Behind the Badge

by Susan Sleeman

  “She heard a commotion in your half of the duplex and checked it out. There was an intruder. He plowed her down as he took off.”

  Her eyes widened. “Someone broke into my place?”

  “That’s what your friend said.”

  “What’s going on?” Her tone soured with frustration.

  “I think it’s pretty obvious. Our killer decided to move forward and search your house for the item he wants.”

  As he watched fear consume her face, the air between them seemed to evaporate. He wanted to pull her into his arms, promise that he’d take care of her and keep her from harm. But they were driving down a busy street, nosy people all around them. And thank goodness they were. Otherwise, he might forget all the reasons he shouldn’t follow through on his feelings when his focus should be on finding the man who still threatened her.

  As they turned onto her street, Sydney’s hands shook with rage over someone hurting her friend. She was so shaken up she didn’t even bother to tell Russ to back off with the Mr. Protective mode. Instead, she wanted to scream out her frustration over what happened to Kate.

  Though Kate was already on the way to the hospital, a vision of her wheelchair tipped on its side and Kate lying on the ground, bleeding and confused, flashed into Sydney’s head. Sweet, dependable Kate didn’t deserve this. She’d already faced enough challenges with the onset of multiple sclerosis a few years ago and then losing her ability to walk last year. Sydney couldn’t imagine being confined to a wheelchair, but Kate took it all in stride, saying God could use her in a chair as much as he could use her on her feet.

  Sydney wished her faith was that strong. Here she’d been blubbering like a baby over what had been happening in her life and Kate was probably trying to help those who came to her rescue. She was too special to involve in this mess.

  Sydney bowed her head. Lord, please hold Kate in Your arms, she prayed. Heal her wounds. Help us to find the person terrorizing all of us and bring him to justice.

  Feeling a bit better, Sydney raised her head and waited for the first glimpse of her second crime scene in less than twenty-four hours. She wanted to look away but she couldn’t.

  There it was. What she’d dreaded. Kate’s wheelchair, frame bent, lying at the base of concrete steps that abutted a ramp. A large bloodstain had soaked into the concrete. She was lucky to be alive and Sydney was lucky to still have her friend.

  Russ turned off the car then laid a hand on her arm. “Are you sure you’re ready to see this?”

  She nearly laughed, perhaps in hysteria. “I saw a man murdered last night. How could a burglary be worse?”

  He caught and held her gaze. “This is a personal attack, Syd. Someone violated your space.”

  He was right, but she couldn’t cower in the car. She had to see what the intruder had done. Shaking off Russ’s hand, she jumped out of the vehicle and pressed her way through the neighbors who tossed out questions she ignored. She took the steps to her front door two at a time.

  Russ was hot on her heels as he moved his way through the group with sharp excuse mes. When she reached the landing, she heard him call out for her to wait up, but she ignored him.

  At the door standing ajar, she took a few calming breaths then peered into her family room.

  She gasped, then felt her throat constrict.

  The sofa lay overturned with the fabric slashed open. The cushions had suffered the same fate. Items she’d collected over the years lay shattered in tiny fragments on the hardwood floor. Instead of shaking with fright as she had expected, her anger flared to the surface. This was the last straw. She wouldn’t let this creep get away with invasion of her privacy.

  She knew Garber had cleared the house, so she entered the family room. Careful not to disturb the crime scene, she picked her way through the mess room by room. Kitchen, bathroom, both bedrooms. All trashed in the same way. Everything she owned had been touched by this assailant.

  What kind of person did something like this?

  She dropped onto a hard kitchen chair, the jolt adding to her misery. Frustration and fatigue replaced the anger. Her cell chimed from her pocket. Hoping it was news about Kate, Sydney pulled it out.

  The same number from last night.

  Her heart started racing. She looked up to catch Russ’s gaze.

  He came up behind her as she thumbed the buttons to read the message.

  Welcome home, Deputy Tucker. Sorry I left such a mess, but I will find what I’m looking for. When I do, your life will end.

  She felt the blood drain from her face.

  She still had no clue what item the text referred to, but the perpetrator had made his point very clear. He’d assaulted her friend and trashed her house in his desperate quest for this thing…and was willing to kill again once he found it.

  NINE

  This situation was out of control. Russ wanted to do something—anything—to protect Sydney from the danger. All color had drained from her face. She sat silently on the chair, staring at her cell phone. The message clearly terrified her, but like last night, he was equally concerned that the killer had to be watching them. Perhaps in the group of locals outside. Russ didn’t want to alarm her, but he needed to check it out.

  “I need to talk with Garber,” he said then gave her a quick smile to try to ease her concern.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “It’s safer for you to stay inside.” He turned away, working hard with each step to push her tormented face out of his mind.

  On the porch, he surveyed the scene. The group of onlookers had grown. He counted twenty anxious faces peering up at the house. Garber held a notepad in his hand and talked with the bystanders.

  Garber followed protocol, taking down names and asking what they’d seen. It was common practice for a criminal to hang in a group of looky-loos to admire the chaos their actions had caused. If their killer was out there, Russ wanted to record it. He pulled out his cell and snapped a few pictures.

  Certain he’d gotten a clear shot of each person, Russ went to join Garber.

  “A word,” Russ said and moved out of earshot of the crowd. “I believe our killer is tailing Deputy Tucker. Take extra care in recording everyone’s name. Keep your eyes open. Detain anyone acting suspicious.”

  Garber eyed Russ. “This isn’t like you. What’s got you so spooked?”

  Russ didn’t like that he’d not controlled his concern for Sydney. He needed to play it cooler. He didn’t want to start any rumors. Though Garber was a sharp cookie and might see right through it, Russ’s best bet now was to redirect the conversation. “Why don’t you bring me up to speed on what happened so far and we’ll go from there.”

  Garber spent a few seconds studying Russ, but then shrugged it off. “Didn’t have long to talk to the victim before transport. She claims the incident occurred a few hours ago. She laid there waiting for someone to find her. Intruder wore a ski mask so she couldn’t ID him. Said he was tall, but coming from someone in a wheelchair, her perspective may be skewed.”

  “That all?” Russ let his irritation flow through his words.

  “Like I said, I didn’t have long to talk to her.”

  Russ bristled at Garber’s testy tone, but he deserved his officer’s attitude. He’d let his worry for Sydney make Garber feel incompetent. No good would come from demoralizing his staff. He needed to make amends.

  He clapped Garber’s back. “Sorry. I was hoping we’d get a break in this case by now and I took it out on you.”

  “So Eustis’s place was a bust?”

  “Not completely.” Russ told him about the computer. “We also received another text. With Eustis in jail, it pretty much rules him out as our killer.”

  “Maybe there’s something on the computer.”

  “I’ll check it out as soon as possible. When you get back to the office, see if Eustis will explain why the computer was in his possession.”

  Garber grinned. “It will be my pleasure to lean on the creep.”<
br />
  “As always, keep me in the loop about any new developments,” Russ said and headed for the house.

  On the way, a sense of unease sent chills up his back. He spun and searched the crowd, but nothing had changed. He let his search widen to the surrounding area. He saw nothing, but the killer could still be hiding…watching.

  He shook off the feeling and went inside. He found Sydney picking through the rubble on the family-room floor.

  “You okay?” he asked, making sure to keep all emotion out of his tone.

  “I’m fine.”

  He didn’t miss her censuring tone or the look that said “here we are again, you’re treating me like a damsel in distress in front of my fellow officers.” But how could he not when the strain of the events hung in her eyes and a renewed drive to protect her kept his mind divided between the job and her pain?

  He remembered what a training officer had taught him to get through a victim’s grief when it became overwhelming—look away from their face until he could control his emotions. That should work. For now, anyway.

  He focused on the trashed room. “Anything missing?”

  “Not that I can tell. Our electronics are all here, so I assume the intruder was looking for the item in the text message.”

  “You check the phone number for the text?”

  “Same one as last night.”

  “Not that I ever liked Eustis for the murder, but this at least proves he’s not behind the threatening texts. He couldn’t have sent this text from jail.”

  “But he could still be involved somehow,” she reminded him. “Especially since he had Dixon’s computer. We need to look at it as soon as we can.”

  “We’ll get started on that as soon as we finish processing this scene. If we’re lucky, the cell-phone registration will have panned out by then and we’ll also have an address to check out.”

  The sudden fear in her eyes opened a clear window into her inner turmoil. They’d eventually learn if the registration for the cell was bogus, but would they do so before the killer returned and would she live long enough for it to make a difference?

  Russ led the way down the long corridor to Kate’s hospital room. He hadn’t wanted to take Sydney to such a public place, but after what she’d gone through, he couldn’t say no when she’d asked to stop by and make sure her friend was okay.

  The drive over had been uneventful, even more so than he’d expected. No matter what subject he raised, he hadn’t elicited more than one-word answers from Sydney.

  Until he mentioned moving her and Nikki to a safe house. Then she’d blown up and said as a police officer, she could take care of herself. He never wanted to hear that comment again, but he had to admit he was treating her differently than his men. But then, their eyes didn’t make him want to fix all of their problems and give them a life they deserved.

  The same eyes that, as they now approached Kate’s hospital room, overflowed with pain for her injured friend.

  He stepped in front of her just outside the door. “I realize Kate’s your friend and you want some time to be alone with her, but Garber had little time to question her. I’d like to talk to her first. Then I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

  “Agreed, but I’ll be present during the questioning.”

  That was too easy. He’d expected an argument. Might still get one. “I’ll do all the talking.”

  She opened her mouth to speak but he held up his hand. “The minute you lay eyes on Kate, you’ll want to protect her. Some of my questions might upset her. You’ll want to answer for her or jump to her defense. I can’t have you doing either one.”

  “Is giving her a hug out of the question?” Her sarcasm should have made him mad, but after the sullen ride here, he liked seeing her spunk return.

  “A hug is perfectly acceptable behavior.” He smiled and could see she was disappointed that he didn’t rise to her bait. He held out his hand and hung back. “After you.”

  She raced across the room to her friend and pulled her into her arms. The pair didn’t exchange any words, but they seemed very close, something he was definitely missing in his life. Something that after time spent with Sydney seemed more important.

  Sure, he had two brothers, both of whom would come to his aid when he asked, but since he’d disappointed everyone with his dive into alcohol, he wanted to stand on his own and prove he’d regained control of his life. So he’d gotten prickly about accepting help and they’d learned to wait until he requested their assistance.

  “Enough,” Kate said, extricating herself from Sydney’s arms.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Sydney perched on the side of the bed.

  “Fine.” Kate peered around Sydney. “I’d recognize you anywhere, Chief Morgan.” She gave him a flirtatious wink then held out her hand. “Kate Cleary.”

  He ignored the reaction he sometimes got from women and shook her hand. “Wish we could’ve met under different circumstances.”

  “Me, too, but then sometimes God likes to toss a few surprises into our lives to get our attention. I wake up each day waiting to see what He’ll do next.”

  Russ believed in God, but wasn’t sure how to respond to this enthusiastic expression of faith. “Mind if I ask you a few questions about the incident?”

  She grinned with the innocence of a child. “Avoiding the subject of God, I see.”

  “Not avoiding entirely. Just sidestepping for now.” He glanced at Sydney, who seemed to enjoy his discomfort.

  “Fair enough,” Kate said. “What did you want to know?”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Not much to tell. It all happened so fast.” She faced Sydney. “I heard a noise next door. Thought maybe Nikki decided to skip school. I wanted to encourage her to go back before she gave you something else to worry about.”

  Sydney patted her friend’s hand. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

  “But it wasn’t Nikki,” Russ said to get her back on track.

  “No.” She shuddered. “I pounded on the door and yelled for Nikki. The door flew open. A man rushed out and shoved me out of the way. My chair caught on a column and crashed down the stairs. I laid there until Mrs. Jaxon came home and called 911.” She sighed. “And that’s all I can tell you.”

  Sydney’s face constricted in pain and regret.

  “Can you describe the man?” Russ asked before Sydney could waylay the conversation by expressing her sorrow over what happened.

  “Not his face. He wore one of those black ski masks. He was tall, though.” She studied Russ. “Taller than you. Not muscular, but thin. Wiry.”

  “What was he wearing?”

  “Jeans. A black leather biker’s jacket. Black leather boots.”

  “What else did you see while you were lying there?”

  “Nothing, really. I was facing the house and my legs were wedged in so I couldn’t scoot around.”

  “Maybe you heard or even smelled something that could help.”

  “Maybe.” She stared off into the distance. “There was one thing, but I don’t see how it could be related.”

  “Why don’t you tell me? I’ll decide if it’s important.” Russ ended with a smile meant to encourage Kate to talk.

  She smiled back. “Shortly after I fell, a motorcycle roared down the alley,”

  Russ locked gazes with Sydney. Saw the same conclusion in her eyes.

  Kate looked from one to the other and back again. “What’re you two not telling me?”

  “It’s really nothing.” Russ worked to keep his tone laid-back. “Did you hear anything else?”

  “I don’t think so, but give me a second to think about it.” Kate closed her eyes.

  Sydney’s cell chimed. Russ watched her click to the text and gawk at the message. She glanced at Kate, then motioned for him to come closer.

  He bent over the phone.

  Nice of you to visit your friend, Deputy Tucker. If you keep stonewalling me, you’ll make another trip to the ho
spital. But then you’ll visit the morgue.

  Russ’s protective instincts shot to attention. He went to the window and let his gaze sweep the area below. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he drew the blinds.

  Kate opened her eyes. “Other than birds and dogs, that’s— What’s wrong?”

  Sydney palmed her cell and forced out a laugh. “Nothing. Everything will be fine.”

  Russ forced back his concern and smiled. “Sydney’s right. Everything will be fine.”

  His tone was calm, soothing even, but he could see that he didn’t fool Sydney. She knew this killer had to be smart and cunning to know her exact location right now.

  Russ needed to step up his plans. Quickly.

  “That’s all for now.” He handed his business card to Kate. “If you think of anything else, call my cell.” He turned to Sydney. “I’ll wait outside for you.”

  “I won’t keep her long.” Kate smiled a sincere goodbye to Russ.

  Sydney and Russ exchanged a long, knowing look as he walked to the door. She drew in a quick breath, then put on a brave smile that she aimed at Kate as he left the room.

  With his staff already stretched to the breaking point, he found a secluded spot in a waiting area off the busy hallway and called county for a protective detail. He could be overreacting, but experience from tracking down many killers said their suspect knew what he was doing. If they left Kate unprotected, he’d strike.

  Next, he dialed his older brother, Reid. As an ex-FBI agent, he had skills no one else in the area possessed. Russ dreaded asking for more help from the guy who’d single-handedly pulled Russ out of the pit of his alcoholic binge—he’d done enough for Russ—but lives were at stake and he needed the best on his team.

  “Hey, bro,” Russ said after Reid answered. “I hate to do this, but I need a favor.”

  “I’m listening.” Reid’s cautious tone was courtesy of his years as a fed.

  “You remember Sydney Tucker?” Russ asked even though he was sure Reid knew her. Last year Reid’s daughter, Jessie, had been abducted and Nikki had helped keep her safe until she was rescued.