by Terri Reed
FIFTEEN
A band of panic pulled taut across Shane’s chest as he surveyed the empty parking spot where a car had once been. Bella had led to this spot. Where was Gina? What had happened to her?
He didn’t believe for a second she’d left of her own accord. Her brother had somehow infiltrated the police station and kidnapped her. Or killed her and taken her body away.
The thought made him stagger back a step. Oh, Lord, please no.
No, he couldn’t let his mind go there. She had to be alive. There had to be a chance of saving her.
Shane had promised Gina he’d keep her safe. He’d failed.
Bella whined as she paced in a circle, clearly as upset at losing Gina as Shane. They’d both fallen for the lovely trainer. Shane’s breath hitched. He’d fallen in love with Gina. The ramifications of the realization rippled through him. But now was not the time for examination or analyzing. Gina’s life was in danger.
“Shane!” Whitney Godwin called from the side exit to the police station. “We found something.”
Something? Not Gina. Please not Gina. He and Bella hustled back inside and followed Whitney to the women’s restroom. He crowded inside. James and Ryder were there. The window in the exterior wall was open. On the bench beside the sink lay Gina’s training pouch.
His stomach sank. She wouldn’t have willingly left this behind. Pulling on gloves, he lifted the pouch and checked inside, confirming what he feared. Her cell phone lay nestled among the treat bags.
Tracking her through her phone wasn’t going to happen.
“Everyone back to the conference room,” Ryder said. “We need to come up with a plan to find Gina and Tim Perry.”
“Her one hope is if the canines can trail her scent.” Though Gina’s scent would be on her pack, it would be muddled by the dog treats and whoever else had handled the pack. Shane grabbed James by the arm. “I’m going back to the condo to get Gina’s pillowcase. Her scent will be the strongest on that.”
“Agreed.” James handed over the keys to his truck and then glanced toward the conference room door. “I’ll cover for you.”
Grateful to his fellow rookie, Shane accepted the keys, and he and Bella hurried out of the station house. At the condo, Shane rushed to Gina’s room and stripped her pillowcase off the pillow. He held the material to Bella’s nose. “Gina. We have to find her, Bella. Gina. Find Gina.”
They jumped back into the truck. When they returned to the police station James and Hawk were waiting. Shane released Bella then handed James the pillowcase. James offered its scent to Hawk. The dog let out a woof.
Bella gave an answering bark.
Ryder and Titus stepped outside, followed by Whitney and Hunter, and Tristan and Jesse. The pillowcase was handed off to each handler to let his or her K-9 partner have a good whiff of the special scent that was Gina.
Chief Jones and the other officers filed out, as well.
The chief pinned Shane with a tense look. “The next few hours are critical. We’ll fan out and start searching.”
Shane nodded. If Tim Perry was as bent on killing Gina as he seemed, he’d do the horrendous deed within the first couple of hours. And then he’d be in the wind.
Rage like he’d never experienced before engulfed Shane. When he found Tim Perry, Shane intended to make the man pay for all the terror he’d caused his sister.
“Ken and Harmon, you ride with Tristan and Jesse. Start at the train station and run the tracks. Whitney and Hunter, you’ll ride with me. We’ll head back to the training center and work from there. Marlton, you go with Ryder and Titus. Start your search in town and move south,” the chief instructed. “James and Shane, you and your partners work together from here.” He encompassed them all with a sweeping glance. “Watch each other’s backs.”
The officers of the Desert Valley Police Department headed off to start their search for Gina Perry.
As Shane gave Bella another whiff of Gina’s pillowcase, he prayed they were on a rescue mission and not a recovery one.
* * *
The old beater station wagon chugged along, bouncing over every rut and pothole on the fire road cutting through Desert Woods. After Tim had forced Gina into the back of the wagon, he’d tied her hands behind her back and toppled her over, demanding she stay down or he’d run anyone she tried to contact over.
She’d stayed lying sidewise on the bench backseat for as along as she could, but once they’d gone off the road, she’d worked her way to a sitting position. Without the use of her hands, though, she was unable to brace herself as the wagon took another jolting hit. Her teeth snapped together with the impact. The wagon groaned. The thing was on its last legs. She expected the transmission to drop out any second.
In front of her, Tim sat in the driver’s seat, clutching the steering wheel and staring out the dirty front window with singular concentration.
“Tim, talk to me,” she said for the umpteenth time. “I don’t understand what you want. What do you hope to accomplish?”
He continued to ignore her. She wiggled closer to the door and tried as subtly as she could to grasp the handle, but it was just high enough to be out of her reach. Frustration washed over her and she barely refrained from kicking the back of Tim’s seat.
That he hadn’t killed her outright was a blessing, but she had no doubt he had some nefarious plan for her demise. The farther they drove away from town, the more worried she was that Shane and Bella wouldn’t be able to find her. She didn’t even have her cell phone, so they couldn’t use that to locate her. Despair crept into her consciousness but terror remained prominent.
She licked her dry lips, thankful the windows were open to offer some relief from the stench of the vehicle, though the dust swirling through the interior clogged her throat and nose, making her cough.
Looking out the window, she tried to gauge where they were, but since she hadn’t taken the time to explore Desert Woods, she wasn’t sure how far away the Desert Pines campground was or if they were anywhere near it. Maybe they were closer to Valley Lake at the other end of the woods, or near the water, which was an arm of the Colorado River. The area was massive and the landscape alternately treacherous and beautiful. How was Shane going to locate her?
She was going to have to find a way to escape and get help for herself. If she could alert someone, then they could call for help. But so far they hadn’t passed anyone after leaving the town.
Tim made a sharp left turn. Gina slammed up against the door, her shoulder taking the worst of the hit. “Hey!”
The way became even more jarring as they bounced off the fire road and blazed a trail through the woods, barely missing a tree. He finally slipped the station wagon behind a large tangle of bushes and cut the engine.
A cloud of dirt enveloped her through the open windows. Her body was racked with a coughing fit as she tried to expel the dust from her lungs.
Tim got out and walked away.
Gina twisted in the seat, trying to keep him in her sight. What was he up to?
He disappeared around the tangle of bushes. She studied the dense foliage and realized the bushes weren’t a naturally occurring bramble. Tim had forged out a fort of bushes, tree limbs and rocks. So this was where he’d been hiding the past few days. How long had he been here?
With him out of sight, she tried again with less subtlety and more awkward groaning since her hands were tied behind her back to get the door unlocked and opened. Finally the lock released and the door popped open. She practically fell out of the wagon. She rolled the rest of the way out, tucking in her chin and landing on her back, smashing her hands beneath her.
She sat up and wiggled to get her feet beneath her. Afraid Tim would return, she searched for the way they’d come in but couldn’t discern the path they’d taken. Didn’t matter. She needed to m
ove. To escape. Better lost in the woods than meekly awaiting her fate at Tim’s hand.
She darted behind a tree and glanced up through the branches and leaves. Maybe she could navigate her way back to town using the sun to set a course. If she kept the ball of fire at her back, then she’d be heading west. Or was it east? Or did she need to move toward the sun, which would mean she’d be traveling south? She wished she’d paid better attention to her astronomy class in college. She just had to pick a direction and pray it was the right one.
She pushed off from the tree and sprinted away.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Tim screeched from somewhere behind her.
She didn’t dare look back. Keeping her focus on the way in front of her, she hopped over an exposed root, only to land on her foot wrong. She went down. Without her hands to break the fall, her head hit the dirt with a thud. She scrambled back up despite the pain exploding behind her eyes. She had to keep moving.
A hand grabbed her arm and hauled her off her feet. Tim threw her down on the ground. She screamed and kicked at him but he danced out of her way. He huffed as he towered over her. “I’m not done with you yet.”
He yanked her to her feet. She let out a yelp at the sudden pain in her shoulder. He dragged her stumbling back to his fort and shoved her inside the makeshift shelter. She fell heavily onto her knees but the pain barely registered. Tim came in behind her and plopped down on a cot.
The space had the cot, a small cooking stove and pint-size generator for electricity. A light had been strung up and a laptop computer sat on the dirt floor. A pile of filthy clothes was stacked in the corner. How could he live like this?
Her gaze met his. The malice she’d seen before was gone. He looked tired, regretful. He’d come down from his mania. Maybe there was still hope he’d let her go.
In a gentle tone that she’d heard their mother use with him, she said, “Tim, why are you here?”
“For you.”
“How did you find me?”
His lips spread into a grim smile. He pointed to the computer. “No one can hide from the mighty internet.”
She struggled to comprehend what he meant. She didn’t have any social-media outlets and was careful not to let herself be photographed.
“There was a publicity shot of the center. You were in the background,” he said. “I knew you couldn’t stay away from dog places. I combed the Internet looking for you. I’d know you anywhere.”
Her heart sank. Veronica had set up the publicity event. Gina knew the shot he referred to, but Gina had had her back to the camera. She’d been so sure no one would be able to recognize her. But Tim had. And the photograph had brought him to the center. Where he’d hoped to find her but instead had found Veronica. “Why did you kill my boss?”
Tim tucked in his chin. “I didn’t kill her. I locked her in the closet. If she died while in there that’s not my fault.”
“What?” Oh, he meant Sophie. “No, I mean when you first came to the center last Saturday night. I wasn’t there but you found my boss, Veronica. The lady that was in the photo you saw. You killed her when you couldn’t find me.”
He shook his head, his gaze confused. “No, I didn’t. I did go to the center that afternoon and saw you there. But you left before it got dark and went home then to the church where you were serving food.” He giggled. “You spilled gravy on the floor and that guy slipped. That was funny. I decided to wait for you at your house. I didn’t kill anyone.”
His words slammed into her. She had spilled some soup and Carson Lloyd, a banker in town, had slipped. She’d been aghast. He’d asked her out and she’d declined.
“I wasn’t going to grab you at the church, though.” Tim wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want to bring down the wrath of God on me.”
Gina’s mind tried to make sense of what he was telling her. He’d followed Gina to church and then went to Gina’s home to wait for her to return. He hadn’t killed Veronica.
Then who did kill Veronica?
The same person who assaulted Marian Foxcroft?
Mysteries Gina hoped she lived to see resolved.
Right now she had to find a way out of here. “Tim, I have to go to the bathroom. Can you untie me? Let me go, please?”
“There’s a can in the corner,” he said.
She clenched her jaw to keep her temper under control. “Why are you doing this?”
“You’re my sister. We need to be together.”
“You’ve been trying to kill me the past few days!”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” He stood. “Want something to eat? I caught a squirrel. They aren’t too bad.”
She gagged at the thought. “No, I’m not hungry. Tim, please let me leave. I won’t tell anyone where you are. Just let me live my life in peace.”
“No!”
“You need help,” she said. “Don’t you see that?”
His face hardened and that malicious gleam returned. He moved swiftly to stand in front of her and poked her in the chest with his finger. “Don’t you dare be like Dad or you’ll end up dead like him.” He grabbed her by the arm and forced her up and into a camping chair. He tied her feet to the legs. “Now, shut up. I’m tired.”
He lay on the cot and rolled onto his side, away from her. After a few minutes, his snoring filled the shelter.
Unbelievable. If she weren’t so terrified, freaked-out and scared, she’d laugh with hysteria. Instead, she set to work on trying to free her ankles from the leg of the camping chair. She sent up a prayer that help was on the way and it arrived before her brother changed his mind and killed her.
SIXTEEN
Shane jogged behind Bella, with James and Hawk just off to his right side. The dogs had found a scent in the air and they were trailing it through Desert Woods. Shane had already had the campground ranger check all the cabins and campsites, but he’d come up empty. Had Tim somehow slipped past the ranger?
Bella and Hawk were leading them not to the campground but to the fire road, which gave the forestry service access to the lake and the river whenever there was a fire in the region. There were tire tracks in the dry earth. Shane couldn’t tell if they were recent or not.
Bella lifted her nose to the air and swerved to the left. Hawk kept moving forward then doubled back and hurried after the other dog. Shane shared a curious glance with James as they veered left to follow the dogs.
All the dust and dirt of the forest floor made Shane itch and tightened his lungs. He fingered his inhaler, yet he was unwilling to stop to use it. The panic he’d been keeping at bay edged closer, crowding out his focus. But he had to stay on task and detached so he could be an effective officer.
Losing it wouldn’t do Gina any good.
Both dogs stopped and sat in front of a large tangled mess of bushes and branches. Not a natural structure. Heart beating in his ears, Shane drew to a halt. He gestured for James to go left around the crude shelter while he and Bella would go to the right. There had to be an opening. Would he find Gina inside? Alive or dead?
Pain craved a hole in his heart. He sent up a prayer that God would see them through this.
Bella sniffed the air and the ground as they rounded the rudimentary lodging. An old-style station wagon, battered and dirty, was parked on the back side of the snarled mass of debris. Bella alerted in front of a makeshift door fashioned from branches and chunks of moss. Anxiety twisted him up inside.
James joined him with Hawk. Shane withdrew his sidearm; James followed suit. Shane counted down with his fingers. On three they breached the manmade lodging.
“Halt, police!” Shane shouted as he rushed inside. He took in the scene, quickly cataloging that Gina was half out of a chair with one ankle tied to a leg. She blinked up at him in stunned surprise.
Tim scrambled up from the cot with a
large knife in his hand. Tim’s gaze darted between Shane and Gina. Shane understood the other man’s intent just as he lunged for Gina.
“Don’t!” Shane shouted. Bella barked. Hawk howled. James aimed his weapon at Tim’s head.
Tim ignored the order and wrapped one hand around Gina’s arm, yanking her close. The knife hovered over her throat. “Back off!”
Not willing to risk hitting Gina with a bullet, Shane used the best weapon available. “Attack!” Shane gave Bella the command.
The dog didn’t need any more encouragement. She leaped at Tim, her teeth sinking into his hand that held the knife. Bella’s paws landed on the chair beside Gina’s head. Tim screamed, the knife dropped to the side to land on the ground, and he released his hold on Gina. She scrambled away from her brother as best she could with her hands tied behind her back. James moved in and subdued Tim.
Shane holstered his weapon to gather Gina in his arms. He quickly untied her hands and her ankle. His pulse thundered in his veins; his heart pounded. “I feared I wouldn’t get to you in time.”
Relief washed over him as he captured her lips before she could say anything and kissed her with all the pent-up anguish, longing and love he could pour out.
James cleared his throat, snapping Shane back from the brink of losing himself in Gina.
“You want to call Bella off?” James asked with a wry twist of his lips.
The dog still had Tim’s hand in her teeth.
“Release.” Immediately she did. Then she jumped down and came to Gina and licked her face. Gina hugged Bella.
“I’ll just take him out and call the chief,” James said with a grin. Then he pushed Tim out of the shelter. Hawk followed them.
Gina gazed up at Shane with eyes bright and full of tears. “I was so scared but I knew in my heart you two would find me.”
“I’ve never been this frightened before,” he admitted. He cupped her cheek. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”
