Chapter 11 #2
She caught up with Bear, putting a hand on his head to slow him down. “Easy, boy,” she whispered, coming to a stop near a thick tree. She knew the assailant was armed and dangerous, and while she wanted to catch him, she didn’t want her K-9 in the line of fire.
For a long moment she watched the barn. Just as she was about to give Bear the command to continue the search, she caught a glimpse of movement.
“Stop! Police!” Protocol required her to identify herself as a cop. She lifted her weapon, aiming at the space where she’d seen the shadow. “Come out with your hands on your head where I can see them!”
Bear growled low in his throat, seconds before she heard the crack of gunfire. She ducked behind a tree, drawing Bear with her, heart pounding in her chest.
The darkness was relentless. Where was this guy?
Another crack of gunfire kept her pinned in place. She’d heard the muffled thud as the bullet struck the tree, missing her by inches. Heart racing, she desperately searched for a sign of the killer to return fire.
Another glimpse of movement caught her eye. Then she noticed a dark figure moving between the trees. She tracked him with the tip of her weapon but didn’t have a clear shot.
Then she lost sight of him.
She hesitated, then gave chase. She didn’t tell Bear to search, but of course her K-9 kept pace alongside her as she darted between the trees, trying to close the gap between them.
An engine roared to life. She frowned, as it didn’t sound like a car and they were still in the woods. Then she saw a single headlight glowing in the darkness, weaving between the trees and knew the intruder was on a small motorcycle.
“Come, Bear!” She turned and sprinted toward her SUV. Thankfully, she had the key fob in her pocket. The engine of the motorcycle sounded small enough that she might be able to catch up with him!
Bear, thankfully, picked up his pace, sensing her urgency. They reached the SUV but as she turned to scan the end of the driveway, she let out a sigh.
They were too late. The sound of the motorcycle engine had faded away.
She shivered, realizing how close this guy had come to hitting her. That bullet had struck far too close. Even the storm hadn’t kept him away.
And worst of all, the shooter had escaped once again.
* * *
Jordan shot to his feet when he heard gunfire.
What in the world?
He’d fallen asleep on the couch, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized the power was still out. Where was Autumn? He grabbed his shotgun and ran to the door. “Stay,” he commanded the puppy hovering nearby, and to his surprise, Cutie obeyed.
Grabbing his father’s handgun, too, he bolted outside, trying to pinpoint the location of the gunfire. When he heard the second shot, he ran between the ranch house and the barn.
The darkness made it impossible to see the shooter. And he belatedly realized the assailant had targeted someone, likely Autumn and Bear.
Sure enough, he caught sight of her blond hair moving through the woods. He couldn’t see Bear as clearly but knew her K-9 was close.
The sound of a motorcycle surprised him. He frowned, slowing to a stop near the barn. Where was it?
Autumn called to Bear and ran toward the SUV. Jordan saw her and quickly followed. But rather than jumping into the car to follow, she slowed to a stop and bent toward her dog.
Was Bear hurt? His heart lodged in his throat as he hurried over to join them.
“What happened to Bear?”
Autumn glanced up. “He’s fine. I didn’t know you were out here.” She scowled. “You should have told me, I may have mistaken you for the gunman.”
That hadn’t occurred to him, and he squashed a flash of guilt. “I heard the gunfire—of course I came to back you up.”
“Do you have your phone?” Her changing the subject caught him off guard.
“Uh, no. Why?” He wasn’t even sure his phone had any battery left.
“I need to call this in.” Autumn hurried toward the house. “The officers on duty should be able to find a guy riding a motorcycle.”
“I can’t believe he swapped the car for a motorcycle.” He followed her inside, grabbing the towel she thrust at him. Understanding it was for Bear, he bent to wipe the dog down as she disappeared down the hall.
A moment later, she was back, filling in the dispatcher on the recent event.
“Yes, the assailant is riding a small motorcycle of some kind, I’m not sure.
Please issue a BOLO so that all units are on alert for this guy.
There can’t be that many motorcycles out at this time of the night, especially in April.
” There was a pause as she listened for a long minute.
“Yes, thank you. Please let me know when he’s in custody. ”
“You think they’ll find him?” He shouldn’t have sounded so doubtful, but it was hard to be optimistic. This guy had eluded them for so long, he was doubting they’d ever catch him.
“I hope so.” She ran her fingers through her tangled wet hair. “He should be easy to find, right?”
“Where did he get a minibike?” Jordan frowned, remembering how the black car with the partial plate had turned out to be a dead end. “You think he borrowed it from the same person who owns the black sedan?”
“Who knows?” She sighed and dropped into the closest kitchen chair. “If I hadn’t taken Bear outside to search, he may have gotten close to the house.”
That made him narrow his gaze. “Do you think he suspects we have cameras?”
“I’m not sure.” She shrugged and bent to pet Bear.
Cutie brought the K-9 one of her stuffed toys, dropping it near Bear as an invitation to play.
“I think he waited for the worst of the storm to pass. He used the minibike this time so he could hide it in the woods rather than parking on the road where the car could be spotted by one of the patrol officers.” She held his gaze.
“For all we know, he has a police scanner. Or maybe he was near the ranch when he spotted an officer driving by.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”
The lights flashed on, momentarily blinding them. He blinked, then crossed to the computer on the table. He carried it to the kitchen to plug it in. “The cameras have memory cards, so we should be able to get a look at this guy if he was close enough for the camera to capture the image.”
“Can’t hurt,” Autumn agreed. “I asked Bear to search on his scent and he took me straight to the woods, so you may want to start with the camera that overlooks the back of the property.” She stood and headed to the kitchen counter. “Do you mind if I make coffee?”
“Help yourself.” Once the computer was powered up, he pulled up the camera that faced the woods.
It didn’t take long for him to spot the figure dressed in black standing next to a tree at the outskirts of the woods.
The guy wore a ski mask to cover his features, but it was obvious he was staring at the house as if determining how to approach the place.
He hated knowing how close he got without their knowing.
Shaking off the sense of doom, Jordan continued going through the camera footage. A moment later, the guy abruptly straightened, turned and disappeared deeper into the woods.
Maybe that’s when Autumn and Bear began their search.
“Now that the power is back on, I can resume my search on the dagger tattoo.” Autumn leaned against the counter, her gaze thoughtful. “It can only help once the patrol officers find and arrest him.”
He appreciated her staying positive. Seeing Cutie sitting next to Bear reminded him that he needed to care for her. “I should take Cutie outside.”
“Don’t worry, she was out with me and Bear earlier.” Autumn smiled wryly. “You know she’s his shadow.”
He nodded and sat back down. “I’ll wait, then. Thanks for doing that.” He turned to the computer. “I’ll save a few images of this guy. They may not help much, but the cameras prove he was here.”
“Thanks.” Autumn filled two coffee mugs and brought one to him. She dropped into the chair beside him and logged into her computer. “Hopefully, today is the day we get this guy behind bars where he belongs.”
As much as he liked having Autumn there, he was ready for the danger to be over. This constant being on alert was wearing him down.
It made him realize that Autumn faced danger like this daily. Every time she went on patrol, there was a chance she’d be facing the wrong end of a gun. Or a knife. Or some other weapon.
He’d always admired the police. He hadn’t interacted with them growing up, but that had changed the moment he’d realized Jenny had gone missing.
Obviously, Detective Peters wasn’t his favorite cop—the guy had a lackadaisical attitude. It still burned to know that if Peters had taken him seriously, they may have found Jenny in time to prevent her murder. But the rest of officers he’d met were dedicated to serving the public.
Sipping his coffee, he saved a half dozen images of the ski masked man lurking in the woods.
None were as clear as he’d have liked, but it was all he had.
When that was finished, he rose to his feet.
It was still early, but he may as well get started on the morning chores.
The animals wouldn’t mind if he mucked stalls or tossed hay earlier than usual.
“Is it my turn to make breakfast?” Autumn looked up from her computer.
“No need, finding a lead on your dagger guy is more important.” He reached for his coat. “This won’t take long.”
She frowned, but her phone rang before she could protest. She pounced on the device. “Hello? Did you find him?”
The hopeful expression on her face faded, indicating the news wasn’t great.
“Okay, that’s something. Let me know once the crime scene techs have taken a crack at it.
I’ll be in touch.” She held his gaze as she lowered the phone.
“One of my colleagues found an abandoned minibike just inside the city limits. We don’t know for sure that it’s the same one, but it matches the description of a stolen one that a kid left outside his house with the key in the ignition.
We think your guy took it. The crime scene techs will check for prints and DNA. ”
“Has to be the same one, don’t you think?” he asked.
“I do, but thinking isn’t proof.” She grimaced. “Based on those images you found, we know the guy was wearing gloves. Doesn’t mean they won’t find fingerprints, but it’s not as likely.”
He understood her concern. Rather than having someone in custody, they had the abandoned stolen minibike.
He could only hope and pray it wasn’t another dead end.