Chapter 39
Luke
The next forty-five minutes passed at a snail’s pace. Ozzie sped the entire way, but it felt like the world went by at a crawl. Riggs called back about ten minutes after he hung up to report the house was empty. That brought a modicum of relief, but it left us confused.
Why would Sarah take the two of them if she wanted Ellis dead? Why wouldn’t she just kill him—and Claire, since she was a witness—then leave?
The other option was that Ellis and Claire ran away on foot, but it had been nearly two hours since Ozzie left Parker’s Landing. If they’d escaped, one of them should have called.
We roared into town, making the turn off the highway to go down Main Street to get to Ozzie and Claire’s house.
Passing by the shops, we were at the corner on the far side of Mina’s coffeeshop when my brain registered something was off.
There were lights on in the café.
“Stop!”
Ozzie hit the brakes, locking our seatbelts. “Jesus, what?”
I hit the button to roll down the window and stuck my head out to look back. “The construction lights I set up are on at Mina’s. In the café side. They shouldn’t be.”
Checking his mirrors, Ozzie swung the truck around, killing the siren as he pulled to the curb opposite the building. “Give me my phone.”
I handed it over. Ozzie unlocked it as he got out. When I met him on the sidewalk behind the vehicle, he had it to his ear.
“Come downtown. The Cozy Cup. Something’s up. We drove past, and Luke noticed the lights are on and shouldn’t be.” He listened for a moment, then bobbed his head. “See you in a few.”
Hanging up, he looked at me. “Riggs is on his way.”
“Good. He can help you transport.” I stepped off the curb. Sarah needed to go to jail for all she’d done, and before she could hurt Claire and Ellis.
Two steps into the street, Ozzie’s hand wrapped in my shirt, bringing me to a halt.
“Hold on. We can’t charge in without a plan. If they’re in there, they probably heard the siren.”
Gritting my teeth, I shrugged off his hold. “Fine. What’s the plan? And don’t say to wait for Riggs.”
“We’re not going in without him. Not unless they’re in mortal danger. Rushing in without backup could make Sarah and Miranda do something rash.” Worry etched lines around Ozzie’s dark eyes, but the set to his features told me he’d probably handcuff me to the light post if I tried to go in early.
Inhaling a quick breath through my nose, I forced my rational mind to take over. Letting my emotions control things would get people hurt.
“Let’s go peek in the windows the best we can. Riggs should be here soon.” He let go of my shirt, then backed up a few steps to the truck to reach in and grab a handheld radio.
Closing the door with a soft snick, he tipped his chin toward the café, and we jogged across the street.
Light spilled around the edges of the brown paper we’d tacked to the windows, shining through with a soft glow in places where the paper fibers were thin.
“Are there any tears in this stuff?” Ozzie asked, his voice low.
Mouth flattening into a flat line, I scanned it.
We hadn’t been super careful about putting it up, but we hadn’t been reckless, either.
It was meant to, one, keep the interior a surprise to Mina’s customers, and two, protect the building from theft.
People couldn’t see in to tell what materials and tools were inside.
I pointed to a spot on the far side of the front windows, where more light spilled out than anywhere else. “Over there, maybe?”
On quiet feet, we moved. Ozzie crouched in front of a small gap in the paper and looked in. “The angle is wrong,” he hissed. “All I see is the far wall. Where the stairs are.”
That gave me an idea.
I tapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go around back.” Turning away, I headed for the corner.
“Is it any easier to see in back there?”
“No, but we might be able to get inside without being seen.” Our dumpster guy had put the roll-off close to the building so we could chuck things into it from the windows and doors. We might be able to climb on top and get in through an upstairs window. They weren’t locked.
As we reached the corner, a cruiser rolled up.
We paused as the window went down in the SUV. As the man inside shifted to lean through the opening, the streetlight glinted off the nametag pinned to his chest. This was Chief Riggs.
“Sit rep, Quartermaine.”
“We can’t see in the front windows, but Luke says he thinks he might know a way in through the back.”
“Okay. Put your radio on channel six.” He gestured to the radio in Ozzie’s hand. “I’ll watch the front.”
Tossing him a thumbs-up, Ozzie nudged me, and we took off around the corner to go up the alley.
“Shit. Ozzie. Is that smoke?” The light illuminating the rear parking area had a hazy appearance.
“Yeah. I smell it.”
A door slammed, and through the shadows, we saw two figures running away.
“Hey! Stop! Police!” Ozzie picked up the pace.
When we reached the back doors to the coffeeshop and café, smoke billowed through cracks around the café’s door.
I skidded to a halt. “Go! Catch them. I’ll check the building.”
“I’ll radio it in!”
Turning, I ran to the door and twisted the knob, praying it was unlocked. The steel door would be much harder to break down than the cabin’s wooden door.
The knob turned under my hand.
Yes!
Pushing inside, a thick, gray blanket of smoke billowed around me. I couldn’t see a damn thing through it except the orange glow of fire from the front of the building. A low roar filled the space.
“Claire! Ellis!” Hooking my shirt over my nose, I ran deeper into the interior.
“Help!” Ellis and Claire’s voices penetrated the smoky space.
“Keep yelling so I can find you.” Coughing, I held my shirt tighter to my face. Tears streamed down my cheeks now, partially blinding me as my eyes fully protested the acrid smoke.
I followed the sounds of their voices and quickly found them in the back corner of the main room on the floor, back-to-back, their hands tied to the other’s behind them, and their feet bound.
“Luke!” Claire’s voice held a raspiness that wasn’t normally there. “It’s Sarah Cole and Miranda Benning.” She paused, a hacking cough rattling her body. “They tied us up, set the fire, and left.”
“I know. They tried to kill Mina and me too. And Walter. Ozzie’s chasing them.” Swiping at my face so I could see, I picked at the knots tying their hands together.
“Do our feet,” Ellis said. “We can worry about our hands after we get out of here.”
Recognizing he made a good point, I moved down to his ankles. These knots were easier to get to and not as well tied. They were meant to keep them immobile, not from escaping, like the hand knots were. Despite my fumbling attempts, I had the rope around Ellis’s feet loosened in less than a minute.
While he kicked free, I crawled around to Claire’s feet and untied her. Once they were both free, I helped them stand.
“How do we get out of here?” Ellis asked, suppressing a deep cough.
Closing my eyes, I ran through a mental map of the space. We were near the shared wall with the coffeeshop. We could follow it around to the front door.
“This way. I’m going to guide you guys. Claire, you need to walk backward, so just be careful.”
“Go fast”—she stopped, coughing—“but not too fast.”
Grasping Ellis’s shirt, I guided him the few steps toward the wall, then, keeping one hand on the wall and one on Ellis, I walked the perimeter of the room.
By the time we reached the door, I couldn’t see at all, and we were all continuously coughing.
My lungs felt like the flames had reached inside and set them alight.
Fumbling with the old lock, I managed to flip it. With my thumb on the lever, I pushed down, then pulled. The heavy door weighed more than usual, but I got it open far enough to wedge my foot into the opening.
The blare of fire engine sirens split the night as I thrust my leg through, then wedged my shoulder into the space. Using my foot, I kicked it wide and hauled Ellis forward.
It hit him in the shoulder, and he let out a grunt, but didn’t fall. The three of us stumbled forward and onto the sidewalk just as the fire engine pulled up.
My vision still obscured by tears, I heard, rather than saw, the truck stop and a series of boots hit the road.
The first firefighter reached us and put a steadying hand on my shoulder as I bent double, hacking.
“Kyle, grab some shears!” he yelled.
I sank to the ground as my adrenaline ebbed. Bending my knees, I rested my forehead on them, inhaling deep breaths in between coughs.
A minute or so later, a firefighter knelt next to me. “I’m going to slip this oxygen mask over your face.”
I looked up, my vision blurry, but it was better than a couple minutes ago.
The plastic mask descended over my mouth and nose. Air flowed in, cool and fresh, if not a little chemical-smelling from the plastic.
“Is there anyone else inside?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Okay. You breathe that in and stay put.”
I nodded, unable to speak as another cough wracked my body.
When he walked away, I scooted back to lean up against the pillar that was meant to keep cars from driving onto the sidewalk.
Resting against the pole, I rolled my head to the side and saw Claire and Ellis getting similar treatment.
They were okay. We were all okay.
I closed my eyes and just focused on my breathing. Slowly, the oxygen invading my body reduced my cough to short bursts.
Voices flowed around me, sometimes rising as the firefighters hauled gear off their trucks to put out the blaze inside. It wasn’t until the energy changed that I opened my eyes and looked around again.
Commotion down the block drew my attention. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, squinting in the strobing lights from the fire engines.
Ozzie and Chief Riggs walked toward us, each of them leading a woman in handcuffs.
I let out a delighted laugh that quickly descended into a cough. As it ebbed, I got up.
“Whoa.” My head spun, and I shot a hand out to steady myself on the pillar. There was no way I would sit down, though. I wanted to watch them march past and see their faces—especially Sarah’s—when they realized Claire and Ellis were alive.
Once I felt like I could walk and not fall over, I picked up the small oxygen tank and walked over to the others.
Ozzie and the chief stopped in front of us.
Worry etched lines into Ozzie’s face. “You guys all right?”
Ellis gave him a thumbs-up.
Claire smiled through her mask. “We’re good. Luke”—a wheezy cough overtook her for a moment—“Luke got us out.”
Dark eyes found mine. His quick nod was filled with gratitude.
I returned it, not needing any thanks. It’s what any decent human would have done.
My gaze traveled to the woman in his grasp.
Suppressed anger and defeat warred on her expression, if the hard set to her jaw and the defiance shining in her eyes were anything to go by.
Dirt marred her clothing, and the high ponytail she’d been sporting was now knocked askew. Ozzie had worked for this arrest.
I was just thankful he caught her.
“You taking them to the hospital?” the chief asked one of the firefighters.
“Yes, sir. They all need to be under observation for a little bit.”
Logically, I knew that, but it didn’t make it any more palatable of an idea. I wanted to go to the staging area for Mina and Walter’s rescue operation, not hang out in a hospital cubicle with wires hanging off me.
I took comfort in the fact, though, that they’d bring her to the same hospital once they found her. Her ribs would need treatment.
“I’ll see you all at the hospital later.” Ozzie gave Sarah a nudge forward. “Let’s go. You’ve got a date with our local jail.”