Behind the Badge

by Susan Sleeman

  He sighed with exasperation. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I need to hide in your vehicle when you leave.”

  “Don’t know if that’ll work, Tucker. Morgan is such a stickler for protocol. He searched my cruiser on the way in and will do it on the way out.”

  “So what if he does? I’m not a prisoner… I can leave. If Reid follows us, with your stellar driving, you can easily lose him.” She really didn’t think Sarge could outmaneuver Reid, but Sarge often acted based on his ego, so she shamelessly fed it.

  “You got that right.” He clamped a hand on his jaw and looked up in his thinking pose. “Okay, this is what we do. I’ll go out and offer to spell the agent on the porch.”

  “Claudia. Her name’s Claudia.”

  “We’ll both go outside to talk to Claudia. You act all upset, like I really let you have it over your gun—which, by the way, I’m gonna do when this is all over.” He pierced her with a hard stare. “Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Tell Claudia you’re gonna lie down. Go to your room, lock the door. Turn on a TV, radio, whatever’s in there to make noise. When Claudia goes inside, I’ll keep an eye on her. If she doesn’t follow you, I’ll call you and you can slip out the window.”

  “Perfect. Thanks, Sarge. I’ll owe you big-time for this.”

  “Yeah, you will.” He went to the door.

  She followed and almost called things off when Claudia’s gaze expressed continued concern for her safety. Sydney hated to do something so underhanded to the woman, but Nikki needed her, so she moved forward.

  Together she and Sarge worked their plan and even though Claudia seemed suspicious, it went off without a hitch. Reid allowed them to pass, and she relaxed as much as one could in the trunk of a car as the tires spun over the highway. They traveled for miles, damp cold seeping into her bones, before Sarge stopped and let her out. She hurried into the passenger seat and turned on the heat.

  “Where to?” Sarge asked.

  “My house to get my car.”

  “Then let’s not dawdle.” He flipped on the lights and siren and shot down the road.

  She’d ridden with him before and felt comfortable with his high-speed driving, but today the sun perched at the right spot to send blinding rays through the windshield. She offered a quick prayer for their safety and kept her eyes on the surroundings, making sure the killer wasn’t following them.

  “Would you mind parking in the alley a few doors down in case the killer is staking out my house?” she asked.

  “Not likely he’s anywhere around here. He has to know this is the last place you’ll come.”

  “Humor me, okay?”

  “Fine.” He turned the corner and eased into the alley.

  With the sun rapidly descending, deep shadows reflected into the tight space, sending chills over Sydney’s arms. Maybe the alley wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “So do you have a plan, or are you gonna run off half-cocked?” Sarge asked, shifting into Park.

  “I have a plan.”

  “Want to run it by me?” he said. “I might be able to help.”

  “You won’t try to stop me?”

  “No.” He turned off the ignition.

  She opened her door. “I’ll tell you once we get inside so I don’t waste time.”

  They climbed out and quickly walked to her back stoop. Even as she unlocked the door, she kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings, but Sarge must’ve really believed the killer was nowhere in sight as he relaxed against the wall and waited for her to open the door.

  She stepped inside first. The mess left behind from the invasion tugged out a sigh. But the mess wasn’t worth thinking about with her sister missing, so she continued picking her way through her belongings to get to Nikki’s room, where she went straight to her computer.

  She woke it up. “My gut says the killer couldn’t possibly have known the safe-house location and he doesn’t have Nikki. After I find her and make sure she’s safe, I’ll send a text to the killer. Lure him out and away from Nikki.”

  Sarge stopped next to her. “Okay, first, how are you gonna find her?”

  “I’m logging on to our cell provider to see if she made any calls.” Sydney clicked away on the keyboard. “Nikki isn’t supposed to use her phone right now, but if I know my sister, she called someone. The listing won’t include the name or address, but hopefully I can use reverse phone lookup to find it.”

  “If not, I’ll pull a few strings and get the name for you.”

  “You’d do that?” she asked.

  “Why not?”

  She glanced up at him. “No offense, Sarge, but you’re a by-the-book kinda guy. This is so breaking the rules.”

  “Sometimes the rules are made to be broken.” His face took on a mischievous look. “But don’t ever let me catch you breaking them, Tucker.”

  She didn’t know how to react to a side of this usually strict, no-nonsense man. A man who rarely cracked a smile and held her to high standards.

  The screen opened. “She only made one call. Here.” She pointed at the listing. “It’s a Portland number. I think I’ve seen it before, but I don’t know who it belongs to.”

  She surfed to a reverse-lookup site and typed in the number. “Unlisted.”

  “Let me see what I can do.” Sarge took out his phone and went in the other room.

  He probably didn’t want her to hear how he was circumventing procedure to get the number so she couldn’t ever duplicate it on the job.

  She took the time to open Nikki’s email. Until a few months ago, she’d trusted Nikki and never invaded her privacy. But after the problems of late, she’d insisted Nikki remove her screen password so Sydney could access her computer if she wanted. She’d never done so, but counted on the fact that her access might keep Nikki from doing something dumb.

  Sydney scrolled down the listings. Nothing since before their trip to the lodge. So it was just the one phone call.

  Sarge returned. “Number belongs to a Tara Vincent. Know her?”

  Sydney’s mouth dropped open.

  “Guess that means you do.”

  Sydney worked hard on curbing her emotions before answering. “Our mother. She took her maiden name after the divorce.”

  He held out a small notebook. “I have her address. If you want, I’ll go with you to check things out.”

  Sydney flashed up her hand. “No! This is something I have to do on my own.”

  Sydney took the paper Sarge ripped from his notebook. She asked him to watch to make sure no one followed her then headed for her car.

  Seeing her mother again for the first time in eleven years wasn’t something Sydney wanted to do. Not now. Not ever. But leaving Nikki in her mother’s clutches wasn’t an option.

  Dread biting into her heart, she climbed into her cruiser and eased onto the road. She headed for the highway to Portland for the forty-minute drive. She hoped to use the time to prepare herself to see a woman who’d discarded her like trash.

  Russ sat on a bench in the courtyard outside his office. Darkness had descended, leaving the area as shadowed as his thoughts. He couldn’t come to a decision about Sydney.

  He lifted his face to the sky, peppered with twinkling stars. “God, if you’re there, please show me what to do.”

  He propped his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his hands. A Bible verse came to his mind, as if God were whispering the words in his ear. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.

  The same thing Sydney had said to him in the delivery truck. Bad things happen—like losing the job you thrive on or not having a chance with the woman you’ve come to love—but whatever happened, if he reacted positively to these events, then God could work it for good. And, as Sydney said, he could use what he learned in the hard times to help others. Much like he’d helped Nikki.

  So, he could play it safe—arrest Sydney and keep his job—or do what his gut told hi
m was the right thing to do here—find the real killer. He might lose his job but God would see him though whatever occurred. All he had to do was remember that. To call upon God’s strength when he felt weak and he could do anything.

  Thank You, God, for being here. Thank You for bringing Sydney into my life. Please, Lord, help me to put aside my desire to keep my job. Help me do what’s right for her.

  “There you are,” Reid said, entering the courtyard. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

  “I had some thinking to do, so I turned off my phone.” Russ pulled his cell out and powered it up. “Wait. What’re you doing here? Who’s watching Sydney?”

  “She took off.”

  “What?” Russ’s raised voice reverberated off the walls surrounding them and all the trust he’d just placed in God threatened to evaporate.

  “I think she’s with Krueger,” Reid said.

  “You think?”

  “I’m nearly positive.”

  “Explain,” Russ demanded.

  “Earlier this afternoon I called Sydney to tell her Nikki took off.”

  “Seriously?” Russ jumped to his feet. “A few hours away and everything falls apart. What happened?”

  “She was hanging out in her room at the safe house. After a while the guys got worried when she didn’t come out, so they went to check on her. The window was unlocked but there was no sign of foul play. We believe she decided to split.”

  “Just like she did the other night. So what happened with Sydney?”

  “She was supposed to check with Nikki’s friend to see if Nikki was with her and call me back. When Sydney didn’t call back, I called her. She didn’t answer.” Reid cleared his throat. “Claudia followed up and found Sydney was missing. This was minutes after Krueger came by to talk to Sydney about her gun, so the only logical explanation is she got Krueger to give her a ride.”

  Russ clamped a hand on his neck and paced. “This is my fault. I yelled at her for not telling me about her gun. Now she probably thinks I won’t help her clear her name and she has to do it on her own.”

  “I think it has more to do with Nikki taking off.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Russ searched for an idea of what to do next. “We need to get into her head and figure out what she’s up to.”

  “Seems like we have two choices here. She went to find Nikki or she’s trying to lure out the killer.”

  “Our best bet is to get the phone company to give us her location by triangulating her cell.” Reid dug out his phone. “I’ll call my buds at the FBI to get that started.”

  “That’s good, but cutting through the red tape could take hours. I’m not gonna sit here and wait.”

  “You got a better idea?”

  “Not really, but if I was going after a killer I’d want to be prepared. First thing I’d do is head home to get items I’d need to carry out my mission.”

  “Me, too.” Reid stood. “So let’s scope out her house, then.”

  “We need to move fast.” Russ’s tone filled with heaviness. “This killer is too good. No way a rookie can handle him.”

  Tossing up a prayer for Sydney’s safety, Russ charged toward his cruiser and fired up both siren and lights. Reid climbed in next to him and they raced through the streets of Logan Lake. Reid talked with his buddy Jack Duger, who promised to do his best to obtain her location.

  “I only hope the killer hasn’t gotten to Sydney first,” Reid said after he disconnected.

  His brother’s tone upped his anxiety level. If that was possible. He hadn’t been this frazzled since Willie died.

  Okay, God. I’m failing here. I need Your strength to get through this.

  There. That should help. He waited for the easing of the knot in his stomach. Didn’t happen. He needed to keep his focus on trusting God. Maybe the pain would diminish.

  They pulled up to her house.

  “Don’t see her car.” Russ shifted into Park and searched the area.

  “She could’ve parked in the garage.” Reid withdrew his gun.

  Russ followed suit and grabbed his door handle.

  An explosion rocked the car. Sydney’s house disappeared in orange-and-blue flames shooting into the air. Debris reined down on them, pinging off the roof. The windshield cracked like thin ice on a pond.

  Russ ducked and covered his head. Saw Reid do the same thing.

  When the fallout stopped, he raised his head. The structure sizzled and snapped with flames.

  “No! Sydney!” He jumped from the car. As he approached the house, heat seared his face and thick smoke clouded his vision. He put an arm up to protect his eyes. A few more steps.

  A neighbor rushed up to them. “What happened?”

  “Call 911,” Reid commanded in a tone that told the man to ask no further questions.

  Russ stood, staring. In shock over the sight before him.

  Reid eased closer. “We have no proof she’s in there, Russ.”

  “I know. My gut even says I’d know if she was in there, but still…” His words fell off as he imagined a life without Sydney.

  Reid turned Russ to face him. “Don’t go there, bro. Unless we have confirmation, it’s a waste of time.” Reid held his hands out. “Look. There’s a crowd forming. As police chief, you need to take control of the situation so when the fire department arrives they can do their job.”

  Russ heard Reid’s words, but didn’t want to let them register. He was the police chief, all right. It was the job he’d lived for. Until right now. The job meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was just a job and wasn’t enough for him. Not since Sydney came into his life again. She was so much more than the job. But Reid was right. They had no evidence that she was inside and there was no use letting fear paralyze him, making the situation worse.

  Russ turned to the growing crowd and dug to his core to find the strength to do his job. “Okay, people, you need to back up so we can make room for the fire truck.”

  “Is Sydney okay?” a woman shouted.

  “We aren’t sure she was home,” Russ answered.

  “I saw her come home a little while ago, but I didn’t see her lea—” The words were torn away on a sob.

  “Doesn’t look like her car is here, so that’s a good sign,” Reid said.

  “She didn’t drive up in her car. She was walking.”

  Russ shared a look with Reid. Russ didn’t try to hide his sorrow. If anyone understood Russ’s emotions right now, it was his brother. He knew all about losing the woman he loved.

  No. Russ wouldn’t think that way. Not until a firefighter confirmed it. He had to keep hoping. Something in his gut told him she was alive. He’d hang on to that for now and do his job.

  Uncertain what to do, Sydney stood inside the door of her mother’s small bungalow. Nikki held their mother’s hand while Sydney let it sink in that after eleven years she was facing the woman who hadn’t wanted them. The woman who’d been verbally abusive. The woman who’d ended Sydney’s childhood and forced her to take on responsibilities she wasn’t ready to assume.

  Sydney stared at the wrinkled hand holding Nikki’s soft one. She glanced at the aged face, making sure not to linger in her eyes filled with hope. Alcohol abuse had aged their mother beyond her years. She claimed she’d quit drinking. Been sober for a few years now, she said. That’s why she contacted them. Wanted their forgiveness. But a ten-minute conversation wasn’t enough to let Sydney forgive years’ worth of hurt.

  “Sydney,” her mother said. “Please don’t go. Sit down. Let’s talk.”

  “I can’t. C’mon, Nikki…we’re leaving.”

  “But it’s not safe out there.”

  “And it’s not safe here. It won’t take long for someone to find Mom’s address and come looking for us.”

  “Then she should come with us, too,” Nikki insisted.

  “I’ll arrange for her to go to the safe house.”

  “I’ll go with her.”

  “No!” Sydney regretted her outbu
rst the moment it happened. “I’m sorry, Nikki, but I need you to come with me. When this is all over, we’ll all sit down and have a talk.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes, I promise,” she said, giving her sister a look that ensured she would keep her word.

  “Okay.” Nikki got up, hugged their mother and crossed the room.

  Sydney looked at her mother. “Pack a bag. The FBI agents will be here soon to move you someplace safe.”

  “It was good to see you, Sydney. I look forward to seeing you again.” Her tone was hopeful, but still that of a stranger.

  Sydney left the house and surveyed the street before easing Nikki out the door behind her. She opened the passenger door and waited for Nikki to settle, then ran around the front of the car and got in.

  Distracted by seeing her mother, Sydney was lucky she navigated safely through the streets. At the first stop sign, she sighed out her tension and ran her hands through her hair, stopping to massage a tight muscle at the base of her skull.

  “How odd,” a male voice said from the backseat. “I have a headache, too.”

  Nikki screamed and Sydney spun around. A gun pointed at them through the metal grille separating the seats.

  “Hello, Deputy Tucker.” The large man grinned. “Pull into a parking space.”

  She did as told, then shifted in her seat to get a good look at the man. A man she’d never seen before. He had a long face, covered with stubble that matched salt-and-pepper hair cut short. Powerfully built, he sported a large tattoo of a snake on the arm raised with the gun.

  He let out a coarse laugh. “If you’re finished studying me, I suggest we proceed.”

  “What do you want?”

  His expression sobered. “We want the flash drive you took from Dixon’s house.”

  We? So there was more than one person involved in this. “Who are you working with?”

  “You’ll find that out in due time. But first, the flash drive.”

  “I didn’t take a flash drive.”

  He tsked. “I’d so hoped you’d cooperate with me, but I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. Now do be a good girl, turn around and place your hands on the wheel where I can see them.”

  Frantically searching for a way out of this situation, she turned and laid her hands on the wheel. Maybe if she kept him talking they could escape. Complimenting him on his prowess was a good place to start.