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They already had been doing that with marginal success. She decided there was no point in putting up a fuss.
“We need the smallest one they have,” Joe muttered as he sent through the few spare vests in the equipment room. “It won’t be specifically fitted for you, but that would take time we don’t have.”
His phone rang, and he quickly pulled it out. “Steele? Do you have him?”
The crestfallen expression in Joe’s eyes indicated the news wasn’t good. She moved forward to search through the vests herself.
“No sign of his brass either?” Joe threaded his fingers through his hair. “How many possible locations could he have used to take that shot?”
Another long silence as he listened to Steele’s explanation. She held one vest that seemed smaller than the others to her chest. It was still too big, but it would have to do.
“Okay, thanks for trying. Have the others keep scouring the area, but I need you to get us out of here.” Joe eyed the vest she held, nodded and continued talking. “We need a different vehicle. Grab one of the undercover cars, anything that has four-wheel drive will work.”
She examined the straps of the vest, trying to figure out how to slip it on.
“Thanks, Steele.” Joe ended his call, slipped his phone into his pocket, then reached for the vest. Within thirty seconds, he had secured it around her torso. “It’s not perfect,” he muttered under his breath. “But it’s better than nothing.”
She tugged at the vest, surprised by how heavy it was. It gave her a new appreciation for how Rhy, Joe, and the other officers ran after bad guys while wearing this along with the rest of their gear. When Joe moved toward the door, she grabbed his arm. “Wait. You need a vest too.”
“I know, mine is in my locker.” He tipped his head toward the door. “I’ll grab it, and then we’ll meet up with Steele to get out of here.”
Of course, he had a vest, one specifically fitted for his muscular build. Obviously, she wasn’t thinking clearly. Blame it on being shot at. “Sounds good.”
She lingered outside the locker room while Joe grabbed his vest. Then they met up with Steele, who looked seriously ticked off.
“I checked the obvious locations, the trees directly across from the precinct’s back door,” he said in a grim tone. “But there are also several houses in that area, and this guy could have been up on one of the rooftops. I knocked on every door, but no one claimed to have seen anything. Without a warrant, I couldn’t search them.”
“Useless to get a warrant now,” Joe said. “This guy is long gone. I doubt he’s left evidence behind inside the house.”
“That’s what I thought too.” Steele sighed. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to try this here.”
“A mistake,” Joe corrected. “He’s an arrogant son of a gun, I’ll say that much. But still a mistake. He’ll make enough of them that will lead us straight to him.”
“I hope you’re right about that,” Steele groused. “Because it feels like he’s taunting every cop who works in the city.”
Joe’s expression turned thoughtful. “That may be another clue, Steele. If he’s a former cop or former military, then he may have a grudge against his former colleagues.”
“That doesn’t explain why he shot Gabrielle, Henry, and so many other innocent victims,” she felt compelled to point out. “They’re not in law enforcement.”
“Yeah, there’s that,” Joe admitted. “He hit Kyle, but most of his victims were not cops.”
The images of the bleeding and dying victims flashed in her mind. Gabrielle. Henry. The elderly man, the young man cradling his wife to his chest... so many.
Too many.
“Boss gave me the keys to an undercover SUV,” Steele said, breaking into her heartbreaking memories. “Do you want to head out back again?”
She was about to protest, but to her surprise, Joe nodded.
“Yeah, that works.” Joe nudged her forward. “You and the rest of the guys have made sure he’s not back there. That makes it the safest exit at the moment.”
“Okay, I’ll head out first. Give me two minutes.” Steele led the way back to the rear door.
She followed Joe. “Where are we going?”
“The hotel.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “We’ve been safe there, Elly. I have to believe this guy has law enforcement background. Maybe he recognized me and knows this is my district. He likely staked the place out, hoping we’d return.”
“That makes sense.” Another thought occurred to her. “Or maybe he followed Gabrielle’s parents here.”
