When Lightning Strikes

by Aimée Thurlo

  “I think I can remember that,” she muttered sarcastically.

  “I just don’t want you taking unnecessary risks. I would have liked to go to the copy shop alone, but I don’t want to leave you to your own devices for any length of time.”

  “Are you afraid that trouble will find me, or that I’ll find it?”

  He glared at her. “Both. So play it my way at the copy shop and don’t argue.” He glanced over at her. She was staring out the window, a thoughtful look on her face. “Are you really listening to me?”

  “Of course. I always listen—then I do whatever seems right to me.”

  Daniel expelled his breath with a hiss. The woman was going to drive him crazy.

  Glancing in the rearview mirror, Daniel saw Wolf sitting up, looking at him. He appeared to be grinning.

  THE COPY SHOP, in a strip mall with several other small businesses, didn’t seem overly busy at the moment, probably because of the early morning hour. Hannah glanced around when they entered, but Norm wasn’t in the room. She shook her head, assuring Daniel that they had nothing to worry about for now.

  Looking over the shop casually, Daniel saw a caller ID box next to the telephone. That could explain how Hannah’s call had been traced and how their enemies had found the first safe house.

  Daniel walked to the counter, and placed the sketch of the man who had kidnapped Hannah down in front of an employee.

  The young clerk looked at the sketch, then at Daniel. “You a cop?”

  “Me? Nah. But I’ve got this great computer program that helped us make this sketch. The guy on this printout helped my lady when her car broke down in the middle of nowhere south of Bloomfield. He stopped and managed to get the car running again so she could make it into Farmington. But he left in a rush and forgot some of his tools. They’re expensive and I thought I’d try to get them back to him.”

  Hannah stared at Daniel, hoping that the burning she felt in her cheeks hadn’t really been a noticeable blush. When he’d called her his lady, she’d felt the most wonderful rush coursing through her. Of course it meant nothing. Daniel had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in permanent relationships. She disciplined her thoughts quickly. They had work to do.

  Daniel suddenly glanced back at her and gave her a devilish grin, making her wonder if he’d seen her reaction to his words. “The guy in this drawing really came through for her,” he said, looking back at the clerk, “and I’d like to return the favor. I’m offering a twenty-five-dollar reward to anyone who can tell me who he is so I can square things with him. You don’t happen to recognize him, do you?”

  The young man, probably no older than eighteen, studied the sketch for a moment, then finally shook his head. “Wish I did. But let me ask around.”

  There were two other employees, one a college-age girl, and the manager, who looked like retired military.

  While the young man was showing the sketch to his coworkers, Daniel reached over and pressed the review arrow on the caller ID box. He quickly found one indicating a call from the convenience store location at the time Hannah had called Gless. Either Norm had tracked her down, or one of his “customers” had.

  Hannah, noting what he was doing, looked at him questioningly. Daniel nodded.

  The clerk came back and handed the sketch to Daniel. “Sorry, man. None of us can recall having seen him before.”

  “Can you make me several copies of this sketch? Ten ought to do it. We’ll put them up in different places and see if anyone can help.”

  The manager came over while the clerk was making the copies. “Good thing the lady got help. It’s dangerous on those roads. You don’t know who you can trust nowadays.”

  Out of the corner of his eyes, Daniel saw another man enter the room from the back office. Daniel looked back at Hannah casually and saw that she’d already started walking back toward the entrance, keeping her back to them.

  The manager, probably anxious to look busy now that his boss was in the room, nodded to Daniel and moved away to a stack of bound copies on a table.

  Daniel smiled at the new guy, certain he was Norm. “This sure looks like the kind of business I’ve been looking to set up. How hard is it to get a franchise?”

  “They’ve got a lot of rules about where and how you can get set up, but once you get past the first few months, the place practically runs itself, if you get good help,” he said.

  “Then you must be the owner?”

  “Norm Gless,” he said with a nod, but didn’t offer to shake hands.

  Norm apparently knew Navajos rarely shook hands with strangers, Daniel observed. Gless was a short man in his midfifties with glasses as thick as headlights. He didn’t seem rushed, however, or harried, qualities he’d often associated with Anglo businessmen.

  “You look like you really enjoy your work,” Daniel said casually, finding it hard to imagine from the man’s appearance and unassuming bearing that he’d sent killers after them.

  “I do. There are few intangibles here. The print jobs either come out good or they don’t, and the equipment is pretty reliable. The only hassle is dealing with the franchise paperwork, but I don’t have to do that very often.”

  Daniel received his copies, and paid the clerk. A few minutes later they were driving away in the SUV.

  “You saw the call I made to him listed on the caller ID box, right?”

  “It was there, and it identified the address because the pay phone was at the convenience store. Still, it’s hard to believe Gless wants you dead. Can you tell me anything else you remember about your conversation with him that night?”

  “He was waiting on a customer, I think, and whoever it was must have overheard Norm’s side of the conversation. If it was one of those men who was trying to find me through my clients, it would have been pretty easy for him to get a look at the location. You didn’t have any trouble doing it,” Hannah said. “What do you think?”

  “It’s a possibility, but we may never know for sure how they tracked us down.” Daniel stared at the road, trying to figure out their next move. “We’re going to stop at the Farmington police station next,” he said. “Make sure your wig’s firmly in place. I don’t think we’ll meet any of the people after you there, but I have a job I want you to do.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I did a lot of interdepartmental investigations with the Farmington cops, and I have a buddy who works in Records. I’m going to leave you downstairs with him so you can look through some mug books. I want you to see if you can recognize the man who kidnapped you.”

  “That’s a good idea. Who do I say I am, if your friend asks?”

  “He won’t ask, and you’re not to engage in a conversation with him. Clear?”

  “I thought you said he was a friend of yours.”

  “He’ll assume you’re a client of mine, and leave it at that.” He thought about Ken and how he had a tendency to flirt with the ladies. “If he doesn’t, just ignore him. But whatever you do, don’t volunteer any information. I’m counting on you, Hannah. If this goes wrong, we’ll both be in a heap of trouble.”

  “I won’t let you down,” she said firmly.

  He believed her. He knew that when the chips were down, he could always count on her. “While you’re looking through mug shots, I’m going to talk to a sergeant I know and do a little fishing. I’d like to find out if the police have any ongoing investigations that could be linked to the men after you or our case.”

  They rode in silence the rest of the way through the city of Farmington. Daniel made an effort not to glance at her, but he was aware of everything about Hannah.

  Misinterpreting his silence, she looked over at him. “If you’re worried that I won’t be able to handle this, don’t be. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know, but I like to worry about you,” he said, his voice low and masculine.

  Her breath caught and her cheeks tinged pink. Hannah looked away quickly as if trying to hide her reaction, bu
t it was too late. Daniel found himself remembering the last time he’d seen her face flushed and heard the little hitch in her breath. She’d been beneath him, her warmth open to him.

  His body suddenly grew hot and hard. He cursed himself silently. He would never get this woman out of his system. He knew it with a certainty that frightened him. For a man who had never feared anything in his life, this was a new experience, and one he wasn’t at all sure how to deal with.

  DANIEL LEFT HANNAH downstairs in an interview room looking at mug shots. No one except his old buddy knew she was there, so she’d be safe. Still, a sixth sense warned him not to leave her alone for long.

  He pushed back the thought. He was acting like a lovesick kid who couldn’t stand to be away from his girl for more than five minutes.

  Daniel walked into a small office and greeted Sergeant John Yazzie, who was sitting behind a desk. “So what’s been going on lately?” Daniel asked, sitting back in one of the chairs and trying to project an image of cool indifference.

  Yazzie gave him a speculative look. “You take on that P.I. attitude every time you want something. What are you after? If you’ll tell me that, we can save time.”

  “Relax. I just came to visit with an old buddy,” Daniel said.

  Yazzie didn’t answer, but his searching look never wavered. “You don’t really expect me to buy that, do you?”

  “It’s true.” And it was, at least partly.

  “You’re on a case, right?” Yazzie pressed. “You want to know what we’ve been doing to see if we’re investigating anything that may tie in with your job. Maybe save you some legwork, huh?”

  Daniel considered denying it, but Yazzie and he went back too many years, and their minds ran along the same lines. “Something like that. But let me assure you that the case I’m on isn’t a police matter.”

  “But the events surrounding it might be?”

  Daniel said nothing. Yazzie was too close.

  Yazzie leaned back in his chair. “You should have stayed a cop, Daniel. We could have used you in our department. Private sectors are great, and they may pay more, but there’s a lot of community value in what we do here.”

  “I’m not arguing that point, and for the record, the reason I left had nothing to do with money.”

  Yazzie nodded pensively. “I know. I heard.”

  Daniel lapsed into a momentary silence as memories came flooding back. Pushing away the pain that still haunted his nightmares, Daniel finally answered. “I’m where I need to be now.”

  Yazzie rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Well, for old times’ sake, I’ll tell you what’s going on. The only current felony investigation we know about is an Anglo John Doe the Navajo Police found dead beside the highway near Narbona Pass. He had a phony ID with a blurred image on it that could have been him, or not. We’re helping the Rez cops check into it. He also had a woman’s photo in his pocket, a Farmington local, and we’re trying to follow up on that in a cooperative effort with your old PD.”

  “Hmm. Was the photo of a Navajo woman?”

  “Nope. Anglo. A real beauty, too.”

  “How did the guy die? Gunshot?”

  “No. It’s believed he was the victim of a hit-and-run. Or murder by vehicle.”

  “Do you have a description? I know a lot of people in this area and may be able to ID him for you.” As Daniel listened, he silently acknowledged that it sounded like the description Hannah had given him of her kidnapper.

  “Sound familiar?”

  “I can’t ID him for you, not just based on that. It’s too general.”

  Yazzie brought out a file, then slid it across the desk. “That’s the photo of what’s left of the guy’s face.”

  Only years of discipline and training helped him keep his expression neutral. “The collision must have damaged the car too, if it did that to him.”

  “Yeah. That’s our guess.” Yazzie reached for a small photo at the bottom of the file. “This is the woman we’re searching for now. We hope she isn’t in some shallow grave somewhere. She’s the only lead. Her name is Hannah Jones, and she’s the niece of one of the deacons at the Riverside Mission. Do you know her?”

  Daniel glanced casually at the photo of Hannah wearing shorts and a halter top. From the redwood table in the background, he guessed it had been taken at a picnic. “That’s the type of babe I normally avoid,” Daniel said, not answering directly. “Attractive, but probably the marrying kind.”

  “Does that mean that you do know her?” Yazzie’s gaze studied him with razor sharpness. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Only my lustful thoughts after seeing that photo,” Daniel joked.

  Yazzie laughed. “Yeah, well, you’re not the only one around here who’s said that after seeing this picture.”

  He found Yazzie’s response unbearably irritating. “What’s her connection to the dead guy? Any theories?”

  “There’s no link—at least none that we can find,” Yazzie answered, “unless she’s his victim. Or vice versa. When we went looking for her, we discovered that she’s disappeared, which brought up a possible kidnapping angle. He might have kidnapped and killed her, then died, or she may have killed him trying to escape. We just don’t have enough to even take a halfway decent guess. What we know for sure is that her uncle doesn’t know where she is and what we’ve learned about her indicates that the dead guy was no friend of hers. We questioned a lot of other people, too, including her neighbors, but no one had answers. In checking her home, there was no sign of foul play, but her car is gone. So far, no one’s been able to shed much light on this. How about you?”

  Daniel shrugged. “She hit the guy with the car and then took off for Arizona? Who knows? But hit-and-run is serious business. Have you checked the lady for priors?”

  “Yeah. She’s clean as a whistle.” Yazzie leaned forward. “We’re going to be running an artist’s sketch of the John Doe in the afternoon newspaper. Maybe we’ll get some answers then.”

  “Will you run the missing woman’s photo, too?” Daniel asked, forcing his voice to remain casual.

  “No, not at this time, not unless we or the Navajo cops find her car abandoned or uncover actual evidence that she might have been taken by force. She’s wanted for questioning, nothing more, and we don’t want to spook her or someone who might be able to give us a tip on her. It’s a touchy situation. Apparently, she does some financial work for the mission and the people there are adamant about not having us do anything to damage her reputation even through inference.”

  “Since when did that stop the PD?”

  “It may not—at least not for long,” Yazzie said with a shrug. “But for now, we’d rather keep things on a friendly level. I have a feeling that the hit-and-run victim is bad news. The bad ID stuff reeks, you know? My guess is that once we find out who he really was, we’ll have a reason to pull out all the stops, find the woman and get her in here for questioning—if she’s still alive. For now, we’re just distributing her photo to all our patrol officers. The Navajo cops are doing the same.” He gestured out into the area known as the bull pen. “That’s the picture the secretary is handing out now.”

  “Sounds like you have it under control.” Daniel stood. “It was good seeing you.” He had to get Hannah out of the station fast. “If I hear anything that might help you, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I’d be interested in knowing when you find the car used in the hit-and-run. I suppose you’re checking all the body shops for vehicles with suspicious damage.”

  Yazzie nodded. “We’ll find it. You can count on that. It’s just a matter of time. Officers from both PDs are still searching the general area where they found the John Doe for evidence.” Yazzie stopped Daniel before he reached the door. “One more thing. We go back a long ways, but don’t ever let me catch you working at cross purposes with this department. I won’t cut you any slack and obstruction of justice is a serious charge.”

  “I hear you,” Daniel said with
a nod. The warning had been given. He’d expected it, of course. Sooner or later, his old friend had to set some limits. Professional courtesies would be shown to a former officer, but crossing certain lines would not be tolerated.

  Daniel walked downstairs quickly, but not so fast as to attract attention. Crossing the long hall, he entered one of the conference rooms and found her alone. “Where’s Ken?”

  “He went upstairs to get me a cola.”

  Daniel muttered a curse. “We’ve got to leave now.”

  She stood and walked to the door.

  “Wait, let me take a look first.” He opened the door slightly and peered out. Ken was talking to one of the secretaries, balancing two cans of pop in one hand and holding a copy of the photo they were handing out upstairs in the other. Ken, who was as nearsighted as they came, probably hadn’t noticed the similarity. But once he studied the photo and saw Hannah again up close, it would be all over.

  “The window,” he said, gesturing to the far wall. “We can make it through that.”

  “Are you crazy? That’s up at ceiling level. I can’t climb up there.”

  “Don’t argue. There’s no time.” He hoisted her up, she undid the latch and scrambled out. He followed her immediately. As he closed the basement window from the outside, he heard the door to the interview room open.

  “Let’s go. He’ll check in the halls, then come outside next,” Daniel said, rushing with her to the SUV. Wolf was waiting in the shade of an old cottonwood next to the vehicle.

  They all climbed into the vehicle and within seconds they were pulling out into the street. As Daniel glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw Ken at the side door looking around curiously, still holding two cans of soda.

  “Well, that’s one place we won’t be coming back to visit,” Daniel said.

  “What happened back there? I thought everything was going fine.”

  He shook his head slowly. “I didn’t think things could get much worse but, believe it or not, they have.”