LITMIR.BIZ

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Dennis Marlton and Eddie Harmon, two more of Desert Valley’s finest—only Lee had come to figure out they weren’t quite so fine. Between ready-for-retirement cops and simple ineffectiveness, Lee decided it was a wonder enforcement of the law even happened in Desert Valley.

      Chief Jones was a good man, but his upcoming retirement had him slacking off. The chief continued, “I’ll stay here while you chauffeur these two back to town. Officer Foxcroft’s got some paperwork to fill out on the shooting. Make sure her gun is turned in and all is done according to procedure.”

      Louise’s jaw tightened as though she didn’t like being told how to do her job, but she simply nodded. “Of course. Come on.”

      Lee put the crated puppies in the back of the DVPD SUV cruiser then he climbed in the back while Ellen took the front passenger seat. Louise started the vehicle and pulled away from the edge of the road. Lee reached over and settled his hand on Ellen’s shoulder. She started and turned to look at him, confusion clouding her eyes. But at least she didn’t pull away. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he said. “That was some quick thinking and good shooting out there.”

      She shot him a tight smile. “Thanks. I just wanted to stop them.”

      “You did that, all right.”

      She fell silent and Lee removed his hand from her shoulder to look out the window and watch the scenery pass by. He didn’t take for granted the fact that he could do this now. He’d missed riding in a car for the past two years. Missed driving his truck. He’d missed a lot of things. The anger wanted to bubble up, but he took a deep breath and forced it down. Anger at what he couldn’t change wouldn’t help anything. It would just cause the bitterness to grow, and he didn’t want to go through life that way. Had made a vow he wouldn’t let it consume him. Not like it had his father. He forced the thought away.

      Within minutes they were at the police station. Lee climbed out of the cruiser, grabbed the puppies from the back and waited for Ellen to climb out. He let her go in front of him, watching her enter the station, her steps light, movements graceful. He realized his feelings for her hadn’t diminished one bit from their high school days. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he was still attracted to her. And her mother still hated him. No doubt even more so at this point. He wasn’t just a kid from the wrong side of the tracks anymore—he’d been incarcerated. Oh, yes, that would go over well with Marian Foxcroft. Assuming she ever woke up from her coma to find out he was now out and working with her daughter. As much as he disliked the woman, he realized he could feel compassion for her. She was in the hospital in a coma, a victim of a home invasion and a vicious attack. No one deserved that. He swallowed hard and pulled the rolling crates behind him. He trailed Ellen as she led the way through the Desert Valley Police Department lobby.

      “Ellen?”

      Ellen paused and turned to the woman who’d called her name. “Yes, Carrie?”

      Lee racked his brain trying to place what he’d learned about the secretary and couldn’t come up with much. In her thirties, she wore thick horn-rimmed glasses and her brown hair was always in the same style every time he’d seen her around town. Up in one of those messy-bun things some women managed to twist their hair into. She was quiet and kind and did her job well if the rumors were true.

      She handed Ellen a piece of paper. “The hospital called just to say there’s been no change in your mother. Dr. North said to let you know he had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to meet with you this afternoon, but if you’ll call his secretary to reschedule, she’ll fit you in as soon as possible.”

      “That’s fine. Thanks.” She frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t call my cell.”

      “He said he did but you didn’t answer.”

      “She was kind of busy,” Lee said.

      Ellen nodded. “Thanks, Carrie.”

      “Of course.” She turned back to her computer and Louise continued the trek to a conference room.

      Officer Donaldson shut the door behind them and Lee saw Ellen check her phone. “Yep. Missed call.” She glanced at Lee. “Right in the middle of our little incident. I never heard it ring.”

      He hadn’t, either.

      Ellen removed her weapon and placed it in the bag the officer held out for her. “You know the drill,” Officer Donaldson said. “There’ll be an investigation. You’re off duty for the moment.”

      Ellen sighed. “I know.”

      “The good news is since there are no wounded or dead bodies, you could be cleared for return to duty as early as tomorrow or the next day. We’ll let you know.”

      “Thanks, Louise.”

      The woman’s brown eyes softened a fraction. “You’re welcome. You did good, rookie.”

      Ellen gave a faint smile. “Thanks.”

      “How’s your mother?”

      Her smile slipped. “She’s still alive. We’re just praying she wakes up soon and can tell us who did this to her. Until then, she’s under twenty-four-hour guard to make sure no one can get to her and finish what they started. Chief Jones was willing to have you all take shifts guarding her, but I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted to take you away from your duties here. I’ve hired a private agency to make sure there’s a guard on her door. So far, that’s worked out well.”

      “We’re all praying for her.” Louise set the weapon aside and motioned for them to sit at the table. Once seated Lee wanted to fidget. He wasn’t interested in being in this building ever again. Louise pulled a laptop in front of her. “All right, let’s go through it all again.”

      Lee started to say something when Carrie entered the room. Louise raised a brow. “Yes?”

      “Sorry to interrupt, but someone found a glove behind a Dumpster near veterinarian Tanya Fowler’s office and brought it in.” She held up the bagged glove while he pictured Tanya, the veterinarian he’d seen occasionally when she’d come to the prison to vaccinate the dogs with the Prison Pups program. A sweet lady whose nonjudgmental eyes never failed to raise his spirits. He tuned back into what Carrie was saying. “Two kids were waiting with their mother while she had their dog in with Dr. Fowler and they ran around the side of the building playing hide and seek. Little Justin Daniels found it and gave it to his mother.”

      “Okay. And it’s important because...?”

      “It matches the set worn by one of the robbers who robbed that bank in Flagstaff six months ago.”

      Louise frowned. “How would she have known that?”

      “She wouldn’t. She turned it in to us because it had five one-hundred-dollar bills in it and thought someone may have reported it missing.”

      “Has someone?”

      “No.” Carrie pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. “But when the robbery first happened, we got all those wanted notices faxed to us, remember? The chief also got the video footage of the robbery.” She walked farther into the room and placed the glove on the desk. “He and I watched it together just in case I spotted anyone hanging around town. Turns out I recognized the gloves in the surveillance video. They’re a pretty popular brand and I sent this exact pair to a cousin for Christmas last year.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, not this one, but a pair just like them. So I just checked the bank footage again to be sure, and this sure looks like one of the gloves.”

      Louise nodded. “Okay, that’s good news. I wouldn’t have thought there would be any chance of picking up that trail again. Send the glove off to the lab. Take Justin Daniels’s fingerprints as well as his mother’s and send them for comparison.” Carrie nodded. “Also, get the serial numbers from the bills and send them to the Flagstaff PD. I don’t know that they’ll need them, but it can’t hurt to have them just in case.”

      “Got it.”

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