Hunted a romantic suspen.., p.2
Hunted, A Romantic Suspence Novel, page 2
When the shower grew cold, Katie stepped out, shivered and toweled off. She pulled on her flannel pajamas, and a pair of thick socks. She liked the room cold, but her bed and body warm. Since working nights the past five years she’d discovered it was the only way to get any real sleep during the day, that and turning the phone ringer off. Finally, she crawled into her bed, and let out a long breath. Tucking one pillow under her leg, she turned onto her side and stared at the bedroom’s bare white walls.
She’d called this one-room apartment home for nearly six months. Other than her father’s picture sitting by her bed, she’d left no personal mark on it. How could she when she knew she’d have to leave on a moment’s notice?
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a home of her own. For the past decade she’d moved from place to place, never putting down roots, never having a real home. She’d never been able to trust anyone to become her friend, either. Besides, anyone who dared get close would be in grave danger.
She exhaled long and slow, then wiped at the wetness stinging her eyes.
How much longer can I bear this loneliness?
People complained all the time about their dysfunctional family holidays. If they only knew. Next week was Christmas, and if the Family found her, it would be murder.
Literally.
Hers.
* * * * *
Matt called himself a fool as he drove the Plumb Road to Route 3 route again. Every day for the past week he’d made the same trip, hoping he’d find Katie Myers asleep in her car once more. Although he knew the chances of finding her asleep again were probably nil after that Breathalyzer test he’d insisted she take, every morning he found himself driving this same route.
For the first time in a long time, he’d met a woman he couldn’t get out of his mind. It was stupid to be hung up on a woman with whom he’d had a ten-minute conversation, during most of which she’d been pissed off at him.
He blew out an exasperated grumble.
If he was smart he’d turn his truck around and head home. He’d been lucky enough to draw Christmas Day off, as well as the day after. After his shift today he needed to finish his shopping for his parents then drive down to their house for the family gathering.
That’s what he’d do, turn around and forget about hoping to find Katie Myers again.
Coming to the traffic light where he’d stopped to help Katie, he put on his signal to make a left turn. He waited for the light to turn green. He believed in obeying traffic laws. He couldn’t give tickets to drivers for doing something he’d done–illegal U-turns among them.
A white van appeared from out of nowhere from his right side. It turned in front of him onto Route 3 toward Columbus, and sped away.
Matt nodded to himself. There was a prime example. If he’d been on duty, he’d bust the idiot. Out of habit he glanced at the retreating vehicle’s rear plates. Pennsylvania.
As the light turned from red to green, a flash of light on metal farther up the road caught his eye. Curious, Matt switched off his turn signal and drove past the light. The road sloped downhill, revealing a familiar green Jeep sitting on the shoulder. He ignored the pleasure that surged in him, seeing her vehicle. As he drove closer he noticed the car leaned at an odd angle. Then he saw the flat rear tire, and Katie kneeling to study it.
He pulled in behind her car. She stood, a mixture of relief and embarrassment on her face.
“Are you okay, Miss Myers?” he asked as he walked between the two vehicles.
“Um, yes. Officer...” She looked a little confused as she searched her memory for his name.
So much for making a big impression last week.
“Matt Edgars. But please call me Matt.” He glanced down at the tire, then back at her. “What happened?”
She pointed down the road, holding her hand out and waving it with some frustration. “It just happened a few minutes ago. The steering became wobbly and the car was hard to control.”
“You’re sure you’re not hurt? You didn’t hit your head or anything, did you?”
He searched her face for any signs of injury. For a moment, he stared into her eyes. Fear, loneliness and something darker swirled in their depths. He had the greatest urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her for a moment.
Then she blinked and lowered her gaze. “I’m alright, really.”
Taking a deep breath, Matt stepped back. “Let’s get your spare and jack. We should have this changed in just a few minutes.”
“I could call a tow truck,” she said as she opened the trunk. “I hate to put you out.”
“You’re not putting me out whatsoever.” He lifted the tire from the truck then reached in for the jack. He put the jack together and slid it in front of the flat tire. “And a tow truck would take forever on a Sunday. Not to mention Christmas Eve.”
“It is Christmas Eve, isn’t it?” She sounded startled by the information.
He popped off the hubcap and handed it to Katie. Then he hunkered down and loosened the lug nuts slightly with the lug wrench. He glanced at her. “Don’t tell me you forgot?”
She shrugged. “I guess I’ve been too distracted at work to think about the holidays much.”
After he jacked the car’s fender off the ground he removed the nuts, tossing each into the upturned hubcap Katie offered him. He grinned at her. “You’ve done this before.”
“Once or twice. I was helping my stepfather once and I lost one.” A shadow passed over her features. “Using this technique, I never lost one again.”
She lifted the hubcap to collect the bolts, holding herself just beyond his reach as if she suspected he might attack her. Even though they were strangers, he didn’t like the idea she didn’t trust him. Matt shook off the uneasy feeling and concentrated on fixing her flat.
Once he had the old tire off and the new one in place, he lowered the car back to the ground. He lifted the flat tire back in the jeep when something caught his eye. Laying the tire back on the ground he studied it. The tread was barely worn.
“Are these new tires?” He ran his fingers along the deep tread.
“I had them replaced last spring.” She leaned down to watch him. “Why?”
“Most flats occur with old tires that have little tread left on them. It makes the tire more vulnerable to road hazards.” Matt’s fingers touched over a hole. His index finger slipped inside. He leaned over to look closer. “What the heck?”
“What’s the matter?” Katie peered around his arm.
Matt sat back on his heels. “Tell me again what happened just before the car became hard to steer.”
She nibbled on her lower lip while she considered his question. The sight of her teeth pulling on the soft flesh held him mesmerized.
“I was heading home, listening to the radio. Loud. I didn’t want to fall asleep again.” She blushed when she glanced back at him.
“So you didn’t hear anything?”
“I heard a pop. Then I had to concentrate just to keep the car on the road. For a minute I thought it would flip over.”
“I’m not surprised,” he muttered, sticking his finger back in the hole. Except for some jagged edges, the hole’s circumference was an almost perfect circle around his finger. A nagging sense of unease inched its way along Matt’s spine.
Katie leaned close, her lips pressed tightly into a thin line. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Instead of answering her, Matt lifted the tire. On the other side he found a larger hole, one with the reinforced steel and rubber poking outwards like a small explosion.
“What?” Katie grasped the tire’s other side, to help support it.
Matt looked into her eyes. “Someone shot out this tire.”
“No.” Katie took a step backward, lifting her arms to wrap around her torso. Her eyes blinked rapidly, and once again she bit her lip. “You’re mistaken, Matt. Maybe it was just a nail or something?”
Her use of his first name should’ve thrilled him, but the near panic in her face ruined the act. He shook his head and pointed to the first hole. “This is where the bullet entered the tire.” Then he pointed at the second hole. “And this is where it exited.”
“No one could be shooting at me.” Shaking her head, she took another step backward. “Maybe it was just a hunter.”
Matt scanned the surrounding area. It used to be nothing but farmland and trees. But with Columbus bursting at its seams, new housing developments had crept into the area. Somehow he doubted a stray bullet from a hunter had hit this tire. At least not from someone hunting with a license.
He watched Katie for a minute. Her eyes swept from one side of the road to another. He felt her anxiety despite the distance between them. Her choice of words rang in his ears. No one could be shooting at me.
“Katie, are you in some sort of trouble?”
She shook her head, but edged further away from him and around the back of her car. “No. If you’ll just put the tire back in the trunk. I need to get out of...I need to get home.”
“We need to report this.”
“No. It’s just an accident.” As she spoke she stepped around the truck’s rear to the driver’s side. “I don’t want to get some innocent farmer in trouble.”
Matt followed her. Grabbing her by the elbow, he stopped her from climbing back in the vehicle. “You can’t ignore this. At least let me file a statement.”
“No!” She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “I’m not going to, and I don’t want you to, either.”
Matt fought the sudden urge to shake her. If Katie didn’t want to file a complaint, there was little he could do for her. He swallowed his questions and replaced her tire and jack in the jeep.
The woman was spooked. His instincts told him she wasn’t just in trouble, but that she knew who had shot her tire out…and why.
Finished, he walked to the driver’s side window and took out his wallet. He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Katie. I can’t force you to tell me, either. Here’s my card. My cell phone number is on it. If you decide you want my help, or you want to talk about whatever has you so scared, then give me a call.”
She didn’t look at him as her trembling hand accepted the card. “Thank you, Officer.”
Didn’t the woman get it? Someone wanted her to die. He ought to shake some sense into her. “Katie.”
She turned huge frightened eyes to him.
“Don’t wait too long to call me.”
She blinked, then nodded, pulling onto the highway.
For a moment, he stood watching her disappear once more. This “accident” had all the earmarks of an ambush. Who would want her dead? And why didn’t she want to tell him what she knew?
He walked a path from where her car had stopped back to where the skid marks started. The chances of him actually finding the bullet were next to nil, but he needed to look anyway. He stood for a minute and studied the area. Nothing.
Walking back through the light, Matt scanned both sides of the road. To the right was a new housing development. Cars sat in the driveways, and new swingsets dotted the backyards. To his left stood a grove of old oak and evergreen trees. A perfect spot for picking off a moving target. He’d guess the distance to be about two hundred and fifty yards. Far enough for a marksman with a high-powered rifle to shoot out her tire.
Matt hurried to his truck then drove back to the crossroad. The vision of the white van with the Pennsylvania plates flashed in his mind. The hairs on his neck tingled. He didn’t believe in coincidences. Not when it might involve attempted murder.
He turned left and headed up the road in the direction the van had come. Less than a hundred yards from the light, a dirt road led into the trees. That nagging sense of unease now gripped him by the nape of the neck. Approaching the trees with caution, he stopped just on the grove’s edge.
For several minutes he sat there, watching. No movement came from the trees. No cars or trucks hid in the area. Without a doubt this was where Katie’s assailant had hidden in wait for her. The knot in his gut told him so.
He withdrew his service weapon from the truck’s glove compartment. Nothing stirred in the area, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He stepped carefully into the trees. Broken branches and smeared muddy tracks headed in and out of the underbrush. He followed them about twenty feet.
This was the spot. Matt hunkered down on his heels. Someone stood here for quite a while. The area was trampled down almost in a circle. Several cigarette butts littered the area. He lifted a leaf.
A spent cartridge lay at his feet.
Chapter Two
Katie rushed into her room, slammed the door and locked all four dead bolts. For a moment she pressed her back against the wood and tried to calm her racing heart.
“Oh God, oh God,” she whispered.
What to do now? Think. Must think.
For years she’d believed the Marshals were paranoid when they moved her from safe house to safe house on a whim. Now she knew better. The Family had found her.
“I’ve got to get out of here. It isn’t safe anymore.”
Still trembling, she pushed herself away from the door and grabbed her second backpack. She threw her clothes in it. During the past ten years she’d learned to exist on less than ten articles of clothes, not including her scrub suits, of which she had all of three sets. She needed to be mobile and ready to move on a second’s notice. If the highway patrolman, Matt, was right, and her tire had been shot out, this just became one more of those seconds in her life.
She forced herself to take a deep breath.
Panic won’t solve anything.
Glancing at the door once more, she checked all the locks, then hurried into the bathroom and grabbed her makeup kit, toothbrush, and shampoo. All of which she tossed in the backpack’s side compartment. Finally she pushed her father’s framed picture into the pack with as much care as her nervous hands could manage. Even though he’d died twenty years ago, his gentle eyes still offered her peace and protection throughout this long ordeal.
One last thing to pack.
She reached into the bedside table and pulled out her Glock 9mm pistol and its case. Checking the clip to be sure it was full, she shoved it into place.
God, I hate these things. The Family never understood her aversion to firearms. They considered them an extension of themselves.
With a quick glance around the dreary room she’d called home for six months, she assured herself she’d left little evidence of her presence here. No mail lay anywhere in the place since she always used a post office box. She scribbled a quick note to let her landlord know she was leaving.
Peeking out the door to make sure no one watched, she slipped out and hurried down the metal stairs that ran along the antique store’s side beneath the apartment. At the bottom of the steps Katie stood between the two buildings and observed the street. The only car parked on it was hers. No one moved. The small town of Sunbury hadn’t awakened to start its day, yet.
She wrapped the note around her door key and dropped it in the antique store’s mailbox. By the time the owner opened the shop for business, Katie planned to be long gone.
As she sprinted around her car, the spare tire on her left rear wheel caught her attention. A shudder ran through her, but she shook it off and climbed in the driver’s side. She didn’t have time to waste on fear, panic and what-ifs. She needed to find a safe place to spend the day until nightfall. Then she could hide in the safety of the hospital’s nursery.
Normally this would be the last place she’d want to hide, however last year the hospital decided to update their security after a disgruntled boyfriend entered the hospital brandishing a gun. With its bulletproof windows and locked doors only accessible by key-pass badges, it was the most secure place for her tonight.
She drove toward Columbus, thinking about her shot-out tire. She glanced at the card on the passenger seat. If Matthew Edgars was right, then the Family had found her again. The question was, how?
The tense beep of his phone sounded in Frank Castello’s office. He glanced at the clock. Almost six. He nodded to his secretary who was taking dictation for him. “That will be all, Leslie. Arrange the necessary paperwork for the prisoner’s transfer by the time our agents leave tomorrow then you’re through for the day.”
Trusting her to follow his instructions, he watched her leave as he picked up the phone before it finished the third ring. “U. S. Marshals, Castello.”
“This is Katie Myers.”
The name of one of his witnesses in the Witness Protection Program had Castello sitting ramrod straight in his chair. The hesitant catch in the voice put him on high alert. “What’s wrong, Katie?”
“My identity’s been discovered.”
“How do you know that?” Castello asked, even as he opened the file containing his list of safe houses. Katie wasn’t a witness prone to panic. If she felt her identity had been compromised, the likelihood existed it had.
“Someone shot out my tire this morning.”
“What?” Castello stood, the phone clenched in his hand. He closed his door then sat again, willing himself to think rationally. “Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You know the rules. I need to come get you. Let me know where.”
“No. I don’t want to come in yet.” She took a deep breath. “It’s Christmas Eve, Castello. I want to work my evening shift. It’s only four hours and I’ll be safe there, behind the security doors. People are counting on me.”
The plea in her voice shook him. “Your life isn’t worth a job, Katie.”
“I know, but...I promised. You can pick me up at midnight. At the hospital.”
“Katie, let me come get you now. Katie?”
The phone line disconnected.
“Dammit!” Even if he’d had a tap on his phone, the conversation hadn’t lasted long enough to trace. Besides, Katie always used a pre-paid cell phone when she contacted him.
