by Sharon Dunn
Gradually, the crowd dispersed and the ambulance took Arianna’s body away. The fire department allowed Valerie to return to her house to get a few things. They advised her to find somewhere else to live until the smoke damage could be taken care of.
“Why don’t you stay with me tonight, dear?” Mrs. Witherspoon said.
“I think we will do that.” She turned and looked at Trevor. “After that I can probably stay with my folks or one of my brothers since Arianna is no longer a threat.” Her soft, sweet voice radiated gratitude. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
“I just did what any officer would have done,” Trevor said.
She linked her arm through his. “You saved my life.”
“Trevor, why don’t you come in and have something to eat with us?” Mrs. Witherspoon ushered him toward her apartment. “You all could probably use a little break.”
Valerie pleaded with her eyes. “Stay a while.”
Trevor shrugged. As much as he loved his work, he’d rather be with Valerie and Bethany any day.
As they walked back to Mrs. Witherspoon’s apartment, there was something different in Valerie’s demeanor. She seemed to hold her head a little higher as though a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Her life was no longer in danger.
Though the need to catch Murke still loomed large, he felt a sense of relief, too. They spent the afternoon baking cookies with Stella and Bethany.
Trevor could have almost fooled himself into believing that they were an ordinary family spending the day together until his phone rang.
Trevor recognized McNeal’s number.
The captain spoke in rapid-fire manner. “We just got a call. A man matching Murke’s description has broken into a woman’s house and is holding her hostage. The SWAT team is always deployed in a hostage situation, but you and Valerie should take the lead on this.”
“We can do that,” Trevor said. He got the address from McNeal and hung up. He summarized what McNeal had told him and then added, “You can go if you feel up to it. You’ve been through a lot today.”
Valerie looked over at Mrs. Witherspoon who said, “You go. Do your job. I can watch Bethany.”
Valerie’s gaze was intense and unwavering. “You helped me take down the Serpent. I want to be the one who helps you get Murke.”
In the short time they’d been working together, she’d changed a great deal from a rookie to a confident police officer. There was no one else he would rather take this call with than her.
Lexi rose to her feet. “I think she’s ready to go, too,” Valerie said.
Trevor touched Valerie’s arm. “Let’s go get him.”
* * *
Once they were in the patrol car and speeding across town, Valerie radioed in to dispatch for more details while Trevor drove.
“The woman has locked herself in the closet...and she told us she’s three months pregnant.” The female voice from dispatch offered the last little bit of information in a neutral tone.
Valerie’s gaze flitted toward Trevor. A hostage situation was dangerous enough. Now there were two lives at risk.
Valerie swallowed to push down some of her anxiety and keyed the radio. “Does this hostage have a name?”
“Her name is Nicki. Nicki Johnson.”
“Thanks. Keep us advised.” Valerie put the radio back in its slot.
Trevor turned onto the street that led out of town to the Lost Woods where Nicki’s apartment building was. “We’ll just have to make sure Nicki and her baby get out unharmed.”
Lexi paced in the backseat ready to go to work. Valerie felt a fluttering in her stomach, a mixture of excitement and fear. Beneath the surface emotion, there was a deeper resolve. They would get Murke this time and he wouldn’t get away.
She clicked off the radio and looked over at Trevor, whose jaw had formed a hard line. “This is it. I can feel it.”
“Me, too,” Valerie said.
The address dispatch had given them was on the edge of the Lost Woods. A series of run-down two- and three-story apartments and box-like houses in need of paint jobs. “Lot of drug arrests in this part of town. I wonder why Murke is here?”
Trevor shook his head. “It’s not too far from that truck stop we had staked out.”
Up ahead, the SWAT team had moved into place, taking cover behind cars and crouching by the building.
Trevor got out while Valerie opened the back door of the patrol car for Lexi. A man in a bulletproof vest walked toward them. “Second-floor apartment. We’ve evacuated the building. The woman is hiding in a closet and has turned off her phone. She doesn’t want to risk Murke hearing her talk.”
“Why is Murke up there?”
The sergeant shook his head. “All she was able to tell us was that she’s pretty sure he is armed, and he’s been screaming something about a code.”
“A code?” Trevor shook his head. “Let’s see if we can talk him out. He doesn’t know we are here yet, right?”
The SWAT team leader nodded. “It’s been about ten minutes since the woman made the call. It’s only a matter of time before he figures out she’s in the closet and breaks it down.”
Valerie stepped forward. “How many points of entry do we have?”
“A back door with a fire escape and patio, a front door inside at the end of a hallway.” The SWAT leader turned toward the apartment building. “And she was able to tell us that the closet is at the back of the house.”
From what she had seen with Murke so far, he wasn’t going to give up without a fight, and he’d run the first chance he got. What would he do if he was backed in a corner and couldn’t escape? If he got to the hostage, he’d use her as a shield. “We’ve got to keep that hostage safe. I say we don’t let him know the whole SWAT team is here. He’ll panic and start shooting or worse. We got to get him separated from the hostage.” Valerie squared her shoulders. “I’ll go to the front door and see if I can keep him distracted. Agent Lewis can go in the back and be in position to take him down if needed.”
Trevor’s face shone with admiration for Valerie. “I think Officer Salgado has a good idea.”
“We need some kind of wire so Trevor and I can communicate. If it looks like Murke is going to harm Nicki, all bets are off. You guys can storm the place.”
It took only a few minutes for the team to equip Valerie and Trevor with earpieces and bulletproof vests. As they walked toward the building with Lexi heeling beside her, Valerie’s stomach knotted with anticipation.
When they reached the entrance, Trevor clasped her arm and turned her toward him. He drew her into a hug, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. “Stay safe.”
“You, too,” her voice welled with emotion. This might be the last time he held her. They could both die. She closed her eyes and pressed her ear close to his beating heart while his arms surrounded her.
After a long moment, Trevor pulled away and rested his hand on her cheek. “Let’s do this.” He stepped away and disappeared around the back of the apartment building.
Valerie pushed open the front entrance where there was a series of mailboxes and doors for the main-floor apartments. Taking in a deep breath, she traversed the stairs with Lexi beside her to the second floor. She walked down a silent hallway, her footsteps barely audible on the worn carpet. When she came to apartment 210, she stared at the chipped and peeling green paint of the door.
Inside, she could hear Murke calling Arianna names and ranting about how she owed him big time.
She touched her earpiece. “Trevor, I’m at the door.”
“I’m headed up the fire escape to the back door. Looks like there is a curtain across it, so Murke won’t be able to see me even if it opens up directly into the living room.” Trevor’s breathing indicated that he was moving quickly.
Valerie closed her eyes and prayed as she raised her hand to knock on the door.
Oh, God, help me.
She knocked three times and then pressed her back against
the wall, raising her gun in case Murke decided to start shooting.
In her earpiece, she heard Trevor whisper, “I’m in place by the back door.”
From inside, there was more banging and pounding and Murke screaming, “You better let me in or I’m going to shoot this door down! Tell me the code, Nicki.”
Time was running out. Murke had figured out where Nicki was hiding. With her heart racing, Valerie knocked again, this time louder.
The silence that followed was disconcerting.
“Derek Murke?” She spoke in a loud, clear voice even though her legs were wobbly. “This is Officer Salgado from the Sagebrush PD.”
“Officer Salgado.” Murke’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Down the hallway, the rest of the SWAT team had moved into place. Murke’s voice had sounded like he was still halfway across the room. She needed him right by the door, away from Nicki before she gave Trevor the okay to enter.
“Why don’t you come with me now, and we can all walk out of here in one piece.” Valerie gripped Lexi’s leash a little tighter. The dog tilted her head as though to give her a vote of confidence.
There was a long silence and then Murke’s voice seemed to be right against her ear, even though there was a door between them. “How did you know I was even here?”
Valerie cringed. Saying that Nicki had called them would put the hostage’s life at risk. “A neighbor saw you walk into the building holding a gun.”
She stepped away from the door, not wanting to risk Murke hearing her and spoke to Trevor. “He’s by the door.”
“I’m going in.” Trevor’s voice was steady and filled with determination. “Looks like there is a hallway before the living room but no closet door. It must be at the other end. Can’t get to it without Murke seeing me.”
Valerie wiped the perspiration off her forehead. Now all she had to do was keep Murke talking.
“So what do you say, Derek? Open the door and everyone here gets out alive.”
She held her breath during the long silence. Had Murke gone back to the closet or heard Trevor entering?
“And I go to jail, right?” Murke’s voice blasted through the thin wood of the door.
“I could put a good word in for you,” Valerie said.
Several moments passed but all she could hear was the sound of Murke’s heavy breathing.
She stepped away from the door and whispered. “Trevor, where are you?”
He spoke in such a soft whisper she could barely hear him. “In the hallway. I can hear Murke. I’m about to turn the corner. Keep him talking. Going dark. Don’t want to be heard.”
She turned back toward the door. “So what do you say, Derek? How about you unlock this door?”
Seconds ticked by. What was he doing in there?
“Derek?”
Nothing. No noise. No indication of a fight. Had Murke gone back to the closet where Nicki was? Had he figured out that Trevor was in the house? Certainly she would have heard the sound of a struggle.
Lexi looked up at Valerie, licking her chops.
She made a split-second decision, stepped away from the door and charged it, lifting her leg to break it down. The thin door crumpled like balsa wood. She took in the scene. Murke hiding behind a china hutch, Trevor turning the corner and looking at the door, where Murke should have been. Murke raising his gun. Lexi bounding across the carpet as a pistol shot shattered the silence.
Lexi yelped and fell to the floor, blood spreading across the carpet. Murke had shot the dog. Lexi had taken the bullet intended for Trevor.
“Drop the gun!” Trevor yelled. “Down on the ground.”
Valerie moved in, her own gun drawn. “You heard him, hit the floor.”
Lexi’s anguished yelp pierced her heart, but she couldn’t help her. Not yet. Not until Derek was no longer a threat.
Murke lifted his hand and let the gun fall. Valerie kicked it away so he couldn’t pick it up again. The SWAT team swarmed in.
Trevor turned toward one of the SWAT team members. “Hostage is down that hall in the closet.”
Valerie fell to the floor and wrapped her arms around Lexi. The dog licked her hand twice and then lost consciousness.
One of the SWAT team members escorted a slender woman with brown coppery hair into the living room.
Nicki swiped at her eyes that were red from crying. “He kept shouting about a code. He said Arianna told him I had the code.”
“You know Arianna?” Trevor was already kneeling on the floor beside Valerie.
“Yes, she’s my cousin.” Nicki let out a cry when she saw the injured dog on the floor. She looked down at the dog, her voice filled with sympathy. “What happened?”
Valerie could feel herself shutting down, going numb. All she could think about was Lexi. Trevor’s voice pulled her out of shock. “We need to get her to a vet.”
More SWAT team members came into the house. Two of them had already gotten Murke to his feet and were leading him out.
Murke thrashed like an animal caught in a trap when he was led out. “That score should be mine. By rights that score should be mine.”
Nicki had retreated to the kitchen and returned holding three clean white towels. “Here, for your dog.” She kneeled beside Valerie and gazed at her with kind blue eyes.
Valerie placed the towels over the hole where the bullet had gone in on Lexi’s back flank. So much blood.
Trevor placed a hand on Valerie’s shoulder. “We can get her to the vet’s faster than they can get here.”
Trevor gathered the Rottweiler into his arms. She looked so lifeless...like a rag doll. As he raced out of the apartment and down the hall, Valerie slipped past him. “I’ll bring the car around.”
Her feet pounded down the hallway. Inches felt like miles as she ran outside to the patrol car, praying that Lexi wouldn’t die.
* * *
The lump in Trevor’s throat made it hard to swallow. Lexi was warm against his chest as he ran down the stairs. This dog had saved his life. She wasn’t going to die on his watch—not today, not any day.
Outside, the bright sun stunned him. He hadn’t noticed what a beautiful day it was, not the kind of day you expect to lose a dog you’ve come to love. And she had proven that she loved him, enough to give her own life to protect him.
Valerie pulled up to the curb.
Still cradling Lexi, he got into the passenger side of the SUV. His shirt was covered in blood. The dog’s rib cage still moved up and down, but her body was limp and lifeless.
Valerie sped away from the curb. “I’ve already called the vet. She’s prepping the surgery room.” She glanced from the dog to Trevor.
He wanted to offer her reassurances, but as he held Lexi, he wasn’t so sure he could do that. She was barely hanging on. She’d lost a lot of blood. “It shouldn’t take us long to get there.” His voice was solemn.
Once she was away from the residential areas, Valerie accelerated. Plowed fields and then the trees of the Lost Woods clipped by.
Please, God, don’t let this dog die, Trevor prayed.
Dr. Constance Mills was waiting for them outside when they pulled up. “Let’s get her inside. We’re all ready for her.”
Trevor carried Lexi into the operating room and laid her on the metal table. Two assistants went to work putting an IV in her leg while Dr. Mills assessed the wound. She spoke to one of the assistants. “We’ll need a 7 mm trach tube and some lactated ringers.”
Valerie shuddered and let out a gasp.
Dr. Mills looked up at her. “You should wait outside. Use my office, it’s more private. You might be able to find a clean shirt.”
Trevor glanced down at his own shirt. It was covered in blood. He felt as though he were walking under water as he pulled Valerie out of the operating room. He stood in the hallway for a long moment, not able to process what he needed to do next.
Valerie rubbed her temple. “Umm...I think her office must be this way.” She stopped, bursting into
tears. “What am I going to do without her? What if she doesn’t make it?”
Trevor gathered her into his arms. Anguish twisted inside him, made his throat tight. He couldn’t speak. He held her until her crying subsided. He opened the door to the office where they found a T-shirt for Trevor with the name of the vet clinic on it and an operating smock for Valerie.
When Valerie looked down at her own bloody shirt, the tears started all over again. He held her again.
As he drew her close, he prayed.
“God, I don’t know what your will is for Lexi, but we sure like having her around.” His eyes grew moist. Life without Lexi... He didn’t even want to think about it.
After several minutes, Valerie pulled away. She looked up at him with glazed eyes, still unable to say anything. He held her for a moment longer.
After they both had changed out of their bloody shirts, they stood in the hallway.
“I don’t want to go back into the regular waiting room. Someone is bound to ask me what my pet is here for, and I just can’t bear that kind of small talk.” Valerie’s voice was paper thin.
He led her out to the back exit of the clinic where horses trotted around a small corral. The sun warmed his skin.
Valerie looked up and stared at the sky, placing her hands over her face. “I need to see how Bethany is doing.”
She pulled her phone off her belt and stepped away from him. He caught bits and pieces of the conversation. A desperation colored her words as she suggested that Stella bring Bethany to the vet clinic. Her eyes met Trevor’s as she finished her sentence, “...so we can all be together.”
Is that how she saw them now, as family that needed to be together during this uncertain time? She hung up the phone and offered him a faint smile. Her wide green eyes were filled with affection that drew him in.
He stepped toward her, ready to take her in his arms again. The moment was shattered by his phone ringing. He stepped away, a sheepish grin on his face. He looked at the number on the phone. “Sorry, it’s Officer Worth. You might want to listen in, too.”
He rested an arm on the corral as Valerie came and stood beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder and leaning close to him.
