Cold Case Tracker, page 13
“Hello?” Caleb answered before it had even rung once.
“We have a hostile,” Jackson said. “In the trees behind the motel. He’s escaping on foot. I need you and Blake here now!”
“Copy that. On our way.”
The criminal was running. But thankfully the woods weren’t as thick as they were around Cedar Lake, and he could still catch a faint glimpse of the man between the trees.
Amy grabbed his arm. “You should go after him!”
“I’m not leaving you.” Nor would he send Hudson without backup after someone who might be armed.
An instant later he saw Blake and Caleb sprinting around the corner of the motel, with their guns drawn.
“Blake, cover Amy!” Jackson yelled. “Get her to safety! Caleb, you’re with me!”
He glanced at Hudson. His K-9 partner was standing at the ready.
“Go get him!” Jackson signaled his partner toward the departing figure. “Catch! Hold! Don’t let him get away!”
Hudson dashed across the grass and into the trees.
Jackson glanced back at Amy, only to nearly be knocked back on his heels by the depth of emotion he saw in her eyes.
“Stay safe,” she said.
“You too.” Jackson turned and sprinted after his partner, hearing Caleb just a few yards behind him. He ran through the woods, following the sound of Hudson barking as he pursued his target.
Lord, please help me catch him and finally bring this nightmare to an end.
Jackson pressed on, feeling fresh hope fill his core. Hudson would catch the suspect. This would all be over soon.
Sharp and furious barking rose ahead of him, punctuated by loud and frustrated snarls from Hudson that Jackson had never heard before when in pursuit of a suspect. Then the trees parted ahead of them and he saw why. Hudson stood on his hind legs at the base of a large pine tree. The dog’s front paws hit the trunk again and again, as if trying to shake it hard enough to send his target tumbling to the ground. The suspect may have been trying to hide, but there was no way Hudson’s keen senses were about to be fooled. The K-9 had him trapped.
“Hudson!” Jackson called. “Come!”
Immediately, the dog relented and trotted obediently back to his side.
“We have him cornered!” Jackson yelled back toward Caleb as the constable’s face appeared through the trees. “Stay back and cover me!”
“Copy that!” Caleb shouted back.
Silence had fallen from the pine branches above. Jackson pulled his weapon, steadied it with both hands and raised it.
“I’m Sergeant Jackson Locke of the RCMP’s Ontario K-9 Unit,” he shouted. “Drop any weapons and come down with your hands up!”
The branches rustled. Then pine needles rained down as a slight figure in a black hoodie dropped from above and landed in a crouching position with his hands raised.
“I’m arresting you on the suspicion of involvement in the murder of Gemma Locke and the attempted kidnapping of Amy Scout.”
“What? Someone tried to kidnap Amy?” The figure tossed her head back, the hood fell from her face and Jackson’s heart suddenly stopped beating as fierce green eyes every bit as determined as his own met his gaze. Jackson reholstered his gun.
He raised a hand to signal to Caleb without turning around.
“Stand down and go back to the others,” Jackson called. “The suspect is my sister, Gemma.”
ELEVEN
Jackson stood in stunned silence with his eyes locked on his sister’s face. She ran both hands through her dark hair, in a gesture he recognized as one he did all too often himself, when he was trying to get his brain to think. Gemma had cut her hair short and spiky since he’d seen her last. It suited her. Despite all the terrible fears that had filled his mind, she looked strong and healthy.
“Okay,” Caleb’s voice came from somewhere behind him. “I’ll head back to the others and let you handle it.”
“Don’t brief them!” Jackson shouted, suddenly. “Keep this between us.”
He didn’t want Amy knowing that Gemma was still alive until he understood what was going on.
“Got it.”
He heard the sound of Caleb retreating through the woods.
Jackson stood there, speechless, and looked at his sister.
“I thought you were dead,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” Gemma said. “What happened to Amy? You said someone tried to kidnap her.”
“Yes,” he said. “A very scary masked man we now know is named Reese Cyan. Amy got away and she’s fine, except for some worries about how her blood pressure will impact the baby. Reese broke into both your store and the cottage. He was apparently looking for something. But, as important as all of that is, I’ve spent the last few hours believing you were dead! Police dredged up some body downriver from where your car was found. They thought it was you.”
A dozen different feelings bounced around inside him like popcorn sizzling in hot oil—relief, frustration, confusion, anger, joy—and he didn’t know which one would fly out of the pot first.
“Why were you hiding in a tree like that?” Not the most important question, he knew, but the top one on his mind. “Why did you run from me? Why would you let me keep believing you were dead?”
“I came here to talk to you!” Gemma said. Now they were both almost yelling. “I didn’t know you thought I was dead.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“The Pine Crest seniors were posting all over social media that you and your colleague were just there asking them about the cold case,” she said. “I tracked your truck to the motel. I was hiding in the woods to make sure the coast was clear and that none of the other cops would see me, and next thing I know my brother is kissing my pregnant best friend!”
His big sister’s hands snapped to her hips, as if she’d caught him doing something wrong. He crossed his arms in response. He still didn’t know what he thought of his fleeting kiss with Amy. He suspected it had probably been a mistake. She was in a really vulnerable place and he couldn’t let it happen again. But that didn’t mean he was about to let his sister give him grief about it.
“I decided to make a hasty retreat and come back later when you were alone,” Gemma went on, “then next thing I know you’ve ordered your big, scary dog to chase me and take me down. Plus, your colleague was running after me too. So, of course I ran.”
He looked down at his partner. Hudson was sitting harmlessly by his side, with his head cocked as he was trying to figure out what Gemma was saying about him.
“Do you think we can trust Caleb?” Gemma asked.
“Do I think we can trust Caleb?” Jackson repeated. “Yes, he’s a good cop, and I trust him with my life. In fact, I gotta say I trust him a lot more than I trust you right now. Why did you disappear and leave Amy all alone like that? She was in trouble. She needed you! Why haven’t you reached out to anybody in weeks?”
Words tumbled out of his mouth so quickly he could barely contain them. But then he caught himself. Forgive me, Lord. It didn’t matter how upset he was or how justified those feelings were. All he was doing now was repeating the same old patterns and pushing her away. Jackson held up both hands, palms up, in a sign of peace.
“I’m so sorry.” His voice dropped. “That wasn’t fair to barrage you like that. I was just really scared that I’d lost you and that I’d never see you again. I kept telling everyone that you were so strong and tough, I was convinced you were alive, but...”
His words trailed off as his voice broke.
He watched his sister’s lips quiver and thick tears fill her eyes. Wordlessly he opened his arms and stepped toward his sister. She threw her arms around him and hugged him hard. He hugged her back just as fiercely.
“I’m sorry you thought I was dead,” Gemma said. “That sucks and I can’t imagine how much that hurt.”
“It hurt a lot,” Jackson said. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. Then Gemma pulled back and he let her go.
“I thought I was doing what I needed to do to save Amy’s life,” she said. “A stranger tried to kill me. I figured as long as he thought I was dead, I could hide out and figure out who he was and get the evidence I needed to stop him.”
“But if he thought you were still alive, he might come after Amy?” Jackson asked.
“Yeah,” Gemma said, “especially if I tried to return to normal life back at the cottage. If I was there with Amy, she’d be in the line of fire and she had nowhere else to go. And considering how the cops bungled the Pine Crest case, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility there was a corrupt cop involved. If so, maybe contacting you would put you in danger. So, I thought it was safer for everybody if I sorted it out on my own.”
Okay, he got that to an extent. But didn’t she see why that had been the wrong thing to do? She never should’ve tried dealing with this alone. As relieved as he was to see his sister again, he felt like he was at risk of falling into the same argument he’d had with her a dozen times before. He got the desire to protect Amy. But she still should have come to him for help, even if there had been a corrupt cop involved in the Pine Crest murders. It’s not like he couldn’t take care of himself...
Just like she was certain she could take care of herself.
Gemma was always a very private person. Amy’s words from the night before filled his mind. She was the kind who’d avoid conflict at all costs... Then another thought crossed his mind. Maybe we’re more similar than I’d like to admit.
He glanced at the trees above and prayed.
Lord, I lost my sister once. I don’t want to lose her again. Help me break the cycle. Help me to stop being a brawler and start being the peacemaker she needs me to be.
He ran both hands through his hair, then caught himself and realized he’d just mirrored what she’d done earlier.
“Why did you go to Pine Crest today?” Gemma asked.
“We found your hidden office in the store,” he said. “It’s incredible, by the way. Amy saw the Pine Crest folder on your desk and figured out that might have been where you were going the day you vanished. I’m so proud of you for going for your private investigator’s license. I’m sorry you felt like you needed to hide it from me.”
“I wanted to wait until I’d actually passed my test and had my feet under me,” she said. “I thought if you teased me or argued with me, I’d be too full of self-doubt to go for it. And I was afraid you’d take it personally, like I was deciding to go a civilian route to somehow spite you when you were in law enforcement.”
He laughed as heat rose to his face. “Well, to be fair I did think something like that,” he said. “But only for a moment, before I kicked myself for thinking it.”
She laughed too. “I was hoping to take the test a few months ago, actually,” she said, “but when Amy showed up she was so frazzled and upset. Then she got sick because her blood pressure was too high, and I didn’t want to add to her stress levels.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Jackson said. “What happened to your car?”
“I was looking into the Pine Crest cold case,” she replied. “I’d been doing a lot of online searches and sending emails, and I thought I had a potential lead. But while I was on my way there, a van ran me off the road. I barely managed to get out of the car before it went over the edge. It was terrifying. But thankfully I was able to escape with my bag and wallet.”
She shuddered at the memory.
“I hid in the bushes for what felt like forever. The driver pulled over and started looking for me. He had a gun, and I was sure he was going to find me and put a bullet in me. But then he called someone, and I heard him tell them I was dead. I booked a nearby rental cottage, through an online app and under a false name, and have been hiding out there ever since.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and held up the picture of Reese Cyan. Gemma glanced at the screen, and before he could even ask the question, he watched as his sister’s face turned ashen.
“That’s him!” She pointed at the screen. Her finger shook. “That’s the man who ran me off the road.”
“He wasn’t wearing a mask?” Jackson asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “His van had tinted windows and when he was searching for my body, he didn’t bother to hide his face, either because he figured I was dead or he was planning on killing me. Who is he? Is he the real Kenny Stanton?”
“I don’t know if he’s Kenny,” Jackson said. “He might’ve changed his name or used an alias. His name is Reese Cyan, and he’s a thief and fence with a history of trafficking in stolen goods. He may have robbed Pine Crest and accidentally killed Mitsy, Gordon and Angela. Or been working with an accomplice on the inside at Pine Crest, we really don’t know. He’s the one who tried to kidnap Amy.”
“You said he was looking for something,” Gemma said.
“Yup,” Jackson said. “Something bigger than a book and smaller than a secret room. So, our best guess is that he’s looking for your laptop with all your files and research on it.”
“Well, then joke’s on him,” Gemma said. “It was destroyed when my car went into the river. It might as well be a brick.”
A cold breeze cut through the trees. The sun was beginning to dip lower on the horizon. He couldn’t stand out in the forest talking to his sister forever. They had to figure out where to go from here.
“I’m sorry that we haven’t had the kind of relationship where you felt safe coming to me with whatever you were going through,” he said. “I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye. But I love you, I respect you and I promise that I’m going to do a better job listening to you from now on.”
“And you’re not going to sideline me and take this over?” Gemma said.
“No way,” Jackson said. “I’m just glad you’re safe, and I promise that no matter what I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”
“Ditto,” Gemma said.
He chuckled.
“Come on,” he said, “it’s time for you to go talk to Amy.”
* * *
The motel room that Blake had arranged for her was simple, but nicer than Amy had expected. There were soft blue-and-orange patchwork blankets on two twin beds and a large portrait of a waterfall on the opposite wall above the television.
Amy lay on the bed closest to the door, on top of the blankets. Her eyes traced patterns in the white stucco ceiling as she tried to relax and remind herself that Blake was standing guard outside her door. Yet, with every beat of her heart, her mind filled with questions about Jackson.
Was he okay? Was he safe? Why had Caleb come back without him? Why wouldn’t he give her an answer about where Jackson was now?
And above all, why had she kissed Jackson like that? She’d gotten swept up in the emotion of the moment. She couldn’t let herself act impulsively. Not like that. Ever again. Not after the mistakes she’d made.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, there was a gentle knock on the door.
“Amy?” Jackson’s voice was soft. Her heart leaped at the sound of it. “It’s me.”
She sat up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m great,” he said.
“Come in,” she said. “Blake has a key.”
“Okay,” he said. “But I’ve got some pretty big news. It’s good news, but still I don’t want your heart rate skyrocketing. So, I need you to take a really deep breath and let it out slowly. Okay?”
“Okay.” She did as he asked. “I’m good.”
The door opened gradually and there stood Gemma.
A cry slipped from Amy’s lips. Tears of joy filled her eyes. She swung her legs over the side of the bed as Gemma hurried across the room toward her. The two women hugged tightly, and Amy felt both relief and joy bubbling up inside her heart.
“I’m so sorry,” Gemma whispered. “I never meant to scare you like that.”
“I’m just glad you’re still alive and that you’re okay.”
“Me too.”
Finally, they pulled apart and Amy wiped her eyes. Tears shone in Gemma’s eyes too, and although her friend’s smile was wide, Amy couldn’t help but notice the worry lines that creased Gemma’s forehead.
“I never used to cry,” Amy said, with a laugh, “but now it seems like I’ve been making up for a lifetime’s worth of tears.”
She glanced past Gemma to where Jackson and Hudson stood in the doorway.
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Jackson said.
He started to close the door, but Amy reached out her hand toward him.
“Stay,” Amy said, “and we can all talk this out together.”
Jackson paused. He glanced at Gemma, and the siblings exchanged a long and indecipherable look.
“No,” he said. “I’ve got to fill Blake and Caleb in on what Gemma told me, and also call Finnick and loop him in. I might be a while. You two will be fine on your own. One of us will be guarding the door at all times.”
He left and closed the door behind him.
“Seems like you two have gotten really close,” Gemma said.
She walked over to the bed beside Amy’s and sat down.
“Well, he came up to Clearwater looking for you,” Amy said, “and had my back when a really scary guy broke into the cottage and the store looking for something.”
“While we were walking back through the woods, Jackson filled me in on everything that you’ve been going through in the past couple of days,” Gemma said. “Reese Cyan is the man who ran my car off the road. I hid and let him think I was dead because I wanted to protect you. I’m so sorry. I never thought he’d come after you.”
“He was looking for something,” Amy said, “probably your laptop so he could erase any of the evidence you’d collected on him.”
