Читать книгу Alpha Warrior - Aimee Thurlo - Страница 12

As they rode back to the station, only the road noise from the Jeep’s knobby tires marred the silence.

“Give me something to work with, Drew. Everyone makes enemies, and I need to know what I’m up against,” Nick pressed. “Everyone in your line of work makes enemies, but not in mine,” she said. “I’ve wanted to work at the Willa Cather Public Library ever since high school,” she said, softly. “Books have always been my first love. They saw me through the worst times of my life. I was only fifteen when my dad died unexpectedly. My mother never got over it, and followed him to the grave a year later. Uncle Earl took me in, but grieving for my parents was a long, hard process, and books gave me the only comfort I had. They transported me anywhere I wanted to be. Through them, I became a spy, a detective, and had adventures with elves and superheroes.”

He’d never been one for fancy daydreams, but adventures with elves? He glanced out the window so she couldn’t see him smiling.

“As I got older I knew I wanted a job that would help me guide others into that safe world where imagination was king. That’s why I became a librarian. To be offered a position in the place that started it all for me was like icing on the cake. But things haven’t exactly gone as I’d planned.”

“What about your competitors for the job? Anyone with hard feelings there?”

“Nick, think about it. Librarians don’t hire hit men.”

As they pulled into the station’s underground parking garage, Nick climbed out, then stopped and examined his side of the Jeep. There was a single bullet hole in the side panel just behind his door. The round had passed through, entering the back of his seat. There was no exit hole, so the round was probably still inside the upholstery.

Seeing Earl Simmons standing by the stairwell door, Nick hurried over with Drew. “Anything on the shooter?” Nick asked.

Though Earl held the door open for Drew, he never even glanced at her. “We’ve already located the shooter’s vehicle. It was stolen,” he told Nick. “The crime scene people are on their way now.”

“There’s a round lodged in the driver’s-side back rest somewhere,” Nick said. “I accelerated just before he squeezed the trigger.”

Captain Wright strode down the hall toward them. “What the heck happened, Blacksheep?”

Chief Franklin came around the corner just then. “Let’s go into my office and talk about this.”

They all gathered inside the chief’s office. Earl Simmons had come in as well, followed by Detective Harry Koval, who closed the door behind him as Nick and Drew caught everyone up to date.

“Is it possible the shooter followed you from the station?” Captain Wright asked.

“I kept watch and saw no one, so I can’t tell you how he pulled it off,” Nick said. “But here’s what I do know. Drew saw something I missed. I don’t know how, but she knew that something wasn’t right before the attempted hit went down.”

Drew sighed as all eyes turned to her. She’d been through this before with the men in her family. Police officers preferred to deal with tangible concepts, and woman’s intuition didn’t qualify. Intending to give it her best shot anyway, she answered the questions in their eyes. “Have any of you ever known that someone was behind you without turning around? Or maybe had the feeling the phone was going to ring, and it did?”

“No,” came the unanimous reply.

“All right. Let’s try this from a different angle. Think of your experiences out in the field—like maybe a time when you knew a suspect was going to bolt, or reach for his weapon, even though he hadn’t moved.”

“Feelings like those are usually based on something concrete, like a change of expression, or a flicker of movement,” Nick said. “They’re explainable. Think back and concentrate. What triggered the feeling you got in the car?”

Drew sighed. They had to have it in black and white, but intuition was intangible and didn’t work that way. Still, she closed her eyes and tried her best. “The streets were almost empty. I was looking ahead at the path cut by the Jeep’s headlights when I began to feel uneasy. I looked in the rearview mirror, and that’s when I saw the sedan behind us. After it closed in, everything went crazy.”

“The shooter yelled, telling me to stay away from Drew,” Nick said. “He knew her name.”

“I heard him clearly, too, but I didn’t recognize the voice,” Drew said.

“So we’re back to the stalker angle,” Chief Franklin said. “The shooter is jealous and possessive, but you still have no idea who he is?”

“No, I don’t,” Drew answered.

Wright looked at Nick. “You should start wearing a vest, Nick. You, too, Ms. Simmons.”

“From what you’ve said, Blacksheep, it appears the gunman had a plan.” Koval’s slow, methodical voice held everyone’s attention. “To stay ahead of him we’ll have to come up with a better one. We can start by having me cover the outside of whatever place you stay at tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll see where the investigation leads.”

“I’ll be happy to cooperate fully,” Drew said, mostly to remind everyone that she did have a say in the matter, “but we never made it to my place earlier and I’ll need to pick up a few things. I live in a gated apartment complex, so it should be safe enough to stop by there for a few minutes.”

Koval shook his head. “No way. You’ll have to rough it for now.”

They left the room and Nick pointed to a room with a reinforced metal door. “We need to stop at the armory and get some vests for both of us.”

After putting on the vests they went down to the garage. This time Nick was able to pick up an MDT from a mechanic. Returning with Drew to his Jeep, he plugged the computer into the accessory jack and they got underway.

Noting how anxious she was, Nick gave her a smile. “Relax. Koval’s nearby, ready to provide backup if we need it. There are other units in the area, too, still searching for the van.”

“It’s bad enough that someone’s after me, but now I’m putting others in harm’s way. I wish I could just stay somewhere that’s one hundred percent safe until this is over.”

He smiled gently. “Like the fortress cave of a superhero?” he said, thinking of what she’d said about books.

“Why not?” she answered, with a sad smile.

“I have no cave, but I’m a good shot, and I’m darned good at my job. Nothing’s going to happen to you, Drew.”

“I’ve slipped through death’s grasp twice now, but it’s not done with me yet.”

“What you’re going through happens to everyone who comes face-to-face with their own mortality. Staring death in the eye—that changes a person.”

“Including you?” she asked, looking directly at him.

He nodded. “I was in the Marine Corps, and I saw my share of combat. My nightmares are a lot worse than the average cop’s.” He said nothing for several long moments, then glanced at her and gave her a totally outrageous grin. “Of course, that’s because I’m badder than most of the guys in the PD.”

She laughed. “Is that because you’re an ex-Marine?”

“There’s no such thing. I’m a former Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He took a breath, then, after a moment, added, “No matter what lies ahead, I want you to remember one thing. I make a very good friend, Drew, and a very bad enemy—as the ones after you will soon find out if they don’t back off.”

“All I want is to live through this so I can go back to my nice, quiet life,” she said.

He nodded but didn’t say anything. Experience told him that it could be a long time before Drew’s life became either nice or quiet again.