Chapter 7 #2
“I’m sorry it took so long.” His blue eyes darkened for a moment, but then he gestured toward the door. “Ready to get out of here?”
“Yes.” She still held the bag containing her dress clothes. She’d been tempted to toss them out, but the fact that everything else she owned was likely gone for good had caused her to rethink that plan. The clothes could be cleaned and worn again if she was able to land another job.
“I left Rex a message. Hopefully, he’ll call with a new rental property for us.” Micah opened the passenger-side door for her.
“I guess that means our next stop is the Madison police station.” She knew they needed to get that task done, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. “May as well get it over with.”
“I think we should wait to hear back from Rex first.” He gave her a quick glance and shrugged. “I don’t know why, but I’m not keen on the idea.”
She frowned. “I thought we talked about this. You and Rex said you don’t think they’ll arrest me.”
“I don’t see how they’d have probable cause to do that.” His seemed to choose his words carefully. “But I’m also having a hard time knowing how much we can trust them. As Rex pointed out, Damien was your boyfriend, and he was found dead in your house.”
She swallowed hard, trying not to panic. “Rex seemed to think we’d be okay working with Lieutenant Krogan.”
“Yeah. I have his number.” Micah’s expression turned grim. “We’ll call him in a bit.”
It seemed as if Micah was having second thoughts about talking to the police. Wouldn’t it be better to go in voluntarily? Or did he know something she didn’t?
“If I’m in trouble, I don’t want to take you down with me.” She turned to look at him. “Seriously, Micah, this is my problem. Not yours. You’ve been nice enough to help keep me safe, but I don’t think avoiding the police is smart. What if they issue a warrant for my arrest?”
“I’ve thought of that,” he admitted. “And we have the recent shooting at the rental property to validate our story.”
“Yes, that does corroborate our story.” She relaxed back against the seat. “I still think we need to go straight to the police station.”
Micah drove in silence for a few minutes. When she noticed he was driving toward the capital, she realized he was taking her advice.
This time, things would be different. She had to believe that with Micah’s support, not to mention his being with her this entire time, that the police wouldn’t treat her as a suspect.
It was important they ruled her out so they could focus on those responsible.
Micah kept a wary eye on the rearview mirror as he took a roundabout way back to the city.
He hadn’t noticed a tail on the way to the airport, but he wasn’t going to relax his guard either.
The last time he’d thought they were safe, they’d barely escaped the rental property before a gunman opened fire.
He would not make that mistake again.
When his phone rang, he gratefully answered Rex’s call. “Thanks for calling.”
“What do you mean a gunman found you at the rental property?” Rex sounded upset. “How did that happen?”
“My fault,” he admitted. “Bryn used her phone to check work emails. Someone at the company noticed and cut off her access. A short time later, the steel-gray SUV rolled by the house. We’re safe now, but that was a close call.”
Rex was silent for a long moment, and he knew his boss was working hard not to call him an idiot for allowing that to happen. “I guess we know that someone within Bryn’s company is responsible.”
“Yeah, that was our thought,” he agreed. “The timing is too much of a coincidence for the two events not to be connected.”
“Richard must be the one behind this,” Bryn spoke up. “After uncovering the embezzlement, he tracked down Damien, killed him, and then tried to pin the whole thing on me.”
“If not for Bryn reaching out to me, his plan may have worked,” Micah added. “He wouldn’t have anticipated she’d have an alibi for the time frame in question.”
“That’s sounds like a plausible theory to me,” Rex said. “Have you spoken to Lieutenant Krogan yet?”
“No, but I’m heading into the city now.” He glanced at Bryn, then added, “You’re sure we can trust him?”
“I have no reason to distrust him,” Rex said. “But you know how that goes. He may have something to tie Bryn to the murder.”
“I’m innocent,” Bryn protested. “That should count for something.”
“It should, yes,” Micah said, but he was concerned about what evidence may have been planted at her house.
As he grew closer to the North District police station, the one governing the neighborhood of Bryn’s home, the more he was second-guessing their decision.
“Rex, have you learned anything more about the homicide investigation?”
“No, other than like I said, Lieutenant Krogan is anxious to talk to Bryn.” Another pause, then Rex continued, “He called me again this morning asking when you’d be there.
I didn’t give him your phone number but assured him you’d be showing up sometime this morning. Don’t make a liar out of me, Mick.”
“We’re only a few miles away,” he assured his boss. “Once that’s done, though, we need a place to stay.”
“Yeah, I have that set up for you. It’s located in the southern part of the city. I’m sending you the address and keycode to get in.” As he spoke, Micah’s phone dinged with an incoming text. “Try to stay off the radar this time, okay?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. Thanks, Rex. We’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Good, talk more later.” His boss ended the call.
Micah was anxious to call his contact within the DMV to run the license plate number for the steel-gray SUV, but that would have to wait.
And really, it was a piece of evidence Lieutenant Krogan needed to have.
The driver of that SUV was either Richard Freeman or someone the guy had hired to do his dirty work.
Most likely the latter.
There was a small sign indicating a police station was up ahead. Interesting that they posted that sort of thing for the general public. He hadn’t noticed that in Chicago.
His eyes narrowed when he spotted a steel-gray SUV parked along the side of the road maybe two blocks from the building he assumed was the police station. He instinctively slowed and made an abrupt turn to avoid driving past the parked car.
“What’s wrong?” Bryn immediately picked up on his unease. “You don’t think that was the same SUV that fired at the rental house, do you?”
“I don’t know.” He drove around the block, wondering if he’d overreacted. “The car wasn’t shut off. The engine was running, which is what made me nervous.”
“I can’t believe the gunman would wait near a police station,” Bryn said, exasperation creeping into her tone. “Taking shots at us there would be a sure way to get caught.”
She had a point, yet he couldn’t seem to relax his grip on the steering wheel. He pulled over to the side of the road and considered their options.
Take the chance of going to the police station or turn around to get to the rental property.
His gut told him to get out of there. But Rex’s comment about not making him a liar weighed heavily on his shoulders. He didn’t want to create issues for his boss.
“Stay here.” He put the gearshift into park. “I’m going to check out that SUV.”
“You’re really that worried about it?” She frowned, then shrugged. “Okay, I’ll stay here, but I think I should get behind the wheel in case we have to leave in a hurry.”
“Good plan.” He placed his key fob in the center console, then pushed open his driver’s side door. “This won’t take long.”
He didn’t wait to see her move into the driver’s seat before darting through the opening between two houses to reach the next street. If the SUV wasn’t the one he was concerned about, he’d feel like an idiot.
Better that than dead, he thought grimly.
He paused near the side of a house where he could clearly hear a TV blaring loudly. Either the occupants were hard of hearing or the walls of the dwelling were paper thin. He could see the steel-gray SUV, but from this angle, he couldn’t see the driver or the license plates.
He eased away from the side of the house and turned to retrace his steps. Keeping his head down, Micah moved along the front of the house to the next one down. Then he crept up between those properties to see if he could identify the SUV.
This angle was better. He hunkered down to avoid being seen and focused his gaze on the vehicle. He still couldn’t see the license plate very well, but he could make out a tall person sitting behind the wheel.
Why was the guy just sitting there? He was about to move closer when the steel-gray SUV moved slowly down the street, coming to a stop a few doors down.
That was strange, and Micah felt certain the guy was moving positions so that none of the neighbors would call the police to report a suspicious vehicle.
The gunman had to be inside. He slowly rose and quickly made his way toward a large maple tree.
From there, he could finally make out the license plate. It was the same number he’d memorized earlier.
Satisfied his suspicions were confirmed, he turned to leave. The brake lights flashed, then suddenly the car was rolling backward.
Coming toward him. Had the driver seen him?
Micah turned and ran back to the opening between the two houses. As much as he wanted to stay and fight, he needed to get back to Bryn. She was alone in the rental without a weapon.
When he heard the car getting closer, he kicked into high gear, sacrificing stealth for speed. He bolted toward the idling car, wrenching open the passenger door. “Go! Hurry! Turn right as soon as you can.”
To her credit, Bryn didn’t ask any questions and simply did as he asked. She shifted into gear and punched the gas. He pulled his weapon, turned in the seat, and looked behind them.
The steel-gray SUV was rounding the corner.
“Go faster.” He lowered his window, getting ready to fire at the car behind them if needed. “And keep taking turns to shake them off.”
“Maybe we should go directly to the police station?” Bryn’s voice was tight with fear as she pushed their speed, then abruptly braked to make a turn. Then she sped up again.
“Not now. Keep making turns, but try to go a couple blocks first.” He had to admit she was doing a decent job of driving. He’d have rather been the one behind the wheel, but this way, he had a better shot of taking the driver of the SUV out of the picture if they got too close.
Yet he didn’t like the position of firing from the passenger seat. He couldn’t afford to miss his target.
“Okay.” She slowed her speed to make another turn but then went straight for several blocks. He didn’t see the steel-gray SUV but feared it wasn’t far behind.
Then he saw it come round the corner so that it was behind them again.
“Keep going.” He glanced at the intersection up ahead, then back at the car that was slowly gaining on them. Enough of this, it was time to take drastic action. “Make a right-hand turn, then stop. Don’t take the car out of drive, though, understand. Just stop and wait.”
“Stop?” Her voice was a squeak. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” It was a risky move, but he wasn’t sure they’d be able to continue avoiding this car for much longer. He waited for her to make the turn. The moment she stopped, he pushed open the door and hurried to the back of the SUV.
One second. Two. Three. Then the steel-gray SUV came into view. He fired at the front of the car, hearing the satisfying thunk as the bullet penetrated the frame and lodged inside the engine.
He ducked back, barely registering the fact that the passenger window was lowering so that the driver could return fire. In a crouch, he hurried back to the passenger seat, sliding in and yanking the door shut. “Go!”
Bryn hit the gas and peeled away from the curb as more gunfire rang out.
“Keep going,” he urged when he sensed her hesitation. “They can’t follow us.”
“They can’t?” Her voice rose in agitation.
“Trust me.” He turned in his seat, relieved to see that the steel-gray SUV hadn’t moved an inch. The car grew smaller until it was out of sight.
For long moments, she drove without saying a word. Then she glanced at him. “Now what?”
“Keep going.” He wasn’t going to turn around to head back to the police station now. Not after that.
Micah didn’t know how the driver of the SUV knew they were heading to the police station, but that was another coincidence he couldn’t afford to ignore. He lowered his window again and tossed his phone out, listening with satisfaction as it shattered on the ground.
From this point forward, they were on their own.