He needed more than luck. He hated that Ivy had gotten herself into this mess, but if he could help the police catch this predator before he struck again, then something good could come of this.
4
Before Kendra met up with Grayson, she was busy with another case. The skip was actually a human friend she’d known from high school who had missed a ride to his court date on a car theft charge and was wanted for jumping bail. He’d just taken some bad turns in his life and had gotten in with the wrong people. His parents had called, saying Randy Whitcomb was at his family’s home in Kalispell, so she was on her way to arrest him.
Did his parents feel bad about turning their son in? Nope. They were worried about losing their home for putting up their property to secure his bail. They wouldn’t do that again, Kendra figured.
As soon as she arrived at their home, she headed up the walk and knocked on the door. The dad came to the door and ushered her in. Then he called Randy to come out of his bedroom.
Randy left his room, looking disheveled, wearing a dirty T-shirt and jeans, with greasy hair and smelling like beer, just a mess.
“Do you remember me?” she asked.
He frowned at her. “Kendra?”
“Yep.” She pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
“Aww hell. You’re an undercover cop?”
“Bounty hunter. Sorry. I thought your parents had told you.” She was always supposed to identify herself.
He scowled at his dad. His dad shrugged. “We did all we could to help you out when you went to jail. But we can’t lose our house over this. Go with Miss Kendra, son. Do the right thing.”
Randy put his hands out to her to cuff them in front, but she cuffed him in the back, safer for her. Then she took him out to her SUV.
“You should have called someone else to drive you over to the court when you found you didn’t have a ride.” It was an often-used excuse. The individual felt that once they were out of jail, no one would bother to pursue them. But they were in the system, and once they failed to appear for their court date, a warrant was issued for their arrest. Any traffic stop in which police checked their ID could lead to their arrest because they had an active warrant.
But Randy had not been out causing trouble, or he hadn’t been caught at it since missing his court date, so once his parents let the bail bondsman know he was back home, it was time to grab him.
His mother hugged him. His dad didn’t. He still looked angry that his son had stolen a car and put their home at risk for not going to court. She imagined they would have driven him to his court session in a heartbeat, but he chose to go with someone else or just used it as an excuse that some guy didn’t have a working vehicle and was supposed to drive him there.
She drove Randy to the police station. He was sitting behind the cage in the back seat. If she ever married and had kids, she would need a different vehicle for family life.
“How long have you been doing this kind of work?” Randy asked.
“Since I was eighteen. I went with a partner back then,” she said.
“You were voted Most Likely to be a Dentist.” Randy shook his head.
“I know, that was a friend’s dumb idea. I was never interested in working in a dental office. Extracting teeth? Numbing gums?” She shivered. “What about you?”
“Most Likely to Steal a Car. I waited years before I tried that.”
“Why did you do it?” She couldn’t believe he would do anything that dumb.
“To impress a new girlfriend. I didn’t have a car, and I wanted to take her out in it. She was so mad at me when the police pulled me over and arrested me for car theft. Especially since they questioned her for hours to see how she was involved.”
“I take it she isn’t with you any longer,” Kendra asked.
“No, that was it.”
Kendra shook her head. “You didn’t think of getting a job?”
“How much do you make? Maybe I could be a bounty hunter.”
“After stealing a car, I don’t think so. You would have to have a clean record.” Kendra pulled into the police station's parking lot, took Randy out of the car, and walked him into the station. She handed him over to one of the cops, wished Randy luck—and she meant it—hoping he didn’t get into any more trouble, and then left.
She glanced at her car clock. Grayson might have arrived at the office and called the bondsman. “Randy’s at the jail. Do you have another case for me?”
