by Angela Foxxe
“I understand,” Senora said.
“I need a moment to gather the files. I’ll meet you down the hall in the large conference room around the corner.”
Senora nodded.
“Take all the time you need. Is there a bathroom?”
“Right across from the conference room, and there’s a small kitchen in the corner of the conference room if you want some coffee. This may take me a few minutes.”
Senora nodded again, and she and Ty left the room, heading down the hall.
“Coffee?” Ty asked.
“Black with just a touch of cream,” Senora said, then stepped into the bathroom.
She caught sight of herself in the mirror and shook her head. Her hair was a mass of unruly curls that had made their way out of the braid. She ran her hands under the water, trying to smooth the errant strands down but failing. Giving up, she hurried to finish her business, washing her hands again without giving her hair a second thought.
Ty was in the conference room, a steaming cup of coffee in front of him, and one beside it, a look of concern on his face.
“What?” Senora asked.
“Something isn’t right,” he said. He set the cup down and started walking to the door. “I’m going to check on her.”
His urgency got to her, and she felt that familiar rush of adrenaline.
“I’ll go with you.”
He nodded, leading the way. Senora’s hand slid to her service revolver in the holster on her hip, just in case.
Ty knocked on the office door, then turned the handle.
“It’s locked,” he said.
“Robin!” Senora said through the door, knocking loudly and turning the handle, though she knew it was locked. “Robin, are you alright?”
“Something is wrong,” Ty said. “I can feel it. Step back.”
“Are you going to kick the door down?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
She didn’t.
“No,” she admitted. “But you can’t just kick the door in because she locked you out. We don’t have a warrant.”
“We’re not going to need one.”
“I hope you’re right,” Senora said as she stepped back.
“I don’t,” he said, his voice glum.
She felt the same thing he did, but she didn’t want to believe it. It didn’t make sense. They were only after information on Addie and nothing more. They hadn’t told Robin she was in trouble, but the woman had to believe that. Which meant that she knew something.
He stepped back, kicking the door forcefully several times until it cracked and splintered, then finally went inward. It bounced back, and Ty pushed it out of the way and went inside.
“Damnit, no!” he said, angrily dropping to the floor and pulling Robin onto her back.
He felt for a pulse, listened for her breathing, then cursed and began CPR. He counted under his breath, going through the motions calmly, though his face was frantic. Robin was their only link at this point, and she was slipping away in front of their eyes.
Senora offered to step in and take over, but Ty wouldn’t budge as he worked on the woman for what seemed like an eternity. Senora watched as her lips turned blue, then gray. She knew the instant that Robin was past the point of no return, and she knew that any hope that they had of Robin giving them some insight was gone.
Robin was gone, and there was nothing that they could do about it.
Senora put her hand on Ty’s shoulder, squeezing gently at first then more forcefully as he continued the futile efforts to save her.
“We left the room ten minutes ago,” she said gently. “She’ll be a vegetable even if you manage to save her.”
“I have to try,” he said, still working on Robin’s limp body.
Senora stood, pulling out her phone and calling 9-1-1. She gave the address then hung up, going to the files that were open behind Robin’s desk and pulling out the ones marked with Addie’s name on them.
There were a lot of them.
She tucked them under her arm and left the room, Ty still giving Robin CPR on the floor in front of the large desk.
She hurried down the stairs and out the side door, jamming a brick in the doorway to keep the automatic lock from engaging and running the files to her car. She hid them under the driver’s seat and locked the car with the remote as she rushed back to the door and up the stairs. She kicked the brick out of the way as she rushed by, reaching the office just as she heard the first wail of the sirens in the distance.
“Where did you go?” Ty asked, still working on Robin even though the look on his face said that he had given up hope.
“She was willing to take her own life for what was in those files. Don’t you think we should hold onto them?”
“I do,” he said. “I’m just surprised you thought the same thing and took them without a warrant.”
“I’m not about to let the Sheriff get ahold of them,” she said. “I have a feeling the Sheriff’s hatred for Addie has more to do with a secret he’s trying to keep than anything Addie had done.”
“Do you think he’s our killer?”
“I don’t, as much as I’d love to put him away. But he knows something, and I need to find out what it is. It has to be something big. Did you see her shaking when we were talking to her? Robin knew something, and it was big.”
The first paramedic arrived a few seconds later and took over for Ty as the others worked on getting Robin onto a stretcher and to the elevator while one paramedic continued to perform CPR.
The Sheriff arrived then, looking at Senora, then Ty, his face unreadable.
“Did she say anything to you before she jumped?” he asked them both.
Before Senora could say a word, Ty spoke, his voice calm and firm despite the chaos around them.
“We found her like that,” Ty said. “We never got a chance to talk to her.”
CHAPTER SIX
Senora pulled into the hotel parking lot, letting out a huge sigh as she parked. She turned to Ty, who was maddeningly calm in the passenger seat, completely unbothered by what had just happened.
“How much time do you think we have?” Senora asked.
Ty shrugged.
“The Sheriff isn’t known for his quick wit, so I would say about an hour before they come looking for us, if that.”
Senora nodded.
“Do you have any idea what’s happening? Why would that woman choose to die over telling us what she knows? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Nothing about Addie’s disappearance and death make sense.”
“At least we agree on that.”
“Are you going to call J?”
“And tell him what? That a witness killed themselves rather than talk to me and I stole confidential files from her office? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I definitely wouldn’t spend too much time dwelling on it. Why are we here?”
“I’m going to grab my overnight bag so we can leave.”
“You’re packed already?”
“I always pack up every day before I leave for the day, no matter what. Most of the time, I bring my bag with me, but I was in a rush this morning and didn’t really think about it. I only had a few interviews to conduct.”
“Things changed pretty fast.”
“You’re telling me. I’ll leave the car running, and I’ll be right back.”
Ty shook his head.
“I’ll come with you. There’s no telling if there’s someone waiting for you here or not. Robin could have made a call before she took her life, or sent a text. She was scared, but I think most of her fear came from not knowing who she could trust. And we have no idea where Clara went.”
“This is such a mess. How many secrets can a town this small have?”
“It only takes one good one,” Ty offered.
“You sure are calm about all this.”
“Panicking solves nothing.”
Senora rolled her eyes.
She grabbed the file, stuffed it into her backpack and slung the pack over her shoulder. Leading the way, she took the stairs two at a time and pulled out her key card.
“Where do you think we’re going to go that they can’t find us?” he said when they were in the room with the door closed.
“I don’t know. I was hoping that you had an idea.”
“I do, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Senora went to the closet, about to grab her overnight bag, when Ty stopped and put his finger to his lips. She froze, watching him move quickly and silently to the curtain by the front window. He moved it carefully and let it drop back in almost the same instant.
“I overestimated the amount of time we had,” he said. “We need to leave. Leave your stuff here.”
She nodded, putting her laptop and its charger into her backpack and zipping it closed. She had everything she needed on her back. Everything else was just creature comforts that were replaceable.
“Come this way,” Ty said, leading her to the back of the room. He looked out the window and looked back at her. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” he asked sheepishly.
“That drop-off is steep,” she said. “And there’s nothing but woods back there.”
“I know. It’s perfect. Come on, I’ll help you.”
His offer rankled, but they didn’t have time for her to remind him that she wasn’t some damsel in distress. She could handle herself.
He opened the window quickly, holding his hand out to her.
“I’ll lower you as far as I can so it’s not so far to fall.”
“Alright,” she said, her throat going dry at the thought.
It wasn’t horribly high, but the ground dropped on the back side of the hotel and the second story room was much further from the ground on this side of the hotel than on the front. It was a bit of a drop, even if it was more than survivable. She grabbed his hand and crawled out the window. He lowered her over the edge, leaning over as far as he could before he stopped and looked into her eyes.
“You’ve got this. Let your joints bend and tuck and roll to your right as soon as your feet touch the ground.”
“Got it,” she said, though she didn’t feel nearly as sure of herself as her tone suggested.
Ty let go, and for a moment, Senora wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab him in midair rather than let her body fall through the air. She did as he said, relaxing in spite of her fear and rolling right as she hit the ground. The landing still jarred her body, but she rolled into it, tumbling down the hill for several yards before she came to a stop.
Before she could get to her feet, Ty was at her side, pulling her up and dashing toward the forest behind the hotel without asking if she was injured. She took off after him, relieved when there were no broken bones and no hint of pain. When the adrenaline wore off, it might be a different story, but for now, she was good to go.
They covered the distance between the hotel and the edge of the forest quickly, but Senora still waited for the shoot from the hotel, and the slam of a bullet into her back.
Don’t be dramatic; the Sheriff isn’t going to just shoot us, she thought, but she didn’t feel any better until they burst through the tree line and into the darkness.
The air was stale and heavy, the breeze that pushed the sizzling air around too weak to penetrate the dense forest. They turned, crouching down low and watching the hotel in the distance.
“Are you alright?” Ty asked.
“Now you ask? What if my leg was broken and you just yanked me onto my feet like that?”
Ty chuckled under his breath.
“So, you’re fine,” he stated.
“I’m fine, no thanks to you.”
“Wait, I’m the one that saved your life just now. You were going to putz around the hotel room for another thirty minutes, and you would have been caught.”
She shot him a look, but he was focused on the hotel.
“How did you land so quietly beside me? I didn’t even hear you hit the ground.”
“That’s because you were too busy tumbling down the hill.”
Senora scoffed, but movement in the hotel caught her eye before she responded.
“They looked out the window,” Senora whispered.
“No need to whisper; they can’t hear you,” Ty said, still chuckling. “They’ll assume we went around the front.”
“Even with the back-window open?” she wondered.
“I closed it before I jumped.”
“What?” she said in shock, her expression incredulous. “How did you-”
“There was a ledge, and I held one of the rafters above my head. It took two seconds, though I couldn’t lock it from the outside.”
Senora shook her head.
“I don’t see how that’s possible.”
He shrugged.
“You can see the window as well as I can. Does it look closed?”
She scowled.
“I already saw that it was closed,” she admitted. “You’re insanely limber for a man your size.”
He smiled.
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
She was still watching the hotel, and even through the closed drapes, she knew they were tossing her room and going through her overnight bag.
“It’s only a matter of time before they realize that I am not coming back for my bag,” she said. “We should get going. Eventually, they’re going to realize that we went this way and come after us.”
“They won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You’ll see.”
“Do you ever just say what you mean without resorting to speaking in riddles?”
“All the time, but this is more fun.”
“You’re exasperating.”
“And you’re beautiful when you’re mad, and you just fell two stories to the ground.”
His lips brushed her cheek so fast that she didn’t have a chance to step back. Her skin burned where he’d kissed her almost impulsively. Her hand went to the spot, and she looked at him, shocked by the gesture.
“What was that for?”
“For being so brave. You’re amazing.”
“I’m a Federal Agent.”
“And a damn good one. Now, let’s get going. We have a lot of ground to cover before they bring out the four-wheelers and get serious about finding us.”
“Four-wheelers?”
“They won’t get here in time unless we stand around talking all day.”
She narrowed her eyes, and he laughed, then started walking deeper into the woods without waiting to see if she was going to follow. She watched him for a moment then fell into step behind him, jogging to keep up with his long stride every few yards.
“I can slow down,” he offered.
“I’ll manage. At least there’s a breeze on this part of the trail.”
“There’s a reason for that,” he said.
The tone of his voice set her on edge. He sounded amused, and so far, that hadn’t boded well for Senora.
She heard the raging waters before she saw anything. When he stopped, she moved to the side to stand beside him only to have his arm shoot out and grab her.
“What?” she said, then she caught sight of the ledge before them, and her eyes trailed down the steep cliff until she saw the river below. “We’re trapped. There’s no way we can get down that.”
“Yes, we can,” he said. “Just go where I go and step where I step.”
She shook her head.
“There has to be a better way.”
“This is the only way.” He pointed to a narrow wooden bridge that ran across the river to the other side. “We must be on the other side of the river before they find us or we’re screwed.”
“What’s on the other side of the river?”
“Immunity.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“She’s not here, Sheriff,” the Deputy said, coming out of the bathroom after looking in the closets and every other possible hiding place in the room. “Are we sure this is her room?”
“Quite sure,” he said. “After she made the reservation I updated it and got my own key.”
The Deputy arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t question the Sheriff. No one ever did. At least, they hadn’t since the last fool had come at him, guns ablaze, claiming he had information that would end him. He’d laughed in the man’s face as he lay at the end of a dirt road, hands up, begging and pleading for his life right before the Sheriff had pulled the trigger. The bullet had gone through, and with a callousness that shocked even him, the Sheriff had turned the dying man on his side, dug the bullet out of the rock it had embedded itself in and picked up the casing.
Then, he’d walked away without a backward glance, leaving the man to bleed out slowly after pushing his car into the Squaw Creek Reservoir. There were plenty of wild animals to take care of the body, and the farm at the end of the dirt road had been vacant for almost twenty years.
That was five years ago, and neither the car nor the dead man had been found in that time. And the Sheriff had enjoyed years of running his town how he saw fit without any pushback.
Until now.
This Federal Agent was putting a damper on his well-laid plans, and she was going to have to be dealt with. He would have to be careful about it, since she was a Federal Agent. But it wasn’t anything that the Sheriff couldn’t handle.
The Deputy got closer, pitching his voice low so that the other officers couldn’t hear him.
“Dale, do you think she knows?” he asked.
The Sheriff smirked.
“She stole Robin’s files on Addie, but there’s nothing in there that’s going to make sense to her. She doesn’t know a damn thing, Keith.”
“I hope not.”
Keith stood up, nodding at an officer that walked past with the overnight bag that Senora had left near her bed. When that officer and the other one had gone out the door, Keith leaned over to the Sheriff again, his voice low in case the officers returned unannounced.