Chasing a Dead Man

by Kathryn J Bain

  Jane wrote the name of the salon on the back of the card Yates had given her, so she didn’t forget the name. Right now, she had no need to speak with the woman, but who knew what the future held. She climbed into the driver’s seat of her car and watched Yates through the window. He was on his cell phone, pacing back and forth, clearly agitated.

  Irritated people made mistakes.

  She hoped he was talking with Andrew Smirnov. Thirty minutes went by and no one appeared at his door, and Yates had returned to his computer all nice and calm. Maybe she didn’t make a big enough nuisance of herself.

  She glanced at her watch. Five ten.

  Before she could get comfortable, Yates walked out and got in his car. She pulled out of the restaurant’s parking lot and followed. He got onto I-10. She kept pace a few car lengths back.

  Ten minutes went by, then twenty. Tailing people wasn’t nearly as exciting as the movies made it out to be.

  After forty minutes, he took the Lake City exit, then turned onto a two-lane highway. She drummed her thumbs on the steering wheel. There were no other cars for cover here. She fell back a little further—wasn’t like she could lose him, on a two-lane road that ran straight for miles. He couldn’t turn off without her seeing … but he’d see her too. Hopefully, he wasn’t the nervous type.

  Within two minutes, a black SUV rolled up behind her.

  She kept an eye on the vehicle as it cruised up fast, getting within inches of her bumper. She sped up. He matched her speed. Within seconds, he connected.

  The jolt was unexpected. She heard metal screech and felt the whole back end of the car jump. Her pulse raced.

  The SUV swerved and sped up, cruising alongside her. She spun her dashcam in his direction. If she could get a photo of him, she might find him in a mug book.

  The black car edged over, his front bumper even with her driver’s side door. He inched his car into her lane. She scooted into the median to avoid getting hit.

  The SUV returned to his own lane, allowing her back on the road.

  She glanced up the road. Yates was nowhere to be seen. Where had he pulled off?

  The driver of the SUV jerked into her car. She had no time to adjust. The screeching of metal on metal sounded as they hit. Her cell phone popped out of the console onto the floorboard of the passenger seat.

  Even as she panicked, she vowed not to let him win. She had kids to think about.

  He came at her again. They both jerked to the right, her tires skidded off the main road into the dirt of the median. He then moved back.

  Irritation rose at this game of cat-and-mouse. Her turn. She swung her car toward him. He lurched to the left but remained on the road. His window slid down, and she tried to get a good look at him.

  That’s when she saw the gun.

  She loosened her foot from the gas pedal and raised her arm instinctively. The bullet hit the windshield. The SUV slammed into her car almost at the same time. Her car sped off the road, down an embankment, stopping when it smashed into a tree.

  The airbag exploded in Jane’s face.

  Chapter 24

  Pamela reclined on her bed, the memory of the crib delivery still raw in her mind. Then someone breaking in all in the same day. Not that on separate days it would have made it any better.

  She flipped on the remote and went through the television stations, hoping for anything to get her mind off her nightmare of a life. Over one hundred channels and still nothing worth watching. She opened her computer but couldn’t focus. The doctor didn’t want her working until next week, but she had an ad to do. Maybe it would help.

  It didn’t.

  She scanned through her social media. Condolences from people she’d met over the years. Most she wouldn’t even call friends. Just acquaintances. Some strangers. Could they be friends with Phillip?

  Until today, she’d never realized how few pictures she had of him. It seemed every time someone tried to get a picture of him; he was turning away. She glanced through the photos on her phone. The same. Always turning away.

  If she’d noticed before, she might have figured out he didn’t want to be seen. Then maybe she wouldn’t be going through all this.

  The sound of dishes being put away came from the kitchen. Trish had insisted on staying and cleaning up a bit, not that the house was ever too dirty. Occasionally, she’d stick her head in the door and ask Pamela a question. It was like she wanted to talk, visit with her as if they were good friends. But they weren’t.

  Pamela wasn’t even sure she really liked Trish much, but Pamela feared sending her out of her life since she had no one else.

  Footsteps sounded down the hallway.

  Her phone rang in her hand, startling her. The phone rang again. Pamela didn’t recognize the number.

  Trish stuck her head in the door.

  “I’ve got it, Trish.” Pamela swiped her finger over the screen. “I’ll be right with you,” she said without even hearing the other voice.

  “I just wanted to let you know I was leaving,” Trish said. “You could probably use some rest.”

  “Thanks for everything.” Pamela held up the phone. “I have to take this.”

  “Okay,” Trish whispered. “Bye.” She turned and disappeared from view.

  “Hello,” she said. The line was quiet. “Hello.”

  “Pammy?”

  Her heart jumped to her throat. “Phillip?”

  Chapter 25

  Jane shook her head to get her bearings. Her entire body trembled. She tried to suck in a deep breath, but dust was everywhere. She opened the car door and crawled out.

  Coughing, she breathed in cool, fresh air. She rolled her shoulders to get the kinks out. Her left shoulder sore from the seatbelt.

  No sign of the SUV.

  She reached in and felt around under the passenger’s seat until she hit her cell phone. Thankfully, it was in one piece. She knelt beside her car and with trembling fingers tried to dial 9-1-1. Her mind refused to focus.

  A cement truck pulled to the side of the road, and the driver rushed down to her. “Are you okay, Miss?”

  “Yeah, I think I’m okay.” She inhaled another deep breath.

  “I’ve got the police coming.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let me guess, a nasty breakup.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The cement driver pointed to the side of her car. “Kind of hard to go off this road with it being straight along this stretch. Either you weren’t paying attention, or someone wanted you off. The scrapes tell me which.”

  She went to stand, but her knees were still shaky.

  The cement truck driver helped her up to the road where she sat in his truck and waited for the police. He told her his name was Rick and he had a wife and children. Even a new grandbaby.

  She was glad he talked constantly so it kept her mind off the accident.

  Finally, sirens echoed in the distance. They both glanced down the road as a Columbia County Sheriff’s car drove up. Within seconds, a fire rescue pulled behind him.

  Lake City, though not too far from Live Oak, was in a different county than the Caldwell Company. At least here, she knew a couple officers.

  Jane glanced at her older model Toyota. The front bumper connected with the engine and the windshield fractured. No way could she drive it.

  Within minutes, an EMT poked and prodded, asking her questions. She told an officer about the accident and asked him to contact Detective Sawyer Mack to let him know what had occurred. Sawyer was not just a detective with Columbia County, but a friend.

  She and the officer who’d taken her statement watched the video from the dashcam. The SUV’s driver had dark hair and dark eyes. Hopefully he’d been arrested before.

  After speaking with the officer, it was after seven when she dialed Cam’s number.

  “Hey, I’ve been in an accident out in Lake City,” She was surprised how shaky her voice was. “I won’t be home for a while.”

  “Are you all right?�
��

  “Fine, but the car’s pretty damaged. I need to get a rental.” She’d tell him the whole story when she got home. Now wasn’t the time to worry him.

  “Do you want me to come get you?”

  “No. I’m fine, just need to get a rental and finish up here. I won’t be home for a while, so if you can get the kids ready for bed, that would be great.” All she could think about was holding her family. This accident had been too close. If the guy in the SUV wanted to kill her, he could have so easily.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  “Keep me posted about what’s going on,” Cam said.

  “I will.”

  Sawyer Mack pulled up in a black sedan. She sucked in another deep breath to calm her nerves as he got out of his car.

  “I need to go,” she told Cam. “I’ll call you later.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She swiped her phone off. Tears raised in her eyes. She brushed at her cheek, then gave a quick prayer of thanks.

  Her cell phone vibrated on her hip as Sawyer neared. She glanced at the screen. Pamela Evers. She’d have to wait.

  Sawyer placed his hand on her right shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn’t the one that was sore. “Well, I see you’re causing trouble in my town again.”

  “Any chance I get.” She let out a low laugh then spent the next half hour telling him about the SUV and her research into the Caldwell Company.

  Jane had met Sawyer three years earlier when she was looking for a fourteen-year-old runaway. The girl had fallen for the lines of a seventeen-year-old boy on the Internet. Unfortunately, the boy turned out to be a thirty-four-year-old man who was part of a sex trafficking ring. Jane had followed the guy to a small cabin in Lake City where the Columbia County Sheriff’s office had jurisdiction. With Sawyer’s help, they’d rescued the girl along with three others before their pimp, the guy who’d connected with them online, along with two friends, planned to take them to Miami to work on the streets.

  Sawyer was a good cop and not afraid to work with a female P.I. In fact, most of the Columbia County deputies were cool about working with her. They seemed more concerned with getting crime off their streets than with her sex or occupation. She wished she could say the same for other jurisdictions.

  A tow truck pulled up. It backed up and maneuvered around until the Toyota was behind it. The whirr of the winch grated on Jane’s nerves. Once away from the tree, she could see the real damage. The entire front end was smashed. The front tires crooked. Little doubt it’d be considered totaled by the insurance company.

  There went her rates.

  Sawyer crossed his arms and leaned back against his car alongside Jane. The detective was tall, at least six-foot-five. The crown of his head rose higher than a half-circle of wavy white hair, making him look like a warped monk.

  “You really did a good job of wrecking that car,” he teased.

  “If you can’t do a good job, why bother?”

  “Just glad you weren’t hurt.” He kept his focus on the car. “I know a few people working over in Suwanee County who might have some info on this Caldwell Company. I’ll let you know what I find.”

  Her phone rang again. Pamela again.

  “Excuse me.” Jane called Winston instead.

  “So, what’d you find?”

  “The SUV driver would do well in a demolition derby.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He ran me off the road.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I will be. Can’t say the same for my car.” Jane stared down at the vehicle. Her heart sank. She liked that car. “Pamela has tried to reach me a couple of times, can you call to see what she needs. I’ve got to deal with this right now.”

  “Yes, sure. You take care of yourself. Are you going to get looked at?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Jane.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t play the hero. Go get checked out.” Silence came over the line. “Promise me.”

  Jane huffed out a loud breath. “I promise.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you, but since I can’t take you myself, I’ll trust you.” Winston laughed over the line. “I’ll let you know what Pamela wants if it’s important.”

  “Thanks.” Jane hung up the phone and returned to Sawyer as they were putting her car up on the back of the tow truck.

  “So how are you getting home?” he asked.

  “Rental car.” She rolled her left shoulder.

  “I’ll take you to get it once we have that shoulder looked at.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You need it looked at.”

  “You sound like my friend I was just speaking with.” She relented.

  She opened the passenger side of his vehicle and took one last look at her car. This guy just ramped up the stakes. She’d have to make sure she had her gun on her from here on out.

  ***

  Sawyer drove Jane to a medical facility that had an X-ray machine. Thank goodness nothing was broken or torn. While at the police station filling out the report and checking for any sign of the guy in mug books, Sawyer had brought her some barbecue to eat.

  She showed Sawyer the license with the fake Phillip Evers forwarded from Winston and explained what she’d found out on the other four hit-and-run victims.

  Like most cops, he was interested. Getting a killer off the streets was always top priority.

  After finishing her statement, Sawyer drove her to the rental car company. Two cars were in the parking lot. One a Prius, the other a Nissan Sentra. She hoped for the Sentra because it had a lot more leg room.

  “Keep us informed of anything you find on this,” he said as she stood outside with the passenger door open. “We’ll do some snooping on our end. Let you know if we get anything.”

  “I appreciate it. If what I think is going on, we need to stop these guys.”

  “Agreed.” Mack waved as he drove off.

  He took a left out of the parking lot, the opposite direction to where he lived. She had little doubt he was heading back to the office to see what he could find out on Yates. She’d have done the same.

  Her body ached from the accident. She took a couple of aspirin she found in her bag. It’d still be a while until she could get in a hot shower to relieve her muscles.

  Inside the rental company, a guy came walking over from behind a desk, and it took her the next twenty minutes to fill out the forms. The guy went back to check on her rental. While waiting, she glanced at her cell and saw she’d missed a call from Winston.

  “Hey, it’s me,” Jane said. “Sorry I didn’t get your call earlier.”

  “It’s fine. Have you seen a doctor?”

  “Yes. Nothing’s broken, just bruised.” Jane rolled her eyes.

  “I spoke with Pamela. Her dead husband called.”

  Jane jerked back. Though she’d expected it, she was surprised since it’d been so long since the home invasion.

  “Jane? Jane, are you there?”

  “Yeah, I knew he would. Not sure why it surprised me.” After another brief pause, she asked, “What did he have to say?”

  “He told her he wants to see her. He’s insisting on meeting her at her house. Claims he has to get something to take to the police.”

  “When?”

  “Nine o’clock tonight.”

  “Not good. I won’t be back in time.”

  “I told her I’ll be with her when he comes. I still don’t trust her not to be the target.”

  “Did she have a problem with that?”

  “If she did, she didn’t say so. But she’s a smart woman who’s not sure what’s going on. But one thing she knows is her husband was into something that caused all this mess. I explained if he is in danger, she would be too. She seemed to understand.”

  “I wish we could push it off to tomorrow so I could be there.”

  “I tried, but she claimed to not know how to reach him. I think s
he’s anxious to see him, make sure he’s okay.”

  “I can’t blame her.” Jane let out a loud breath. “Call Charles Iverson and let him know what’s going on. He can give you back up.”

  “But what if this fake Phillip of ours runs?” Winston asked.

  “What if he’s a killer?” Jane said. “If nothing else, this imposter is up to his eyeballs in this insurance scam. And the second shooter is still out there. He could be watching the house.”

  “You’re right,” Winston said. “It wouldn’t be smart to do this alone. But I’ll have to check with Pamela first.”

  “If she gives you a hard time about bringing the police in, tell her what we know. Like you said, she’s a smart woman,” Jane said. “They just brought the rental car around.” Thankfully the Sentra. “Be careful and call me as soon as things calm down.”

  Jane hated the thought of not being there for this meeting, but no way could she make it in time. But with Charles there, things should go smoothly.

  Then why was her pulse pounding in her ears?

  ***

  Winston could tell from her tone Jane was disappointed. At least she trusted Winston enough to allow her to help. But Jane was right. She needed backup, but there were ethics and confidentiality issues she had to consider, even if she were acting on behalf of Jane.

  Winston put in a call to Pamela who answered on the first ring.

  “I just spoke to Jane,” Winston said. “She won’t be back by nine.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “We both think meeting him alone would be a mistake, so she agreed I should be there like we discussed earlier.”

  “Thank you. I’m not sure I could meet him alone. Not with all that’s happened.”

  “But there is one condition.” Winston waited a beat, then continued. “We need to contact the police.”

  “No. If Phillip sees the police, he might take off again. I need to know what’s going on.”

  “If someone is out there looking for him, we could be putting him in even more danger.” Winston let her words hang in the air.