by Sara Gauldin
“How can the damage be in one place, with three points of impact on the other vehicle?” I asked.
Jennings whistled. “Unless the driver of the truck backed up and hit the car two more times.”
“Exactly. And look at the skid marks. There are no breaking marks from the truck at all, but the car has skid marks from where the tires were pushed sideways, and there are three sections of the mark, one from each collision, that offset the car form the last set of marks.”
“All right, Avery. We know why your father would want to have a word with Officer Reynolds. That may be helpful,” Jennings said. “But I still think you are too close to this one.”
“Let me talk to him. Maybe I can reason with him,” I said.
Brooks shook his head. “That could put your father to react more instead of less. He is acting out of emotion. If he thinks you’re in danger, he’s more likely to do something stupid.”
“Then what do we do, just let them kill each other?” I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice. I stood up and tried to decide what to do. Something was happening inside that house, something that could change everything in my life, and I was stuck out here.
The sound of a single shot startled me out of my emotional funk. “Dad!” I turned to run toward the house, but Brooks was standing in my way. In a wave, the SWAT team surrounded the house. I watched them bring down the door like it was made of cardboard from the space between Agent Brook’s elbow and his body. They converged on the expensive townhouse like ants. I heard a second shot fired and then a third, and then like the wind blowing the storm away, we heard the all-clear. I held my breath waiting to know if the man who raised me, the only family I had, was alive or dead. I waited to see if the hired hand was the person I feared it was. A few moments later, a member of the SWAT team led my realtor out of the building in handcuffs.
“Gina Meadors?”
“You know that lady?” Brooks asked.
“She was my realtor, or at least I thought she was. She may have been impersonating a realtor.”
Brooks shook his head. “You have a lot of complications in your life.”
“That’s an understatement.” I choked down the knot in my throat. I would not cry. I would not break down here.
“Bring the EMTs in, we have an officer down and another man who has been shot.” The radio in the van blared.
“An officer?” Please don’t let it be that my father murdered a police officer. Please let my dad be okay… I prayed silently.
The EMTs rushed into the building. As they cleared the doorway, a SWAT team member brought out a second person in cuffs; it was my father alive and unhurt.
“I have to know.” I tried to push past Brooks.
“Stay here, Avery,” he ordered.
An EMT walked a man out of the door; he was one of the SWAT team. He looked pale. His flak jacket had a fresh hole, preventing what would have been a fatal shot, but he, too, was alive.
The next people to exit the building were two more of the SWAT team. One of them shook his head, waving at something back inside the building.
Finally, two EMTS walked a stretcher out, and my heart skipped a beat. It was Jesse. My Jesse. So, this was the work he was doing. This was why he couldn’t call me. He was here, with my father, risking everything. A bullet wound was visible on his shoulder; one of the EMTs was putting pressure on the wound. I put my hand over my mouth and ducked behind agent Brooks. I wasn’t ready to deal with this. Jesse was supposed to be my break for all the crazy business, but he wasn’t what he seemed, just like everyone else.
“That’s two of three shots.” Brooks pointed out, oblivious to my shock.
“Commander, we lost Reynolds,” one officer said to Jennings.
“Do we have his killer?” Jennings asked.
“Yeah, Craig shot him after he fired at Mr. Rich. He would have killed him if that other guy hadn’t stepped in the way.”
Holy wow, Jesse had saved my father. He took a bullet to save him. The SWAT team killed one of their own when he opened fire?
Commander Jennings stood on the porch and confronted his officer. “Wait, I’m confused. I thought the call said that Noah Reynolds was being held hostage here by two men. Why would SWAT take out a fellow officer in his own home?”
“Sir, Reynolds and the lady were the only ones who were armed. Reynolds had a gun drawn on the other two men. When he tried to kill them, we had to respond.”
Jennings shook his head, looking down. He put his hand on his forehead.
“Document everything. I want every detail on my desk today!” He turned and headed back in my direction.
“Avery Rich, you kept out of the line of fire today.” He said it like an accusation. Before I could answer, a car pulled up.
“Oh my God. What is going on?” Nicole Reynolds jumped out and attempted to run into her house.
Officer Miller stopped her. “Ma’am, wait. This is an active crime scene.”
“That’s my house. Where is my husband? What is going on?” The whites of her eyes showed too much, like a spooked horse.
Jennings turned to the woman. “Ma’am. I’m sorry…” That was as far as he got. Nicole Reynolds’s entire focus changed, and she was looking right at me.
“You. I know who you are. How dare you come here to my home?”
“Ms. Reynolds, I don’t know you.”
“You know enough. Maybe too much.” She reached in her purse and pulled out a tiny pistol. She pointed it at me, her hand trembling.
In a reflex, I drew my weapon and aimed at Nicole Reynolds. Brooks also drew and aimed at the additional threat. No shot was fired. Officer Miller took Nicole down in a practiced tackle. She was disarmed and in cuffs before she could realize what was happening.
I turned to Brooks. “Let’s go before anyone else tries to kill me.”
He holstered his weapon. “I think that’s a brilliant idea. I see now why Genevieve seemed to think you needed babysitting.”
***
Back at the station, I watched my father’s interview and then Jesse’s. Genevieve was long gone; Kirk had insisted on taking her to the hospital after they got a confession out of Zachary Vance. Brooks was gone, making me promise not to involve myself in any more police work until they cleared things up and an agent was present. That left me stranded; my rental car was still at the hotel.
Jennings had put me in the room next to the interview room with him to observe since I knew more about what was going on than he did.
“I want to talk to my father,” I demanded as they let Jesse out of the interview room and toward the door to return him to the hospital. I was glad to learn that the wound was a graze, but my feelings toward him were complicated.
“I’ll allow it, but only five minutes.”
I nodded. I would take what I could get. A uniformed officer led my father back into the room. He sat down, slumped over, and dejected, not the confident man I knew.
I walked into the interview room. “Dad?”
“Avery?” He sat up a bit straighter. “I’m surprised they let you in to see me.”
“Dad, what in the world were you thinking? They could have killed you.”
“I thought that if I gave those goons what they wanted, then they would leave you alone.”
“So, you and Jesse just showed up at Noah Reynolds's front door with the digital version of the case files.”
Dad nodded. “I had a hard time getting my hands on those.”
“I bet.” I tried not to roll my eyes. “Why would you try to keep Mom’s case from being investigated?” I asked.
“Well, there would not be any justice. I already knew that. I was hoping I could at least give you a chance at a normal life.”
“Dad, you hired a man to pretend to be my boyfriend and be my bodyguard. How is that normal?”
“You and Jesse were already dating when I hired him. You make it sound like I hired him to date you.”
“Thant’s what it feels
like.”
“I had to keep you safe.”
“How about you leave the police work to me from now on?” I smirked.
“I think that’s a great suggestion.” Dad grinned.
I couldn’t help it. I smiled back. “Well, I guess I better hire you an attorney.”
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Sara B. Gauldin
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The Avery Rich Mysteries
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