Page 17
He risked a glance at the woman sitting in the passenger seat. Jenna’s entire body vibrated with tension, he could almost feel it from his side. Her long, slim fingers were clasped in her lap. With every bump, her head jerked, searching for the danger.
But she didn’t speak.
Some people tend to chatter when scared or uneasy. Not her. He’d watched her settle into a silence so deep, it rattled him.
Curve after curve, the gleam of headlights never strayed.
“I think we’re being followed.” Brody said.
Jenna immediately shifted to face him. “You think it’s him.”
“I don’t know. Maybe someone is just heading to town like we are. My gut says it’s him, though. Most people when they see a cop car with lights flashing, they back up to give the officer room. This car isn’t.”
“That’s bold. Aren’t they afraid they’ll get pulled over?” Her voice shook.
“They’re not breaking any laws. And if they drive past the station, as I expect they will, there’s no reason to pull them over.”
He thought for a moment. “I think Green is right. We’ll go out the other end of the parking lot. Then we’ll head to Illinois tonight.”
She didn’t answer. In the dim light, he couldn’t tell if she was annoyed, angry, terrified, or a combination of the three.
The large white sign with blue letters announcing the parking lot for the Riztown Police Department loomed ahead. Brody tapped his brakes, slowing the momentum so he wouldn’t fishtail upon swerving into the driveway.
He braked again slightly at the entrance and spun the wheel slowly, maneuvering into the paved lot. An ambulance and three cops waited in the lot for their injured comrade.
“At least there’s no snow on the pavement.” He said.
“It wasn’t this way two years ago,” Jenna answered, her voice clear and steady. “When the city had decided to invest in heated parking lots for the police station and the fire department, many of the citizens resented spending that kind of money.”
Brody nodded once. “Well, yeah, it’s pricey. But for safety, you want the police and emergency vehicles to be able to go in and out quickly without worrying about ice or being blocked by a snowplow.”
Officer Green pulled in behind them. Rather than swinging into a space up front, he drove around and parked near the emergency vehicles.
Brody sent a quick mental prayer up for his health and healing.
A vehicle slowed near the entrance of the parking lot, then zoomed past.
“He was following us.” Jenna murmured, her voice blank.
“I think so. And he’ll be watching this lane. So we need to go. Now. Before he swings back around.”
And they also needed to make a stop to change vehicles. Just because they were escaping now, there was no guarantee that the killer wouldn’t continue coming for them.
He was counting on it. Because this was no ordinary person killing for personal vengeance or from emotion. He recalled the perfection of her searched house. And the long range shot. No. This was a professional hit.
And he suspected it sprang from her grandmother’s search. Now he had to tell her the truth about her birth family.
She had to know what they were up against.
It was no use pretending anymore. Someone really wants me dead.
She’d been holding onto her doubts like a lifeline, praying that, as implausible as it seemed, all that had happened was one horrible coincidence after another. That the earlier attack, as terrifying as it was, had been a failed mugging attempt and nothing more.
She’d known it wasn’t. Of course, she had. No one could explain away why her house had been so carefully searched.
Or why a solid cop had been shot in her driveway. She’d never forget the sight of Officer Green flying backwards and slamming against her car. She shuddered.
Brody’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. He drove past the ambulance and the other lawmen gathered around Officer Green. Two paramedics were already working on him, concern breaking through their carefully constructed professional expressions. This was their friend. In a small town, most of the emergency personnel knew each other. And he was shot while trying to protect her.
