Chapter Twelve
Caroline felt the punch of dread go through her. No. Not another attack.
“Where are you?” she managed to ask Scotty. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone broke into my house,” he blurted out. “I ran out back, but I don’t like the timing because the break-in came shortly after you left me that message. Did you set someone on me?”
“No. Of course not.” And Caroline hated that he felt she would have done something like that. “Where are you?” she repeated. “Who broke into your house?”
“I don’t know who it was. Some guy dressed all in black and wearing a ski mask. I was in my home office when I saw the person on my security cam. Then I spotted the gun he was carrying, and I got out, jumped in my car and drove off. But I think the person is following me.”
Definitely not good, and it caused Caroline’s heart to pound even harder. Mercy, was it possible that someone had indeed used her to get to Scotty? She’d checked for trackers on the websites she’d used, but it was possible one of her contacts had said the wrong thing to the wrong person.
“Scotty?” Jack said. “I’m Marshal Jack Slater. I need you to tell me where you are so I can call someone to help you.” He paused, maybe to give Scotty time to react to that, but the only thing Caroline could hear was Scotty mumbling. Or maybe he was praying.
“No cops,” Scotty insisted. That came through loud and clear.
Caroline wasn’t surprised by that. A lot of hackers, even those who were clean, didn’t like the law. Plus, she had her own distrust of cops right now. Not just because of Eric’s conversation but also because of Zeller possibly being linked to the attack.
Maybe even linked to this.
Sweet heaven. Was it possible that Zeller had used Scotty to plant that tracker on those sites and had now sent someone to eliminate him? Zeller couldn’t be doing it himself because there wouldn’t have been nearly enough time for him to get to Scotty in San Antonio.
“It’s all over the news that someone tried to kill you, that it happened in Longview Ridge,” Scotty went on. “Is that where you are now?”
Caroline certainly didn’t jump to answer that.
Neither did Jack. And there was a reason for that.
It was possible that Scotty wasn’t alone, that their would-be killer was in the vehicle with him.
Then again, Zeller, Kingston and Lily all knew where she was, so it didn’t make the risk any greater to reveal her location to Scotty.
“I’m at the sheriff’s office here in Longview Ridge,” she finally told him.
“Good, because I’m on my way there now.”
Jack didn’t curse, but that was what he looked like he wanted to do. “Describe the person and the vehicle that’s following you so I can get someone out to help you.”
Silence from Scotty, for a long time. “No. Don’t send anyone. I don’t want to be gunned down or anything. But tell me what’s going on. Why is this happening? And I want to hear the answers from Caroline, not you.”
Caroline tried to tamp down the whirlwind of thoughts in her head so she could figure out the right thing to say to him. She also tried to steady her breath and her pulse. This wasn’t the time for a panic attack.
“I think someone hacked into either WITSEC files or a Justice Department computer,” she explained. “Did you do that?”
More silence, and like Jack, Scotty cursed this time, too. “You know I’m not going to admit to that. I could go to jail.” But then Scotty paused. “Is that why someone’s after me?”
It wasn’t exactly a confession, but it was close enough. “Who hired you to do that?” Caroline pressed.
But that only caused Scotty to curse even more. “I need your help, not your questions. You need to get out here now and meet me.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jack spoke up. “Where are you?”
Caroline could tell from Jack’s rough tone that he wanted that location so he could call in some of his fellow lawmen, but Scotty didn’t answer. Not his question, anyway.
“No!” Scotty yelled.
And Caroline heard something else. The squeal of brakes. The sound of a collision. She also heard Scotty groan, and there was no mistaking that he was in pain.
“Scotty?” Caroline practically shouted.
She repeated his name over and over again, begging him to respond, but she only got more of those moans. The seconds dragged by. Seconds where Scotty could be dying.
“How bad are you hurt?” she pressed. “Tell me where you are, and I can get you some help.”
Still, no answer, and she couldn’t even hear the moans now. Caroline was about to ask Gunnar to try to trace the call, but he spoke before she could say anything.
“We just got a 911 call about a car accident on the east road, just outside town limits,” Gunnar said. “A car hit a light pole.”
All of her muscles tightened and twisted. Including the ones in her chest. Caroline had to fight just to drag in a breath. Oh, God. Something bad had happened.
“I’m dispatching an ambulance,” Gunnar added, “and I’m on the way there.”
Gunnar was already heading for the door when Jack went after him. “It’s possible there was an armed suspect in pursuit of the driver. It could be dangerous.”
Too dangerous to get an ambulance in there, but the cops would clearly have to respond.
“Help me,” Scotty finally groaned out. “I’m dying. Help me.”
Caroline figured Jack would give her grief over what she was about to demand, but she was going to do it anyway.
“If Scotty’s really dying,” she whispered, “I need to try to talk to him. He won’t talk to you,” she added when Jack opened his mouth. “But he might tell me what he did and who hired him to do it.”
Oh, Jack definitely didn’t like that, but he couldn’t argue her point. This might be their best chance at finding out who had tried to kill them. Of course, there was also a good chance they could be put in another dangerous situation.
“I need you to go with us,” Jack told Kellan when he came into the bullpen. “I’ll explain along the way.”
Kellan didn’t hesitate. He hurried toward the door, and the four of them raced out to get into the cruiser. The rain had slowed to just a drizzle, but Jack figured it was only a lull. The storm air felt heavy and the clouds looked ready to burst.
Gunnar took the wheel with Kellan in the front seat, and Jack and she got in the back. While Jack filled Kellan in, Caroline kept her attention on Scotty.
“Are you still there?” she asked Scotty. She kept a tight grip on the phone. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Bad,” Scotty managed to say through another of those hoarse groans.
“The ambulance will be right behind us,” Kellan let her know, and she relayed that info to Scotty. Whether he understood that or not was anyone’s guess.
“Scotty, I need you to tell me who hired you to get into the files,” Caroline insisted. “It’s important.”
Nothing. Not even a groan. And the call disconnected, causing Caroline’s concern to skyrocket. Because someone could be there with Scotty. Someone who wanted to finish what they’d started.
“Who called in the 911?” she asked Gunnar. She tried Scotty’s number again, but he didn’t answer. Caroline kept trying and silently cursed her now trembling hands.
“Hank Perez,” Gunnar answered. “He said he heard a noise, looked at his window and saw that a little red car had slammed into a utility pole. His house is on the hill just above the road, and there are some trees obstructing the view, but he said he could see the front end of the car bashed in and steam pouring from it.”
So Hank hadn’t actually witnessed the wreck. “Was there another vehicle, someone following the red car?” Caroline pressed.
“Hank didn’t say, but he doesn’t have the best eyesight. He’s in his mideighties.”
Yes, Caroline remembered. During the months before Eric had taken her hostage, she’d seen Hank in town a couple of times. “He uses one of those scooters to get around?”
Gunnar verified that with a nod. Part of her was relieved by that because maybe it meant Hank wouldn’t go from his house to the car.
She didn’t want him getting shot by the person who’d been after Scotty.
Of course, that person would be a fool to hang around since he or she would have figured someone would call the cops.
It didn’t take them long to get down Main Street and onto the rural road that would lead them to Scotty. Hopefully, before it was too late.
Caroline continued pressing in Scotty’s number while she kept watch, and despite the drizzle, she still had no trouble seeing the blue SUV that was coming up the road toward them.
Maybe the vehicle that had been chasing Scotty.
Gunnar must have thought so, too, because he slowed down a little, and both Jack and Kellan drew their weapons.
When the cruiser passed the SUV, Caroline got a glimpse of the driver inside, and her stomach went to her knees.
“That’s Grace Wainwright,” Caroline told them at the same moment that Jack’s phone rang and Grace’s name appeared on the screen.
“Should I go after her?” Gunnar asked.
“No,” Jack said, “but call for someone else to do that. I want to question her and find out why she was out here.” He answered the call as soon as he’d finished those instructions to Gunnar.
“I didn’t do anything to hurt Scotty,” Grace volunteered the moment she was on the line. “I was trying to help him, but someone ran him off the road.”
“Who?” Jack snapped.
“I don’t know.” Grace made a sobbing sound. “Is Scotty dead?”
“You tell me,” Jack countered.
That only caused the woman to cry even louder. “I didn’t see the person who did this to him. But I did see Scotty’s car. I drove past because I thought someone was in there with him. Someone trying to kill him. I drove away and called 911.”
“There was a second call,” Kellan verified in a whisper. He was on the phone with someone, probably dispatch.
“I couldn’t help Scotty,” Grace went on. “I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t help him.”