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With a cold, furious glare at Sierra, he jogged to his car, got in and pulled onto the road. He turned off his headlights and sped away in the direction opposite the lights and sirens. His police cruiser was a dark blur that blended into the dark woods.
What seemed like an eternity later, but was probably less than a minute, another Evanston police cruiser pulled up behind Siera. A uniformed, badged and tagged officer hurried to Sierra’s window, and Sierra lowered her window far enough to speak.
“Ms. Baker? I’m Officer Barnes.” The woman scanned Sierra’s face, as if looking for damage. “Are you all right?”
Sierra drew a deep, relieved breath. Nodded. “I guess so. He didn’t touch me. Just scared the crap out of me.”
Officer Barnes pulled a small notebook out of her pocket. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Sierra started at the beginning and gave a step-by-step description of what the nameless officer had done. What he’d said. Finally, she said, “When he heard the sirens and saw the flashing lights in the distance, he ran back to his cruiser and drove away. He turned off his headlights first, though.”
Barnes frowned. “You mean when he heard me coming?”
“Yes,” Sierra said. “And his car looked like an Evanston PD cruiser. Identical to yours.”
“Any chance you caught the number on the squad car?” Barnes asked.
“No. His headlights were blinding me, and when he pulled away, I was too shaken to pay attention. Sorry.” Sierra inhaled a deep breath of the loamy, damp air of the forest preserve.
Barnes clenched her teeth and shoved her notebook into her pocket. “Nothing to be sorry about. Anything else you can tell me about the officer who stopped you?”
“It was definitely a man,” Sierra said. She thought back to his face. “His hat brim was low over his face, but I did see something on the left side of his chin.” She re-played the moment in her mind. She’d been too terrified to remember exactly what she’d seen. “A scar, maybe? Or it could have been a wrinkle.”
“Anything else you noticed about him?”
Sierra stared at the steering wheel, desperately trying to remember anything that could identify the man. Finally she shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. He wasn’t overweight, but not thin, either. Muscled. Built.”
“What about his voice?” Barnes asked. “Low? High? Hoarse? Accented?”
Sierra shook her head again. “No accent. Nothing distinctive. Just a… a male voice.”
Barnes nodded. “You’re doing fine. Anything else you noticed?”
“No,” Sierra said. “I was startled to see the lights behind me, because I was going about two miles over the speed limit. Too dark along this road to speed, you know?
“But I did notice he wasn’t wearing his badge or a name tag. Which made me suspicious right off the bat.”
“You were right to play it safe. Not open your window too much. And you didn’t get out of your car, which is the most important thing.” Barnes sighed. “I’ll go back to the station and see if I can figure out who might have been driving that car. Before I do that, I’ll follow you home. Make sure you get into your house safely. Give me your address.”
Sierra recited it, then said, “Thank you,” her shoulders finally relaxing. “Appreciate it.”
Barnes nodded. “You have a garage?”
“I do,” Sierra said. “A small house, two car garage behind it.”
“Don’t get out of your car until I’m parked behind you and give you an all-clear.”
“I won’t,” Sierra assured the cop. She watched as Barnes hurried to her car and slid behind the wheel. When the police officer closed her door, Sierra pulled onto the road. Barnes followed her the two miles to her house.
When Sierra turned into her driveway, she opened the garage door and watched it lumber open. There was nothing in the garage big enough to hide a person, and she relaxed even more. But she waited until Barnes was behind her on the driveway. The cop searched the garage, then walked around her house. Finally she nodded at Sierra, who pulled into the garage and got out of her car.
“Do you want me to check the house for you?” Barnes asked.
Sierra sucked in a breath. The man who’d pulled her over could have gone to her house. “I would appreciate that,” she said. She fumbled with her keys and handed one to Barnes. “That’s the back door key. Leads into the sunroom behind the kitchen.”
Barnes nodded. “Get back in your car. Keep the doors locked and the windows up until I clear your house.”
Sierra nodded, swallowing hard.
