Duncan and the cop were struggling for the gun, the blunt end pointed upward. It was reminiscent of the struggle Duncan had with the assailant on the mountain that first night.
The engine noise grew louder. Chelsey wasn’t going to wait. Darting around the two men, she brought the rock down on the back of the lieutenant’s head.
Again, the big man howled in pain and it proved to be enough of a distraction for Duncan to wrench the gun free. But somehow, the gun went off during the struggle. It took her a minute to verify Duncan hadn’t been hit.
With a blood-curdling scream, the man went down, clutching his wounded arm. “I’ll kill you for this!”
“Chelsey? We have to go.” The words barely left his mouth when another Jackson PD squad car pulled up, a female officer swiftly jumping from the vehicle, her gun pointed at them.
“Put your hands in the air where I can see them!” she shouted.
The lieutenant managed to stop his screaming long enough to register what was happening. “Kimball, shoot them! They’re trying to escape!”
“You know that’s not true,” Duncan responded in a low, even tone. “You saw him take custody of us back in downtown Jackson, didn’t you? You were in the squad car parked in the gas station.”
Officer Kimball didn’t answer and stayed where she was, her weapon trained on them.
“You have to ask yourself why your boss would bring us here rather than down to the police station,” Duncan continued. “It’s because he intended to kill us to prevent us from telling everyone the truth about the bribe money he’s taken over the years from Travis Wolfe.”
Officer Kimball’s gaze flickered to the lieutenant then returned to Duncan. “Put the gun down.”
“I can’t do that, not until your boss is neutralized.” Duncan held his hands up so the weapon in his hand wasn’t a threat. “He won’t hesitate to kill you, too.”
Chelsey stepped forward, her gaze pleading with the female cop, who was roughly her own age, to believe them. “I’m Chelsey Robards, the owner of the Teton Valley Hotel, and I’ve been on the run since my fiancé was shot at our wedding. I know you’ll find this difficult to believe, but your boss really did intend to kill us. Because we know the truth.”
Kimball hesitated, then gave a short jerk of her head. “Okay, back away from the lieutenant and keep the gun where I can see it. If you make a move toward me, I will shoot first and ask questions later.”
“You...believe us?” Chelsey asked as she and Duncan took several steps far away from the lieutenant.
“I was under the impression you were dead, Chelsey. At least, that’s what the federal marshals told me at the hotel.” Officer Kimball’s tone was wry. “I’d rather get everyone down to the police station to sort this out.”
“Can’t you see these two shot me?” the lieutenant raged. “I’ll have your badge for taking their word over mine.”
“I don’t think so, Lou.” Kimball’s tone held a bit of snark that Chelsey appreciated. “I followed you here, remember? And I can’t think of a good reason for you to have brought two suspects to this remote location unless it was to get rid of them. Now shut up while I call for backup. Preferably anyone other than JT.”
A wave of relief washed over her. Chelsey leaned against Duncan, her knees weak.
Officer Kimball believed them.
It was over.
Duncan didn’t like being separated from Chelsey. As a cop he knew the importance of interviewing key witnesses separately, but he didn’t like not having her close.
He loved her. As much as he’d tried not to, he’d fallen deeply in love with Chelsey. And when this was over, he wanted to be with her. No matter where, or what names they’d have or what they’d be doing for work.
His life wasn’t worth living without Chelsey.
Yet he wasn’t entirely sure she felt the same way about him, considering she’d refused his offer to go into WITSEC with her more than once.
He decided to try to put his worry into God’s hands, knowing He had a plan for them. Hopefully, a plan that included the two of them being together.
He’d told the story of Lieutenant Goldberg taking him and Chelsey away at gunpoint and driving them to the dirt road and abandoned building several times now. He admitted the gun had gone off in the struggle, injuring the lieutenant. Yet he knew the drill. Any cop being shot in the line of duty was a big deal and this was no exception.
He imagined Chelsey had told the same story several times as well. Hopefully they’d let her go by now, since he was the one who’d accidentally used the lieutenant’s gun against him.
And where were the feds? Did Slade and Colt have Wolfe, Nettles and Strand locked up in the same cell or had they been separated, too?
How many jail cells did Jackson have anyway?
The door to his interview room opened and Slade Brooks walked in. Duncan managed a weary grin. “About time you showed up.”
“It took longer than it should to get the police chief to believe Goldberg was really a dirty cop,” Slade admitted, dropping into the chair across from him. “Colt managed to dig deep enough to find recent phone calls between Strand and Goldberg, so that helped. Once we find the money Goldberg has stashed away, we’ll have everything we need.”
“Officer Kimball tell you what happened?” Duncan asked.
Slade nodded. “Yes, Officer Kimball told me exactly what she’d witnessed both in Jackson and again out on the dirt road.” Slade shrugged. “It helped that I’d spoken to her after we decided to fake Chelsey’s death. She remembered me and Colt and was smart enough to figure out
