Cold Case

by Susan Sleeman

  William Newton lumbered down the aisle toward her. She believed his story and wasn’t concerned about him approaching. Obviously, Trey didn’t feel the same way. He stepped closer, until barely an inch separated them.

  “Afternoon, Ms. Calloway.” William smiled at Eryn and gave Trey a cautious nod. William put his notepad on the table and dropped into the chair. “I’m looking forward to learning something today.”

  “You’ll have to let me know what you think when the class is over,” Eryn said.

  “You can count on it.” His phone chimed. He looked at the screen and lost interest in her.

  “You need to chill a bit,” she whispered to Trey. “Or the whole class is going to focus on you instead of the topic.”

  “Sorry.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t like you in a room full of people who are likely carrying.”

  “I get that, but the odds of anyone pulling out a weapon in a room filled with officers has to be close to zero.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So relax.” She took his hands and shook his arms to loosen his tension.

  He laughed, giving her the reaction she hoped for, but then his awareness of her filled his eyes as it had at lunch, and she quickly released his hands before she acted like a lovesick teen in front of a room of professionals.

  She moved to the podium, and when the clock hit two, she motioned for Riley to close the door.

  “Break a leg, Calloway.” Trey winked then turned toward the back exit.

  She understood the wink but was confused by the use of her last name. Not unusual in her field, but he’d never called her Calloway. Maybe it was a new tact to keep things professional, but then why add a wink? She abruptly remembered she had twenty or so officers looking at her and zeroed in on them.

  She waited for Trey to reach the door before starting class. She tried to relax and keep the class’ attention as she taught, but the officers kept casting glances at Riley and Trey. They were intuitive enough to know something was up, and like all good officers would react, they were on edge. So when she reached the halfway mark of the class she was more than ready to call a break.

  “Be back in fifteen minutes when the door will close,” she announced.

  She heard a bit of grumbling from the back of the room, but the group filed out.

  She joined Trey. “I need to use the restroom.”

  “I’ll text Riley, and we’ll go the back way.” He took out his phone and thumbed the message.

  She was impressed with his thorough care. He would make a welcome addition to Blackwell Tactical if he joined the team. She could easily see him fitting in. In fact, it would be great to have another guy on the team who wasn’t so intense. She told him they could work together, but could she really see him every day and resist this attraction? If he continued to serve as a deputy or even join the team, he would be putting himself in danger all the time. She would worry that she might lose him.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded, and he led the way out of the maze to the main lobby. The hallway emptied out right by the restroom, and Trey stopped to stare at the door.

  She tilted her head to look up at him. “You’re not thinking of coming in with me, are you? Because that’s so not happening.”

  “I have to admit I was considering it.”

  She shook her head and pushed open the door. She waited for it to close to be sure Trey didn’t ignore her request and follow.

  He didn’t, and she headed for a stall. She noticed a small sitting area ahead. Black and white penny tiles covered the floor, and the space held a small couch and large makeup mirror with vanity counter and stool. A big window filled the end wall, floral curtains framing the edges. So cute and quaint. She loved everything about this resort. Except the hacker, of course.

  She reached for the stall door and heard movement behind her. Was another woman already in one of the stalls?

  Eryn turned.

  A tall beefy male wearing a black jacket and a nylon stocking over his head turned the lock on the main door.

  She stood stunned for a moment.

  He rushed toward her. His face was smashed and grotesque-looking in the stocking, so she couldn’t identify him.

  She let out a blood curdling scream and backed away, scrambling to find something to use as a weapon.

  He charged like an angry bull and grabbed for her.

  She instinctively used her training to shove him away.

  He recovered quickly and managed to spin her around.

  She tried to right herself but lost her balance.

  He shot an arm around her chest, gripping her like a vice against his solid body.

  “Trey,” she screamed before the attacker clamped his other hand over her mouth.

  She squirmed. Hard. Pushing. Prodding.

  He jerked her harder, forcing her to lean back. He was trying to bring her down to the floor so he could subdue her. She tucked her chin to her chest to resist the pull.

  “Eryn!” Trey’s raised voice came from the other side of the door that rattled hard.

  She tried to respond, but her attacker kept his hand clamped over her mouth. He slowly pushed her toward the window, and that’s when she noticed the curtain fluttering in the breeze.

  The window was open. Wide open.

  “Eryn!” Trey pounded harder on the door.

  She brought her arms up and dropped down into a squat.

  Her attacker clamped his arm tighter and continued dragging her toward the window that faced over a parking area in the rear of the building.

  He was trying to get her out the window. Maybe into a car or van. To drive away. Take her captive.

  No. No.

  She couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t. Or she wouldn’t live to see another day.

  14

  “Eryn,” Trey shouted, his heart galloping. “I’m coming in.”

  He rammed his shoulder into the door. It didn’t budge. He tried again.

  “Need help?” William Newton’s voice came from behind.

  “Eryn. Being attacked.” Trey didn’t wait for help but slammed his shoulder into the door another time.

  He felt it give some. He reared back for another attempt. Eryn’s scream came from the other side, stopping his heart.

  “Let me.” William pushed past him and gave the door a linebacker slam.

  The wood splintered.

  Trey took another run and hit the wood hard. The lock gave way. The door sprung open. Hit the wall and bounced back.

  Trey blocked it and raced into the room.

  Eryn was staggering his way. Her face red. Her eyes glazed with fear.

  “He’s gone,” she rasped. “Out the window. Go after him.”

  Trey shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  “I’ll go after him,” William offered.

  “He’s six feet. Muscular. Maybe two twenty or so. Wore jeans and black jacket.” She drew in a long breath. “He had a nylon stocking over his head so that’s the best I can do.”

  “Got it.” William bolted for the window.

  Surprisingly, he was agile and managed to fit through the opening.

  Trey ran his gaze over Eryn. She was shaking, and large red blotches covered her mouth. Rage boiled in his gut, but he tamped down the anger and focused. “What happened?”

  “Guy was waiting in a stall. Came out and got his arm around my chest. Hand over my mouth. He tried to drag me to the window. Abduct me.”

  Explained the redness. “How did you get free?”

  “I panicked at first. Foolish. But then I remembered my self-defense moves. Dropped. Jabbed him. Twisted and got free. You broke through, and he bailed before I could take him down.”

  Trey shook his head. “You’re something else. You’re what? Five seven or so and you intended to take down a two hundred plus pound man a good five inches taller than you.”

  “Guess so. Training helps. If you can remember it.” She shook her b
ody as if shaking off the incident.

  Trey clenched his jaw. “Unless the hacker hired someone to try to abduct you, this guy’s build fits Coker and Petrov, but rules out the other suspects.”

  She blinked. “Petrov and Coker would’ve had to hide their hair color, but they’re both crafty enough to do that.” She frowned. “But we won’t get anywhere by speculating. We’ll need to investigate. Now get out of here so I can use the restroom and get back to class.”

  “You want to finish the class?” He gaped at her.

  “These officers or their department paid good money to attend this training. I’m not going to let them down.” She made shooing motions toward the door. “Try to keep the door closed please.”

  He shook his head and stepped outside, pulling the fractured door behind him. He didn’t know what he thought would happen when he tore into the room and found her attacker gone. But if he really considered it, he realized he expected Eryn to throw herself into his arms where he would protect her. But she was still a fierce lioness—even after being attacked—shooing him away.

  He didn’t like that. Didn’t like it at all.

  He shoved the thoughts away and became aware of officers staring at him. “There’s nothing to see here. Go back to your classes.”

  He used his patrol voice, but they didn’t seem impressed enough to take action. He couldn’t force them to move, but he wished he could so when Eryn stepped out she wouldn’t have to face a curious crowd.

  The resort security guard who let them into the back hallway pushed his way through the crowd. “What happened?”

  Trey filled him in. “I’ll call Sheriff Jenkins so Ms. Calloway can file a report, but I need you to stand guard at this door and not let anyone in. Understood?”

  “Yes, of course.” He wrung his hands together.

  “Hold the door so I can make that call.” Trey released the door to the guard and dialed Blake.

  “Sheriff Jenkins,” he answered on the second ring.

  “It’s Trey Sawyer. Eryn’s been attacked at the resort. The guy tried to abduct her.”

  “Seriously?” Blake’s tone went unusually high.

  Trey stepped away from the security guard and lowered his voice. “We have to assume at this point the hacker was behind the attack. One of your detectives is in pursuit on foot.”

  “Only detective I have at the conference is William Newton, and he hasn’t been engaged in a foot pursuit in years.”

  Trey had already guessed that based on the man’s size.

  “I have a patrol deputy attending the conference, too,” Blake continued. “Give me your location, and I’ll have him secure the scene, then I’ll head over to take Eryn’s statement.”

  Trey gave him directions to find the bathroom. “Eryn will be teaching for the next two hours in room 10a.”

  “Say what? She’s seriously going to teach after that?” Blake let out a low whistle. “I always knew she was one tough cookie, but this is going above and beyond.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. I’d like to get a bulletin out on the suspect if he’s not apprehended by your detective.”

  “You might as well give me the details now,” Blake said, indicating he didn’t have a lot of confidence in William’s ability to chase down the suspect.

  Trey relayed the description Eryn had provided. “Coker and Detective Petrov have similar builds.”

  “I’ll be the one to interview them and find out where there were at the time of the attack. Make sure Eryn knows that.”

  “I will.” Trey hung up and went back to the door. Eryn tugged it open and stepped out.

  She glanced around and stopped dead in her tracks. “I see I’ve got an audience.”

  Trey rushed to her side. “I tried to disburse them, but they’re having nothing of it.”

  “Let’s get going.” She started off.

  “Ms. Calloway,” a heavy panting voice called out.

  Trey’s pulse skyrocketed. He spun and grabbed Eryn’s hand to move her behind him.

  William, sweaty and panting for air, came barreling through the crowd. Trey let out his breath and released Eryn. She stepped around him, and he noticed that she was breathing hard. It had freaked her out, too.

  “Got away,” William managed to get out. “Not as fast as I used to be.”

  “That’s okay,” Eryn said. “I am so grateful for your help.”

  Trey wished he’d taken off after the suspect and then maybe the jerk would be in custody, but if anything happened to Eryn, he would’ve never forgiven himself. “I called Sheriff Jenkins and put out an alert on the suspect.”

  Eryn cast Trey a questioning look.

  “I talked to him while you were using the facilities. He’s sending a patrol deputy to secure the scene, and then he’ll take your statement when he gets here.”

  “The sheriff is coming.” William’s brow knotted. “I’m perfectly capable of taking the statement.”

  “It has nothing to do with your abilities,” Eryn explained. “Blake’s a friend, and we always call him directly.”

  William didn’t respond, his eyes now tight with worry. He clearly didn’t believe Eryn, but she spoke the truth.

  She smiled at him. “You ready to sit down for the rest of that training?”

  His eyes widened. “You’re going ahead with it?”

  “Sure.”

  “I better wait here for the sheriff.” He sounded uneasy.

  Eryn pressed her hand on his arm. “I can’t thank you enough for going after the suspect. I’ll make sure Blake knows how thankful I am for your help.”

  William gave a clipped nod, but his gaze remained wary.

  Trey didn’t want to keep Eryn out in the lobby any longer than necessary and easing William’s worry wasn’t necessary. Trey gestured for Eryn to depart first, and they made their way back to the classroom. Participants were up and milling about, murmuring, but when she entered the room they took their seats expectantly.

  She stepped up to the podium. “Sorry I’m late. I ran into an unexpected guest.”

  She chuckled, and after a beat, some of the officers laughed with her.

  Trey’s respect for this strong, capable woman grew tenfold. Not that he didn’t respect her before, but he now put her in the top one percent of people he’d ever encountered, and with his background in spec ops, that was saying a lot.

  Eryn stepped from the shower and patted the towel gently over her upper body that was already covered in deep aching bruises. Simply breathing hurt, and she wanted to stay in her room and crawl under her covers. Typically she could tough out pretty much anything, but not this time. The attack terrified her.

  Sure, she’d played it down for Trey. For Blake. The team. Everyone. Because maybe if she admitted her fear, she would fall apart as she had in the shower, letting her tears fall under the rush of water so hot she thought her skin might melt from her body. But she’d needed the searing heat. Needed to erase her attacker’s touch.

  She ignored the pain and got dressed. She’d promised to have dinner with Bekah and promised they would have fun. She couldn’t let her daughter down.

  She towel-dried her hair and put a little cover up around her mouth where smaller bruises were starting to appear. Satisfied that her eyes were no longer red and her bruises were disguised, she stepped into the living area.

  Blake stood in the kitchenette talking to Trey and her mother, leaving Bekah in her mother’s room. Both men turned to look at her. Trey’s expression was unreadable, but he shoved his hands in his pockets. He seemed even more shaken than she was. And if she knew him like she thought she did, he was blaming himself for not clearing the bathroom before she used it. Her fault though. She rushed inside before he could do anything.

  “How are you doing?” Blake asked.

  “I’m fine.” She waved off his concern, but the pain in her chest was so excruciating that she stopped. “Any news on my attacker?”

  Blake shook his head. “I have an a
lert out for him, but even after canvassing all the officers, no one but you saw him.”

  “I kind of figured that. He must’ve come in through the window.”

  Blake nodded. “Coker claims he was with his group and they agreed, but then they’d lie for him so that means nothing.”

  “And Petrov?” Trey asked.

  “Was in his room alone. So no alibi.”

  “I did hear back from the cable company though. The modem used for the chat was a different one than Rodrick had registered on his account.”

  “Then he was telling the truth,” Trey said.

  “Doesn’t really mean anything,” Eryn said. “He could’ve changed out the modem hoping we would think it exonerated him.”

  “Maybe,” Blake said. “But he seemed pretty straightforward, and I’m not really liking him for this.”

  “Me neither,” she admitted.

  “So where does that leave us?” Trey asked.

  “Coker’s still a viable lead.”

  Blake nodded. “The ME has recovered an intact slug from the woman, and I plan to head over there now to see if it’s in good enough shape to get a match and then talk to Coker. I’ll ask for his alibi for woman’s time of death. And if we figure out the murdered woman’s ID, that could give us a lead, too. My deputy is almost finished with running plates, so we may get lucky there.”

  “If you don’t, I’m still planning to head to Eastern Oregon to have a look around.”

  “I don’t like that idea,” Trey said. “Not one bit.”

  Blake narrowed his eyes. “I have to say, I agree with him.”

  Eryn understood their unease, but before they could progress in the investigation, they needed to know if this woman’s murder related to her. It was looking like a quick flight in the helo was the best way to solve that mystery.