by Terri Reed
Pleased by his words, Alicia stared at him. Obviously, he didn’t know how freaked out she was by all that had taken place in the past twenty-four hours. Or how close to the edge she’d been after Jeff’s death, when the world as she’d known it had unraveled.
Through her prayers she felt the Lord’s presence as she made the decision to move home to Settler’s Valley and live with her father. Her faith and her family had saved her from spiraling down a dark hole. Picking up the pieces of her heart had been hard. Learning to trust a man again was even harder. Yet in such a short time Leo had earned a measure of trust she hadn’t thought she’d ever give again.
“Alicia, how did it go with the forensic artist?” the chief asked.
“Better than I expected,” she replied, tucking her hands into the pockets of her lightweight, zippered jacket.
Leo held out the sketched image of the killer. “Here’s the perpetrator’s likeness.”
Julianne took the paper from his hand. “I’ll send a copy to Dylan. If this guy is in any database in the world, Dylan will find him.”
Alicia looked at Leo. “Dylan?”
“Our unit’s communications tech,” Leo replied. “He’s the best at what he does.”
“I’d like to make copies to give to my officers,” the chief interjected.
“Show me to your copier,” Julianne said.
The chief led the female agent and her partner away.
“Any more information on Jake?” Leo asked his boss.
Max scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “No. I have every law-enforcement agency in the state of Wyoming on the lookout for anyone resembling him.”
Leo’s frustration was easy to see. His jaw tightened and he rubbed the back of his neck. Leo had mentioned his fellow agent had been abducted. She wondered what had happened.
“How do we know the anonymous tip is even valid?” Leo asked tersely.
Max shrugged. “We don’t. There have been tons of calls with sightings of Jake since the news went public that we captured Reginald and that Jake was missing, presumed kidnapped by the Duprees. Our job is to follow every lead in hopes one will eventually pan out. Though this one... There was something different about it.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Leo replied in a tone fraught with frustration. “We can use the publicity to help find Jake.”
“That’s the hope,” Max replied.
Leo turned his gaze on her. “We normally keep our missions under wrap and out of the public eye.”
She imagined that would be hard with the dogs and all. But she’d seen Leo and True in action. They excelled at their jobs. She had no doubt all the agents and their partners were excellent officers of the law and stealthy when needed.
Leo blew out a breath, then said to Max, “Alicia has offered for you and Julianne to stay out at the ranch.”
Max met her gaze. “That’s very hospitable of you.”
“I figure with three human agents and three canines, we’d be extra safe,” she replied with a smile.
He nodded. “Good thinking. If you’re sure, we’ll accept.”
“I’m sure.” She liked the idea of extra protection. In addition, they’d be a buffer between her and Leo. And Charlie would have two new people to interact with, which might divert some of his hero-worship attention from Leo. The last thing she wanted was her son becoming too emotionally attached to the dashing agent.
Julianne and the chief returned with a stack of duplicated copies of the killer’s image.
“Is there an office or conference room we could use?” Max asked the chief.
“Of course.” He showed them to a small conference room with a square table and several mismatched chairs. He held up the copies of the killer’s image in his hands. “I’m going to distribute these now.”
Max gestured to the open door of the conference room. “Ladies, after you.”
Surprised by the invitation, Alicia walked into the room and took a seat at the table. The others followed. When they were all situated, Julianne fired up her laptop. Within a few moments, the screen was filled with the live video feed of the face of a blond-haired young man wearing a set of black horn-rimmed glasses and a loud print shirt.
“Dylan, did you get the picture I faxed over?” Julianne asked.
“I did and I’m searching cyberspace for a match,” Dylan said. He peered at Alicia. “Hello. You must be Ms. Duncan. I’m Dylan O’Leary.”
She hesitated a moment, tempted to revert to her maiden name. But Charlie was a Duncan and for him she’d remain one, too. “I am. It’s nice to meet you, Dylan.”
He flashed a brief smile. “I’m sure it’s not but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Alicia couldn’t help but like the affable young man. “I’ll admit I wish I were meeting all of you under different circumstances.” Her gaze met Leo’s.
After a heartbeat, he turned to the computer screen. “Dylan, do you have an ID on the victim?”
“I do. Her name was Virginia Carter from Reno, Nevada. According to her family, she was on a road trip visiting college friends. They hadn’t heard from her in a few days and had already alerted the authorities.”
Alicia’s heart hurt for Virginia’s family. Suffering a loss was never easy, but to have the death be at the hands of someone else made it worse. When Jeff was killed in the line of duty, his murderer had been caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. There was some comfort in that. Alicia sent up a prayer they would find Virginia’s murderer and give the family closure.
“Do we know where she was staying?” Julianne asked. “We might find a clue as to how she crossed paths with the killer.”
Dylan’s fingers rapped against his keyboard. “Her credit card was used at a resort in Burns Junction.”
“Grizzly Lodge,” Alicia supplied. “It’s a luxury hotel at the top of the Blackthorn Mountain range north of here, where the mouth of the river begins.”
“Julianne and I will go to Burns Junction,” Max stated. “We’ll check out Virginia Carter’s hotel room and look for her car.”
“And search for Jake,” Julianne added. “If the killer thought Esme Dupree was in Burns Junction, then maybe...?” She shrugged with a grimace.
“Do we know where in Wyoming the marshals have Esme stashed?” Leo asked. “That might be good to know so we can plan on helping with Esme’s protection.”
“They wouldn’t give out details,” Max said. “After their marshal slipped up and revealed that Esme was in Wyoming to the man posing as me, they’ve been tight-lipped. I don’t blame them. That mistake could cost her her life and us the case.”
“Do we think the killer went after Virginia by mistake?” Dylan asked.
Leo tugged at his earlobe. “I think his job was to silence Esme and he found Virginia. She matches Esme’s description to a T. If I hadn’t seen Esme up close I would have thought they were one and the same.”
“The message was meant to scare Esme out of hiding,” Julianne said. “Do we believe this guy—” she held up the sketched image of the man who’d put a target on Alicia “—is the only thug Angus Dupree has out searching for Esme?”
There was a moment of silence. The tension in the room grew tenfold.
Finally, Max said, “Angus Dupree will stop at nothing to silence his niece. One thug? No. Dupree has an army out looking for Esme.”
Alicia’s mouth went dry. She swallowed hard, then said, “Then there could be more victims who look like Esme.”
All eyes turned to her. She held Leo’s gaze.
He gave her a grim nod. “Yes, there could be more.”
“Dylan, have there been any other missing persons filed?” Max asked. “Or victims found within the state of Wyoming?”
“Let me search.” The communications tech’s fingers flew ov
er the keyboard. His face paled. “Three women with similar descriptions matching Esme Dupree have been reported missing. One from Casper, a nurse who hasn’t shown up for work in a few days, and another woman, a librarian, from Cheyenne. Both of those women went missing on the same day.”
Alicia shivered. Worry for the missing women and for the agents who were working to find them bubbled in her tummy. Though she understood the dangers of a career in law enforcement, being this close to it all made her anxious. She lifted up a silent prayer of protection for the agents. And a prayer the women would be found.
“More than one perp,” Max confirmed. “I’ll need to let the US Marshals Service know.”
“And the third?” Julianne prompted.
“A hairstylist, Sue Ellen Bishop, from a township named Drytown,” Dylan said. “She missed her appointments yesterday afternoon and this morning.”
“That’s not far from here.” She widened her eyes in alarm. “Upriver, about twenty miles. If he took her from Drytown, he could have dumped her body anywhere along the river.”
“Seems our guy is following the Blackthorn River,” Leo stated. “Or was, until you saw him.”
She swallowed back the terror clawing up her throat. “As much as I hate having my life threatened, if spotting him stops him, then so be it. I have all of you to protect me.” And God watching over her.
Leo’s expression softened with gratitude. “Thank you for your confidence in us.”
The weight of Max’s and Julianne’s stares made her tear her gaze away from Leo. Heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks. Until she knew for sure what was prompting her attraction to Agent Gallagher—his kindness, his willingness to put himself in harm’s way for her and her family, or her own aching loneliness—she wasn’t about to be caught mooning over him like a lovesick teenager.
“True and I need to get on the river ASAP,” Leo stated. “I’ll get the diver back here. In the meantime, I’ll ask Chief Jarrett to have an escort for Alicia back to the ranch.”
Her gaze jerked back to him. “No. I’m coming with you to the river. I know this area well. Up and down both sides of the shore. As kids, my friends and I spent every day playing along the Blackthorn during the summer.”
“I can’t allow it,” Leo stated flatly.
She arched an eyebrow. “Allow it? Excuse me, Agent Gallagher, but you have no say in what I do.”
“It’s for your own protection.”
Her hackles rose. “Are you saying you can’t handle protecting me away from the ranch?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” he said through clenched teeth. “But out in the field there are too many unknowns. Variables I can’t control.”
“That woman is out there. We are her only chance of being found.” Preferably alive. But she wasn’t naive enough to hold on to that hope.
“Not we—me.”
“Are you always so arrogant?” She sliced the air with her hand. “I’m not some helpless sap. You need a guide. We’re wasting time debating this.”
Leo opened his mouth to argue but Max stepped forward. “Gallagher, a word.”
Leo looked ready to argue with his boss but pressed his lips together and stepped out of the conference room. When the two men were gone, Alicia bit her lip. “I hope I didn’t get him in trouble.”
Julianne smiled kindly. “Don’t worry—you didn’t. Leo’s a bit of a control freak. He feels bad about Jake. Not that he could have done anything differently. It could have easily been him they abducted.”
“He’d mentioned a fellow agent was kidnapped but I didn’t know that last part.”
Julianne grimaced. “Leo feels like he should have somehow kept Jake from being taken. We all feel that way but Leo more so because he and Jake were together on the ground of the warehouse.”
Now Leo’s hypervigilance made sense. He felt responsible for his friend’s abduction. And was afraid he’d fail to protect her as well. She hurt for him. It couldn’t be easy to carry so much weight on his shoulders. She was another burden for him to bear.
She understood his reluctance to take her with him. Really, she did. But he had to understand that she wasn’t one to sit idle when there was something she could do to help.
Finding Sue Ellen Bishop from Drytown gave Alicia a purpose. A way to take back some power from the maniac determined to kill again.
NINE
“What’s going on, Gallagher?” Max asked once he and Leo were in the hallway. True sat at Leo’s side while Opal lay on the floor at Max’s feet.
Leo ran a hand through his hair as embarrassment flooded his system. He’d just argued with a civilian in front of his boss and coworker. So not cool.
There was just something about Alicia that made him overly sensitive and heightened his need to keep control of the situation. He wanted to put her in a glass case and keep her there until this madman was caught.
He’d never felt so protective of a civilian involved in one of their cases before. Why Alicia? He didn’t really know her. Did his feelings for her have something to do with Jake’s kidnapping? That had to be why. But he couldn’t tell his boss. His pride wouldn’t allow it.
“I don’t know,” he finally muttered. “I don’t like the idea of taking her into the field. There’s too much risk involved.”
Max dropped his chin. “No more risk than her staying at the ranch. If she’s with you then you can protect her. That is what you want, right? I can have Julianne take over the protection detail, if you’d prefer.”
“No,” he replied quickly. Too quickly if Max’s arched eyebrow was any indication. Leo took a deep breath. “I’ll take her with me.”
The other man nodded. “I’m sure Chief Jarrett will supply a couple of uniforms to accompany you.”
“That would work,” Leo said. Though he’d keep Alicia within arm’s length, having the backup would be welcomed.
Max’s cell phone rang. He fished the device from the breast pocket of his uniform. “West.”
He listened a moment, his expression darkening. “Understood. Thank you for letting me know.” He clicked off. “The US Marshals were moving Esme to a new locale when they were ambushed. One marshal was shot but is expected to live. The other marshal managed to escape with Esme unharmed.”
Leo’s gut twisted with both alarm and relief. “That was close.”
“Too close. The marshals are looking within their ranks to see if they have a leak.”
“They may not have one,” Leo said. “If Dupree has goons all over the state looking for Esme, one could have ferreted her out. Once the marshals have her relocated, Dupree will have to call off his thugs.” At least Leo hoped so. The United States was a big place, and without a general location for Esme, there was no way Dupree could hope to find her. But he had a feeling that the guy after Alicia wouldn’t stop until he’d accomplished his goal—to silence the witness.
* * *
With True on leash, Leo and Alicia made their way through the dense woods along the Blackthorn River, accompanied by two of Settler’s Valley’s finest. With every snap of a twig or rustle of a branch, Leo’s senses jumped. He knew he was being overly cautious but was there such a thing when it came to the safety of a civilian and not just any civilian. Alicia was more than a mere witness; she was a good mother and caregiver to her father. She had a big heart and deep wounds, yet she also had a spine of steel and a feisty spirit that he respected and admired. He was definitely losing perspective where she was concerned. He could feel himself slipping like loose gravel down a steep slope.
The crashing rush of the swift-moving river reached them through the trees, the water unseen behind the matted foliage. They’d parked at the marina and hiked from there, passing the place where Alicia had seen Virginia Carter go into the water. As they’d reached the canyon, Leo was sure
they’d have to turn back and drive around the high cliffs, but Alicia had shown them a barely discernible trail that led up and over the rock formation. Now they were on the other side of the canyon where the cottonwoods and aspen trees towered over smaller trees and shrubs.
Leo caught glimpses of the river through the heavy branches. “Can we get to the shoreline?” True needed to be closer to the water to pick up on a scent.
“We will once we get past this thicket,” Alicia assured him, picking her way through the massive tangles of branches and leaves. “The county really needs to do something about this mess. These Russian olive trees are so invasive. And the salt cedar is a noxious weed that’s choking out the natural plants. I’ve heard up in the Big Horn area the plants are being removed.” She glanced back at him. “Sorry, I’m sure you’re not interested in our local environmental troubles.”
A twig stuck out of her dark hair and the sunlight filtering through the canopy of branches overhead kissed her pink cheeks. She was really lovely. He gave her a smile. “The environment affects us all. It’s nice that you care so much.”
She returned his smile and his heart thumped against his rib cage. There was no rational way of blaming his response to her on an underlying need to make up for failing to protect Jake. He was attracted to her, pure and simple. The realization nearly made him stumble. Leo had no idea what to do with this knowledge. He wouldn’t act on it. His only course of action was to ignore his growing feelings for the lovely widow and hope he survived this mission with his heart intact.
True barked and strained at his leash, diverting Leo’s attention away from Alicia. “He smells something.” To the canine, he said, “Find it.” He let go of the leash. True dashed through the brush. Leo grabbed Alicia’s hand. “Come on.”
Together they fought their way through the thicket with the two police officers right behind them. They found True five feet away at the water’s edge.
A jumbled mass of broken tree branches and debris created a platform for True to stand on. He paced back and forth, his bark echoing across the river. He’d definitely caught a scent. The dog stopped barking when he saw Leo, but he kept pacing, his paws sure on the waterlogged wood.