He wouldn’t get into a personal discussion about how his parents had failed him and those rose-colored glasses had come off at a young age. “Let’s go ahead and watch the remaining footage.”
She frowned at his response, but he moved them back to the topic at hand by starting another video. They watched the remaining ones without the doc pointing anything out.
Rick closed the computer and picked it up to leave. “If Kaci is able to improve the images, I’ll come back to show them to you.”
“I’ll walk you out and get that file.” She retrieved a key ring from her desk drawer.
After she locked up the office, he followed her down the hallway, her spiky heels clicking on the wood floor. He didn’t know how women could handle wearing such torture devices, but he sure didn’t mind looking at them. Or her. She’d been right in the office yesterday. He could have read Griffin’s file without her. And he’d been right, too. He’d made her stay because of the urgency of finding the suspect, but if truth be told, he didn’t mind having her around for company. Him. Rick Cannon. Mr. Solitary, as his team often referred to him, liked having this woman around.
He hadn’t wanted or considered having that kind of companionship in years. Even before Traci died. Back then he’d come home on leave, and for the first few hours everything was like it had been when they’d married in their early twenties. But then things quickly became strained between them, and they didn’t communicate anymore.
His fault. He might have been on leave, but he’d learned to compartmentalize his feelings and keep them buttoned up to prepare for what he might see or do on his next deployment. He didn’t recognize his behavior back then, but after Traci died, he’d done some deep soul searching and discovered he’d been distancing himself from her when she’d needed him.
What would the doc make of that if he told her? Or make of his estrangement from his family? It would be hard to put her sunshine-and-rainbows spin on it, that was for sure.
She stepped out the door before him. The oppressive air hit him hard, but she didn’t comment or even seem to notice.
“It’s even hotter today than yesterday,” he said.
She looked back at him. “That’s Atlanta in the summer for you.”
“The temps seem higher than I remember growing up here.”
“Kids handle heat better than adults. Plus it’s been an unusually hot summer.”
“I hear you there.” Okay, seriously. Who was this guy engaging in small talk? He never talked about the weather.
The doc was good at her job if she could keep getting him to do things outside the norm. Like almost revealing Traci’s death yesterday when the doc talked about neglecting others. He’d even thought about telling her that he believed that if he’d been stateside, Traci would be alive. That he’d have a son. Crazy as it sounded, he still wanted to tell her. Pathetic, when he didn’t know what her role was in this situation.
“I should get going.” He gestured at his car and waited for her to move toward her own vehicle.
A soft breeze played over the area, and his gaze drifted to swaying trees across the street. A flash of light caught his attention. He homed in on it. Another glint, like the sun hitting a wristwatch. The barrel of a rifle poked through the leaves.
“Sniper,” he yelled and lunged forward to take the doc down and out of the line of fire.
Chapter 11
A rifle report drowned out any sound of a bullet whizzing overhead, but Rick was certain it had been close and was intended for the doc. He curled his body around her, putting his back to the shooter and bracing himself for a second wave.
“They shot at us,” she cried out and tried to free herself.
He tightened his grip before she took off running. He drew his handgun and cocked an ear to listen for movement.
Leaves rustled, but from a distance he couldn’t be sure if it was the wind or the shooter taking off. From the sound of the rifle report, he was sure that the shooter wasn’t putting .50s downrange as the report wasn’t that of a large bore. A good thing. They wouldn’t be safe anywhere from an armor-piercing bullet. But they also weren’t safe from any rifle while they remained out in the open.
“We’ll move behind your car for protection,” he said. “Stay behind me.”
“But I—”
“No time to talk. Let’s move.” He jumped to his feet and tugged her with him.
Holding his handgun at the ready, he scanned the woods and moved in front of her for protection. They sidestepped to her car, and once they moved behind it, he urged her to sit, then squatted next to her.
“Do you think he’s stopped shooting?” Her eyes were wide and terrified.
“Looks like it, but we can’t let our guard down yet. You call 911 while I get my team out here. Make sure to tell them where we’re located and that I’m an armed FBI agent.”
He watched her for a moment to make sure she followed directions. Her hands trembled, but she dialed. He got Max on the phone and elicited a promise to join them in less than five minutes. By the time Rick hung up, police sirens already screamed in the distance.
“If the shooter hasn’t taken off yet, he’ll be in the wind now.” He popped up to assess the situation. He saw no movement. No flash of light. Nothing. He dropped down again.
“Shouldn’t you go after him?” Her voice was borderline hysterical.
“I’m not wearing any protective gear, and I’d be an open target. Besides, I need to stay with you.”
“Right. Sorry. I didn’t…I mean…you’re doing your job. And I’m thankful for your protection.” Her face paled, and she gulped in air.
Touching her could complicate things, but he threw caution to the wind and took her hand. “It’ll be okay.”
She stared at their hands, then looked back at him, fear consuming her gaze. “Okay for now, I suppose, but then what? The cops will arrive. The shooter…Ace’s killer, I bet…will be gone. But he wanted to kill me, right? I mean, that shot wasn’t for you.”
“That would be the logical conclusion to draw.” He firmed his hand over hers. “But don’t worry. I’m here to protect you.”
“But you won’t be. All the time, I mean. You have a job to do. I’ll be alone, and he’ll still be out there.” She tried to free her hand.
He held tight. “Look at me, Doc.”
She swung her gaze his way. Her lingering fear sent his anger boiling. Suspect or no suspect, she didn’t deserve to be terrorized. No one did.
He realized he was gritting his teeth, and he relaxed his jaw to give her a comforting smile. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
“How can you promise such a thing?”
“I just can.” Right. Exactly how are you going to do that?
A siren wound toward them, making it impossible to continue talking, so he simply held her hand and waited for the patrol car to stop near her vehicle. He let go of her hand and raised his credentials over her car’s hood. “Special Agent Rick Cannon here. We called in the shooting. No one was injured. The shooter fired a rifle from the woods about thirty yards to the east.”
“Stay in position,” the officer replied. “We’ll let you know when we’ve cleared the area.”
Patrol officer on the scene or not, Rick held fast to his weapon and wouldn’t let down his guard before his team arrived and pronounced it safe.
“You should also know my team is on the way driving a black SUV,” he called out to the officer. “If you barricade the road before they get here, you’ll need to let them through. The shooting is part of an ongoing investigation.”
“Roger that.” The officer radioed in an update before another siren screamed toward them.
Rick stowed his creds and leaned back against the car to wait. The doc pulled her knees to her chest and picked at a large tear in her pants. Tears glistened in her eyes, and it took every bit of Rick’s willpower not to pull her into his arms.
Was he simply reacting as any man would in thi
s situation, or was he actually letting her get to him?
Fortunately, he didn’t have to think about it any longer, as his team arrived, and he focused on the action until Max declared they were in the clear.
Rick stood.
“Dr. Dobbs all right?” Max asked as he approached the car.
Rick nodded. “In shock, though.”
“Let’s have the medics look at her.”
“I’m sitting right here and can speak for myself. I don’t need a medic.” She started to get up.
Rick offered her a hand, and she clasped his with icy-cold fingers, proving she was far from all right. “It’s protocol in a situation like this to be checked out.”
She watched him carefully for a moment, then nodded.
“Let me walk you over there,” he offered.
She sighed out her relief, but kept darting her gaze around as they walked. She was still afraid, but unwilling to admit it.
“You can relax now,” Rick said. “There’s no way the shooter would hang around with all of these officers on scene.”
“But Ace was shot from a long distance, right? Why can’t that happen here?”
“The geography doesn’t allow the shooter to take a nearby stand without revealing himself. Only a fool would do that.”
“Then let’s hope it’s not a fool who wants me dead.”
Rick doubted they were dealing with a fool, but with someone very cunning, so he didn’t bother responding and left her with the medic. Each step he took away from her filled him with regret over leaving her unprotected. He believed what he’d said—the shooter couldn’t find a close-up hide, and he didn’t have a long-distance shot. So why the angst? Maybe he was reliving his issues over not being present for Traci. True or not, it was easier to think that than to consider that the doc was starting to mean something to him when he was no closer to trusting her.
Whatever the reason, he had to make sure she wasn’t in ongoing danger, and that meant putting her in a safe house ASAP. But where and how? Olivia wouldn’t go into hiding without her sister and her sister’s children, that was for certain. So how did he handle that? It would be extremely hard to find a large-enough home for all of them that was close enough for his comfort. A hotel wouldn’t be safe at all, and putting her with friends would endanger the friends, so neither was an option.
So where, then?
A picture of his parents’ house, more like a compound with their state-of-the-art security, flashed in his brain.
No. Not there. No way.
Shaking his head at such a crazy idea, he crossed the road to his team and tried to come up with another location. Tried and failed. So what about his parents’ house? Could he actually go back there? If Yolanda was right, his mother desperately wanted to see him, so if he made his visit contingent on their providing a safe haven for Olivia and her family, he was certain his mom would agree. Plus if the entire team, Olivia, her sister, and the kids stayed on the property, they could create a buffer. His parents would be less inclined to get into any arguments with him if the house was filled with other people. They were all about not making a scene in front of others.
Yeah, this was a perfect solution. He could alleviate his guilt over not visiting Yolanda and actually get to see her, all the while avoiding confrontation and having to delve into his issues with his parents. And at the same time, he’d provide an extremely secure place for Olivia. The only thing left was for Olivia and her sister to agree and for him to get the team on board with the idea.
They stopped talking when he joined them, so he started with a quick rundown of events. “You’ll find the slug near the building entrance, Brynn, and it won’t be a .50.”
“You sure of that?” Max asked.
“You fire off enough .50s in your life and you know the sound.”
“So maybe this shooter isn’t the suspect we’re hunting,” Max said. “Otherwise, why not use the weapon system that’s a guaranteed kill?”
“Maybe he didn’t want us to connect the shooting to Griffin’s death,” Brynn suggested.
“But Griffin was only killed last night,” Shane replied. “Wouldn’t the shooter have to know we’d see a connection?”
“It might not be connected,” Max said. “The doc could be involved in something else where someone wanted to end her life.”
“What about the identity theft?” Kaci asked. “The police haven’t made any headway on that investigation. The shooting could be connected to that.”
Rick liked Kaci’s suggestion a whole lot better than Max’s. “That sounds more likely than her being involved in anything illegal.”
“Doesn’t have to be illegal,” Shane said. “This could be one of her clients going ballistic on her.”
When Traci died, Rick had been mad enough to want to kill, so the idea wasn’t far-fetched. “I’ll ask the doc about that.”
“These are valid suppositions, but they’re just that,” Max said. “We need some hard evidence to make a determination.”
To a person, they peered at Brynn.
“Thanks, guys.” She stared back at them. “Put all the pressure on me, why don’t you?”
“You do always say forensics is the key to solving a case.” Kaci chuckled.
Brynn rolled her eyes. “Then I guess you better let me get started on processing the scene.”
She departed, and Max held a folder out to Rick. “The MilMed warrant. The only way I could get it through the judge was by limiting the scope. So it’s very narrow, and you’ll need to review the details carefully before proceeding.”
Rick wanted MilMed’s files, but after this shooting there was no way Rick was leaving town to serve a warrant. He passed the file to Cal. “I know you won’t complain about heading back to D.C. to serve this and gather the approved records from MilMed.”
A big smile slid across Cal’s mouth. “I’ll be glad to take care of it for you.”
“And while you’re at it, I want you to interview the security guard and MilMed employee who were transporting the ordnance when it was stolen.”
“Understood.”
Rick faced Shane. “That means you’ll take over visiting the shooting ranges and gun clubs.”
“No worries,” he replied. “I’ll handle it so lover boy can go home to the wife.”
Cal groaned, but the smile remained in place. “I finished making a list of local hunting associations and shooting ranges in the area. I’ll e-mail it to you, Shane.”
“Perfect,” Shane said. “I can take the picture of Ace’s tattoo and the one of the suspect from the park video with me. Guys don’t always remember details of another guy’s face, but a tat like that will stand out. If someone has seen it, they’re bound to remember.”
Rick moved his focus to Kaci. “I dropped my computer back there, and I’ll need you to take a look at it.”
“Of course.”
“Anything new on the doc’s background?” He felt as if he was starting to sound like a broken record.
She shook her head. “She’s looking as squeaky clean as she appears. My team’s running with the identity theft data provided by the local cops. Maybe if we’re able to track the thief, that will get us somewhere.”
“I wouldn’t give up on the background check either,” Rick said, despite his gut’s telling him that the doc was a victim only. “Everyone has something they don’t want others to know about, and I want to know her something.”
Shane raised an eyebrow. “This is starting to sound personal. Like you’re going above and beyond to find some dirt on Dr. Dobbs.”
“Just doing my job.” The moment the words came out, Rick knew they weren’t completely true. His drive to vet her likely had more to do with wanting to trust her. But could a background check really let him do that? There weren’t dings in a personal history for being two-faced. The only way to ensure she was who she appeared to be was to get to know her better, and that so wasn’t happening.
“I’ll keep digging,”
Kaci said. “But don’t hold out hope for some deep, dark secret. We haven’t uncovered a concrete motive for her involvement in the shooting. I think she’s who she presents herself to be and nothing more.”
“Or not.” Max moved in closer. “One scenario we didn’t mention is that Dr. Dobbs could be the shooter’s partner, and he’s afraid she’ll talk, or he wants all the money for the bullet sale for himself, so he turned on her.”
Rick glanced at the doc. She’d left the medic, a large bandage on her elbow, and stepped toward her office. Her eyes were dark and unreadable. “Shrinks do have to be good at hiding their true emotions.”
Shane flashed him a questioning look. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”
“Maybe not. At least not while in session with a client. But it’s problematic if they use it to deceive law enforcement. Or even if they try to hide things from people who need to know what’s going on with one of their clients.”
Shane lifted his sunglasses and stared at Rick. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience, bro.”
Rick wasn’t about to continue this discussion, so he moved on. “Anyone consider that she could be using her ability to hide her true thoughts to get her clients to reveal military secrets?”
“That’s an interesting take,” Max said. “Let’s request her client list to see if she’s treating any officers who might have sensitive details to share.”
“Our current warrant for her records loosely covers this, so I’ll see if I can get her to comply.” Rick let his gaze follow the doc as she approached the front steps and settled on one of them. She pulled up her legs and circled them with her arms, her chin resting on her knees. The gaping tear in her pants spoke to her brush with death.
She met his gaze for a brief second, then shivered and shifted to stare across the street. He’d like to think her reaction to the latest incident meant she wasn’t involved, but she’d also be in shock if a partner tried to kill her. Rick would continue to reserve judgment on her trustworthiness, but with a shooter gunning for her, she still needed their help to stay alive.
“I’m most likely to believe the shooter thinks she got a good-enough look at him and can ID him,” Rick said. “So he’s trying to take her out before she can do so or testify against him when he goes to trial. Either way, she’ll need protection.”
Kill Shot Page 11
