Scene of the Crime

by Sharon Dunn

  Jackson opened the back door.

  She caught a glimpse of Belle loading Justice into the vehicle that was parked about a block away before she got into the SUV. The windows of the SUV were tinted so no one could see her sitting inside.

  Every precaution had been taken to ensure her safety. Why, then, did she still feel so afraid?

  * * *

  Jackson waited for Darcy to settle in the back seat and for Smokey to jump in beside her. He did a quick survey of his surroundings, glancing in his side mirror at Belle, who had her motor running and was waiting to pull away from the curb and slip in behind them.

  There was no reason to think that Chloe knew where they’d been staying. Yet she’d been so clever about getting to both him and Darcy in the past, he knew he couldn’t let his guard down.

  He got in on the passenger side of the front seat.

  “We’re ready,” he said.

  Jackson had a feeling the drive through the city to the courthouse was going to be one of the longest of his life. The driver turned his wheel and pressed the gas, pulling out onto the street.

  As the city whizzed by, Jackson found himself scanning the bridges and buildings and other high places a shooter might be waiting.

  Traffic intensified around the courthouse. They took a side street that would lead to the back entrance. He noted that the number of news vans was triple what it usually was for a trial.

  Darcy leaned toward Jackson, gripping the back of his seat. “That’s her. I saw her.”

  Jackson scanned where Darcy had just pointed, seeing only an ocean of faces. It might be that Darcy was just on edge, but they couldn’t take any chances. Jackson radioed to the K-9 officers who were standing by outside the courthouse, giving the street name and approximate location Darcy had said she’d seen Chloe.

  Darcy looked down at the floor of the car. “She was there and then she faded back into the crowd. I know she can’t see me in here...but still.”

  They were forced to double park in the parking lot behind the courthouse. Belle radioed that she had gotten stuck behind a truck in traffic that was at a standstill. Their driver couldn’t leave the vehicle. Jackson and Smokey would be escorting Darcy into the courthouse alone.

  “Stay in the vehicle until I am out and can open the door for you,” Jackson said. He pushed open his door, glancing in every direction. There were several news vans parked a block away.

  He opened the back door. Smokey jumped down on command. “We better hurry,” he said, reaching in for Darcy. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw one of the news crews racing toward them, followed by another two.

  He wrapped his arms around Darcy. Smokey took up a position on the other side of her. The reporters clamored behind them, getting closer as they hurried to the courthouse rear entrance. Jackson reached out for the door and Darcy stepped inside. Jackson stayed between her and the approaching reporters until the door closed.

  They stood in a long silent corridor.

  “I have no idea how to get to the courtroom from here. I always go in the front or side entrance,” said Darcy.

  Jackson looked one way and then the other. “It can’t be that hard. Let’s go this way. I’m sure we’ll see some signs or something familiar soon enough.”

  He pressed the button on his radio. They had positioned two other officers and their K-9s inside the courthouse. “Tyler, we’ve entered the back of the courthouse. I’m alone with Darcy. Can you tell me your position?”

  “Waiting for you in the hallway just outside courtroom 203. There is a room off to the side of the courtroom where Darcy can wait until it’s her turn to testify. We’ve made sure it’s secure.”

  “We’re on our way.” Jackson signed off.

  They worked their way through the labyrinth of the courthouse hallways, going up a set of stairs and following the signs that directed them down lengthy corridors. They encountered more people the closer they got to courtroom 203.

  Jackson read numbers on the doors once they were in the right hallway. It wasn’t hard to guess where Reuben’s trial was to be held. At the end of the hall there was a cluster of police, reporters and curious citizens.

  Darcy stopped when she saw the crowd. Several reporters spotted them and began to move in their direction. Tyler Walker stepped into their path along with Dusty. The intimidation factor of the K-9 was effective in stopping the reporters.

  Tyler hurried over to Jackson and Darcy. “This way.” He pointed down a hallway and led them into a room with no windows. Two couches faced each other on opposite walls. Darcy took a seat on one and Jackson sat beside her. Smokey rested at Jackson’s feet.

  “We’ll be right outside this door.” Tyler pointed to the door that led to the hallway they had just exited.

  Darcy knew from having testified before that the door on the opposite side of the room lead to the courtroom.

  She tilted her head toward the ceiling. “I wonder how long it’s going to be.”

  Jackson rested his hand on hers. “Not sure.”

  “They must not have caught or even seen Chloe. It would have come across your radio, right?”

  “Probably, yes.”

  She stood and paced. “I know I saw her in that crowd. I’m not making it up.”

  “I believe you.”

  “What if she’s in the courtroom?”

  “The dogs will alert to her scent. Everyone watching the trial was screened before they were seated.” Though she was putting up a good front, Jackson could tell she was afraid. He held out his arms. “You want a hug?”

  She fell into his embrace. He held her tight.

  A moment later, there was a knock on the door and the bailiff stuck his head inside the room. “Miss Fields, they are ready for you now.”

  Darcy glanced at Jackson and then petted Smokey.

  Jackson could not go with her into the courtroom. “I’ll see you in there in just a few minutes. And then I’ll come back here when you’re done.”

  She nodded. The bailiff opened the door and waited.

  Once the door closed, Jackson commanded Smokey to fall in and they headed down into the courtroom where the public was allowed to enter. Jackson had to show his badge and squeeze through a substantial crowd outside the courtroom. By the time he was at the back of the room, Darcy had taken the stand and been sworn in. Jackson could only see the back of Reuben Bray’s head. He didn’t have to see the guy’s face to know that he was probably smirking.

  Darcy glanced at Reuben. Though she was trying not to show emotion, Jackson could tell that seeing him had shaken her.

  Be strong, Darcy.

  The prosecutor stepped toward her. “Miss Fields, would you please explain your qualifications as an expert witness?”

  Darcy recited her qualifications and then answered a set of questions specific to the evidence that had led to Reuben’s arrest and incarceration. Her answers were precise and to the point. Her voice exuded a natural confidence when she spoke about her work.

  Jackson glanced over at one of the reporters. The woman, who had been so accusatory at a previous press conference, now wore an expression that suggested she was in a state of shock. As they had hoped, Darcy’s professionalism would put an end to all the lies leveled at her and the Brooklyn K-9 Unit.

  It was pretty clear to Jackson that Reuben was going to jail for a long time based on Darcy’s expert testimony.

  He took in a deep breath for the first time in a long time.

  A boom and a rush of wind surrounded Jackson. He felt his body being lifted up and thrown back down. Plaster and rubble rained down on top of him. Shoes scrambled all around him as chaos in the wake of the bomb blast broke out.

  He could see people screaming but not hear them. The blast had caused temporary deafness. He stumbled to his feet. Smokey licked his hand. The dog was covered in dust and
plaster, but appeared okay. He saw only one fellow officer hunched over but conscious. Jackson’s attention was drawn to the front of the room. Darcy was no longer on the witness stand.

  The panicked crowd was working its way out into the hallway. When he turned to look in that direction, a portion of the wall by the door was missing. The bomb may have just been placed outside the door. Maybe Chloe had gotten a grunt to do it for her. The explosion hadn’t been strong enough to destroy the entire courtroom, just to create a distraction. Maybe so Chloe could get access to Darcy. In the confusion, she would have been able to sneak in.

  The bomb had to have been dropped outside the door only minutes before it went off. The K-9 team had taken every precaution. So he had to assume that Cody, the bomb detection beagle, and his partner Detective Henry Roarke had been through the courtroom and surrounding area before the trial began.

  Working his way toward the witness stand was like swimming upstream through the escaping crowd. He didn’t see Reuben or his attorney. Maybe they had fled for the doors, as well.

  Jackson didn’t see Darcy anywhere. The bailiff was gone, as well. Maybe he had escorted her back to the waiting room. He found the door where witnesses entered.

  A lady in a suit grabbed his arm. Her lips were moving but he couldn’t hear her. He shook his head and pointed to his ears.

  He opened the door and headed down the hallway. There were several doors where witnesses must wait to take the stand. When he checked the rooms, only one was occupied with an older man in a suit, probably someone who had been a victim of Reuben’s theft. The man rose, indicating that he thought Jackson must have come to take him to testify. Jackson shook his head and gave a hand signal that the man should remain where he was.

  With his hearing out of order, Jackson couldn’t use his radio. He stepped out into the hallway, searching every face. People were crouched over and covered in dust and plaster. He feared the worst for Darcy.

  He pushed through the crowd. Smokey remained close to him. The back of a blond woman’s head caught his attention. The hair looked too shiny and perfect to be real. Chloe had brown hair, but she’d worn a disguise before at the press conference.

  The woman was swallowed up by the crowd of panicked people. Jackson pressed forward. He spotted the back of the blond head again only farther away. This time he saw that the woman had her arm around another much shorter blonde. His heart skipped a beat. Darcy.

  He lost sight of them again. He searched the faces of the people around him, hoping to enlist a fellow officer to help him capture Chloe and ensure Darcy was kept alive. He saw no other officers close by. True to their sense of duty, they must have all rushed toward where the bomb had gone off to help.

  Jackson squeezed past people, praying that he would get to Darcy on time.

  NINETEEN

  Chloe held Darcy tightly around the waist. As the taller woman dragged her through the crowd, Darcy feared her stomach would end up bruised. Chloe seemed to know where her knife wound had been. She pressed her fingers against it, causing pain any time Darcy tried to twist free of her intense grip. Chloe was very strong. Any attempt to get away from her would be thwarted. The people around them were in such a panic over the bomb blast that there was no way she could get their attention. She didn’t see any police officers close by.

  Chloe guided her through the side door of the building. Darcy had a momentary view of the pandemonium on the wide front steps of the courthouse, but they were too far away for her to attract anyone’s attention. Reporters, who had been watching the trial from news vans, were trying to get inside while people affected by the bomb blast pushed to get down the stairs.

  Darcy tried to look over her shoulder. Again, Chloe pressed into her stomach. Pain shot through Darcy’s body. She’d seen Jackson and Smokey at the back of the courtroom when she’d begun her testimony. Where were they now?

  Outside at the front of the courthouse even more police officers and other first responders were arriving. The area surrounding the building was a sea of flashing lights.

  Darcy had no doubt that Chloe’s intention was to kill her, but knew she wasn’t about to do it within the sight of law enforcement and risk getting caught. Chloe pulled her away from the crowd and down a side street, probably dragging her to a secluded spot so she could kill her and escape.

  Darcy knew that. The crowd thinned. She had to get away. Chloe pushed her down an alley. Though she could still here the panic of the crowd, there was no one in the alley. Chloe dragged her toward a Dumpster. She swept her hand over the top of the closed container, grabbing a knife she must have stashed there earlier. In the three days they’d waited for the trial, Chloe had had time to scout the area around the courthouse and carefully plan.

  Behind her, a dog barked. Chloe whirled her around as she pressed the knife into Darcy’s throat. The dog was Smokey—but where was Jackson? The K-9 drew closer, continuing to bark in a threatening manner. When he was within a few feet of them, he stopped moving but kept barking.

  “Get away!” Chloe shouted, clearly rattled by the dog.

  Jackson came around the corner. He seemed almost surprised at seeing Chloe and Darcy. He must have been following Smokey’s lead. He drew his weapon and said something, but his words were unintelligible.

  Darcy could guess at why his speech sounded so messed up. He’d likely suffered temporary deafness from the bomb blast. By her estimation, the bomb had been placed in the hallway and blown away part of the courtroom wall. Jackson had been standing very close to where the bomb had gone off.

  Chloe laughed and dug the knife deeper into Darcy’s throat. “Back off or she gets it.” Chloe tilted her head toward Smokey. “And call your dog off.”

  Darcy tasted bile in her throat. The coppery scent of blood reached her nose and pain seized her neck. Chloe had made a cut in her neck deep enough to cause bleeding.

  Jackson’s expression changed. All the color left his face. His gaze fell on Darcy and then went to Chloe, who was now using Darcy as a full body shield. For Jackson to take Chloe out without risking Darcy’s life, it would be an almost impossible shot.

  The knife dug once again into Darcy’s skin. The cut, however small, still stung. Based on everything she knew about the woman who held her at knifepoint, Darcy’s best guess was that Chloe would slash her throat and then make a run for it, assuming that Jackson’s focus would be on trying to save Darcy’s life.

  Would this be the last time she’d see Jackson? She mouthed the words I love you. It didn’t matter if he felt the same way or not. She wanted him to know.

  His expression showed that he’d understood though he did not say the words back to her.

  Still holding the gun on Chloe, Jackson took a step forward, so that he was parallel with Smokey.

  Chloe tightened her grip at Darcy’s waist. “I said back off!”

  Smokey watched Jackson, waiting for a command.

  Jackson adjusted his grip on the gun. He tilted his head to the side, which must have been a command to Smokey because the dog started to bark aggressively as he advanced on Chloe. Definitely not something that was in the K-9 training manual.

  “Call the dog off.” Chloe took a step back, pulling Darcy with her, though the knife was no longer resting against Darcy’s skin.

  Darcy stepped on Chloe’s toe and then elbowed her in the stomach. The move was enough that she could get away. Chloe turned and ran. Smokey was right on her heels.

  Jackson returned his gun to its holster and took off after her. Darcy fell into a run behind them. When she looked up the street, she could no longer see Chloe or Smokey, and Jackson had disappeared down a side street.

  The smart thing for Darcy to do would be to find help. Jackson probably couldn’t use his radio because his voice was so hard to understand. She ran back toward front of the courthouse, where she was likely to find another police officer.

&
nbsp; As she ran, she caught a flash of movement one street over. Chloe running. Chloe must have made an about-face and was heading back to hide in the crowds of people affected by the chaos.

  Darcy bolted up one block, thinking she might be able to cut Chloe off, but that plan would only work if Jackson came up on Chloe from the other side. Darcy had no weapon and Chloe had a knife and was stronger than she was. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

  Darcy sprinted toward where she’d seen Chloe and pressed against the side of the building before peering out. She caught just a glimpse of Chloe as she turned another corner. Darcy looked the other way as Jackson and Smokey approached.

  “She’s going to try to hide in the crowd again.” Darcy looked right at Jackson so he could read her lips. She wasn’t sure if he understood her or not.

  Jackson pulled his radio off his shoulder and touched his ears indicating he still couldn’t hear very well. Darcy clicked the radio on and spoke into it.

  “Attention all Brooklyn K-9 Units and patrol officers in the area. I’m Darcy Fields, speaking for Officer Jackson Davison. Chloe Cleaves is in the area surrounding the front of the courthouse. She is wearing a blond wig, but she might ditch that, and has on workout clothes—all dark colors.”

  Tyler came on the radio. “Darcy, what’s going on with Jackson?”

  “He has temporary deafness.”

  “We’ll be on the lookout for Chloe, but we are sort of all-hands-on-deck at this point dealing with injured people.”

  Several other officers also responded that they had gotten the message and would search as much as they could.

  Jackson reattached his radio to his shoulder and they both ran back toward the crowd. They slowed as they drew closer.

  She could be anywhere.

  “Maybe we should split up,” Darcy said.

  Jackson shook his head and then tugged on her sleeve. His gaze went to the outer circle of the crowd first. Chloe would probably try to escape before the mayhem died down.