“Actually, I’m to the point where I take fewer divorce cases and more of the fun stuff. As soon as our girl here graduates, I suspect they’ll be enough work to keep us both occupied.” The grin flashed over his shoulder declared his intent.
“I’ve heard this place is top shelf,” Coyote inserted himself into the conversation with a frown in Nolan’s direction, a clear message to take it easy.
“It just opened up a couple months ago. The setup might need a little tweaking, but the attention to detail is in-depth.” With a hand at Keiki’s waist, Tucker guided her into the building and to the left where a thick-shouldered man stood belly-up to the counter.
“Hey, Pete.”
Straight dark hair peppered with salt and the tiny crinkle lines edging mouth and eyes attested to a middle-aged man who smiled a lot. Well-defined muscles and lack of excess fat indicated he took care of himself. He greeted the PI with a handshake.
“Hey, Tucker. Who’ve you brought along today?” Intelligent eyes assessed Keiki and the two detectives beside her. “You told me you were bringing your, uh, friend with you, but not two officers.” With a smile, he held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Pete. Firearms instructor and owner of Straight Shot.”
Coyote stepped forward and completed introductions, finishing with, “Hope you don’t mind us tagging along.”
“Not at all, the more the merrier. Tuck said she’s got a target on her back.” Narrowing his appraisal on Keiki, Pete added, “It’s always a good idea to be prepared. We’ve received requests to train quite a few civilians, many of whom are women. I thoroughly approve.”
“Okay if we take the long course today, Pete? I’ll run her through it.” Again, the PI’s proprietary hand sifted through the ends of Keiki’s hair at her waist.
“Along with us.” Nolan pulled out his wallet to retrieve his ID and cash.
“We’ve made a friendly wager, if there’s time,” Tucker added.
Pete’s quiet guffaw made it clear the competition was for more than targets. His speculation returned to Keiki. “I cleared the course for the morning after you called, Nick. Help yourselves.”
Preparations aside, the four made their way to the still target section for initial assessment of gun safety and accuracy. Nolan watched Keiki load and fire her weapon at stationary targets while he reiterated standards of practice.
Keiki’s intense focus carried over with a 94% kill rate. Coyote whistled low, and Nick nodded his approval.
“There’s a big difference between paper targets and someone firing live rounds at you,” Nolan advised.
Keiki leveled a stare at him. “Yeah, been there, done that. More than once as a matter of fact. At least now, I’ll be able to shoot back.”
“You’re not licensed to carry,” Coyote reminded her.
“Yet. I’m not licensed to carry yet.”
The subsequent course resembled Hogan’s Alley, used by the FBI. The outdoor range employed three safe directions for practical training. Pop-up or turning targets with sudden loud noises mimicked possible situations for a police officer on duty.
The course spanned seventy-five yards, during which the trainee was scored on time and accuracy while moving forward and assessing threats on the fly. While she got her visual bearings, Tucker explained the strategy and various situations she could encounter in a straightforward manner.
“For today, since this is your first time, let’s braid your hair. Next time we come, we’ll pick a windy day and leave it down to offer a bit of distraction.”
Nolan took a step forward when the PI gathered her long locks in his hands. From his back pocket, he pulled a soft hair band. The man came prepared, if nothing else.
“There’s no way they could guess we’d be here, right?” Keiki turned to Nolan for reassurance. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, keeping her gun aimed downward.
The flash of pride he’d felt when she looked to him for reassurance cooled as Tucker took his time braiding her wavy hair.
“We’re fine. Coyote and I will be with you all the way. Since this is the type of place cops frequent, it’s the last place they’d look.” As a precaution, Coyote had left his disassembled cell on his kitchen table. The new one he’d brought for Nolan would serve their needs.
“Okay. Let’s take a stroll down Main Street, shall we?” Tucker tugged on the end of her braid and redirected her attention. “This’ll be a walk in the park.”
Cars parked in front of a false bank front simulated a real-life scenario except for the pockmarks from wild shots scoring the painted plywood exteriors.
Nolan and Coyote kept pace behind Keiki as she moved forward with her Glock.
“Most shots are fired from within seven yards of a suspect, hence the road is narrow.” Nolan’s running commentary offered necessary learning as well as a distraction for them both. The sight of her holding her weapon like a pro distracted the hell out of him. He didn’t need another reason to find her hot as hades.
“We’ll also show you how a twenty-five pound, handheld battering ram can shatter a lock,” Tucker supplied as he remained slightly back and to her side.
“Because I need to know how to break into someone’s house? I thought that’s why you were teaching me to pick locks, which, by the way, saved my life.”
Nolan fisted his hand against his gut to waylay its churning. The fact she escaped at all was a miracle. Doing so before enduring rape saved his sanity.
There were things Nolan, as a friend, would teach her, regardless of her life’s future direction. A mental list formed, complete with complementary meals and various diversions in between.
“The reason is so you’ll remember the sound if someone breaks into your home,” Coyote explained. “It’s important to use all your senses in assessing a situation to cut down reaction time.”
“There are things we realize in a split-second while assessing a possible threat.” Nolan paused when Keiki raised her gun and shot the pop-up gunman in the mock post office window.
“Consider how a normal, innocent person would react to a gun pointed at them. They’d raise their hands, make eye contact, and you’ll recognize the confusion in their expression, body language, and voice. Learn to take note of it all to determine the threat level.”
“Verbal abuse, low light situations, anything that provides distraction, it’s all fair game during training.” To prove his point, Tucker splayed his fingers on her low waist and began sliding them downward.
Keiki missed her shot. “Hey!”
Nolan gripped the PI’s arm and tugged him back as Coyote snickered.
“See? My case in point. You missed.” With a knowing grin at the detectives, he added, “At least she didn’t swing to shoot me. This is the way some partners train.”
That smirk is coming off, one way or another. His little enigma squared her shoulders and straightened her spine in a show of mental preparation. “Next time, I won’t let the bastard get close enough to touch me.”
“Ah, but shit happens, doesn’t it? Consider Tink’s concussion.” Tucker’s gloating would cease when he was unconscious.
Coyote’s side-glance expressed his remorse over divulging Nolan’s embarrassing debacle. “In all honesty, partner, it was a good prank.”
Her next two shots struck with a dull thwack, her aim accurate and hands steady. Stretching her neck and rolling her shoulders, she exuded more confidence with each step.
In approaching the final stretch, she relaxed her posture and strode forward with self-assurance indicative of emerging inner strength.
As she raised the muzzle to fire at a man wearing a black ski mask, Tucker retrieved his pistol and fired downrange.
Startled, Keiki shot wide. “What the hell are you trying to do? I could’ve shot you!”
Tucker wore an idiot grin. “Naw, hon. I had my left hand inches from your elbow. I wouldn’t have let you hurt anyone.”
“That’s why you wanted to stay on my right. You’re right-handed.” Keik
i’s voice elevated an octave.
“Yep. Got to learn to expect the unexpected. It’s what’s gonna let us work great together.”
References to their future working relationship proved something Nolan couldn’t swallow. He stepped between Keiki and Tucker, facing the PI.
He’d had his fill of the younger man’s cockiness and innuendos. “That has to be one of the most harebrained moves I’ve seen pulled on a novice. With more experienced officers and maybe even trained civilians, yes. But with a complete rookie, no.” On second thought, maybe he should’ve let Keiki shoot the self-assured prick.
“Best way to learn, Nolan.” Tucker raised a shoulder in nonchalance.
The PI, with his self-composed yet cocky attitude, volunteered to go next. Although Nolan and Coyote provided various distractions, it was Keiki’s subtle brushing against his back that sent the PI’s shots askew.
Witnessing it was more rewarding than words could describe. Even Coyote failed to smother his guffaws.
At least Tucker had the good grace to nod to her success.
Nolan and Coyote finished, their competitive streak bringing the familiarity of jokes and remembered situations. Keiki smacked Coyote’s ass with a gusto that sent him stumbling forward, but she limited her touches to Nolan on his back and neck. Visible shudders accompanied boisterous laughter when his shots went astray, fodder for future jibes.
“Close, but, you lose, Tink.” Tucker couldn’t contain himself. “Looks like you’re buying.”
“Yeah, all right. How about steaks on the grill?” He preferred to keep Keiki close to home.
“Sure. I like mine rare. I’ll bring dessert,” Tucker replied.
The exercise appeared to remove some of Keiki’s strain, even allowing for a smile and small chuckle.
In the end, the specter of Porter and Harock’s threat sobered them all when the PI offered a rematch, declaring she needed more practice.
Once back in the SUV, they’d stepped away from the range’s pretense of shelter and back into the stark reality of facing life and death.
“I can’t go to Gabby’s funeral either, can I?” Keiki murmured from the back seat.
“No, I’m sorry. That’d be the first place someone would look, regardless of how good a disguise you put together.” Nolan put the vehicle in gear and thought back to the PI’s behavior. Part of the flirty demeanor may have been an effort to divert Keiki’s focus on kidnappers, deceitful employers, and her friends’ deaths.
The ride home was quiet and reflective. Even Coyote remained mute.
When Nolan cut the engine in his driveway, he caught the flash of Keiki’s grim determination in the rearview.
“I’m gonna go back to the office and see how things are shaping up.” Coyote hopped out and headed for his truck. “I’ll stop in tonight, partner.”
The reminder was as much a warning as intent to keep Nolan informed.
They had a job to do and one hell of a mess to sort. The final straw would lie in rounding up all the participants.
Her sudden nervousness in entering his house dissipated somewhat with Horace’s affectionate greeting.
“Have a seat, and I’ll fix lunch.”
“You think because I’m in college I can’t cook?”
“Not at all. You’re a guest in my house. I’m trying to be gracious.” He kept the snicker out of his voice per order of his shins.
Bottled emotions would fester, swell, and change a person from the inside out. At the moment, she was ready to burst. She’d grieved for her friends and lost surrogate family. Helping her to remember the good in her classmates could start to balance the scales of sorrow. Neither Shelly nor Gabby had intentionally used her for their own gain.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“I still don’t understand why I can’t watch this go down. I’ll stay in the background, behind you all.” Keiki didn’t look up from her keyboard. Extreme focus meant she paid little attention to her surroundings.
“Because you’re not a police officer. Operations rarely go exactly as expected, so plans have to be fluid. They change on the fly, and you have no training.” Nolan finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher and rubbed his forehead. The dull headache from early morning had circled around and now throbbed mercilessly behind his eyes. It was an argument she wouldn’t win but refused to abandon.
He took a moment to bring up the app on his cell phone marking her presence, satisfied when the little red dot appeared on screen. The reminder of Tucker’s ability to keep abreast of advanced technology didn’t change his disapproval of her aspiration to work with him.
“But Tucker’s gonna be part of it.”
“Keiki, there’s gonna be a few alphabet teams overseeing this operation. Tucker’s earned a certain leeway. He’s also trained and has experience. With a little touch up, he looks enough like me, sans glitter, to fool Porter’s muscle into believing he’s your protection.”
“When he shows up with the female impersonator, Porter’s gonna know it’s a setup.”
“By that time, it’ll be too late. We’ll have him, his underlings, and Harock in one fell swoop.”
“I don’t like it. Too much can go wrong.”
“It’s not up to you. You’re a civilian, and we have enough manpower to cover the bases.”
“Maybe I should apply to the police academy.”
Nolan shrugged, knowing he hadn’t come close to selling his feigned indifference.
Keiki groaned and repeatedly punched one key with excessive force. “Damn. This is an ID ten T issue.”
“A what?”
“Write it down. You’ll figure it out.”
Nolan retrieved a pen and paper and wrote ID10T. “Huh. Smartass. Try pushing other buttons, sometimes works for me.” His attempt to lighten her mood earned a scowl.
“That’s what’s wrong with your generation in dealing with electronics.”
He estimated her nod to their age difference a modern version of backtalk. No doubt it shored up her emotional reserves and restored her equilibrium.
On the other hand, if the green screen of her mind focused on their kiss instead of the horrific and repeated nightmare occurring in his head, he’d consider that a win.
“What about Porter’s boss? Won’t he just send another lowlife to come after us?” she reasoned.
“Not if we can flip anyone we catch. The chances of that are damn good.”
“They’d let him off with two murder charges?” Disbelief elevated her pitch and volume.
“Not in this lifetime. But most would take life without parole under an assumed name rather than a lethal injection or caged with inmate general population.”
“I can live with that.”
He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until it erupted in a quiet exhale. “You’re going to stay with Carolyn until this is over.”
She tightened her fists on the table then jerked her head in a reluctant nod. “Fine. Tucker will give me the details, if you won’t.”
Nolan checked his watch again before fishing his phone from his pocket. A quick swipe of the screen revealed the red dot indicating Keiki’s location.
“She still there? It’s been what, five whole minutes?” Coyote raised his field glasses to survey the meadow below. “Get your head in the game, partner, we’ve got killers to catch.”
“Yeah, she’s still at the apartment. And you’re one to talk. What’s been eating at you? I haven’t seen you this quiet since we met.”
“Nothing. Well, waiting on a call. It seems my brother may have stepped in something again. It’ll wait.”
It was obvious his partner didn’t want to elaborate on the matter. “I have a bad feeling about this set up.”
“We’ve covered all the bases we can. Move on.”
Keiki had refused Carolyn’s company, insisting she was agitated and wanted to rest. He’d taken her car keys then left her disabled vehicle in Carolyn’s garage. There was no way she could get it out wi
thout drawing her landlady’s attention.
They’d taken cover in the woods surrounding the meadow, along with a team assigned to protect the undercover officer and PI. Tucker kept his left arm around Keiki’s doppelganger, who’d placed her hand at his back waist where he kept his backup weapon.
Leaning against the hood of an old pickup truck, both decoys chatted as if enjoying the cloudy afternoon before a storm broke. Tucker wore ripped jeans, a chamois shirt, and boots. The undercover officer sported dark corduroys, a knit pullover, and a baseball cap with the brim pulled low.
“What’s the worry, Tink? She has her new phone. One that Porter hasn’t accessed.”
References to the glitter fiasco had earned him a steady supply of gleaming confetti on his desk every day along with several animated children’s movies and fake tickets to a nearby children’s park.
“Doesn’t mean she hasn’t called other friends. If Porter’s men have locked onto other classmates, Keiki can be traced.”
“Look, you told her no calls unless it’s an emergency. I know it’s driving you nuts, which by association, extends to me.”
“Shit!” The little nag at the back of his head morphed into full-blown dread.
“What?”
“My phone. They took mine. We assumed Porter tossed it somewhere in the woods or along the road. What if they didn’t?”
“Why wouldn’t they discard it? They didn’t recognize or peg you for a cop. Not wearing your colorful camouflage. And they already had Keiki.”
“I had pictures of her on it.”
“As any boyfriend would…”
“But not with speed dials to the station and other cops. Shit.”
“It’s not like you do online banking over your phone, right?”
“True, but I don’t erase text messages right away…”
“We’ll sort this out in a few minutes. It’s show time.”
The undercover officer pulled her cap lower and brushed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. Tucker rubbed her back and smiled.
“Things never go as scheduled,” his partner’s rumbled warning filled the space between them. “Stay focused.”
A Critical Tangent Page 25
