by Terri Reed
Poor Ellen. She had to be beside herself with worry.
Gina understood the heartache of losing a parent.
She knew the agony of watching her father die at her brother’s hand. That night would forever be etched in her mind. The terror of seeing her brother grab their father’s service weapon from his holster, seeing the shock on Dad’s face as he realized what Tim was doing.
Dad had tried to talk Tim down. He’d reasoned, cajoled and demanded, but Tim’s manic state only worsened. He’d felt threatened and claimed Dad was trying to keep him from his full potential. But Dad had only wanted to help his son.
And Tim had killed him for it.
With a shudder, Gina pushed the memories to the recesses of her mind and finished the report. She stepped out of the room and headed toward the chief’s office. No one was there.
She wandered farther down the hall to the conference room. Through the interior window she could see a meeting in progress. All of the rookies and the Desert Valley police officers were sitting or standing around an oblong conference table listening intently to what the chief was telling them from his place at the head. She hesitated, not wanting to disturb them.
“Are you done?”
Startled, Gina whirled around to find Carrie Dunleavy, the police department secretary, standing behind her. “Oh, Carrie. How are you?”
“Good, thank you.” Her gaze went to the papers in Gina’s hand.
“Yes, I’m done. What should I do with this?”
Carrie held out her hand. “I’ll take it and add it to the file.”
“Thank you.” Gina handed over the report.
Carrie patted her arm. “Just so you know, I don’t believe you hurt Marian, despite what anyone else thinks.”
A knot formed in the pit of Gina’s stomach. It seemed Officer Bucks had made his opinion well-known very quickly. “Uh, thanks.”
Carrie walked away, her shoes clicking on the linoleum.
Gina remained in the hallway, unsure what to do next. She peeked into the conference room again in hopes of catching Shane’s eye, but he was focused on the heated conversation taking place. If Carrie were to be believed, Gina was the topic of discussion.
Just then Whitney Godwin glanced toward the window, meeting Gina’s gaze. The sympathy in the rookie officer’s expression curdled the breakfast in Gina’s stomach. Needing to get away from the station and the sense of accusation permeating the air, Gina headed for the side exit. She drew up short.
The door had a warning sign that it was an alarmed exit and to please use the main entrance to come and go from the building.
She spun around, intending to go back to the front of the building, but who was she kidding? She couldn’t leave. Not without Shane.
Her brother was still out there somewhere.
She felt trapped and condemned. She veered from the exit and entered the women’s restroom. After slipping off her waist pack and setting it on the wooden bench, she splashed water on her face.
Tears leaked from her eyes to mingle with the water running down her cheeks. How could anyone believe she had attacked Marian Foxcroft?
Shane didn’t. He’d defended her when Bucks made his outrageous claim that she was responsible for Marian’s injury.
And he hadn’t corrected the officer when he’d stated she was Shane’s girlfriend. Because the accusation was so ridiculous that Shane hadn’t felt the need to set Bucks straight? Or because there was some part of Shane that wanted her to be his girlfriend? Wishful thinking on her part.
She gripped the side of the sink and willed herself to stop crying. She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t crazy and she wasn’t capable of hurting someone else. She wiped at her eyes and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
She may share Tim’s DNA but she wasn’t like him. She was like her mother.
And her fear was just that—fear. She’d allowed fear to rule her life for too long.
Not anymore. Shane had shown her how to be brave.
Shane believed in her. More than she believed in herself. He made her want to allow love into her life. He made her want to be strong. Strong enough to know that she was done hiding here in Desert Valley.
Yes, her brother wanted to kill her. She wasn’t a martyr and she wasn’t suicidal. But once he was caught and jailed, then she would leave Desert Valley. She’d start over somewhere else. She’d done it once. She could do it again.
With Shane?
Sorrow twisted in her chest. No, not with Shane. He was committed to staying in Desert Valley until the mysterious deaths of the two rookies and Melanie Hayes’s cold case murder were resolved. And now with Marian Foxcroft having been assaulted, all the men and women of the Desert Valley police force were needed.
She could wait for him. Then they could leave together.
However, she had no idea if he felt the same.
The same?
How did she feel about Shane?
She’d come to rely on him. She trusted him in a way she’d never trusted anyone else. She respected him and cared for him.
Was there more?
Her heart thumped against her ribs. Yes, she felt more than she’d been willing to admit. She’d fallen for him. With her whole heart. She loved him.
She leaned her forehead against the cool surface of the mirror. Now what was she supposed to do?
Survive long enough to be able to leave Desert Valley.
With or without Shane.
Despite the ache in her heart.
* * *
“There’s no proof Gina Perry isn’t guilty of attacking Mrs. Foxcroft. She had motive and opportunity,” Officer Bucks stated with a smirk on his thin lips. His pale blue eyes sparked with animosity.
“Come on, really? She didn’t have motive.” Fisting his hands, Shane couldn’t keep his exasperation from showing. Bella leaned into his leg. The dog had to sense his upset.
Shane had written out his report detailing the events at the Foxcroft place before joining the others in the conference room. He swept a look over the rookies and the established officers seated at the large table or standing against the wall of windows running along both sides of the conference room, giving the space a fishbowl feel.
Shane and the other rookies had each been issued a dark blue Desert Valley police uniform that matched the other officers’. Until now Shane hadn’t really felt like part of the police force, even though he wasn’t wearing this uniform. His assignment of protecting Gina had kept him isolated from the collective.
He was relieved to see the incredulous expression letting him know they weren’t buying Bucks’s outrageous claims either. Shane sent an imploring look to the chief, seated at the head of the table. “Chief, you can’t believe what Bucks is spouting? Gina did not hurt Mrs. Foxcroft.” Shane shot Officer Ken Bucks a seething glance.
“She went in alone and had time to crack Mrs. Foxcroft over the head before you went in,” Bucks volleyed back with distain. “Maybe she and her brother are in this together. Like some twisted version of Bonnie and Clyde.”
It was all Shane could do not to throttle the older officer. How on earth could the man think she and Tim were in cahoots? The man had a screw or two loose. “Are you nuts? Tim Perry is trying to kill her.”
Shaking his head with frustration and anger, Shane didn’t understand why Bucks was pushing so hard to throw Gina under the bus. “Gina had no reason to hurt Mrs. Foxcroft.”
“Maybe Mrs. Foxcroft asked to have the puppies back?” Bucks said, folding his arms over his chest. “Gina seems pretty attached to the mutts.”
“Of course she’s attached.” Whitney Godwin spoke up, her voice hard-edged. Her canine partner, a tan-and-white Pointer named Hunter, lifted his head to stare at her. “She’s the puppies’ trainer. That’s her job.”
“Maybe she was hoping with Veronica gone, she’d be lead trainer,” Bucks said.
“That’s ridiculous.” Shane fought to keep from shouting. “And certainly not motive to hurt Mrs. Foxcroft. We already have a suspect in mind for Veronica’s murder—Tim Perry.”
“Has the statue been found?” Ryder asked quietly, drawing the room’s focus. He sat at the far end of the table opposite the chief. Titus, his yellow Lab partner, lay panting on the floor. A bowl of water was beside him.
Officer Eddie Harmon shifted in his seat to face Ryder. “No. Marlton and I searched the house and the property. There was no sign of any silver poodle statue or any fingerprints beyond Mrs. Foxcroft and her daughter, Ellen.”
“Whoever assaulted Mrs. Foxcroft took the statue with them,” James said. “Hawk followed a scent to the edge of the property line where there were tire tracks.”
Shane threw his housemate a grateful glance.
“Same tread as the tracks found after Tim Perry crashed the stolen sedan into Shane’s Jeep?” Tristan McKeller asked, referring to the place where Hawk had lost Tim’s scent. Jesse, Tristan’s canine, lay under the table at Tristan’s feet. At the sound of his partner’s voice, his tail thumped against the floor.
James shook his head. “No, these were different.”
“We’ll know who attacked Marian when she awakes.” The chief pinned a dark look on Bucks. “Ken, no more disparaging talk of Gina. She’s not a suspect.” He rubbed a hand over his weary face. “Where are we on the investigation into Veronica’s murder?”
Ryder laid his hand on a file folder in front of him. “The ballistics report on the bullets used in Veronica’s murder came back.”
Shane’s gut clenched in dreadful anticipation.
“They matched the striations on the weapon found at the train depot.”
Confirming Shane’s grandfather’s SIG-Sauer P220 was indeed the weapon used to kill Veronica.
Air left Shane’s lungs in a rush. His chest tightened. He reached for his inhaler inside the pocket of his pants but didn’t bring it out as he willed his breathing to even out. So not the news he’d wanted to hear. He still didn’t know how someone had gained his fingerprint, enabling them to open his safe and take the weapon. Whoever had killed Veronica had done so with willful intent.
But what did this do to the theory that Tim Perry was Veronica’s murderer?
“Wait a minute,” Tristan said, straightening in his chair. At his feet his partner stirred, obviously sensing Tristan’s tension. “Are we still going with the assumption that Tim Perry killed Veronica when he couldn’t find Gina at the training center?”
All eyes turned to the chief. But it was Ryder who answered, “I’m inclined to say Veronica’s killer wasn’t Tim Perry.”
A stunned silence met his calm and grim pronouncement.
“We won’t know for sure until we capture Tim Perry and question him,” the chief said.
Shane wasn’t so sure it would be that cut-and-dried. He had a very bad feeling that things were not as they seemed.
“Was Shane’s handgun used in any other crimes?” Bucks asked Ryder. “Like your wife’s murder.”
Shane clenched his jaw tight. The man had no tact. “No. There’s no way my grandfather’s handgun was used in another crime. My grandfather was still alive and in possession of the weapon five years ago.”
“Shane is correct,” Ryder stated. “Veronica’s murder is the only crime on the handgun.”
“And where are you on Melanie’s murder?” The chief’s tone, though not gentle, was at least respectful, unlike Bucks’s.
“Sifting back through evidence,” Ryder stated.
Shane couldn’t imagine how hard that had to be.
Chief Jones gave a short nod then turned his attention to the others. “The Riverton and Miller cases?”
“The same, sir,” Tristan answered. “Combing through the reports and evidence files of both cases.”
Though Whitney didn’t verbally respond, she nodded an affirmative to Tristan’s statement.
“Okay, good. Let me know if you come across anything that might have been missed or could be further explored,” the chief said. “Weston and Harrison, I want your focus to be on the Perry situation.”
“Yes, sir,” Shane and James said in unison.
“Then we’ll adjourn.” The chief stood and walked from the room.
Bella rose to all fours, her head tilted to the side. Her ears perked up in alert mode.
Unease slithered down Shane’s spine. The last time she’d exhibited this same behavior had been the night they’d found Gina with Veronica’s dead body. He put his hand on Bella’s neck. “What is it, girl?”
Hawk also scrambled to his feet and lifted his nose to the air. He let out a guttural growl that turned into a howl.
Shane had a bad feeling. He needed to find Gina.
* * *
A scrape of noise behind the closed door of the stall next to the exterior wall made the hairs at Gina’s nape rise in alarm. She’d thought she was the only one in the restroom.
The two-foot by two-foot sash bathroom window was open. Unease threaded through her, making her break out in a cold sweat. Had that been open when she entered the restroom? She couldn’t remember.
She glanced under the stall doors but saw no feet indicating there was another person in the restroom with her.
This is a police station. You’re being silly. With a rueful shake of her head, she turned back to the mirror. Hadn’t she just decided she wasn’t going to let fear rule her life? And yet she was jumping at the slightest provocation.
The last stall door on the end burst open and her brother charged out.
She yelped with a burst of terror and lunged for the door, but Tim grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her backward. His sweaty palm clamped over her mouth, stifling the scream that finally broke loose.
“Shut up!” He whispered the harsh command into her ear. “I’ll kill you here and now if you make any noise.”
Her mind scrambled to make sense of the situation. He’d climbed through the window, just as he had at the training center. No one had anticipated he’d try to get to her inside the police station. It boggled her mind that he’d be so bold. Had he been waiting inside the stall? How could he have known she’d enter the bathroom? Had he been watching her? But how?
“Do you understand me?” He tightened his hold on her hair, ripping strands from her head.
She nodded as tears of pain and panic crawled up her throat and burned her eyes.
“Good.” He met her gaze in the mirror. Eyes the same shade of hazel as hers stared at her, but the malice in Tim’s gaze sent terror zinging through her like a pinball.
Twigs and dirt clung to Tim’s dark auburn hair. He smelled of body odor and damp earth. His crossbow clung to his back, the fletching of arrows sticking out of a pouch attached to the bow. His clammy hand made her skin crawl as he slowly lowered it from her mouth to wrap his fingers around her throat. “We’re going out the window.”
Not in this lifetime.
He was going to kill her anyway, right?
Better to die knowing she’d put up a fight. Maybe someone would hear and come to her rescue, because if she let him take her from here, the next time anyone saw her would be when they stumbled upon her remains out in the desert.
Fierce anger filled her. She was ready to do what needed to be done to stop him.
He dragged her to the window and shoved her hard. “Climb out.”
She braced her hands on either side of the window, her fingers clutching the window jambs. She planted her feet where the wall and floor met. “No.”
Tim drove his shoulder into her back in an effort to force her out the window. Pain in her kidneys nearly too
k her out but she breathed through the pain and let loose a loud scream that reverberated off the tiled walls.
Fisting her hair in his hand once again, he dug the tips of his fingers into the soft flesh of her throat, pressing against her esophagus, cutting off her scream and choking her. “Fine. We’ll go out the side door. And just to be clear, after I kill you, I’ll go after every cop I see. I’ll take down as many as I can before they get me. Those deaths will be on you.”
She swallowed the bile burning a hole through her, and she sent up a silent plea to God above. Help me stop him, Lord. Please.
Keeping his hand gripped in the soft tissue at her throat, he opened the bathroom door with his other hand to peer into the hall. It was empty. He opened the door and pushed her through. The exit was steps away.
Hopeful anticipation rumbled through her.
Once he pressed the metal bar running across the center and the door opened, the alarm would sound.
He’d bring the police running on his own. She’d have to make sure he couldn’t use his bow to hurt anyone.
But would she be strong enough?
* * *
Shane’s heart beat in his throat as Bella led him past the empty interrogation room where he’d last seen Gina. Where could she have gone?
Bella sniffed the floor. Shane prayed she picked up Gina’s scent. Bella moved away from the interrogation room and headed down another hallway that led them past the backside of the conference room.
The sudden, jarring sound of the alarm system jolted Shane’s heart into high gear. Bella barked and strained at her leash. Letting out the lead, he raced after her as she ran, the tapping of her nails drowned out by the siren. She led him down a short corridor that ended with an emergency exit. The door was slowly closing.
“Gina!” Shane shouted. He couldn’t hear anything over the alarm.
Shane and Bella rushed for the door. Hitting it with his shoulder, Shane burst out of the police station and into the side parking lot. Bella put her nose to the ground. Making a zigzag line, she crossed the lot to an empty space where a car had been. His heart dropped. Gina was gone.