Chapter 6 #2
Despite his efforts to avoid being followed, Joel had to assume the gunman had figured out what car they were using. Since he hadn’t known which room they were in, he pulled the fire alarm to flush them out. Striking his SUV with a bullet had not been an accident.
Message received , he thought with a dark scowl. Three shooting incidents and a fire all in one day.
Worse, it was early afternoon. The escalating attempts reminded him of the serial killer who’d become obsessed with his sister Alexis a few weeks ago.
“I think I have everything.” Heath strode toward them, pulling the rolling suitcase with Joel’s backpack over one shoulder and Trina’s computer bag on the other.
“Thanks.” Joel reached for the pack. He took a moment to give Royal some water. The dog lapped eagerly, then looked up at Joel as if expecting to be put to work. “Not yet, boy.” He stroked the lab’s fur. “Soon.”
Royal wagged his tail as if in understanding. A few minutes later, they were on the road heading away from the Elk Lodge.
“Where to?” Heath asked.
It was a good question. Joel turned to glance at Trina and Ben who were seated in the back with Royal on the floor at Ben’s feet.
“Not the Wild Bill,” Trina said. “That place is awful.”
“I wasn’t planning to head there,” he agreed. “What about the Frontier?”
“Okay.” She frowned. “I hate wasting money, though. We paid for a suite we can’t even use.”
He waved that off. “Take us to the Frontier,” he told Heath. “We may not stay there for long, but it’ll work for the interim.”
Heath frowned. “Where will you go?”
“I’m not sure.” In truth, Joel didn’t like his options. A hotel might be too obvious, and there were only so many places in town. If the gunman really wanted to find them, he could probably use the process of elimination.
Yet using the ranch was out of the question. No way would he put two pregnant women and his nephew at risk.
A rental could work, as long as it was a place that wasn’t too obvious. Maybe outside of the Cody city limits? He’d prefer an isolated cabin somewhere in the middle of the woods.
“I have’ta go to the bathroom,” Ben announced.
“Okay, we’re almost at the hotel.” He turned to look at Ben. “Can you wait that long?”
Ben nodded, but from the expression on his face, Joel sensed the need was rather urgent. Heath slowed and turned, pulling up in front of the Frontier lobby.
“We’re here.” Trina tried the door but had to wait for Joel to open it for them. “I’ll take Ben inside if you grab our things.”
“No problem.” He glanced around, not liking the way several people gawked at them. It wasn’t every day that a police car dropped off two adults, a child, and a dog.
Royal bounded out, then headed to the closest bush to get busy. Joel took the suitcase, backpack, and computer case from Heath. “Thanks for the ride. I’d appreciate being kept in the loop on your investigation.”
“You, Sergeant Howell, our captain, and the chief of police,” Heath muttered. “Everyone in the department wants answers, and so far we don’t know squat.”
Not exactly reassuring, but he didn’t let his disappointment show. He’d call Griff while they waited for Justin and Trevor. There had to be a way to nail this guy.
“Come, Royal.” Joel waited until his K9 joined him, then headed into the hotel lobby. He stood off to the side, waiting for Trina and Ben. Ben came out of the bathrooms first, running over. “Does this place have a pool?”
“Sorry, Ben, but we’re not staying here.” He felt bad when the kid’s expression fell. “How about we stop and get a video game for you? Will that work?”
“Okay.” Ben bent to pet Royal. “Can we take him for a walk?”
“Maybe later.” He couldn’t agree to a walk until he knew where they were staying. Traveling with an eight-year-old added a layer of complexity to the plan. Most rental properties had a television, but would that include pay channels? He had no idea.
Trina crossed the lobby to join them. Dark circles smudged her eyes, and her expression was grim. The stress of these attacks clearly weighed heavily on her slim shoulders. “Okay, what’s the plan?”
He frowned at his watch. “I’m afraid we have almost a half hour to wait before my brothers get here. We can sit in the lobby for a while.” He glanced over to where a male desk clerk eyed them curiously, as if expecting them to head over to check in. “Hopefully, they won’t kick us out.”
“Just tell them you’re a Sullivan.” Trina dropped into the closest chair, raking her hands through her hair. Ben sat on the floor beside Royal. “I’m sure they won’t mind.”
“Very funny.” His family was well known in the area, so she was probably right. But he’d much rather fly under the radar moving forward. The gunman clearly knew Joel was trying to keep Trina and Ben safe.
And he didn’t seem to care if Joel or his K9 got caught in the crossfire.
His phone rang. His twin’s name popped up on the screen. “Hey, Justin, where are you?”
“Fifteen minutes out,” his brother said. “Where are you?”
“We’re at the Frontier, but I don’t plan to stay. I’d rather go someplace outside the city limits.”
“I figured you might want to head somewhere off-grid, so I asked Kendra to find a rental property. She was able to secure a three-bedroom cabin north of Cody, not far from Sage Creek.”
“Amenities?”
“Satellite TV and internet,” Justin confirmed. “I told Kendra to go ahead and book it.”
“Sounds good. We’ll see you soon.” He lowered the phone, catching Trina’s gaze. “We have a place north of the city.”
“Great.”
“Can I have a snack?” Ben looked toward the vending machines that were located in the far corner of the lobby.
“Sure.” He dug out his still-damp wallet and removed several bills. The kid jumped to his feet and eagerly headed over. After a moment, Royal scrambled to his feet and followed.
Trina frowned. “You shouldn’t give him everything he wants.”
“I get that, but after everything he’s been through since this morning, I figured it was okay to make an exception.” He reached for her hand and tugged her to her feet. “My sister Kendra rented a three-bedroom cabin for us. I’m sure we’ll be safe there.”
“I hope so.” She squeezed his hand. “I wish the police would find this guy already.”
“Me too.” He longed to pull her into his arms, especially now that Ben was distracted by his snacks. When his phone rang again, he wanted to groan, but seeing Griff’s name on the screen, he quickly answered it. “Hey, Griff. Please tell me you have something.”
Trina leaned closer, obviously anxious to hear the news too.
“Well, I don’t know if I would say it’s good news,” his future brother-in-law said. “But I think we can take Brian Ashland’s name off the suspect list.”
That surprised him, and by the look of shock in Trina’s eyes, she found it hard to believe too. “Why is that? I’m not sure I’m willing to believe some girlfriend of his providing a half-baked alibi.”
“Not a girlfriend, this alibi is one we can’t ignore,” Griff said.
“Brian Ashland was in a bar fight two weeks ago on a Saturday night, and the judge sentenced him to thirty days in jail. Just to be sure, I called to verify that he’s still locked up.
” Griff paused for a moment, then added, “Sorry, but he’s not your guy. ”
“I guess that’s sort of good news.” He would rather have learned Brian Ashland was missing in action. By the disappointment etched on Trina’s features, she felt the same way. “What about Peter Thomas?”
“The cops in Laramie haven’t found him yet,” Griff admitted. “They have a cop watching his apartment. I’m sure they’ll pick him up soon.”
“Unless he’s here in Cody,” Trina whispered.
“What was that?” Griff asked.
“We were just saying that Peter Thomas could be in Cody,” he repeated for Griff’s benefit. “You heard about the fire alarm being pulled at the hotel and that we were targeted by gunfire when we left the building?”
“Yeah, Justin filled me in.” Another pause, then, “I don’t like it, Joel. He’s escalating big time.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” He glanced over to check on Ben and Royal, smiling wryly when it was clear the kid was still trying to decide which snacks to buy. “Hence why we’re heading to a rental property.”
“Good idea,” Griff said. “I’ll fill the Cody PD in on the news of Brian Ashland. That way they can focus their efforts on finding Peter Thomas.”
“Thanks, Griff.” He lowered the phone and ended the call. “You heard, right? Brian Ashland isn’t our guy.”
“I heard.” Trina’s brow furrowed. “I guess that helps to a certain extent. But what if the shooter isn’t Peter Thomas? What if this is some other weirdo who is carrying some ridiculous grudge against me?”
“You mean like a fan of your books?” He wasn’t sure he was following her thought process.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I was hoping for something definitive.”
He slid his arm around her waist, giving her a quick, friendly hug. “Hey, don’t stress. I’m sure Thomas is responsible, and having a place to start leads me to hope the police will find him very soon.”
“Okay.” He was encouraged at her attempt to remain positive.
Then she added, “You know, I’m surprised to hear Brian is in jail.
I knew he hit Evie a few times, which is why she divorced him, but apparently, his anger really has gotten out of control for him to end up with a thirty-day court-mandated sentence. ”
“He should do longer if you ask me.” Any guy who would hit a woman in anger deserved to be behind bars.
“Well, his temper caught up to him, didn’t it?” She sighed heavily and leaned against him. He tightened his grip around her waist, wishing there was more he could do to help her. “Although to be honest, I knew Brian didn’t want Ben.”
The citrusy scent of her hair was a distraction.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but he was tempted to lean in to inhale deeply, filling his head with her intriguing scent.
What was it about Trina that was so attractive?
She was a friend, not a potential date. He forced himself to ignore the awareness that simmered between them. “And you think Peter does?”
She shrugged. “I think Peter wants money.”
He pulled away to look down into her eyes. “Okay, but it’s not like he’s made a kidnapping attempt to ask you for a ransom. And Ben wouldn’t go along with him, even if he tried that.”
“I know.” She held his gaze. “It’s killing me that none of this makes any sense. Shooting, starting a fire, pulling the fire alarm to shoot again. It seems like some crazy person has decided to make my life miserable.”
He wondered if she was right about the person being mentally unbalanced. He had to admit, there was absolutely no sense of logic in the attacks against them. “Maybe Peter has lost his grip on reality.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I can’t lose Ben.” Her voice was low and tortured. “Please, Joel, promise me you’ll continue to keep Ben safe. The way you did today, grabbing him and rushing him out of harm’s way.”
“I promise.” It wasn’t an easy vow to make. He cared about Trina, too, more than he should. And Royal was his responsibility as well. But when the bullets had started flying, his instincts had taken over. Protecting Ben first and foremost. “I’m not leaving you and Ben until we nail this guy.”
“Thank you.” Tears welled in her eyes, and then she caught him completely off guard by closing the distance between them and going up on her tippy toes to kiss him.