Fractured Memory

by Jordyn Redwood

  Ellen registered the barking. “I’m calling for backup.” She grabbed the radio from her hip and put in the call. When Dispatch answered, she rattled off the information. She glanced at Lee who was also watching the road. “Anything?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Help is on the way.”

  She maintained her vigilance even as her mind searched for answers. Who would want to attack her and Lee? Probably the same people behind the other trouble the police department and her fellow K-9 officers had faced since being assigned to solve Veronica Earnshaw’s murder. Then again, Lee had just been released from prison. Could it be someone after him?

  The drone of an engine caught her attention and all speculation fled. She heard it coming closer as Lee pulled the two crates from the backseat of the king cab one after the other and set them on the ground by the blown tire. He handled the heavy cargo as though it weighed nothing, but she knew the two six-month-old pups weighed about fifty pounds each. “I hear something. Are they coming back?”

  “Sounds like it.” She raised her gun and aimed it. When the car crested the hill, she knew they were in for a second attack. “That’s them.” The dark gray Buick slowed; the barrel of a rifle appeared in the window. She figured it was now or never and tightened her finger, heard her weapon bark, felt the kick against her hand.

  The sedan’s front windshield exploded. The driver hit the gas and the vehicle blew past in a drunken weave. Ellen spun from her position and moved to the back of the truck near the crated, yapping puppies. This time the car didn’t turn around—and she got a partial plate. “Oh-four,” she whispered. “I didn’t get the rest of it. But I got 04.”

  She turned to find Lee hovering over the puppies, his features tense, face pale. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah. You?”

  He nodded. “The puppies are fine, too.”

  Ellen pulled her phone from the clip on her belt. “I’m going to find out where backup is. Keep an eye out for them to come back while I’m on the phone, will you?” Not only did they need a tow truck for Lee’s vehicle, they needed a ride back to town and a Be On the Lookout—a BOLO—put out for the gray sedan.

  “Of course.” He looked distracted. Thoughtful. His brows pulled together over the bridge of his nose as if he knew something and was pondering it.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  His eyes flicked to hers then he shook his head. “Nothing.”

  The dispatcher came on the line. “Where’s my backup?”

  “On the way, Ellen. They should be there within minutes.”

  “Tell them to be looking for a dark gray sedan—a Buick—with 04 in the license plate.”

  “Copy that.”

  Ellen hung up and paced behind the protection of Lee’s truck while she watched the road and thought about what had just happened. “Did you tell anyone about us going to pick up the puppies?” she asked.

  Lee frowned. “No. But it’s not because I thought it was some top secret mission—it’s just that I don’t talk to too many people.”

  Ellen heard the bitterness behind the words. Being imprisoned for two years for a crime one didn’t commit could do that to a person. She also knew that people in Desert Valley, Arizona, had long memories and weren’t very forgiving. Never mind that the man before her had been set up by a corrupt cop.

  When she’d heard Lee had been arrested for robbery, she’d been stunned. Then disbelief had set in. But the evidence had been overwhelming. Now she knew why. It was easy to frame someone when the investigating officer planted evidence. Disgust curled inside her. She had nothing but contempt for those who used their power to hurt others, to fulfill some kind of personal agenda.

  Sirens broke the silence and she straightened, her eyes once again going to the place where the gray sedan had disappeared. Some of her adrenaline eased now that she felt sure they weren’t coming back.

  Chief of police Earl Jones stepped from his cruiser. Seventy years old, he topped six feet two inches and carried himself well in spite of his large gut. His gray hair looked mussed, as though he’d run his hands through it several times. His gaze landed on Ellen then slid over to Lee. “Not out of prison two weeks and you’re already causing trouble? Not a good way to start your new life.”

  * * *

  Lee nearly bit through his tongue to keep the words he’d like to fling at the man from making their way past his teeth. He simply stared at the chief. He wouldn’t defend himself. He didn’t have to. The fact that he stood here a free man was defense enough as far as he was concerned. Chief Jones raised a brow, a glint of respect lighting his eyes before he hitched his britches and held out a hand to Lee. “You got a raw deal. I’m glad it all worked out for you.”

  Lee blinked and swallowed his anger. He shook the man’s hand. “Thanks. I am, too.”

  The chief looked at Ellen. “What’s going on here, Foxcroft?”

  Ellen’s gaze darted between the two them. Lee maintained his cool stance. Deputy Louise Donaldson exited her cruiser and joined them on the side of the road. The woman was in her early sixties and, if Lee remembered correctly, had been widowed at a rather young age.

  She was tall and solid, her hair cut in a no-nonsense brown bob. Her dark eyes were serious and concerned. He also knew she planned to retire soon. In fact he wondered who would retire first, the chief or Louise. And why he was even thinking about that confused him. He attributed it to some kind of coping mechanism. If he thought about the mundane, he didn’t have to think about the fact that he and Ellen could have been killed a short few moments ago.

  “We were shot at,” Ellen was saying. “I think there were two of them in the vehicle. They drove a dark gray Buick and I got a partial plate.” She gave it to him. “They’ve also got a busted windshield.”

  “I’ll call for a tow truck,” Louise said. She got on her phone and Earl rubbed a hand over his craggy face.

  “All right, let’s get you two back to town and get this figured out. Donaldson!”

  “Yes, Chief?” She slid her phone back into the clip.

  “Get Marlton and Harmon out here to take care of the evidence collection before the sun goes down. We’ve only got a couple hours before dark.” Dennis Marlton and Eddie Harmon, two more of Desert Valley’s finest—only Lee had come to figure out they weren’t quite so fine. Between ready-for-retirement cops and simple ineffectiveness, Lee decided it was a wonder enforcement of the law even happened in Desert Valley.

  Chief Jones was a good man, but his upcoming retirement had him slacking off. The chief continued, “I’ll stay here while you chauffeur these two back to town. Officer Foxcroft’s got some paperwork to fill out on the shooting. Make sure her gun is turned in and all is done according to procedure.”

  Louise’s jaw tightened as though she didn’t like being told how to do her job, but she simply nodded. “Of course. Come on.”

  Lee put the crated puppies in the back of the DVPD SUV cruiser then he climbed in the back while Ellen took the front passenger seat. Louise started the vehicle and pulled away from the edge of the road. Lee reached over and settled his hand on Ellen’s shoulder. She started and turned to look at him, confusion clouding her eyes. But at least she didn’t pull away. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he said. “That was some quick thinking and good shooting out there.”

  She shot him a tight smile. “Thanks. I just wanted to stop them.”

  “You did that, all right.”

  She fell silent and Lee removed his hand from her shoulder to look out the window and watch the scenery pass by. He didn’t take for granted the fact that he could do this now. He’d missed riding in a car for the past two years. Missed driving his truck. He’d missed a lot of things. The anger wanted to bubble up, but he took a deep breath and forced it down. Anger at what he couldn’t change wouldn�
�t help anything. It would just cause the bitterness to grow, and he didn’t want to go through life that way. Had made a vow he wouldn’t let it consume him. Not like it had his father. He forced the thought away.

  Within minutes they were at the police station. Lee climbed out of the cruiser, grabbed the puppies from the back and waited for Ellen to climb out. He let her go in front of him, watching her enter the station, her steps light, movements graceful. He realized his feelings for her hadn’t diminished one bit from their high school days. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he was still attracted to her. And her mother still hated him. No doubt even more so at this point. He wasn’t just a kid from the wrong side of the tracks anymore—he’d been incarcerated. Oh, yes, that would go over well with Marian Foxcroft. Assuming she ever woke up from her coma to find out he was now out and working with her daughter. As much as he disliked the woman, he realized he could feel compassion for her. She was in the hospital in a coma, a victim of a home invasion and a vicious attack. No one deserved that. He swallowed hard and pulled the rolling crates behind him. He trailed Ellen as she led the way through the Desert Valley Police Department lobby.

  “Ellen?”

  Ellen paused and turned to the woman who’d called her name. “Yes, Carrie?”

  Lee racked his brain trying to place what he’d learned about the secretary and couldn’t come up with much. In her thirties, she wore thick horn-rimmed glasses and her brown hair was always in the same style every time he’d seen her around town. Up in one of those messy-bun things some women managed to twist their hair into. She was quiet and kind and did her job well if the rumors were true.

  She handed Ellen a piece of paper. “The hospital called just to say there’s been no change in your mother. Dr. North said to let you know he had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to meet with you this afternoon, but if you’ll call his secretary to reschedule, she’ll fit you in as soon as possible.”

  “That’s fine. Thanks.” She frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t call my cell.”

  “He said he did but you didn’t answer.”

  “She was kind of busy,” Lee said.

  Ellen nodded. “Thanks, Carrie.”

  “Of course.” She turned back to her computer and Louise continued the trek to a conference room.

  Officer Donaldson shut the door behind them and Lee saw Ellen check her phone. “Yep. Missed call.” She glanced at Lee. “Right in the middle of our little incident. I never heard it ring.”

  He hadn’t, either.

  Ellen removed her weapon and placed it in the bag the officer held out for her. “You know the drill,” Officer Donaldson said. “There’ll be an investigation. You’re off duty for the moment.”

  Ellen sighed. “I know.”

  “The good news is since there are no wounded or dead bodies, you could be cleared for return to duty as early as tomorrow or the next day. We’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Louise.”

  The woman’s brown eyes softened a fraction. “You’re welcome. You did good, rookie.”

  Ellen gave a faint smile. “Thanks.”

  “How’s your mother?”

  Her smile slipped. “She’s still alive. We’re just praying she wakes up soon and can tell us who did this to her. Until then, she’s under twenty-four-hour guard to make sure no one can get to her and finish what they started. Chief Jones was willing to have you all take shifts guarding her, but I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted to take you away from your duties here. I’ve hired a private agency to make sure there’s a guard on her door. So far, that’s worked out well.”

  “We’re all praying for her.” Louise set the weapon aside and motioned for them to sit at the table. Once seated Lee wanted to fidget. He wasn’t interested in being in this building ever again. Louise pulled a laptop in front of her. “All right, let’s go through it all again.”

  Lee started to say something when Carrie entered the room. Louise raised a brow. “Yes?”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but someone found a glove behind a Dumpster near veterinarian Tanya Fowler’s office and brought it in.” She held up the bagged glove while he pictured Tanya, the veterinarian he’d seen occasionally when she’d come to the prison to vaccinate the dogs with the Prison Pups program. A sweet lady whose nonjudgmental eyes never failed to raise his spirits. He tuned back into what Carrie was saying. “Two kids were waiting with their mother while she had their dog in with Dr. Fowler and they ran around the side of the building playing hide and seek. Little Justin Daniels found it and gave it to his mother.”

  “Okay. And it’s important because...?”

  “It matches the set worn by one of the robbers who robbed that bank in Flagstaff six months ago.”

  Louise frowned. “How would she have known that?”

  “She wouldn’t. She turned it in to us because it had five one-hundred-dollar bills in it and thought someone may have reported it missing.”

  “Has someone?”

  “No.” Carrie pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. “But when the robbery first happened, we got all those wanted notices faxed to us, remember? The chief also got the video footage of the robbery.” She walked farther into the room and placed the glove on the desk. “He and I watched it together just in case I spotted anyone hanging around town. Turns out I recognized the gloves in the surveillance video. They’re a pretty popular brand and I sent this exact pair to a cousin for Christmas last year.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, not this one, but a pair just like them. So I just checked the bank footage again to be sure, and this sure looks like one of the gloves.”

  Louise nodded. “Okay, that’s good news. I wouldn’t have thought there would be any chance of picking up that trail again. Send the glove off to the lab. Take Justin Daniels’s fingerprints as well as his mother’s and send them for comparison.” Carrie nodded. “Also, get the serial numbers from the bills and send them to the Flagstaff PD. I don’t know that they’ll need them, but it can’t hurt to have them just in case.”

  “Got it.” Carrie turned and walked out, carrying the evidence.

  Louise looked up at Ellen. “You heard about that bank robbery, right?”

  “Vaguely. It happened shortly after we started our training with Veronica and that’s where my focus was. I think I remember that they never found the money, right?”

  “No, it happened just as the bank was closing on a Friday afternoon. Two men in masks and semiautomatics in broad daylight. Shook the whole city up.”

  “They were obviously professionals and they had it well planned.”

  “True,” she sighed. “They got away that day, but the FBI was called in and arrested one of the robbers—a Nolan Little. The second robber got away, but the FBI tracked him down right here in Desert Valley two days later, hiding in an abandoned mobile home. He got into a shootout with them and was killed. They searched and found his weapon and a few bills, but he didn’t have the bank money on him.”

  “Let me guess, the one they caught isn’t talking.”

  “He couldn’t if he wanted to. He was killed about two months into serving his sentence.”

  “So anyone who might have known where the money is can’t talk because they’re dead.”

  “Yes. At least the ones we know about.”

  “You think there’s someone else involved?”

  “The FBI was convinced there was a third person—a driver—but they’ve never been able to prove it. He wasn’t in the video and there wasn’t a car at the scene.”

  “How did they get away?” Ellen asked.

  “On foot. Ran right out the back door through a back alley and disappeared. That’s why we think there was a third person involved. Someone with a car that was never seen. Someone who knew where the security cameras were and made sure to park out of
view. The robbers climbed in and they drove away.” She sighed. “The FBI sends the chief an update every so often, but I think they’ve probably given up on ever recovering the money—or the third person if there ever was one.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe with the glove, they’ll get a fresh trail to follow.” She drew in a deep breath. “Now, Lee, what can you tell me about the shootout that just occurred?”

  Lee shifted. “I think I have something that will help.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I have a dash cam on my truck. We just need to watch the video.” He held up his phone and pressed the screen to pull up the app.

  He shook his head at the irony. After everything this department had put him through, he had something that could possibly help them. And he was going to push aside his initial reaction of “let them fend for themselves” and do it.

  This time they’d better not mess up.

  Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  ISBN-13: 9781488008573

  Fractured Memory

  Copyright © 2016 by Jordyn Redwood

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