Small-Town Face-Off

by Tyler Anne Snell

  Billy nodded and turned the morning talk show down as Suzy spoke with Dane. He watched as downtown Carpenter flashed by their windows. It was a warm day, but not as humid as it could have been. Still, Billy wouldn’t have minded changing out of his blazer to one of his running tees. His sheriff’s star shone on his belt, reminding him that just because it was warm didn’t mean he could start slacking in his appearance.

  “She did what?” Suzy asked, voice laced with surprise and simultaneously coated with disapproval. Billy turned the radio off. He raised his eyebrow in question but Suzy held up her index finger to tell him to hold on. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll tell him,” she continued into the phone. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks, Dane.”

  “What was that about?” Billy asked once Suzy ended the call. For a brief moment he wondered if Mara had left town again. This time taking a daughter he knew about.

  “Leigh Cullen tried to start something with Mara after she was done with the sketch artist. Apparently Leigh’s been saving up some anger for her.” The knot Billy hadn’t realized had formed in his chest loosened. Mara hadn’t decided to run off into the night, or day, again.

  “What do you mean, she tried to start something?”

  “While Mara was leaving the station, Leigh started hollering and came at her.” Billy tensed with a flash of anger. Suzy didn’t miss it. “Don’t worry, she didn’t get far. Deputy Mills and Cassie handled it while Mara went off to take Alexa to the park. At least, that’s where Jones said he thinks they were going. He wasn’t sure. You know how he is when Cassie’s trying to talk to him. His attention breaks a hundred which ways.”

  Billy couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He had, in fact, noticed how Dane couldn’t help but lose some of his concentration when the trainee dispatcher was around.

  “You give him such a hard time about her, you know?” he pointed out. Instead of continuing straight, taking them in the direction of the office, Billy was already putting on his blinker to turn. Anthony’s Park wasn’t that far away.

  “And he gave me a hard time when I went out with Rodney a few years back, so I’m still getting even.” She gave an indifferent shrug. Billy couldn’t argue with that. “So, we’re heading to the park?”

  “I don’t know how serious this Beck person is, but I don’t want to take any chances until we catch him, or at least know more. And after seeing those kids laid up in hospital beds, and knowing that Beck showed up at Mara’s house and threatened Alexa—” Billy’s grip momentarily tightened around the steering wheel. “Well, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if Mara and Alexa stayed a little more hidden while in town.” Billy didn’t slow down as he took another turn, his sense of urgency growing. “Plus, I have a feeling I’m going to need to have a talk with Mara.”

  “You want to visit her father,” Suzy guessed.

  Billy nodded.

  “If things start escalating, then I want to talk to the source himself before this thing gets out—”

  “Billy!”

  Suzy pointed out her window into Anthony’s Park to their left. Billy had already been focused on driving to the running trail entrance, what used to be Mara’s favorite path to walk, and hadn’t noticed the playground or the green expanse between it and the parking lot.

  But one look at Mara running with Alexa in her arms and a man chasing them, and a meteor could have crashed down next to them and he wouldn’t have noticed.

  “Hold on!”

  The side road that ran to the parking lot was too far away for his comfort, not when the man was so close to Mara and Alexa, so he cut the wheel hard. The Tahoe went up and over the curb with ease.

  “Can you see a gun on him?” Billy yelled, blood pumping as he sped up.

  “Not that I can tell,” Suzy hollered back.

  The man heard the approaching vehicle and turned. Billy was close enough to read the shock on his face. Apparently seeing a Tahoe barreling toward him was enough of a threat to make him rethink his current plan of action.

  “He’s changing direction,” Suzy yelled. “Heading for the walking trail!”

  Billy floored it toward the concrete trail that ran through the woods, knowing that once the man broke through the first line of trees the Tahoe wouldn’t have enough room to follow. The man, however, was fast. Billy slammed on the brakes as the fugitive slipped between the trees.

  But that wasn’t going to stop Billy.

  He flung his door open and only hesitated a moment to look behind them at Mara.

  “Are you okay?” he called, adrenaline bombarding his system. The second he saw her nod, Billy turned and was running. “Stay with them,” he yelled to Suzy.

  And then Billy was in the trees.

  Chapter Seven

  The man opted to avoid the only paved walkway that Anthony’s Park had to offer. Under normal circumstances that would have been just fine. While there wasn’t enough space for a vehicle to drive between the trees, there was more than enough for someone to explore or deviate if you were truly bored with the even, smooth path.

  However, chasing someone?

  That was a different story.

  Billy weaved through the trees, attempting to copy the perp’s zigzag route while adjusting his pace to the uneven terrain. At least if the man had a gun, Billy would be able to fall back to cover without much issue.

  “Riker County Sheriff, stop now,” Billy yelled out as he swung around another tree and barely avoided the next. The man didn’t even hesitate. “Stop now or I’ll shoot!”

  That did the trick in breaking the man’s concentration.

  His foot caught on a tree root and down he went. Billy was on him in seconds, gun drawn and ready for a fight if needed.

  “Don’t move,” he commanded. “Put your hands on your back!”

  The man obliged, but not without complaint. He wheezed and groaned into the dirt before catching his breath enough to mumble out some heated language. It didn’t bother Billy. He’d heard worse.

  “I didn’t do anything.” The man finally had the brass to yell as Billy pulled his cuffs out and slapped them on his captive’s wrists. The run seemed to have burned him out. The heat wasn’t helping matters.

  “It looked to me like you were chasing a woman and her kid,” Billy said, tugging on the cuffs to make sure they were secure. “And I don’t know about you, but to me, that looked like something.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” the man hurled back.

  “Well, good thing I’m going to explain it to you back at the station.” Billy secured his gun and helped the man get to his feet. “You run again, or try anything funny, I’ll show you just how much more in shape I am than you,” Billy warned. The man, covered in sweat, spat off to the side in anger. “And you spit on me or mine, and that’s felony assault against an officer of the law. Got it?”

  The man grumbled but didn’t kick up too much of a fuss as Billy led him out of the woods. Suzy, ever alert, was standing in front of Mara and Alexa, sandwiching them between the Tahoe and herself. Her hand was hovering over the gun at her hip, ready to defend the civilians at her back. When she saw them, there was nothing but focus in her expression.

  “I called for backup,” she said, not leaving her spot. “Deputy Mills was in the area. Should be here soon.”

  On cue, the sound of a distant cruiser’s siren began to sing.

  “You’re making a mistake,” the man tried again. “I’m the victim here! Did you see what that bitch did to my ear?” Billy kicked out at the back of the man’s leg. “Hey,” he cried out, stumbling forward. Billy pulled back on his cuffs to keep the man from falling.

  “Watch your step there, buddy,” Billy said. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  Deputy Mills came into view soon after. He drove around to the parking lot th
at looked out at the playground and stopped. Billy used his free hand to fish out the keys to the Tahoe he’d shoved into his pocket before.

  “Will you take the Tahoe back to the office?” he asked Suzy. “Our friend here can ride with Mills.” Billy glanced at Mara. She was rubbing Alexa’s back while the little girl cried into her neck. “I’ll catch a ride back with you.”

  It wasn’t a question, but still Mara nodded. Her face was pinched, concerned.

  “Sounds good, boss.” Suzy caught Billy’s keys. “I’ll go ahead and call Chief Hawser and tell him what’s happening. I’m sure he won’t mind, though. As long as we get men who like to terrorize women and children off the streets.” She cut a piercing look at the man.

  “Agreed. Call ahead and tell them to make the interrogation room comfortable too,” he added, in a tone that let his perp know that his humor was sarcasm only.

  “Will do,” Suzy said. She was already dialing the department’s number. Billy passed her but made sure to angle his body between the man and Mara and Alexa as they passed.

  Mara didn’t comment as they all walked over to Deputy Mills’s cruiser, a few spots down from Mara’s car, but Billy didn’t miss her soft reassurances to their daughter that everything was going to be okay. It sent another flash of anger through him. When Deputy Mills helped get the man into the cruiser Billy might have been a little rougher than usual with him.

  “Read him his rights, deputy,” Billy said when he was shut in the back of the car. “And don’t let him give you any trouble.”

  Deputy Mills nodded.

  “Yessir.”

  Billy watched as the cruiser pulled out and away before he went to Mara. She was leaning against the side of her car, still rubbing Alexa’s back. The little girl wasn’t crying anymore but a few sniffs could be heard. Those little sounds carried a much stronger punch than Billy thought was possible.

  “Is she okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, she’s fine,” she assured. “I just scared her a little when I had to grab her and run.”

  “Tell me what happened, Mara.”

  “Can we get out of here first?” she asked. Her gaze swiveled past him to the playground in the distance.

  “Yeah, we can.” Billy tried to search her face for an indication of how she felt. The Mara he knew had been easier to read than the mother standing in front of him. She was guarded. Once again he wondered what her life had been like in the last two years.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked. Mara shifted Alexa so they both slid into the back of the car.

  “Not long,” she said, starting the dance of buckling the toddler into her car seat. Alexa’s eyes were red. Tear tracks stained her cheeks. Billy didn’t like the sight. Not at all. “Oh, Billy, can you open my bag and grab a wipe or two?” She motioned to the bag she’d put down next to the car. Billy complied, thinking the wipes were for Alexa, but Mara held out her keys to him instead.

  “You want me to drive?” he asked, confused.

  Mara gave him a small smile.

  “There’s blood on my keys,” she explained. “But if you want to drive, I don’t mind that, either.”

  * * *

  “YOU USED YOUR keys like Wolverine uses his claws,” Billy deadpanned after she’d told him the story of what happened in the park. “I can say that I’ve never seen that self-defense tactic used in Riker County. Though I guess it was effective.”

  Mara looked into the rearview mirror and gave him a sly smile.

  “Believe me, if I’d had something more useful I would have used it instead.”

  Billy held up one of his hands to stop her thought. “Hey, it did the trick, didn’t it?”

  Mara’s attention shifted to Alexa strapped into the car seat next to her. She had calmed down in the few minutes they’d been driving, but Mara couldn’t help but see the little girl who had cried out as Mara had grabbed her and run. More for her sake than Alexa’s, Mara held on to her daughter’s little hands.

  “It helped us get away, but who knows what would have happened had he caught me.” Mara paused. “Actually, I know what would have happened,” she said, sure of her thought. Billy kept his eyes on the road but she knew he was listening with all of his attention. “He would have taken me and tried to make me tell him where this fictional stash of my father’s is. And when I didn’t tell him, he would have used our daughter against me.”

  Mara had gotten so swept up in her own anger that the words had flown from her mouth without realizing she’d used the word our. One little word that had never meant much to her had made Billy react in a very small yet profound way. No sooner had she spoken than his hands tightened around the steering wheel.

  “Billy, I—” she started, feeling the immediate need to apologize. Though the car ride wasn’t long enough to explain herself or her actions, and certainly not long enough to apologize for them.

  “So you think the stash isn’t real?” Billy interrupted. There was a tightness to his voice. It caught Mara off guard but she didn’t ignore the question.

  “I think that guy and this Beck person believe there is,” she admitted. “But, really, I can’t see how. The investigation into my father’s business was exhaustive. Don’t you think we—or you and the department—would have come across this cache of money or narcotics? At least have heard a rumor about it?”

  In the rearview mirror Mara could see Billy agree with that.

  “Still, like you said yesterday, we never were able to fully flush out your father’s network,” he pointed out. “Maybe that includes this stash.”

  Mara felt her cheeks heat. She was frustrated and she had a feeling it was only going to get worse. Putting her father in prison should have been the end of this particular brand of headache. And, with some loathing on her part, she realized, heartache. Memories of her childhood filled with a loving father, always watching out for her and taking care of her, tried to break through the mental block she kept up at all times. It was too difficult to remember the good times when she had so thoroughly helped bring in the bad.

  “Either way, I don’t think it really matters whether or not it’s real,” she said, hearing the bitterness in her tone just as clearly as she assumed Billy did. “As long as they think I know where it is, then Alexa is in danger.”

  The car slowed as they took the turn into the parking lot of the station. Billy pulled into a staff spot, quiet. Mara wondered what was going on behind those forest green eyes of his. He cut the engine and she didn’t have to wait long for him to tell her.

  “Well, then, we’re going to have to convince them that you don’t.”

  * * *

  THE MAN’S NAME was Caleb Richards and he’d made a nice little petty criminal career for himself in the past decade. With breaking and entering, convenience store theft, a multitude of speeding tickets and an aggravated assault charge, Caleb’s history painted a picture of a man who didn’t mind stepping over the line of what was right or wrong. Law be damned.

  “That’s quite the track record,” Billy said to the man after reading his record out loud. They were on opposite sides of a small metal table in the department’s lone interrogation room. Behind a two-way mirror sat Suzy and Captain Jones, watching. He’d asked Mara to stay in his office. She might not have admitted it, but her run-in with Caleb had shaken her up more than she was letting on. “And now running from the cops after attempted—what?—kidnapping? That’s a bit of an escalation for you, don’t you think?”

  Caleb’s face contorted into an ugly expression of anger.

  “Kidnapping? That woman attacked me,” he yelled. “I was just minding my own business. She should be the one wearing these, not me!” He yanked his hands up as much as his restraints would let him.

  “She said you came up to her asking about money and drugs,” Billy went on, playing it cool.
“In your words, blood money. Again, from where I’m sitting that doesn’t sound like you were the innocent one in all of this.” Caleb shook his head but didn’t respond. Which was probably the smartest thing he’d done that morning. Billy pressed on. “Listen, Caleb, Mara doesn’t know where the stash is. Despite what Beck tells you, I assure you, she doesn’t. I would know,” he said honestly. “And I think it’s time I tell him that face-to-face. Caleb, where is Beck?”

  The man’s anger seemingly transformed. Fear registered clearly when he uttered the four words Billy hated in interrogations.

  “I want a lawyer.”

  “This would all be a lot easier if you’d just cooperate with us,” Billy tried. “Make a deal and tell us everything you know about your boss and we might take running from a cop off the table.”

  Billy already knew Caleb wouldn’t bite. He was that special kind of stupid criminal, motivated purely by fear. And right now he wasn’t afraid of Billy or being charged. Which was more telling than if he’d just stayed quiet.

  “I’m not talking until I have a lawyer,” Caleb responded. “Got that?”

  Billy rapped his fist against the tabletop and smiled.

  “Got it.”

  He shut the interrogation door behind him just as Captain Jones and Suzy stepped out of the observation room.

  “What now?” Suzy asked, following him as he started to go to his office. He paused long enough to catch Dane’s eye.

  “I have an idea,” he said. “But I think it’s time the captain takes a coffee break.”

  Dane respected, and what’s more, trusted Billy, so he decided to play along.

  “I’ve been needing a refill anyways,” he said. “And anything that happens while I’m getting that refill, I’ll have no knowledge or part of, is that understood?”

  “I wouldn’t steer you wrong,” Billy assured him. Dane nodded and left them outside Billy’s office.

  “Okay,” Suzy said, unable to hide her trepidation. “What’s this bad plan of yours?”