19. A Marked Man
Chapter 19
A Marked Man
M arcus wanted to run full speed to the sawmill where they’d parked. For a moment, he considered racing ahead with a few of the faster runners but discarded it. He wasn’t going to leave Elina unprotected.
He doubted the car could be a decoy or that the man knew where they were but he wasn’t taking chances. Not with her safety.
Troy and the others could handle anything that came up in the woods. If the vehicle belonged to a tourist, there was no need to rush at all. If the car belonged to their animal-killer, he was likely going to be in the woods for a while. They’d let him incriminate himself with his actions.
They discussed the plan on the way, so once they reached their cars, half split to the left while Marcus led the others right. With so many people, they could come at this guy from both directions on the road and block it completely if necessary.
Troy and the rest of his team would move in from the town once Marcus’s team was in place. They didn’t want to advance too early and have the jerk slip away.
When they arrived, Marcus parked with the nose of his car only an inch or two away from the Rogue. From the other direction, Sam pulled up directly behind it. No way could the jerk angle enough to pull his vehicle away from the road. He’d be stuck on foot without a vehicle. Marcus noted the license plate and sent it to a deputy not far away. He’d apprised him of the situation, and Warner was ready to help. Another reason he needed more deputies. He couldn’t have civilians using police software. Although, he was sure at least a half-dozen of his friends could access the information without any trouble at all. Something he wanted to know nothing about.
Once everyone parked, they piled out of the vehicles and spread out according to the plan they’d worked out. Flynn held up his phone. “Epic says his group is moving in from both sides of the park.”
Marcus took Elina’s hand. “Stay close. You don’t have a weapon, and you’re not wearing a vest. Unless you want to stay in the car?”
As expected, she stared down that suggestion, making him grin. He kissed her quickly. “That’s what I thought. Okay, let’s go. Stay aware, and let me know if you sense anything.”
They moved out in pairs. Elina kept to his side and a half step behind as they moved through the ditch and into the trees. More leaves had fallen, and there was no way to move silently. Instead, the team spread out so that it wasn’t as obvious an entire group was moving in.
It was a perfect afternoon for a walk, and Marcus wished he’d made the time to do this with Elina before they were on the hunt for a criminal. Instead of enjoying the autumn leaves with her, he was on hyper-alert in case someone tried to hurt her.
The leaves made it next to impossible to follow a trail, so they were working in silence with their senses wide open.
A glimpse of bright blue ahead had Marcus raising his fist in the air. Everyone who could see him copied his movements and froze. He knew the message would be passed from group to group. The final man on each side would send a message to the other teams. The closer ones would help him close the trap.
Motioning Elina to remain where she was, he also sent a look to Flynn who wasn’t too far to the right. Flynn nodded and turned his attention to their rear. No one would sneak up from behind to attack Elina.
Marcus kept his eye on the blue as he closed in. The bright color had him thinking this wasn’t their guy but he didn’t drop his guard.
The blue didn’t move, making him wonder if the person had realized he wasn’t alone. Maybe waiting to see what Marcus and his team would do.
Marcus took his weapon out and held it low by his leg. The blue appeared to be a jacket, but the man wasn’t moving at the moment. Deciding he had enough backup to skip subterfuge, he moved around a large pine and stepped into a small clearing.
A man in his forties held a large camera in his hand. His attention was trained on the lower branches of a tree in front of him. He grimaced and shot a wry look at Marcus. “Hey.” Then he looked back at the tree and let the camera rest on the strap around his neck. “I’ve been tracking that turkey vulture for an hour. You couldn’t have waited ten seconds until I got the shot?”
Marcus didn’t get a single false vibe from the man. He kept his body angled to keep the gun out of sight. “Sorry about that. They can be elusive, can’t they?”
The man shrugged and managed a smile. “They seem to know when I’m about to press the shutter, and off they fly. They’ve got a bit of a nasty streak.”
“I take it you’re a birder, not a leaf-peeper?”
The man laughed. “A little bit of both. The leaves make for a great backdrop for the birds.” He lifted his camera and flipped through the viewscreen. “Got some great ones of the loons on the creek just over that way.”
Marcus spent a few minutes checking out the man’s photos and chatting. The man didn’t smell of cigarettes, and the images were time stamped for the last hour. “You come up this way often?”
The man shook his head. “First time. We’re driving through on our way to see our daughter up in Montreal. My wife loved the name of the town, so we stopped in for a bit. I figured I’d get some pictures while she’s shopping.”
At that moment, the man’s phone beeped. Grinning, he answered. “Hey, Janie. You all done?”
Marcus was close enough to hear the woman laugh and tell her husband about the things she’d bought in this quaint little town. Marcus waved and walked back to his team. There was no way this man was the one who’d killed those animals.
When he got back to where the others waited, he realized they’d all come to the same conclusion. Nico shrugged. “We’ve checked out the entire area. No one found anything. I don’t think our birder was hiding anything.”
Apparently, the former FBI profiler had been watching Marcus. “I agree. Let’s get out of here before he finds his car blocked in and starts asking questions.”
Frustration rippled through him, and he wasn’t surprised when Elina slipped her hand into his. “Maybe he’s not coming back.”
He nodded but didn’t respond. Maybe he wasn’t. But perhaps they’d just given away how much they knew. If the man had driven by the congregation of the cars on the road, he’d know they were onto him.
E lina knew Marcus wanted the man caught—she did too—but she was relieved it had been a tourist. Coming close to someone who was targeting one of them wasn’t appealing. She wanted it over with, but she wanted it done with no threat to any of these people.
With the amount of trained people in the woods today, maybe it would have been easy to trap him. But what if he’d shot Marcus? She held in the shudder and hoped he’d left the area permanently.
Instead of returning to Midnight Lake this late, they waved off their friends, promising to visit another day.
Once they were in the car, Elina asked. “Do you want to check on the station and make sure that everything is okay?”
He nodded. “Good idea. I’ll feel better once I check. Do you mind walking through the woods? After what just happened, I’ll worry if I don’t see for myself. But I’d rather not broadcast that we’re doing that.”
It wasn’t long before the car was in Marcus’s driveway, and they snuck out the back door in case anyone was watching. She was relieved he hadn’t tried to talk her into remaining behind but the woods had taken on a sinister feeling as dusk deepened.
She kept her attention on the trees around her but didn’t sense anything off as they moved to the station. A quick tour showed all the windows intact and no surprises left on the pathways or sprayed on the walls.
The security system hadn’t alerted them, but they did a quick check on the inside. Nothing was disturbed. When they looked into the office, Marcus laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “Those posters are going to make me smile every day. Thank you.”
She was glad to have given him something happy but could feel the tension radiating from him. “I can’t decide if I should be relieved or sad that the man in the woods was just a photographer.”
Marcus kissed her hair and kept his arms around her. “Same. It would be nice if he’d simply moved on with no intention of returning.”
“But?”
“But I’d like it better if we had him sitting in that cell in the back room.”
She nodded. “Me too.”
Marcus ran his hands over her back for a moment. “Okay, let’s set the alarm and head home.”
Home. She liked the sound of that. “How about we watch one of the movies Nina used to name some of the animals she named? Something happy.”
“Or another of the Agatha Christie adaptations? You enjoyed the one we watched at the park the other night.”
“It was amazing to see how they interpreted the book. I loved Poirot’s mustache. I thought they did a great job.”
They chatted about the movie as they locked up and returned along the path to Marcus’s house. As they reached the edge of the woods, a chill ran up her spine. She squeezed his hand, but he’d already stopped. His voice barely reached her ears. “You feel it?”
When she nodded, he asked her to text Troy. They didn’t move, and Elina tried to figure out the direction of the creepy feeling. It wasn’t as pronounced as before. She wished they had Finch because she wasn’t sure she could trust her senses.
Marcus had his weapon out, but his frown wasn’t as deep.
She leaned close and kept her voice soft. “Do you think he’s gone or just backed away to watch?”
Marcus held up two fingers to show her choice number two. The man was still watching. Her adrenaline had settled down after finding the birdwatcher but it rocketed up at his serious demeanor. She figured the house was fine because there hadn’t been any alerts on Marcus’s phone.
Through the trees, she spotted a vehicle’s headlights moving toward where Marcus’s house sat on the dead end of the street. Troy? Someone less benign?
The lights slowed, and another light shone out of the driver’s side window, sweeping over the trees on the other side of the street. Had to be Troy.
He drove past them to the end of the street and then backed up and turned into the driveway. Elina started forward, but Marcus held her arm. “Let’s wait for the all clear.”
It didn’t take long. Troy, Sean, and Levi exited the car and closed their doors simultaneously with barely a glance in the lighted area. These men were highly trained, and watching them work together was always a joy. Although she would prefer if they didn’t have to use their skills here. Had she brought danger to them or was the person after Marcus?
The men moved without words around the house and across the street. Still, Marcus didn’t do anything other than watch and check behind them. His feet didn’t budge, and she worked to do the same.
A bird whistle reached her ears, and this time, she recognized it as a signal the team used. Marcus’s body eased a fraction. “All clear, but keep aware.”
He ushered her ahead of him and stayed close to her back as they approached the other three. Oz gestured at the front lawn. Near the street, someone had spray-painted the grass.
You’ll pay.
A shudder ran through her, and Marcus wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her close to him. She felt him draw in steadying breaths. His voice was harsh when he spoke. “This asshole is going down. I’m done playing these juvenile games. We need to find this fucker, and toss his ass in a cell.”
She couldn’t agree more.