Chapter 9 #2
“Yes. Do you know Jenny Clarke?” When the doctor shook her head, Autumn continued, “Her body was found in a shallow grave outside of town. The ME says she was killed shortly after giving birth. We have a missing pregnant woman in Denver and possibly others we’re not aware of yet.
” Autumn held Dr. Kohl’s gaze. “We suspect someone is approaching pregnant women who appear to be financially strapped with some offer of free support. You need to alert your patients that if they hear of such an offer, it’s likely a trap. ”
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Kohl said, her brow furrowed with concern. “I can see how that would be tempting for some of my patients.”
“Are there other doctors here?” Autumn asked. “I’d like to speak with them, too.”
“I have a partner working with me today, Dr. George Hoffman. He’s with a patient, but I’ll let him know.” Dr. Kohl sighed. “I’m sorry I was short with you. This is very disturbing news, but I appreciate you letting us know.”
“You’re welcome. And if any of your patients have been approached with an offer that sounds too good to be true, call me right away.” Autumn handed over her business card.
“Thanks again,” Dr. Kohl said.
Autumn nodded and turned away. One clinic down and many more to go.
By the time she finished visiting the OB clinics, spending some time chatting with the patients who were either entering or leaving the facility, the hour was approaching lunch time.
Autumn was reassured that she’d made an impact.
Everyone she’d spoken to had been horrified at the possibility of more young women going missing, and eager to work with the police.
At least the word was out and hopefully would spread far and wide to protect those pregnant women who might be a target for this illegal adoption ring.
She thought of Jordan often throughout the morning, half expecting him to show up at one of the clinics. And if she were honest, feeling slightly disappointed when he hadn’t.
Which was ridiculous. She didn’t want or need him hovering over her shoulder as she worked. Yet she knew Jordan was the complete opposite of Steve.
River Jameson called as she was grabbing a bite to eat. “Learn anything knew?” he asked.
“I wish,” she said with a sigh. “The OB clinics are all on high alert, though, so that’s good news. Did you find anything?”
“Nope.” He sounded as dejected as she did. “I visited the hospital and the one group home for single pregnant women. They’re on alert now, too, but they didn’t have any information to share.”
“This case is beyond frustrating.”
“Tell me about it,” River agreed. “I’m calling because Emmett wants us to use our K-9s to search a deserted canyon about ten miles from here. He got a tip from some guy who claimed he saw someone out there with a large duffel bag.”
She glanced at Bear, who was stretched out at her feet. He was always happy to hang out with her, but she knew he’d rather be working. “I agree, we should make sure the guy didn’t bury someone out there. I can meet you at the canyon in ten to fifteen minutes.”
“Make it twenty,” River said. “I’m grabbing something to eat, then will head out. I’ll text you the information on where to meet.”
“Sounds good.” She had hoped to spend the afternoon going through her list of suspects, but if Emmett wanted them to search, then that task would take priority. Especially since Bear was cross-trained as a cadaver dog. One of the few that might be able to uncover another grave. “See you in twenty.”
She ended the call then quickly sent a text to Jordan. Doing another search. Will call when done.
Three little dots indicated Jordan was typing a response. OK, thanks for the update.
It felt weird to keep him up-to-date on her movements. After finishing her meal, she and Bear hit the road.
She’d likely arrive before River, but that was okay. She’d go through her list of suspects while she waited. It was smart of Jordan to consider this guy might be related to her mother’s cases.
As she left town, she noticed a dark car coming up fast behind her. A speeder? Under different circumstances, she’d be tempted to pull the driver over, but she wasn’t officially on patrol, so she decided to let the guy go.
Only the driver didn’t slow down or move to pass her. As the vehicle zoomed up in her rearview mirror, she realized it was a black sedan. The shooter! In that moment, she understood the driver intended to hit her!
Bear was in the back crate. Heart pounding with fear, Autumn wrenched the wheel to get out of the way as the front corner of the black sedan struck the rear bumper of her vehicle.
Praying for safety, she gripped the steering wheel tightly, fighting to maintain control.
It took all her strength to stay on the road.
The car behind her didn’t give up. The driver had dropped back, but now veered into the lane behind her. This stretch of the highway was mostly deserted, which was probably a good thing.
Instantly, the black car sped up for a second attempt.
She wrenched the wheel at the last minute, moving onto the shoulder.
Her actions weren’t quite good enough, and she felt the SUV shudder beneath her fingers at the impact.
The momentum sent her farther off the road, her tires scrabbling for purchase.
Concern for Bear had her braking to a stop.
She glanced over, trying to get a look at the driver, but all she saw was a blur as the vehicle whizzed past.
And this time, the black car kept going, vanishing from sight.
* * *
Jordan had been on his way to town when Autumn’s text came through. He hadn’t wanted to admit he couldn’t stand sitting at home another second longer and had come out to find her. And the ME’s office had called to let him know he could start making funeral arrangements for Jenny.
He shouldn’t be surprised that she’d been asked to do another search. Obviously, Bear’s skilled nose was in high demand.
As he’d already eaten lunch, he decided to keep going. In addition to stopping at the funeral home to finalize arrangements for Jenny’s burial on his ranch, he needed more puppy chow for Cutie. He could pick up some more groceries, too.
Better to do something constructive rather than pacing around the house.
He frowned and instinctively hit the brake when he saw an oncoming car fly past him at a high rate of speed. It took him a moment to realize it was the same black sedan he’d noticed the other day.
The assailant? When he saw Autumn’s SUV parked at an angle at the side of the road, he cranked the wheel to execute a tight U-turn. He pulled up alongside Autumn, who was opening the back hatch of her vehicle.
“Are you okay?” He jumped out to join her. Cutie sat in the front seat with her paws on the edge of the window, peering out at them.
“I’m fine. I think Bear is, too.” Her voice was tight with anger as she ran her hands over her dog. “I can’t believe he tried to run me off the road.”
“He seems to be getting desperate.” Jordan willed his racing pulse to return to normal. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me, too.” She inspected the dent in her rear bumper. “There might be some paint transfer here. I doubt it’s enough to help us ID the vehicle, but I’ll check with the crime scene techs to make sure.”
“Is the car drivable?”
“I think so.” She turned to look at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I need dog food for Cutie and groceries.” That she’d come so close to being hurt—or worse—shook him. He tucked his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to haul her into his arms. “I’m glad I was here.”
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t understand how this guy keeps finding me.”
He didn’t like that, either. “Maybe I should follow you out to the search location.”
“There’s no need,” she said quickly. “I’m fine. River will be meeting me there with his dog.”
“Please, Autumn. Just let me follow you out to wherever it is you’re going. What if the driver of the black car is waiting somewhere along the highway for you to pass by?”
“And what are you going to do about it if he is?” she countered.
“Back you up.” He patted his father’s sidearm on his belt. He’d found the weapon and a box of ammo after she’d left. “Two against one. Strength in numbers.”
She sighed. “Okay, fine. But you can’t interfere with the search in any way.”
He wanted to point out he’d never done that in the short time they’d been together, but simply nodded. “Understood.”
She closed the back hatch and slid behind the wheel. He jogged to his truck to do the same. Cutie looked disappointed that it wasn’t time to play with Bear but settled down soon enough.
He followed Autumn, glancing around frequently for signs of the black car. It had taken some guts for the driver of the black car to take on the much larger SUV.
Then he frowned when it occurred to him that the gunman may have tried to eliminate Bear from the equation. Without Bear, the guy would have an easier time sneaking up on Autumn.
And without Bear, the gunman couldn’t be tracked.
Fifteen minutes later, he trailed behind Autumn on a small dirt road jutting off from the highway. In the distance, acres of desolate land stretched as far as the eye could see. This was the Colorado he loved. Fields, mountains and the forest.
His expression turned somber when he realized Autumn and Bear were here to search for graves.
He pushed himself out of his truck, then paused to let Cutie out. The puppy made a beeline for Bear. The older dog nosed the puppy and batted at her playfully.
“Sorry, Cutie, but Bear is going to work,” Autumn said, filling a collapsible bowl with water.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep her from bothering Bear,” he hastened to reassure her.
“Thanks.” She smiled briefly before turning her attention to the dog. “Are you ready to search? Are you?” She offered the water to Bear, who lapped at it. “Search napoo! Napoo!”
Bear’s nose went up to the air for a long moment, then began sweeping along the ground. He remembered her using that term before, although it sounded odd. What did napoo mean, anyway?
“Stay here, Cutie.” He snagged the puppy before she could take off after Bear. “Your boyfriend has work to do.”
Cutie looked dejected as Autumn and Bear moved slowly into the field.
Another car pulled up, and he recognized the K-9 officer he’d met the day before, River Jameson. River gave him a nod, then went around to release his K-9, Frankie, from the crate area.
Soon, both handlers and their dogs had spread out to search the area. He watched for a few minutes, then glanced at his dog. He couldn’t imagine Cutie turning into a K-9, but doing some basic training couldn’t hurt.
He tossed a stick for her and she gamely ran after it. From there, he made her sit on command, then lie down, using the stick toss as a reward. The process worked better than he’d anticipated.
Maybe the puppy wasn’t entirely hopeless, after all.
When he’d worn Cutie out, he had her sit in the passenger seat of his truck. He should have anticipated he’d be out here for hours. Autumn and River took their jobs seriously. They wouldn’t return until they were satisfied that there was nothing for their K-9s to find.
Another dead girl? His gut tightened at the thought.
He was so distracted he didn’t immediately notice the car in the distance. He tensed. The black sedan? Glancing over his shoulder, he made sure River and Autumn were far enough away that the driver wasn’t a threat. Then he slid behind the wheel of his truck and started the engine.
The car continued coming toward him. The sky overhead was overcast, but he soon realized the car’s color was black. He pressed down on the accelerator, determined to meet the oncoming vehicle.
He could almost hear Autumn yelling at him to stay back as he closed the gap. The driver of the car could be anyone, but if the gunman was behind the wheel, he wanted a good look at the guy.
The car abruptly slowed and made a turn. He hit the gas, hoping to catch up. The driver put on a burst of speed, flying away in the opposite direction.
He kept in pursuit, hoping a local police officer would appear. He caught a glimpse of a partial license plate. The last number was an eight! But he wanted, needed more.
Suddenly, he saw a pale hand holding a weapon poke out the window. Jordan hit the brake and cranked the wheel hard to the right as a crack of gunfire rang out.
Bracing himself for the impact, expecting the windshield to shatter beneath the force of a bullet, he drove his truck farther off the road and ducked to protect Cutie.