Last Shot at Justice (A Thomas Family Novel Book 1)

by Kristi Cramer

  “Blue,” she said, grabbing at his arm. “I told you....”

  “You didn’t tell me anything about all those charges. I only thought I might have to dodge a few more bullets. But, what was it, accessory to murder? That’s gotta be like twenty years or something.”

  “Probably only ten, with everything else,” she began, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

  With a rising sense of horror, he slammed the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking spot, then headed toward the driveway.

  “I can’t go to prison, Mitzi. My daddy will lose the ranch for sure. He’d borrow against money he could never hope to earn just to buy a lawyer for me. And after Momma....” In something like a blind panic, he turned left out of the driveway, his mind racing as he tried to figure out where to go and what to do.

  “Blue, calm down,” Mitzi said. “You’re going to attract attention.”

  “Calm down, she says,” he muttered, shooting her a frantic glance before going back to watching traffic and looking for street signs that would tell him how to get the heck out of there. “That ranch is everything to my family. If I go to prison, I’m helpless.”

  “Listen to me, Blue. There’s only one thing we can do from this point.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?” He saw the sign for Highway 287 and cut across two lanes of traffic to make the left turn lane to head south.

  “We prove my innocence. Then you won’t be charged with anything except being a hero.”

  “A hero?” He was listening enough to realize he was driving too fast, and he slowed down. “I don’t need to be a hero. I need to save my family’s ranch from foreclosure. I came here to get a job, not be some jumped up hero.”

  “Sounds like a hero to me,” she said gently. He didn’t look at her, but he felt his initial panic wearing off. “Where are we going, Blue?”

  “Honestly, I dunno,” he responded.

  “I’m so sorry, Blue, for not making sure you knew what’s at stake. I let myself believe you knew.” She stopped speaking, as if waiting for him to say it was okay, that he was just as much to blame for his predicament. But he felt like he was clinging to the mane of a runaway horse, and there was nothing to do but ride it out. To jump off now meant broken bones, at best.

  “Can I make a suggestion?” When he didn’t answer, Mitzi soldiered on. “Come with me to the library. I can search the alumni list, and you can look at maps of Englewood. You may even be able to access city records and see where the building projects are. Then you won’t be driving around aimlessly.”

  He turned to glance at her. “Makes sense,” he conceded. “What about after?”

  “Well, depending on what I find out.... I don’t know what I might find out. It doesn’t matter. Once you have an address, you can either call the tip line or go there yourself. If you wait until after dark, you’ll be able to see what apartment is still lit up after job site hours, and have an even better idea of where to send the police. Of course, if we part ways at the library and you want to have any chance of saying I forced you to do the things you did to help me, you will have to call the police on me too.”

  She ended the sentence so softly he almost didn’t hear her over the sound of the motor. But he knew in some way she was trying to make up for her earlier omissions.

  He heaved a sigh. “You’ve got me between the bull and the rail, Mitzi. I won’t say you forced me into anything. I went willingly enough. Even a dumb cowboy like me knows that ignorance of the law doesn’t get you off the hook for doing something illegal. I just hope to God you haven’t left out any more important details.”

  “You know everything I know,” Mitzi said earnestly. “I promise.”

  “Well, how do I get to the darned library?”

  ⋘⋆⋙

  Mitzi sighed in relief. She hadn’t realized how much she was counting on Blue’s help until she faced the prospect of not having it any more.

  She didn’t know if Blue was angry with her, or simply afraid of what going to prison would mean to his family. His devotion to his family reached a level she had never felt for her own. A loyalty her family had never earned.

  Her family. It was almost a misnomer.

  A father who worked all the extra hours he could at the steel mill just so he didn’t have to come home. And when he did come home, every word out of his mouth was criticism, every gesture a threat. Most threats ended in violence.

  A mother who hadn’t been sober in over a decade. Almost two. Who had lost her license and spent time in jail from driving drunk too often. Who sat in that dingy trailer alone with her bottle of Johnny Walker Red, staring at the TV blaring meaningless reality shows and soap operas.

  And her brothers, Tim and Tom, wasting away in some prison somewhere because they were too addicted to quit the methamphetamine, too poor to pay for it, and dumb enough to get talked into transporting it across state lines.

  None of them worth the air they breathed. The only feeling left from growing up with them was an ache in her heart that she tried to bury under an obsessive work ethic. She had more arrests to her credit than any other detective with the same number of years wearing a badge.

  Her family had not earned her love, and certainly not her loyalty. Seeing that kind of loyalty in Blue was bittersweet, and she hated the thought that she might be the force that brought his family to ruin. Letting him go on his way was the right thing to do.

  But then there was the reality of letting Blue go. As much as she knew she should, she wasn’t sure she could. Against all her training and her conscience....

  “Miss Mitzi?” Blue drew her attention back to the fact that she hadn’t yet told him where to go.

  “Oh, the library is downtown.”

  “Isn’t there another branch that isn’t so close to the scene of the crime?” he asked. She noted that though his wry sense of humor had started to come back, he was still tense and maybe even still angry.

  Not wanting to upset him again, she kept her voice level and reasonable. “The only other branch I know is Park Hill, and besides the fact that I go there enough that they would recognize me, they’re closed on Wednesdays. Central is busy, which means crowds we can blend in with. We can stop and buy me a baseball cap and sunglasses, and I should be disguised enough.”

  “Better get you some new pants too. Those pajamas are going to be a giveaway after Doctor Smith calls the cops.”

  “Good point.” Mitzi thought she heard fresh anger in his voice, and she bit her lip and cursed her lie by omission. “Hey, I know a shop that’s on the way. They sell college gear. You know, sweats, hoodies, caps, everything.”

  “Shoes?”

  “I sure hope so. It’s not the first time I wished hookers wore sensible shoes.” She was trying to provoke a laugh out of him, but it didn’t work. His silence felt stony and cold, or maybe just bleak. Unable to think of anything else to say, Mitzi fell silent too.

  Half an hour later, Mitzi directed Blue to pull up in front of a little strip mall off Speer Boulevard that held a college athletic wear shop, the kind that catered to tourists stopping in off the interstate.

  The shop was empty of customers, and she didn’t know whether to be happy about that or nervous. She grabbed the first items that came to hand on the discount rack: black sweatpants with a silver CU on the hip, a gold hoodie with the Buffaloes logo splashed across the front, and a black ball cap with the gold logo embroidered on the front.

  Digging in her purse for her cash, she held the wad of twenties from the ATM out to Blue. “Would you mind paying for this stuff? I’ll meet you back at the changing room.”

  Without a word, he took the clothing and the money and headed for the counter while she wandered toward the back of the store, keeping an eye out for any kind of footwear that would be an alternative to her heels. But they didn’t even have flip-flops in this store.

  Before long Blue came back with her change, and she tried not to groan when she counted only seventy bucks. No won
der the store was empty; these were highway robbery prices. She wished she’d had more time and freedom to find a cheap clothing store.

  She was about to comment, but the cashier was craning his neck to see her around the various racks. Blue read the concern on her face and went to chat him up while she ducked into the fitting room to change as fast as she could. In an effort to alter her appearance even more, she let her hair down and fluffed it before putting the ball cap on.

  When she came out, rolling her jacket around the blue shirt and pajama bottoms, the cashier was laughing with Blue, and the men shook hands as she walked toward the door. Blue moved to join her.

  “Catch you later,” the cashier called out, and Mitzi stiffened and turned to cast a furtive glance at the man. Blue lifted his hand in a farewell gesture.

  “What was that about?” she hissed as he opened the car door for her. Blue waited to answer until he climbed in the driver’s side.

  “Relax. I told him you had spilled coffee all down your front right before we got here, and you were embarrassed to be seen.” She saw Blue blush. “I saw him checking you out, so I kinda made a big deal about how it, ah, showed off your assets. I can’t repeat what he said back.”

  “That was a stroke of genius,” she said, and she meant it. He might not be citified, but Blue was not stupid. Distracting the cashier from her face lessened the chance he would recognize her.

  Blue didn’t respond to her compliment, and after a moment she just directed him on their way to the library.

  Before long they arrived downtown, and she began looking for a place to park. She knew they could find a spot in any of the garages nearby, but she didn’t want to box them in if she could avoid it.

  But street parking—besides being hard to find—cost money they didn’t have and had time limits that Blue might not want to worry about. Especially if he was going to go with her idea of waiting until near dark before leaving.

  They had driven around the big block twice, and Mitzi was ready to give up. Driving around again might attract the attention of the HALO operators, and the Denver Police Department’s High Activity Location Observation cameras had great resolution—sharp enough to pick her out through a car window.

  “Okay, turn left here and then go one block to Lincoln, and turn left again. We’ll park at the Merrick garage.”

  Blue followed her directions and pulled into the garage, and Mitzi kept her head bent as if rummaging through her purse when they passed the ticket dispenser. She didn’t know where the surveillance cameras might be, but she knew they were there.

  “Go up to at least level three, then take the first spot you find.”

  They drove round and round, spiraling up, and right on the top corner of the third level Blue found a spot that was big enough for the Continental. He pulled in, and they got out of the car. Mitzi kept her head down as she debated bringing her purse—and the handgun—into the public space. After a small internal war she ducked back into the car and pulled the Mosquito out of her purse holster and slid it under the seat.

  “What was that?” Blue asked, coming around the back of the car. It was then that Mitzi realized he didn’t know about her weapon, and she hadn’t told him about it when he asked whether she was withholding any more information.

  “Crap, Blue. I honestly forgot to tell you about it.”

  “Your gun?” he demanded. She nodded sheepishly in the face of his anger, but he surprised her. “I figured you had one in there. Why are you leaving it here? So you have a reason to stay with me later? Maybe drag me along on your wild goose chase while that little girl gets closer to God-knows-what end of her ordeal?”

  He closed in on her, backing her into the open car door. Mitzi looked up at him, trying to determine what he was after. She decided to go with the truth. “I didn’t want to take it inside. It’s a public building, and they have rules about firearms. I can’t very well leave it outside the vehicle where someone could find it and use it. Maybe even a kid. I hadn’t thought about it meaning that I’d have to follow you here when you left, but...but I can say that I would love an excuse to stay in your company.”

  He was so close to her that she couldn’t help but put her hand against his chest with the intention of pushing him back out of her immediate space. But the moment she touched him she could feel his body heat like electricity under her fingers. She looked up into his very serious brown eyes and caught her breath. Before she realized what she was doing, she opened her mouth, and words she never intended to speak escaped.

  “I’m finding it hard to let you go, Blue.”

  He stared down at her, still and inscrutable, and she searched his gaze for some clue to what he was thinking.

  Chapter Ten

  Blue didn’t know what to think. Here she was, just as pretty as could be, telling him she didn’t want to part with his company. But Mitzi was also a desperate fugitive, and what wouldn’t she say to keep him around to help her? So far she hadn’t shown too much concern for what his help might cost him. Hadn’t shown too much concern for anyone but herself.

  He leaned closer to her, meeting her gaze, trying to see what was going on in that mind of hers. The mind that was always trying to stay at least one step ahead of the law. Her brown eyes were wide with something that wasn’t fear or deception.

  Back home Blue had always prided himself on being able to tell, at the end of a date, whether the girl wanted him to kiss her or not. And Mitzi...Mitzi looked like she wanted a kiss.

  Leaning in even closer, he was tempted to try it just to see if he was right, and prove to himself that her selfishness had wiped out any attraction he’d had for her. Her eyelids fluttered, but she kept her gaze on him, darting little glances toward his mouth. Yep, she wanted to kiss him.

  He thumped his left fist on the roof of the car and pushed himself away from her. He’d be seven kinds of fool if he fell for her charms now. Again. Then add fool to the list of charges against him already.

  “Fine,” he said instead. “I won’t leave before you can get your gun back. Make sure you lock the car door.” It took him a little longer than he planned to turn away from her, and he didn’t want to believe the flash of hurt he saw in her eyes. Crap, but she was good at playing him.

  He started to walk away toward the elevator, but his manners wouldn’t let him walk so far ahead of her. He stopped, turned halfway back, waiting for her.

  “We should take the stairs,” she said quietly, and began to head in the opposite direction. Blue sighed heavily and followed her.

  “I’ll be very glad to get this done with, and go back to the sad but predictable life I used to lead before I met you,” he said to her back. Her step hitched a little as though she wanted to turn around, but she kept walking.

  They clattered down three flights without speaking and crossed Lincoln Street together, skirting the History Museum and heading across Broadway to a big red stone entryway with a gray stone plaque declaring the address of “10 West 14th Avenue.”

  Once inside the two sets of sliding doors, Mitzi pointed out the service counter. “You need to go over there and get a computer guest pass,” she said, “and ask when we can get on a computer.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. I can’t go up with my library card and ask. I can’t use my ID. Nobody knows who you are, so you can use your license to get a guest card.”

  She urged him to go farther into the room, glancing up at the pillars like a mouse looking for the cat. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Are there cameras everywhere in this city?” he asked under his breath. Then louder, “What do I say?”

  “That you’re looking for specs on a job site in Englewood. Say you drove by but you didn’t catch the contractor’s name, and you’re interested in finding out more about the complex, and who to contact about renting once they’re done.”

  “But I don’t know anything about computers....”

  “That’s okay. One of the librarians will be able to help you ge
t started. With your smile, you’ll probably have them fighting each other to serve you. Once you get going, I’ll be there to help.”

  “Huh,” he replied, hearing a kind of cattiness to her tone. “You’re a might possessive, aren’t you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Blue just rolled his eyes at her and walked over to the counter Mitzi had indicated. As she had predicted, two of the three women behind the counter elbowed each other to be in place to talk to him when it came to his turn.

  “Um, hello, ma’am. I need to use a computer for a bit. Can you help?” he asked the one who won their little battle. The nametag pinned to her tight sweater identified her as Nancy.

  “I would be happy to help,” she said brightly. “Do you have your DPL card?”

  “Sorry, ma’am, a what?”

  “A Denver Public Library card?”

  He laughed a little. “Oh, heck no, I’m from Kansas, ma’am.”

  “Oh, you need a guest pass then. Here, let’s get you set up.”

  Ten minutes later he was sitting down at a computer console with Miss Nancy behind him, leaning over his shoulder as she used the mouse to make things happen on the screen. She was moving way too fast for him to follow what she was doing, not to mention the way she leaned against him was distracting.

  “So, here’s the list from the Planning Office of current projects in Englewood,” Nancy said. “You can just scroll down here and look at the addresses, and see if anything looks familiar.”

  Blue could see Mitzi hovering from the corner of his eye, and he was tempted to flirt with Nancy just to see how mad he could make her. Instead, he leaned out away from the librarian and turned to look up. “Thank you, Miss Nancy. I reckon I could have sat here all day and not found my way to this list. You have been a big help.”