Manhunt

by Lisa Phillips

  Hailey walked backward, taking Kerry with her. She looked at Turner, who was aiming his gun at her. “How long have you been working with Farrell?”

  The marshal shrugged. “Does it matter?”

  On the off-chance he got caught, he likely didn’t want to implicate himself. But Turner had killed already today, so he was probably planning to get rid of all of them and simply walk away with his freedom and the jewels. It would take days for police to unravel the mess after the river washed all the evidence away.

  Hailey’s life might not have been perfect…or even particularly happy, but she didn’t want to go out that way. And she certainly wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to Kerry or Eric.

  Turner kept his gun trained on them. “Now, where are the jewels?”

  Eric’s jaw was clenched. She could see it even from this distance. He shifted as Farrell struggled in his grip.

  Farrell’s eyes flickered. He knew now that the bag she’d given him didn’t contain the actual jewels, and yet he wasn’t telling Turner. Had Farrell been planning to double-cross Turner this whole time?

  Hailey moved to the side so she and Kerry weren’t between the two men facing off against each other.

  Someone grunted, and Eric yelled. Hailey turned just as the sound was cut off by a dull thud. Farrell grabbed for a dazed Eric’s gun. Farrell had hit him? They wrestled, and the gun went off. Farrell backed up, Eric’s weapon in his hand.

  Eric slumped to the floor, blood streaming from his temple.

  Farrell stood with the bag in one hand and Eric’s gun in the other. “Ready to go. After I deal this one some retribution.” He motioned to Hailey.

  Turner shook his head. “We don’t have time for your fun and games.”

  Hailey figured he’d already done her enough damage. But without her weapon, and against two armed men, there wasn’t much she could do. She moved farther back, bringing Kerry with her and praying with everything she had that neither man would notice the widening gap between them and the girls in the church foyer.

  Farrell’s eyes flashed. “I didn’t say it would take long.”

  Eric didn’t stir.

  Turner stood his ground just inside the church doors. “Just kill them, and I’ll get you out of town. Everyone who knows what you did will be dead.”

  It figured Turner would want Farrell to kill them. But would he? Did Farrell know the marshal was just getting Farrell to implicate himself further? Turner would probably kill Farrell the first chance he got, take the jewels and hide them and claim he brought Eric, Hailey and Kerry’s killer to justice.

  He would walk away free.

  Farrell’s lips thinned. “You mean everyone will be dead except you.”

  He whipped his gun hand toward Turner and fired. Turner dropped to the floor, letting off shot after shot in Farrell’s direction as he fell. Hailey dived, covering Kerry with her body. Something slammed into her vest. It was like being hit point-blank with a shot from a paintball gun. Or one of those beanbag rounds she’d been hit with at the airport.

  Kerry screamed. Hailey tried to get her breath back, but her side hurt as much as her hand now.

  She wasn’t going to survive this.

  “Eric!”

  He shifted, his eyes glassy. Did he even know what was going on? He glanced around.

  Farrell was going to kill them all. But she was going to make sure Kerry got out if it was the last thing she did. Hailey shifted off Kerry.

  The back door was across the sanctuary. “Go. Now. Out the back way.” Hailey used her best don’t-argue-with-me voice. Kerry whimpered, but clambered to her feet and made a run for it.

  Hailey stood and faced Farrell’s weapon. Pain screamed from her hand and her side. She lifted her chin even though she still didn’t have a gun. “You really are under arrest.”

  He laughed.

  Still on the floor, Eric’s attention was on Farrell, and it looked like he was trying to focus. The escapee lifted his gun at the same time her partner swung his leg up and slammed it into the back of Farrell’s knees. Farrell started to fall.

  The gun went flying.

  Hailey slammed into him and they rolled over and over, until Hailey’s head hit a chair.

  *

  Hailey’s face was in the water. Eric hauled her out just as he’d done with Kerry and saw Turner beyond her, dead from a gunshot to his chest.

  “Where did Farrell go?” Hailey shook off her daze.

  “He made a run for it.” Eric pulled Hailey with him to the door where Kerry was.

  He pulled both of them into his arms and held them tight. Hailey took sharp breaths, like she was fighting tears, while Kerry had already yielded to hers.

  Hailey pulled back. “Thank you.”

  Eric held her gaze. “I should have been in there quicker. I can’t believe he got the drop on me.”

  “It’s okay. It’s done now.”

  She was right. They were safe. “Let’s get to Charles.”

  “I think Turner did something to him.”

  Eric saw her face and didn’t ask more questions she wouldn’t want to answer in front of Charles’s daughter.

  Turner’s actions had vindicated Eric, proving his statement about Turner’s earlier murder of Mr. Phelps, but that wasn’t going to help them any right now.

  Hailey led them back through the church to the front door. Turner was still lying where he’d fallen. They skirted the edge of the room, and Eric kept himself between Kerry and the dead man. He didn’t want her to have to see that.

  Hailey went for the door and he pulled her back. “Let me. Stay here with Kerry, out of the rain.”

  Hailey nodded. Still, he could see in her eyes that she understood his real reason for wanting them to stay there. Charles was Kerry’s father, and if he was dead then she didn’t need that image on top of everything else she’d seen that night.

  Eric waded to where Jonah’s boat had drifted against the building. Charles was alive, slumped inside, and the other boat—Turner’s—was still tethered to the other railing of the front steps, opposite where they’d tied Jonah’s boat. Farrell could be gone as easily as he could still be in the building. What kind of boat did he have?

  Eric waved Kerry and Hailey outside and got them loaded into Turner’s boat. He held Hailey’s elbow, helping her onto the boat. She hissed and touched a hand to her side.

  “Okay?”

  “Vest. Probably just a bruise.” Or she had a cracked rib from the impact of the gunshot. Eric didn’t think either was likely to slow her down, given the fact she was running on pure adrenaline. This needed to end. Now.

  Charles was heavier than he looked, but Eric hauled him to the boat and set him beside Kerry. He had a huge knot on his forehead. Eric faced the fact he needed to take care of them. He needed to get Hailey, Kerry and Charles to safety before he continued the search for Farrell.

  Hailey might even need serious medical attention, and there was no telling how bad Charles’s injury was. Head wounds were tricky. Eric should know, since there was blood running down his own face. It wasn’t a bad cut, but it was bleeding steadily.

  Kerry brushed back her father’s hair. She looked happy to have something to focus on other than the mess they were in. She probably got that from her mother.

  Hailey scanned the area.

  Eric fired up the boat and they pulled away. Farrell darted out of the building, but mid-turn, Eric didn’t have the angle right to head back to the fugitive. They were facing the wrong way. Hailey shouted, “Down!”

  Kerry didn’t hesitate. She dived beside her father and nearly hit her head on the bench. Was that how Charles got the knot on his head, cowering from Turner? Kerry covered her head with her hands.

  Farrell lifted his gun, aiming at their boat. Eric let Hailey take the motor and aimed his weapon at Farrell. The two men faced off while Eric’s boat drifted downstream and Farrell fired up Jonah’s boat engine to tear off in the opposite direction.

  �
�We have to get him,” Hailey yelled.

  “We will. But it’s not worth all our lives.”

  “Drop us off and then go.”

  Eric looked at her, shocked she would suggest that. “You want me to go alone?”

  “I need to be with Kerry, but you should get Farrell. Take us back to the church. Drop us off and get Farrell, Eric.”

  He pressed his lips together. Hailey was already turning the boat around, heading back to the church. Farrell was far away already. Eric couldn’t even see him anymore.

  An alarm blared loud enough it could be heard from one end of town to the other.

  The dam was failing.

  “We have to get in the church. We’ll get washed away otherwise.” Eric looked back at where Farrell had gone. “He’s got a good head start.”

  “You’re going to let that stop you?”

  Eric narrowed his eyes and looked at her. “Don’t bait me into rushing off without thinking this through. I’m not going to respond to a challenge. I’m going to do my job. But first you all need to be safe.”

  Kerry gasped. “The boat isn’t safe?”

  Eric shook his head. “When the wall of water comes, the boat will be washed away. I need to get to Farrell before that happens.”

  They bumped the stairs and Hailey helped Kerry out of the boat. She shot him a look. “You can’t let him get away.”

  “I won’t. You know that.” Eric hefted Charles into the foyer and set him down. If the water washed the boat away, it would likely be smashed to pieces against a building. Then how would they get to safety?

  “Be careful.”

  “First you tell me to go get Farrell, and now you’re telling me to be careful?”

  Hailey rolled her eyes. She grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him toward her. When their faces were an inch apart, she said, “If you get hurt I’m going to be really mad at you.”

  Eric laughed. “Likewise. Be safe, okay?”

  Hailey pulled him the rest of the way in and planted a kiss on his lips. Not one to be outdone, Eric caught her up in his arms and lifted her off her feet as he deepened the kiss to the point Kerry said, “That’s just gross.”

  Eric pulled back, sharing a smile with Hailey. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Sure, we’ll be fine.”

  He headed outside, where the wall of water was a gigantic swell.

  And it was headed right for them.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Eric ducked back inside and shut the door. Charles shifted on the floor and groaned. Eric lifted him up by his armpits. “Wake up, Mr. Mayor. It’s time to go.”

  Hailey’s eyes widened. “What is it?”

  “Water is coming, faster than I thought. Are there stairs anywhere that’ll take us up to the roof?”

  Kerry squeaked. “The roof?”

  He dragged Charles and ran after Hailey, who hauled Kerry by her arm to a side door. They climbed stairs into a loft room full of folding tables and chairs, with boxes piled high. The building shook beneath them, like something heavy had slammed into the side of it.

  Charles moaned. “What’s going on?”

  “You’ve gotta wake up, dude.” The guy had put Kerry and Hailey in danger. Eric would rather leave him in the church to drown, but that wasn’t the kind of man he was.

  Hailey pulled down a ladder, straightening it and clicking it into place by jumping on the bottom rung. She pulled Kerry up first and followed her through the hatch.

  Charles blinked and looked at Eric with blurry eyes.

  “Your turn.”

  Charles labored slowly up the ladder. Eric followed mostly to make sure he didn’t fall. Water rushed over the opening in the roof and poured on them. Charles yelped and let go of the ladder. Eric grabbed him and bodily forced Charles to keep climbing.

  Charles made it to the roof, where he collapsed on the wet tiles. Eric shifted the man’s legs out of the way and climbed out of the hatch. Hailey grabbed his hand and helped him stand. All of them looked around. The roof was like the tall island in the middle of a lake. The tops of the houses barely peeked out of the water, lined up in rows like crackers in soup.

  “Farrell!”

  Kerry’s yell jerked them all around. Charles sat up, rubbing the knot on his head. Eric looked past her pointed finger to where Farrell was climbing out of the water at least a quarter mile away. His flashlight bobbed as he surveyed the area, probably looking for a way out of this mess. Farrell turned and saw them. He immediately reached around his waistband, but came up empty.

  “He’s unarmed.” Hailey’s statement seemed to echo in the air.

  Eric turned back to Kerry. “Stay here with your dad, okay? Don’t go anywhere.”

  Kerry nodded.

  Eric looked at Hailey. “I’m going.”

  His partner unzipped her jacket and ripped off her bulletproof vest. “I’m coming, too.”

  *

  Hailey swam behind Eric to the nearest roof. Her side hurt, but she was ninety percent sure her ribs were just bruised. Water weighed down her clothes, despite the fact she’d removed her jacket and shoes, but she put one hand in front of the other over and over again.

  They needed Farrell alive if he was going to own up to everything he’d put them through over the weekend. It wasn’t enough for Farrell to be stopped—Hailey wanted justice for what he’d done. Part of her wanted the same from Charles. Justice for his selfish actions. For Kerry’s sake she could forgive his stupidity, so long as he treated his daughter like the precious gem she was for the rest of her life. Whether he was in prison or not.

  Eric pulled himself up onto the first roof like he was barely winded. He reached down, and Hailey clasped his hand with her good one. He pulled her up, and she sucked in breaths. She ran distance for her workouts, but apparently swimming used a whole different set of muscles.

  “No rain for six months when this is done. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for, do you?” She looked up, but Eric wasn’t smiling. He was staring off into the distance.

  Farrell was gone.

  Hailey shifted, looking around. “Where is he?”

  Eric strode over the peak of the roof to the other side. “I didn’t see him go and I don’t see him ahead of us.”

  “So he’s in the water?”

  “Let’s get over there and find out.”

  Eric backed up two steps and made a run for it, leaping to the next roof. Hailey did the same. The feeling of weightlessness brought a split second of panic before she hit the next roof. Thank the good Lord for row houses.

  She straightened, and Eric caught the look on her face.

  “What?”

  Hailey backed up for the next jump. “I always hated these houses. Now I’m kind of glad they’re cookie-cutter, all packed together.”

  They jumped between three more roofs before they neared the one where Farrell had been. Jonah’s boat was nowhere in sight.

  Two more jumps followed, and then they were on the roof where he’d been standing before. The flashlight Farrell had been holding now lay in the gutter, lighting up the surface of the water.

  Murky liquid surrounded them on all sides. Hailey looked back to where Kerry stood. With one hand above her eyes to shield her face from the rain, Kerry peered at them. Charles was slumped on the roof beside her.

  Farrell was still nowhere in sight.

  Hailey reached down to grab the flashlight.

  Fingers broke the surface of the water, wrapped around her forearm and pulled her in. Hailey fell face-first into murky water that rushed up her nose and down her throat. Someone wrapped around her, holding her immobile as she sank down in the cold water between two houses.

  She struggled to surface. Her lungs burned fire through her throat, but she couldn’t move against his grip. She just sank farther and farther down.

  Someone collided with them, knocking Farrell against her. The world was a dark ocean, and Hailey didn’t know which way was up and which was down.


  Farrell jerked like he was being pulled away from her. She struggled harder, praying Eric would get him away from her so she could get to the surface and breathe.

  Farrell’s grip on her was like an iron vice.

  Spots peppered the edges of her vision. Hailey knew it was only a short amount of time before she surrendered to the urge to breathe and gulped in a lungful of water that would kill her.

  She was jerked back and forth until Farrell let go with one arm. Hailey could barely see. She fought more and more, trying to get loose, but Farrell’s legs bound her. She could feel them both sink farther down.

  Sooner or later they would hit the bottom.

  Farrell fell away from her like dead weight. Hailey was free. She tried to move her arms and legs, but they wouldn’t respond to her brain’s signals despite the force of her will to live. To get to the surface so she could breathe.

  Kerry.

  Eric.

  Hailey wanted to hug her dad and tell him she was sorry for being such an awful daughter. She’d been in so much pain over everyone’s opinion of her, and neither of them had known how to fix it. But that was no excuse for being such a jerk to him.

  It was too late.

  *

  Eric surfaced, sucking in breaths as the world brightened. Dragged under again, he kicked until his head broke out of the water. Even as unconscious, dead weight Farrell was still intent on hauling him back down to his death.

  Eric lifted Farrell’s head out of the water and glanced around.

  He’d almost lost his mind when Hailey was submerged. Farrell’s grip was unrelenting, but Eric had finally hit the man hard enough Farrell was forced to let his partner go.

  When he could tread water no longer, Eric hauled Farrell onto the roof and looked around.

  Why hadn’t Hailey surfaced?

  He waited, certain she would break the water any second looking as bedraggled as he felt. Any second.

  Come on, Hailey.

  Eric grabbed the flashlight from where it lay in the gutter. He took three deep breaths and dived down. The light barely penetrated the dense blackness as he swept his arm back and forth. He searched down to the bottom, where the drenched earth gave against his weight, but still couldn’t see her.

  God, where is she?