very good together,” she said. “So it’s not exactly been a plus in my book for a prime example of a happy and fulfilling marriage.”

  “Understood,” he said. “I kind of want to meet them, out of curiosity, but I don’t really want to meet them.”

  “I kind of want to see them and give them hell myself,” she said, “but I don’t want to. Dealing with their own relationship and with their manipulative daughter is something I’ve brought up several times, and I know that no good news comes from that.”

  “And it’s not your problem,” he said. “Just make sure your sister doesn’t have any more animals around her, but, beyond that, not a whole lot you can do.”

  “She treats people the same way,” she muttered.

  “As long as she can control them, she does.”

  She smiled. “You do understand, don’t you?”

  “I do,” he said. “That doesn’t make it any easier on you.”

  “No, but at least you don’t think I’m making it up. And you realize dealing with my sister is out of the question. I’ve had some friends who didn’t understand at all why I wasn’t jumping all over my sister every time she pulled this shit. They just didn’t get how much trouble it was to deal with her.”

  “And with somebody who’s so far off that line of normal,” he said, “most people won’t believe you anyway.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of where I’m at now,” she said. “What’s that up ahead?” she said, leaning forward.

  “Looks like a roadblock.” He pulled into the long line of vehicles and grabbed his phone, calling the detective. “I see you got a roadblock up?”

  “Only at the outskirts of town,” he said, “and several officers were already there at the scene of an accident,” he said. “I wish I knew what I was looking for exactly.”

  “I gave you the description of the vehicle and the tags. I don’t think he saw me, so he should be in the same small Honda Accord with the same tags. I don’t know if you talked to my brother-in-law yet or not,” he said, “but he knows the owner of the vehicle is Rural, and he’s a painter who works for him. Just may not be the driver today.”

  “And you saw the shooter run into the vehicle?”

  “I saw this man run into the driver’s side and take off, and he was carrying a handgun.”

  “No sign of the vehicle yet. How would he know you were there in the woods again?”

  “He must have had the house under surveillance and followed us to the restaurant,” he said. “We did have an intruder in the backyard last night. But, between the War Dog and security on the property where we stayed at last night, he got run off. It’s possible he was there at the woods for the same reason I was—to make sure no evidence was left behind. It’s also possible that my brother-in-law might have said something to somebody in his crew. We were talking about meeting at the restaurant this morning to look for any other signs from the attack last night.”

  “So maybe the shooter was doing the same thing,” he said doubtfully.

  “Maybe. I didn’t see anything except for some footprints,” he said.

  “And maybe that’s because he already picked up anything else.”

  “Well, he should be ahead of us. We’re behind at least fifty cars in the roadblock,” he said.

  “I’m here,” the detective said, “walking up the road.”

  Tucker opened his truck door and stood on the running board for a better view. “And look at that,” Tucker said. “We have a small Honda Accord up ahead.”

  “The car is about seven away from me,” the detective said. “Hang on, while I keep walking.”

  “Just take it easy,” Tucker said. “Remember how I said he’s got a handgun.”

  “As long as it hasn’t been fired recently and he has a license for it, then he’s okay,” the detective murmured. “If not, that’s a different story.”

  “You don’t want him firing at you. I do have the dog though.”

  “What do you expect the dog to do?” the detective asked.

  “Well, she’ll certainly recognize him because they had quite a scene outside. He managed to get into the vehicle after she chased him.”

  “Huh.”

  “Not to mention the fact that, if he’s got any accelerant in his vehicle or on his person or used any in the last twenty-four hours or so, I imagine she’ll smell it on him.”

  “But we can’t use that in a court of law.”

  “No, not yet, because I haven’t been working with her long enough, and I don’t have my registration or training for that kind of thing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use it to coerce a confession.”

  “Well, it all sounds good in theory,” he said, “but I’m looking at the vehicle from where I am.”

  “And who’s in it?”

  “A single male.”

  “Get backup,” Tucker said immediately. “If he feels cornered, he’ll likely shoot you.” The detective hesitated, and Tucker said, “Screw this. I’ll pull off onto the shoulder. I’m coming with the dog. Just hold tight.”

  True to his word, Tucker pulled the truck off to the shoulder and stopped and parked it at a spot on the shoulder that was a little wider, looked at Addie, and said, “I need to go.”

  “Go,” she said calmly. He raised his eyebrows. She smiled and said, “It’s what you do best. Go.”

  He grinned, grabbed the dog, and hopped from the truck. “Come on, Bernie. Let’s go find this guy.” Tucker stopped, leaned deeply inside the truck but couldn’t quite reach Addie. However, she seemed to know what he wanted because she leaned over too, and it was just close enough that he could kiss her.

  “I’ll be back in a minute.” And he turned, racing forward, coming up on the other side of the Honda, and he saw the cops surrounding the Honda. Tucker didn’t know what they would do or how badly this would go, but he wanted to make sure he was there, just in case. As he approached, the driver stepped from the vehicle, hands in the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said to the cops. “I don’t know anything.”

  They ordered him flat on the ground. He complied, but then, as he lay
down, he twisted suddenly and pulled something from underneath his jacket and started firing. Several of the cops slammed bullets right back into him. He lay there, moaning in pain, when Tucker raced up with the dog. Bernie reached the gunman and immediately started barking and straining at the leash.

  The gunman looked at her. “What the hell’s up with that dog? Shut it up.” He was holding his shoulder. “You didn’t have to shoot me.”

  “We figured you’re in for suicide by cop,” one of the men said calmly. “What do you expect when you fire at us?”

  “I didn’t mean to,” he said. “I panicked.”

  At that, one of the cops looked at the shooter’s wounds, then at his boss and said, “He’s not badly hurt, both in the same upper arm.”

  “Good, we need to get him to medical care, and I want him under wraps real fast,” the detective said. “This asshole doesn’t get to run away from this. Not this time.”

  At that, Tucker struggled to contain Bernie, who was definitely looking for a piece of the gunman on the ground. Since he was already injured and under wraps with the cops, Tucker walked the War Dog back to the shooter’s vehicle. “Bernie, let’s go to work.”

  His voice was clipped. He kept a short leash on the dog, and the dog seemed to immediately understand. She sniffed around the vehicle, and, when they got to the trunk, she immediately barked and sat down. He asked the detective, “Can you open up the trunk?”

  He walked over, pushed the button, and the trunk popped open. What Tucker saw was not what he expected. He looked at the detective, nodded at the trunk, and said, “You’ve got bigger problems now.”

  Chapter 11

  Addie sat in the truck nervously. It wasn’t so bad in here; she could keep Tucker in sight, but then he’d disappeared quickly. She saw chaos and could hear gunfire erupting up ahead, but she hoped that, with all the cops, it wouldn’t be gunfire at Tucker. She still didn’t quite understand what was going on, but, when he returned about an hour later, she was more than ready to get answers. She looked at him anxiously. “You’re not hurt?”

  “Neither of us are,” he said, and he opened the door to let Bernie in.