Perilous Pursuit

by Kathleen Tailer

  Jake glanced at Mackenzie. “Yes, she’s fine. We’re just finishing up with the mug shots. Do you want me to bring her over?”

  “That would be great. We need her to take a look around and let us know what’s missing. Maybe she can give us some insight into these crimes, as well.”

  “Sure thing. We’ll be right there.” He hung up and gestured at Mackenzie. “I’m sorry to say there was another break-in at your apartment and a fire.” He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to offer her some comfort. “I’m really glad you didn’t stay there last night.”

  Mackenzie’s face showed alarm, and she stood rapidly and started stowing her paperwork. “Was anybody hurt?”

  “Thankfully, no. The perpetrators ransacked your apartment, though. I’m also guessing the guys that started the fire were only amateur arsonists, because the flames didn’t spread beyond your apartment. The fire department has everything under control, and police have secured the scene. They want me to take you over right now to let them know if anything was stolen.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “Yes, they wouldn’t ask me to bring you if it wasn’t.”

  The answer didn’t seem to persuade her, and he could see her hands had started to shake like they had yesterday at the crime scene. He softened his tone. “The perpetrators are probably long gone, especially with all those police and fire department personnel walking around. And I’ll be with you the whole time. I promise.”

  This answer seemed to help, and he noticed a grateful look in her eyes. “Was it the same guys that attacked me?”

  “I don’t think they know yet, but we’ll find out for sure once we get there if they have any leads.”

  He noticed her skin turn a shade paler, but to her credit, she gathered the last of her things and headed toward the door. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  As they rode over to her place almost in total silence, he couldn’t help observing that a wonderful smell wafted over from Mackenzie. It was again some sort of flowery perfume that Jake couldn’t identify, but it tantalized his senses and was sweet without being overwhelming. He tamped down his reaction and tried to focus on his driving.

  When they pulled up into the parking lot of her complex, Jake kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but his years with the US Marshals had trained him to be a keen observer and to always expect the unexpected. He noticed a blue SUV parked about halfway down the block that seemed to have a driver sitting in the car, and he kept an eye on the vehicle to see if the man would stay inside or drive away. The driver could be harmless, or he could be involved. All of the other parked cars appeared to be empty. He noted the first three numbers of the SUV’s license tag, which was all he could see, just in case.

  He did a fast parking job but turned to Mackenzie before getting out of the car. “Does anything look out of place to you here? It may be hard to tell, but it’s possible that whoever did this might still be hanging around. I want you to be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times.”

  “I thought you said it was supposed to be safe to come back.”

  “You’re right, I did, and with all these cops everywhere, I’m sure the perps are long gone. Still, you’re the one who lives here, so you would know better than anyone else if something strange is going on. All I’m saying is that I want you to keep your eyes open. If you see something that doesn’t sit right with you, then you need to share it immediately. Okay?”

  She nodded just as the first bullet ripped into the seat by her shoulder. She screamed as the second bullet cracked the windshield. Jake didn’t wait for the third. He gunned the engine and flew out of the parking lot, the tires screeching against the pavement in protest as the back of the car fishtailed to the left. He heard other officers yelling and returning fire, but his primary concern was keeping Mackenzie safe. “Get down!” he yelled, pushing her lower on the seat. He stomped on the gas, feeling the surge of the engine as it roared and jolted him out of the parking lot and into the traffic on the main road. Another bullet shattered the rear window of the car just as he maneuvered around a large truck that would shield them temporarily from the onslaught. Somebody definitely wanted Mackenzie Weaver dead. But why?

  THREE

  Jake spun the steering wheel as the velocity from the swerve slammed his body against the car door. The tires screeched in protest, but he kept the car on the road. They darted ahead of two other cars and then swung back into their own lane. He checked the rearview mirror. The blue SUV was now a few cars behind them. It was slowly gaining on them but had gotten stuck behind an antique VW bug and a minivan. Jake couldn’t see who was driving, but he did note that there were two of them in the vehicle instead of just the one he had originally seen. He glanced over at Mackenzie, who was still scrunched against the seats, and he touched her shoulder lightly. “Hold on. I’m going to try to put some distance between us and the guys with the guns.” He punched the accelerator and felt the engine surge as the car ate up the pavement.

  Mackenzie glanced up at him, and even though there was fear mirrored there, Jake also saw a level of trust. It bolstered him and made a warmth spread through him that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He tamped the feelings down. He might decide to analyze them later, but right now, all he wanted to think about was getting away from that SUV. He called in on his radio and let his team know what was happening, but nobody was in the immediate area. He did hear sirens in the distance, however, so he was sure the local police who had been working the apartment building were giving chase. They had to have heard the gunshots and his reports on the radio.

  Jake took another look in his rearview mirror. The blue SUV had finally passed the two slower vehicles and was moving closer. Jake swerved to pass a red sedan and barely missed a truck coming toward them in the other lane. Tires squealed, and the truck’s driver laid on his horn as Jake maneuvered back into their own lane just in the nick of time to avoid a head-on collision. He looked back again in his mirror and saw a hand holding a pistol come out of the passenger side of the SUV. The perp fired two more shots at them, and Jake swerved to miss the flying bullets. The car skidded on some gravel in response, but he kept control of the wheel. A plume of smoke rose near the asphalt as the tires protested. Despite his maneuvering, one bullet caught the back of the vehicle near the trunk, but the other went wild. The man fired another shot that missed and then pulled his arm back inside the window. Suddenly the SUV turned onto a side road, abandoning the chase. It didn’t take Jake long to figure out why—two police cars were coming up fast behind them, lights and sirens blazing.

  “Need some help, Deputy, or should we follow the perps?” asked the deep male voice that came over the police radio.

  “We’re good. Stay with the perps. We’ll rendezvous back at the Weaver apartment.”

  Mackenzie’s eyes rounded. “Are you insane? You want to go back there?”

  “Don’t you? The guys with the guns will be in custody soon, and we still need you to take a look around and see what’s missing.”

  Mackenzie sat up. She turned to look behind her and then brushed some of the broken glass off her shirt. She paused before answering, apparently giving the idea a great deal of thought. Finally, she nodded. “I guess so, if you think it’s safe. I mean, I want to see what’s left of the place, but I’m not too anxious to get shot at again. Being shot at may happen to you every day, but it’s a new experience for me.” She was quiet for a moment but then gave him a smile that surprised him. “It’s too bad I didn’t have my camera. This would have made some great footage.”

  Her comments made him smile in spite of himself. Spirit. That was what she had. A good dose of spirit. He admired that. She’d always had more than her fair share. Even though he found it appealing, however, her bravado wasn’t enough to change his mind about her video project. His smile disappeared. He was still adamantly oppo
sed to her filming his team in action. He pushed thoughts of her movie to the back of his mind. Right now, all he wanted to do was focus on finding Carter Beckett and his cohorts and putting them behind bars. This lead had sent that case to the top of his list.

  He slowed the car and made a U-turn, and a few minutes later, they were back in her apartment, stepping gingerly over the charred remains of her end tables. According to the fire inspector at the scene, the blaze had been started in the kitchen and had spread into the living room. Unfortunately, it had damaged her desk and everything on and near it. Jake looked over at Mackenzie, wondering how she was going to cope with the loss of so many of her belongings. It was bad enough to have someone break in and ransack your apartment, but the fire had ruined some very expensive-looking equipment, as well. He felt bad for her. He didn’t know how he would be handling this kind of loss if he were in her shoes.

  * * *

  Mackenzie’s heart seemed to stop as she made her way into the damaged areas. Her flat screen TV had basically melted and was now a large lump of black plastic sitting on a charred wooden stand. The fire had gone up the walls and left black marks where her pictures had been hanging, and the tiled floor was littered with ash, soot and the residue from the fire extinguishers. A horrid smell of chemicals and burnt wiring permeated her senses and all of her belongings.

  Finally she turned and viewed what she had been dreading—the damage to her video and audio equipment. She had an office set up in one corner of the living room, and besides her desk, she had two large video monitors, an editing board and a computer where she did the majority of her work. To the left had been the audio equipment stacked in an adjustable shelving unit and to the right a large wooden filing cabinet had stood. It was now all a heap of twisted metal and melted plastic, totally destroyed by the fire. It was as if someone had poured gasoline directly on her equipment to ensure that it would burn.

  The loss was like a literal blow to her stomach, and she rubbed her abdomen absently as nausea spun and twisted inside her. She was thankful that the fire hadn’t spread into the bedrooms or other apartments in the complex, but the ruined equipment represented her livelihood, and she felt the loss keenly. She was insured, but it would take a while to deal with the insurance company and rebuild her setup. Fortunately, her video camera and lighting equipment were all stored at her assistant’s house. If those had been in the apartment today, her business would have come to a total standstill.

  “I’m sorry you lost so much.” Jake offered.

  Mackenzie nodded, appreciating his words, especially since he wasn’t a fan of her project. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the positive. She had always been extremely self-sufficient and self-reliant. She would weather this storm, even though it seemed more like a hurricane. “Thanks. At least no one was hurt. That’s the main thing. This is all stuff. I’m sorry to see it go, but it is replaceable.”

  She said a prayer of thanksgiving. God would see her through this catastrophe. She still had much to be grateful for. It would take time and effort, but she would rebuild, and God would be there to help her along the way and remind her about what was truly important in life if she got frustrated by the process.

  Jake took a step in her direction. “I know it’s hard to tell with all of the fire damage, but the local police want to know if you can tell them if anything is missing. It might help us figure out why someone has targeted you.”

  “Okay. I’ll take a look around.” She stepped over some unidentifiable object on the tile and moved toward the bedrooms. Both were untouched by the fire. She opened a few drawers and pulled open the closets in the guest bedroom, but everything looked the same as when she had left it. She moved to her own bedroom and did the same checks. “I don’t know what they were after. There doesn’t seem to be anything missing.” Her eyes moved to the cherished picture of her and her brother, Jonathan, which was on top of her dresser, and she touched the corner of the frame. At least the photo had been spared.

  “That’s a great shot,” Jake asked, motioning to the photo of the two siblings smiling in the sunlight.

  Mackenzie turned at his words. “That was the day I got my braces removed. I was thrilled. Jonathan took me out to dinner to celebrate. It was a big day.”

  “I can tell. That’s a big smile.” He paused. “Look, you need to pack a bag—a bigger one this time, and I’d also take your valuables, just in case. You’ll need to stay at the hotel until we can get a handle on this.”

  Mackenzie shrugged. “I guess I’ll go back there for now, but I can’t stay there forever.” She went to her closet, pulled out a suitcase and started packing. A few minutes later, she heard Jake approach behind her.

  “Do you have any idea why someone would want to destroy your equipment?” Jake asked.

  Mackenzie folded a shirt and placed it in the suitcase. “No idea at all. None of this makes any sense. I’ve never faced any opposition to my work. The biggest problem I’ve had is competing bids with other production companies, and really that’s just part of the business and nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “The things Beckett said when he threatened you and the damage to the equipment make me think it does have something to do with your work—even if the answer isn’t readily apparent.” He leaned against the door frame. “Tell me about your last couple of projects. What were they about?”

  Mackenzie answered as she packed. “I started the year with a training video for the Southern Pines Pediatric Clinic, and then I did a couple of commercials for the children’s museum downtown. After that, I finished an overview of the governor’s literacy program and a series of productions for the state’s tourism campaign. My latest work was an hour-long documentary on homeless children and runaways.” She closed the suitcase. “Nothing I’ve worked on was controversial.”

  “Have you turned over all the final copies to the buyers?”

  “Yes, all except for the homeless children project. I just have a tad more editing to do before it’s finalized.”

  “How did the fire affect your copies? Did everything get destroyed?”

  Mackenzie shook her head. “The equipment is ruined, but I have two sets of hard drives where the files are stored. One was here in the filing cabinet and that is probably completely destroyed, but I have a second set I keep in a safety deposit box at the bank. I update the files weekly in both locations. I’ve always done it that way—just in case of hurricanes or whatever. I’ve been playing with the idea of using cloud storage, but I’m still exploring that. I’m not convinced of the security.”

  Jake nodded and then motioned for her to wait when his cell phone rang. He turned to answer it, and her own phone rang at the same time. She recognized her parents’ number and hesitated. Could she handle a call from them right now? She hadn’t told them about the men breaking into her apartment yesterday, but it would be hard hiding the fire from them, especially if she wouldn’t be home for a while. She glanced at Jake, who was still deep in conversation, then back at her own phone, which was still ringing. Finally, she accepted the call.

  “Hello, Dad,” she said on hearing her father’s voice.

  “Mackenzie, I’ve got the best news for you!”

  “Oh, really? What’s up?” she asked.

  “Do you remember Miller from the advertising firm? I was talking to him yesterday and mentioned you were looking for a new job. He actually has an opening and would like to set up an interview! Isn’t that fantastic? All you have to do is give him a call.”

  Mackenzie’s heart plunged. Neither of her parents felt that making movies constituted a “real” job, and they were constantly sending their disapproval her way, along with various job offers that they felt would help her settle down and take life more seriously. Mackenzie loved them both dearly, but she wasn’t about to give up her production company. She enjoyed her work and found fulfillment in the process. Her parents, however, c
ouldn’t seem to understand. She was convinced that they wouldn’t be happy with her career choices until she was locked into a nine-to-five schedule with benefits and a hefty retirement plan. After Jonathan’s death, their pressure had increased rather than lessened. She was now their only living child, so all their hopes and dreams rested heavily on her shoulders.

  “Thanks, Dad, but I’m doing fine with my current job. I’m really not looking for anything new right now.”

  “But it has a great starting salary. Don’t you want to at least talk to him about the opportunity? It might be too good to pass up. It’s entry-level, but it has some exciting possibilities.” The disapproval was heavy in his voice, and Mackenzie struggled with the desire to hang up on him. His censure was difficult to hear after everything else that had happened the last couple of days, and she was already stressed from being shot at again and having her belongings burned to a crisp. Not to mention the volatile relationship she had with Jake. She could usually handle her father’s criticism and take it with a smile, but today it seemed even harder than normal to keep the optimism in her voice. God, give me strength.

  She steeled her voice. “Dad, I’m sorry, but that’s really not the path I want to take right now. I’ve had a fire at my apartment, and most of my equipment has been damaged. I really need to work on getting my production company up and running again so I can meet my current contracts.”

  “A fire? Were you hurt?”

  “No, Dad, I’m fine, but like I said, I lost my board and audio equipment. It just happened, and the police and firemen are here right now sorting through everything. I really need to go so I can finish up with them and assess the damage.”

  There was a pause as her father absorbed everything, but then he pushed again. “Mackenzie, maybe this is the perfect time to talk to Miller after all. With your equipment damaged, it might be the best time to get a real job and put this filming behind you. You had a good run and worked on a few fun projects, but this job with Miller could turn out to be a great career. It has health benefits, a great dental plan...”