robbery. Photos were ripped from their sticky-backed albums. Someone had destroyed the peace of a dead man’s home.
“Pike’s entire life is in here somewhere,” Darby said as they cleared the second bedroom and headed into the kitchen. “I feel sorry for the person who has to sort and clean up all this mess.”
“That would be me.”
Even the food from the fridge had been dumped on the floor. What were they searching for inside food containers? Just how big was this package?
“You’re the executor? Sorry. I didn’t realize you were that close to… I mean, you said Pike was a friend.”
“A very good friend.” A second father. She couldn’t know that. No one knew. Maybe not even Pike.
He was only slightly familiar with this side of his mentor’s life. He had known Marilyn from a distance, but had mourned her loss with her husband.
“This doesn’t feel right.” He lowered his voice to draw her closer in case someone was still in the house.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean these guys are cops. Dirty cops, but smart or they wouldn’t have gotten away with whatever they’re doing. They’ve covered their tracks and no one knows they exist. No one except us. They’ve had almost two weeks to ransack the place since Pike was murdered. Why search through everything this morning?”
Her eyebrow shot up, questioning his assumption as she stepped over frozen entrees and trays of ice cubes.
“The ice is still melting.” There was something. That little nag. The thing he should never ignore pricked at the back of his neck.
“How long does it take for ice to melt?” she whispered.
“Out. Back to the truck.” He stepped in front of her, as a
Another silenced bullet broke a decorative plate still hanging on the wall. He dropped, planting his body face- first into the mess on the kitchen floor.
Multiple shots poured through the window. His new partner used his back as a springboard to sprint after the shooter.
“Darby, wait!” He watched the bottoms of her shoes rapidly move through the hallway toward the garage before he could follow. He heard the gate to the backyard slam from the perp’s departure.
“Damn it, woman, you’re gonna get me killed.”
“O’Malley, wait!” Erren shouted from somewhere behind Darby.
When he’d fallen to the ground, she’d caught an image through the kitchen window. Erren had been right about the danger hiding behind those fences and she’d been wrong to go through the garage door. When would she stop making stupid moves?
“O’Malley, there’re too many!”
She knew. There were too many around her to discharge a weapon. Too many risks. Too many civilians. Too many children.
“Police. Out of the way. Stay in your cars!” she yelled as she ran, weaving between parked vehicles and others trying to find a spot.
A woman screamed. A kid cried. Parents froze, hugging their children. She had to push her way around them. It slowed her pursuit.
The perp reached his vehicle, turned and fired at least two shots. Darby hit the pavement behind an empty town car. Blind to what the perp was doing. Listening.
Metal pings confirmed additional shots. A window shattered. More screams. A door slammed.
“O’Malley!” Erren shouted. “He’s in his truck. Get out of there!”
“He’ll get away.” She couldn’t let the only lead she had to Michael’s freedom escape.
She jumped to her feet. The perp was in a navy blue Ford F-150, but the exit was blocked by the flow of traffic. She ran toward his vehicle.
“Navy F-150,” she said, repeating the information out loud. A trick she’d learned in the academy to help herself remember while on the run. “License FT3… I can’t see the rest.”
It seemed like forever, but she got a good view of the driver when he turned his head to look behind him. “Graying hair, rounded chin, no distinguishing features, longish sideburns, high forehead.”
The Ford started moving. Backward. There was another exit on the far side of the school. She tried to pick the best path in order to follow.
“You can’t catch him on foot. Toss me the keys, Darby. Then get in.” Erren was at Sean’s truck. “We don’t have time for a debate.”
She threw the keys, which he caught one-handed. The truck was unlocked, started, windows down and in gear by the time she put her foot on the running rail.
“Buckle up,” he said.
She caught gleaming eyes through his pirate-loose hair. Clearly, he was eager to pursue the escaping ship on the high seas.
Except the high seas happened to be an elementary school at drop-off time. They hopped the curb, weaving the wrong way through the ocean of cars. She snapped the seat belt.
“Were you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?” he accused, almost shouting, as if she were hard of hearing.
“Are you planning on heading him off?” She pointed. “He went the other direction, behind the school.”
“We’ll be in front of him when he hits the east side.” He drove onto the sidewalk to avoid three cars parked on the street. And swerved again into the field to miss the parents rooted to the ground.
“And just what did I do wrong
“For starters—”
They hit a bump, knocking her teeth into her sinuses.
“You took after that guy without your backup.”
“I heard you behind me. Watch out!” She pointed to a fire hydrant.
When the Ford rounded the south side of the school on the delivery drive, it hesitated a second before joining them on the sidewalk, facing them, directly in their path.
“This is not the place for a game of chicken,” she said.
Her panic at how Erren would handle the situation fizzled as the Ford coming straight at them veered into a small ditch and made a U-turn into the cornfield, promptly disappearing within the wave of stalks. Thirty seconds later, the chase began for real.
“How can we catch him through all this corn?” She retrieved a partial ear that had flown into her lap and tossed it back out the window.
“It’s not like he can lose us. This is a trail Hansel and Gretel could follow.”
Erren raced the truck forward, staying on the makeshift road as closely as possible. Cornstalks slid past her window while others crunched under the tires. The seat belts barely held them in place. Darby bounced, almost hitting the ceiling of the cab. She pulled her belt tighter and did the same for her partner.
“This is entirely different from four-wheeling in an army tank with my brother Connor—which officially never happened.”
Was that a harrumph or a bit of laughter? Perhaps he wasn’t as angry with her now.
A dirt road emerged from the sea of green and gold.
“Finally,” she said with a sigh of relief.
The hay harvester appeared in the corn-free tunnel at the exact moment as Erren was to hit the road.
The seat belt locked into place as Erren slammed the brakes and skidded to a halt with no traction, only agricultural product under his tires. His fast reaction kept the Chevy from plowing straight into the tremendous vehicle, which would have made sheet metal out of Sean’s truck.
