When Tyler arrived at the library a few minutes later, Megan had disappeared from view. He wasted several minutes searching the library for her. The librarian finally told him that she’d seen a woman answering Megan’s description, but that she’d left.
At her words, Tyler knew a fear that he’d never felt before, in all the years he’d been on the force. She must have gone out to confront the mugger. She could be in his hands right now.
They could have gone in any direction. He had no way of knowing. If she was in trouble he was helpless to save her. She was on her own.
Sickened by the thought of what might have happened to her, he rushed out to his car and flung himself into it. He’d cruise the streets all night if he had to, but he had to find her. Somehow, somewhere. All he could pray for was that he found her alive and unhurt.
Megan kept close to the storefronts as she followed the mugger’s brisk pace. Every now and again he paused to look into a display window, and when he did she darted into a doorway, holding her breath until she dare peek out to see if he was moving again.
Twice she almost lost him when he crossed the street, and once he disappeared around a corner. Afraid to go charging around it in case he was waiting for her, she waited a little too long. By the time she edged carefully around the corner he was at least three blocks away.
She had to run like mad to catch up with him, and barely caught sight of him as he turned yet another corner, heading uphill toward the park.
Obviously purse snatching wasn’t too profitable, Megan thought irritably, if the man couldn’t afford a car. Unless he’d parked it off the street somewhere. If that was so, all she had to do was get the license plate number and Tyler would have his man.
She wasn’t going to get any closer to him, she promised herself as she slowed to a walk again. She wasn’t really sure what she was going to do. If he didn’t have a car she could tail him until he got home, so that she’d know where he lived. Then she could inform Tyler, he could arrest the mugger, and maybe get her purse back. Or at least the photos. Then Tyler would have to admit that she was capable of handling situations on her own. She really liked that bit.
She hoped that the man would reach home soon. She was beginning to get tired, and a little niggling pain in her side was bothering her. With all the sitting around she’d done lately, she was really out of shape. First thing tomorrow, she promised herself, she’d get back to her aerobics routine with her videotape.
She was so busy thinking about everything that she almost missed the mugger’s next move. She was walking across the street from the park when she noticed he’d gone. For a moment it seemed as if he’d simply vanished in the wind, but then she caught sight of him in the park walking briskly up a path through the trees.
She had to wait for the light before she could cross the street. Once more she had to force herself into a fast trot to reach the path, by which time the mugger had completely disappeared.
She couldn’t have lost him, Megan thought in frustration. He had to be around somewhere. He couldn’t have gone far in the short time it had taken her to get across the street.
The path curved up the hill and disappeared into a thick stand of trees. He had to be somewhere up there. For a moment she hesitated, remembering what Tyler had said about going after criminals.
But all she was doing was following the man. He didn’t even know she was behind him. She was pretty sure he was heading for the parking lot at the top of the hill, which was where he’d probably left his car, hidden away from the eyes of the city police.
She wouldn’t have to get that close to him. A description of the car and the license plate number should be more than enough for Tyler to pick up the trail. Now that she was this close, she hated to give up. Especially if she could get her photos back. More especially if she could win Tyler’s respect.
Taking a deep breath, she ran up the path.
A few blocks away, Tyler radioed his report to Control, and asked them to notify him of any calls coming in. His stomach felt tied up in knots. It was a familiar feeling. He’d felt the same way when he’d worried about his ex-wife.
Only now the ache was more like an agony, gnawing away at his insides like a rat trapped in a wall. If anything happened to Megan... He shook his head. He couldn’t let himself think that way. He needed all his concentration.
His heart seemed to leap into his throat when he caught sight of a slender woman with light blond hair crossing the street in front of him. Almost immediately, his spirits plummeted again when he realized it wasn’t Megan.
Damn her, he thought, pounding the wheel with his fist. Why couldn’t she do what he’d told her? Why couldn’t she just have stayed put, instead of charging off all on her own? What in the hell did she hope to accomplish? All she was going to do was get herself hurt. Maybe badly.
If he could only find her, he thought, as he anxiously scanned the people on either side of the streets, he’d sit her down and give her a lecture she wouldn’t forget. If only he could find her.
All at once he found himself praying. That was something Tyler Jackson didn’t do very often.
Back in the park, Megan trudged breathlessly up the hill, anxiously scanning the trees ahead for any sign of the mugger. He’d had a good start, she thought, as she approached a sharp curve. He could already be at the parking lot. If so, he could be gone before she could catch so much as a glimpse of his car.
She tried to speed up, gasping as the pain bit deep into her side. In an attempt to ignore it, she concentrated on her surroundings.
Sunlight dappled the leaves of the dogwoods and sliced between the trunks of towering firs on either side of her. A slight breeze stirred the branches, hardly enough to cool her burning face. The pungent smell of damp wood and mossy earth added to the sense of being deep in a forest, and being alone.
She switched her thoughts to the parking lot, which she knew lay a few more yards up the hill. Almost there. She rounded the curve, and every nerve in her body froze in shock. The mugger stood directly in front of her, blocking her path.
The man stared at her, his dark eyes cold and cruel. Megan mentally backpedaled, although fear held her to the spot. Frantically she searched her mind for something to say, anything that would get her out of what was turning out to be a dangerous situation.
She forced her lips back in a grisly smile. “Er, do you happen to have the time?”
The man narrowed his eyes. “You were following me,” he said, in a rasping voice that sent unpleasant shivers down her neck. “All the way from downtown.”
She sent a desperate glance around in the vain hope that someone was close enough to hear her. If she screamed, would anyone hear her? If people heard her would anyone investigate? Even if someone did, it was doubtful he’d get there in time to stop this thug from hurting her.
“What do you want?” the man demanded. “Why are you following me? Are you the law?”
A brief vision of Tyler popped into her mind. He had warned her. She hadn’t listened. “No, no,” she said, vehemently shaking her head. “I just wanted to know the time. that’s all. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Not nearly as sorry as I’m going to make you,” the mugger growled, taking a step toward her.
Megan backed away again. “Now, look,” she said, doing her best to sound imperious, “there’s no need to get nasty.”
He gave her a horrible grin, baring a mouthful of crooked yellow teeth. “No need to get nasty,” he mimicked her in a high-pitched voice. Then his expression changed to a fierce scowl and his voice dropped to a raspy growl again. “Lady, you ain’t seen nasty until you see what I can do.”
She swallowed, and slowly slid her purse from her shoulder. “Here, if this is what you want, take it.”
A flash of recognition crossed his face, turning her blood cold. “I seen you before,” he said, moving his hand to the inside pocket of his jacket. “I remember you now. So that’s your game, huh? Figuring on turning me in, i
s that it? Well, lady, you just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Megan’s stomach gave a sickening lurch when she saw the knife in his hand. She was too tired to run. He could easily outpace her with his long legs, in any case. There was only one thing left to do. She just prayed she could remember how to do it right.
She dropped her purse and backed away from him, bracing herself with her feet planted firmly apart. Remembering Tyler’s sharp commands, she forced her muscles to relax, even though her heart pounded so badly it seemed to vibrate right through her head.
The sunlight glinted on the knife as the man raised his arm. Megan kept her gaze fixed on it, and made a sudden move to the left, as if she were going to make a run for it.
The mugger lunged, and she let out a fierce bloodcurdling yell with all the force her lungs would allow. Taken by surprise, her attacker briefly broke his stride.
Megan made a frantic grab for his upraised arm, and twisted her body away from him. Hauling on his arm, she doubled over. Her shoulder jabbed him in his armpit.
He didn’t exactly sail over her back the way he was supposed to. It was more like a clumsy, stumbling trip.
She was supposed to complete the move by holding onto his arm and wrenching it up behind him so that he couldn’t get away, then stick her foot in his neck to keep him down.
It had looked so easy when Tyler did it.
It wasn’t easy at all, she discovered. For one thing, the man’s weight landed squarely in the middle of her back, sending her sprawling. She thrust out her arms to save herself and hit the ground with a jolt that rattled her teeth. A red-hot spasm of pain shot up her right arm. At the same moment she heard the sickening crack of a skull meeting something solid.
Scrambling to sit up, she saw the mugger on the ground a few feet away. He lay on his back, his head resting on a fallen limb, his eyes closed.
For a frightening moment or two she thought she’d killed him. No matter what he might have intended to do to her, she didn’t think she could live with his death on her conscience for the rest of her life. But then, she noticed his chest slowly rise and fall.
The relief was overwhelming. Shaken by the ordeal she bent low over her injured arm, cradling it to her.
She had to get out of there, she thought dimly, before the mugger woke up and attacked her again. There was no way she could defend herself now.
She couldn’t seem to find the strength to move, however, and she stayed there on the ground, rocking back and forth in an effort to ease the pain.
Vaguely she heard a siren in the distance, but didn’t really connect it until it drew closer, becoming almost deafening before it shut off amid a loud squeal of brakes. The noise had come from the top of the hill above her, and she peered up through the trees, trying to see beyond them to what must be the parking lot.
Her heart missed a beat as a tall, dark-haired cop appeared at the top of the hill. Completely disregarding the path, he plunged down the steep slope toward her, sliding to a stop just a few feet from her.
She thought at first she was imagining things. But it really was Tyler bending over her, his voice harsh with anxiety. “Where’d he get you?”
She couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but she could see the terror in his face. “I’m all right, Tyler,” she said quickly. “It’s just my arm. It went out on me again.”
His face crumpled for just a second, as if he were about to cry, then the grim mask was back as he turned to the man lying a few feet away. “What happened?”
“He came at me with a knife.” Her voice trembled and she cleared her throat. “I tried to remember what you taught me and tried to throw him. I didn’t do it properly but he hit his head when he fell.”
“Lucky for you,” Tyler said grimly. He reached for his belt and unhooked the handcuffs. “How’d he get you here?”
Megan fidgeted nervously. “I sort of followed him from the library.”
He turned on her, hot anger blazing in his eyes. “You followed him into the park? Are you nuts?”
“I saw him leave the doorway and I thought—”
“I know what you thought.” He leaned over the unconscious man and snapped the cuffs around both wrists. “You thought you’d take care of this all by yourself.”
She flinched at the coldness in his tone. “It wasn’t like that, Tyler. I saw him leave and I was afraid he’d get away again. All I meant to do was follow him to his car or something....”
Her voice trailed miserably off into silence as she watched Tyler examine the man on the ground. The mugger stirred and groaned, just as another siren wailed in the distance.
“Is he all right?” Megan asked anxiously.
“He’ll live.”
“He must have hit his head pretty hard when he fell.” She shuddered at the memory.
“You were lucky,” Tyler said grimly. “If he’d bounced back you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“I know.” She peered up at him, wishing she could see his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
A shout interrupted them just then, and another police officer appeared through the trees. Tyler waved to him, and he came slithering down the hill toward them.
“How bad is the arm?” Tyler asked, hooking his hand under Megan’s left elbow. “Can you get up?”
“Sure.” With his help she scrambled to her feet. “I just needed to rest for a moment.” She did her best to hide her grimace of pain, but Tyler’s quick look of concern told her he’d noticed.
The cop reached them, shaking his head at the mugger, who was struggling to sit up. “What happened?”
Tyler briefly explained. “I need you to take Megan up to my car while I read him his rights,” he said, giving her a stern look. “You wait for me there,” he ordered, “and stay there until I get there.”
She felt like saluting. Instead she gave him a brief nod and followed the officer up the path to Tyler’s car, which was parked at an odd angle across a parking space.
A small group of people stared at her as the friendly officer put her into the car. “They probably think I’m being arrested,” she said, nodding at the curious onlookers who were whispering together.
“More likely everyone’s talking about how you overpowered the suspect. One of the guys over there called in on his cell phone. He and his wife saw the whole thing from up here.”
“I didn’t know anyone was up here or I’d have yelled my head off,” Megan said, beginning to feel self-conscious.
“Well, you must have yelled anyway, because that’s what they heard. You attracted their attention just in time for them to see you send the guy flying. You impressed the heck out of them.”
Megan shook her head. “It was more luck than anything else. I feel like a fraud.”
He grinned at her. “Don’t worry, they’ll forget about you as soon as they see Jackson bring up the prisoner. You might as well enjoy your brief moment of glory.”
She felt more like crying, she thought, as she settled herself in the back seat. Her arm ached, her side ached, and Tyler was furious with her. She just wanted to go home and forget this whole thing ever happened.
It seemed ages before Tyler finally appeared, pushing the stumbling man ahead of him. She heard an outbreak of applause from the group, and someone cheered.
Tyler ignored them, his expression carved in granite.
Megan couldn’t hear what he said to the other officer, but he must have asked him to take his prisoner to the station, as the cop pushed the mugger into the back of his car and slammed the door.
Megan watched Tyler stride toward her, his face still a grim mask. She felt like jumping out of the car and making her own way home, if only she’d had the strength.
He climbed in the front seat and started the engine without so much as a glance at her.
Now that there was nothing else to see, the crowd was beginning to wander away. Megan felt immeasurably depressed. She might have disobeyed Tyler’s orders, but she had single-handedl
y disarmed a dangerous criminal. He could at least give her credit for that.
He said absolutely nothing as he drove out of the park and onto the freeway. Megan could tell by the way he sat stiff-backed in his seat that he was still upset with her. She kept quiet until she realized that they had passed the off-ramp to her apartment.
“Where are we going?” she demanded, beginning to resent his silence.
“To the hospital to have that arm checked out again.”
She sighed. “There’s no need for that. It will be just fine after I’ve had a chance to rest it.”
“I’ll let the doctor decide that, if that’s all right with you.”
She winced at the sarcasm in his voice. “If you insist.”
“I do insist.” He was quiet for a moment, then burst out, “What the hell did you think you were doing? After everything I said, I can’t believe you deliberately risked your life for a stupid purse.”
“It wasn’t the purse,” Megan muttered. “It was the photos. I didn’t want anyone else to go through what I did and lose something that meant that much to them.”
“If it isn’t him it’s going to be someone else. There are dozens more like him out there on the streets. You can’t win the war on crime all by yourself by putting away one man. You sure as hell can’t win by getting yourself killed.”
“I wasn’t planning to try anything dangerous,” Megan protested hotly. “How was I to know he would realize I was following him? I was so careful.”
“Men like that can spot a tail a mile off. Following him into the park just clinched it. Didn’t it even occur to you that he could be waiting behind a tree for you? You were damn lucky he jumped you from the front. He could have come directly at you from behind and you’d never have known what hit you.”
She didn’t answer, and he swore as he braked hard to avoid a pickup that cut in front of him. “Damn it, Megan, you could have been killed out there.”
He was right, Megan thought miserably. She’d been so busy trying to gain his respect she’d ignored the risks. She could be dead by now, lying under a tree in the park with her throat slit. Her mother would never have forgiven her. As for Tyler, it was unlikely he’d ever forgive her either. It looked as if she’d really blown it this time.
The Marriage Beat Page 14