Near the back window, I caught a glint of something in the yard. “What was that?”
Before I could check, Alexander shoved me out of the way and dragged me to the floor. We crashed to the ground.
What is he doing?
A bullet shot through the glass that I stood by.
It put a hole into the wall.
Oh my God.
“Damn it.” Alexander jumped up, opened the back door, and raced out. “FBI! Stop!”
I was almost shot.
Shocked, I ran after him, hurrying through the overgrown grass. My legs burned. Sweat wet my palms. My heart pounded inside my chest. With only the moonlight, it was hard to see Alexander and the person he ran after.
I caught a glimpse of the figure ahead of us. Moonlight revealed his frame but hid his face. The bulky man sped forward. Holding the gun in front of me, I tightened my fingers around the metal.
Alexander increased his speed, closing the distance between the man and us. “FBI! Identify yourself!”
The guy didn’t stop running.
“I said, identify yourself!” Alexander’s voice rose in the air.
The guy whipped around and shot at us. One bullet slammed into the tree near my head. Wood splintered and hit my skin.
I dropped to the ground. Alexander ducked out of the way. When the guy did a full-out run again, I jumped up and headed after him.
Alexander sped past me and aimed. He shot and didn’t miss. The bullet hit the guy’s knee. The man screamed in pain. His running shifted to limping.
I fired too. My bullet hit the man’s shoulder.
“Drop the gun!” Alexander shot twice. The bullets caught him in the back and leg. The man staggered to the side and then he collapsed to the ground.
Out of breath, I rushed to the man and pointed my gun at his head. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he coughed into the tall grass.
The gun shook in my hand. “Identify yourself.”
“Fuck you, nigger.” The guy raised his head and somehow managed to lift his gun.
Within the moonlight, I spotted the rage in his eyes. “Drop the gun!”
“I said Fuck. You. Nigger.” Blood dripped from his mouth. He raised his gun some more, pointing at my chest.
Shock gripped me.
Alexander jumped to the man’s side and pressed the tip of his gun to his forehead. “Put the gun down now!”
The guy kept those crazy eyes on me. His finger trembled as he began to pull the trigger. But he never got the chance. Alexander pulled first and shot him in the head.
My bottom lip quivered.
“Are you okay?” Alexander rushed to me and pulled me into his arms. “Did he get you earlier?”
I touched his chest. The steel of his muscles pressed against my hands. “No. . .he didn’t get me.”
“Good.” Still, Alexander searched my face and scanned his gaze along my hands and arms. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I-I swear. I’m fine.”
Sighing, Alexander let me go, rushed over to the man, grabbed his quaking body, and dragged him further into the moonlight. “Not the sheriff, but it’s a Colesville deputy. He still has his uniform on underneath this black jacket.”
Stunned, for some reason, I pointed the gun back at the dead man. “Why wouldn’t he just put the gun down?”
“Because he knew that we would question him and get answers that he didn’t want to give.” Alexander let go of the guy. His dead body dropped to the ground.
“So, he would rather die?”
“It must be pretty dreadful answers.” Alexander walked back over to me and scowled. “Don’t get in front of another gun like that again!”
“That wasn’t my intention I just—”
“Don’t!” Alexander stalked off, pulled his phone out, and updated Brett.
In a daze, I stood there by the body. So far in the past few days, I had seen three dead bodies—a little girl, an old man, and now a deputy calling me a nigger.
Welcome to the field, Haven. Are you sure you have the stomach for this?
I put my gun in the holster and focused on my breaths.
Jesus Christ.
The little girls’ images flashed through my head, reminding me of why I’d volunteered for this case. I was an adult with a gun. I had nothing to be terrified of while some psycho took those powerless girls away.
Suck it up and calm down.
Alexander moved the phone from his mouth and pointed to the body. “Check his badge. Stein wants his name.”
“Okay.” I swallowed and forced myself to stop shaking.
God. I have to touch a dead body. Not my favorite part of this job.
Lowering to the ground, I dug my hands into the dead man’s pants pocket, found the wallet, and took it out. I could have checked the wallet right there, but I wanted distance between the corpse and me.
Dear God. There’s already a smell coming, or is it just in my head?
I opened the wallet. “Deputy Greg Martelle.”
Alexander repeated the name, turned off the phone, and walked over to me. “How are you?”
“Perfect.”
He gave me a sad smile. “Really?”
“No. Not one bit.” I handed him the badge.
“Do you need to throw up?”
“Not yet.”
“Stein is around the corner. He should be here soon. If you need a break or something. You can go back to Saint Mary’s—”
“I’m not going back to the inn until you do.”
“Agent Barron, if you’re trying to prove that you’re a bad ass, the point was made long ago.”
“Thank you.” I sighed. “But I’m staying.”
Noise sounded ahead.
I followed Alexander back into the house.
Brett and Tina appeared.
I met them outside. Fullbrooke and Colesville police arrived. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
Which ones are the friends, and which ones are the foes?
The red lights from the ambulance flew in a sickening blur to the scene, lighting up the area. Tires squealed. I looked beyond the emergency vehicle and spotted news vans.
Who called them?
We didn’t need the news out here, spreading wrong facts. Once they spotted the FBI badges, they would think the dead guy had something to do with the Fullbrooke Six. I wasn’t convinced just yet.
Brett rushed up the steps. “We made it to the bar, but coincidentally the camera, computer, and footage was all gone.”
“Was Sheriff Bran there?”
“He wasn’t.” Brett glanced at the house. “No footage here either?”
“None.” I shook my head. “We checked everywhere, but it wouldn’t hurt for you two to look around again.”
Tina nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
She disappeared into the house.
Brett remained outside. “Alexander told me what happened. How are you?”
“I’m fine. It was just unexpected.”
“Let me know if you need something. The first guy dying in front of you is always the hardest to get over.”
I swallowed. “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
Brett switched back to business. “Who knew Alexander and you were coming?”
“The bar owner’s daughter, Maddie. She was the one who showed the footage on the camera. Sheriff Bran was also there too. No doubt, he told the deputy to do it.”