Threat Detection, page 2
She seemed at a loss for words too.
Freddy broke the silence with a yipping look-at-me sound.
Aubrey laughed. Her face brightened as she stared down at his partner. “He’s cute.” Freddy wagged his tail. “And charming.”
He appreciated that Freddy had found a way to break the ice.
She drew her attention back to him. “Been a long time, Isaac.”
It felt as if she was pushing him away with each word. He was here to do a job. That was what he would focus on, not the churning turmoil he felt. “I’m sorry you were attacked. I wish we could have met again under different circumstances.”
“Do you?” Again, it felt like her words were some sort of accusation. She was the one who had dumped him without explanation.
Just focus on your job.
“I heard part of what you said to Officer Nielson. That you were high up on the volcano, and someone shot at you. You said you didn’t get a look at the guy?”
“Not really, it was dark. Everything happened so fast.” She gestured toward the building by the parking lot. “If you don’t mind. I need to put my bike inside.”
He noticed the signage on the concrete and metal structure: Washington State Geological Foundation. “You work here?”
“Yes, I’m a volcanologist completing my PhD.” Her face brightened more as she spoke about her work.
Studying volcanoes had always been Aubrey’s dream. Those plans had been made when they were both eighteen. Most people didn’t stick to the goals they made at that age. He certainly hadn’t.
Of course, in many ways his life had not been his own when he was younger. Because he was from a prominent family, his parents had been pushing him into going to law school. He was too immature to know that that was their dream, their design on his life, not his. Besides, generations of McDanes had taken that path and been successful and happy.
Aubrey guided her bike toward the door, pulled out a key card and swiped it across the reader. He followed her inside. The building was dark. Aubrey walked to an office and pushed her bike inside.
He found himself checking out the photographs on her desk. Perhaps searching for evidence that she was dating someone. He had already noted that she didn’t have a ring on her finger. It looked like mostly work-related photos. He recognized one of Aubrey with her older sister, Emily, a recent picture he guessed. He had not met Emily when he and Aubrey were dating, only seen pictures. The sisters looked alike except Aubrey was blonde and Emily’s hair was light brown.
Aubrey propped her bike against the wall. After grabbing her car keys from a container on her desk, she closed the door to her office. “Do you have any more questions for me? I’d like to go home. It has been a long, hard day.”
Already headed toward the door, Aubrey didn’t seem to want to stand still. In addition to her having been the victim of a crime, his presence had probably stirred her up.
“I do need to ask you more questions. Can you tell me anything about the man who attacked you?”
She shook her head. “Tall, in good shape. I didn’t see his face.”
“Do you have any idea why someone would want to shoot at you?”
She swung the door open. She was acting like she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. There is no reason someone would come after me, and if you wanted to commit a random act of violence, there are way less remote places to do that.”
“So the culprit was maybe up there for a specific reason?”
Still holding the door, she turned to face him. “What he said to me implied that I had something of his and that I should give it back.”
“Do you have any idea what that might be?”
She shrugged. “I was gathering samples. I didn’t have anything valuable on me. All the stuff in my backpack was related to my research.” She stopped for a moment. When she spoke again her voice faltered. “My backpack, my equipment, my camera, they’re all still up there.”
He’d seen this before with crime victims, a delayed response once the adrenaline wore off. The impact of what had happened to her was sinking in.
He stepped toward her. “You’ve been through a horrible attack, Aubrey. Don’t discount the impact of that.” He reached out and patted her upper arm.
She gazed up at him with those sparkling green eyes. “Guess I don’t just brush this one off, huh?”
“It’s pretty normal to be shaken by something like this,” he said.
She studied him for a long moment. “Whatever made you decide to be a cop?”
“That’s a long story.” It was the first personal question she’d asked him. Her brisk response to being around him seemed to soften a little. “This is a pretty sweet gig though. I’m part of a team of K-9 officers who assist with investigations in the national parks in Washington State.” He touched the patch on his left pocket that identified his unit.
She stepped through the door, and he and Freddy followed. Isaac stared out at the parking lot surrounded by forest.
Aubrey double-checked that the door was locked. Her blond hair fell across her face as she leaned over. She was as beautiful as he remembered.
She had just turned to face him when a gunshot disturbed the evening quiet.
TWO
Aubrey’s heart pounded as Isaac pulled her down to the ground, using his body to shield her. The rough pebbles in the parking lot dug into her already raw hands. Freddy rushed over to them. Isaac rolled off her and jumped to his feet, drawing his gun.
The bullet had hit a metal sculpture by the door only inches from where she’d been standing. Her breath caught when another shot hit close to Isaac.
Freddy licked her face as if to offer comfort.
Isaac continued to scan the trees. “Run and hide behind your car. I’ll cover you.”
With Freddy trailing behind and his leash dragging on the ground, Isaac kept his gun pointed toward the trees, moving sideways to shield her from any bullet that might be aimed her way.
She took shelter behind the car while Isaac peered over the hood. “I’ve got to get to my vehicle and radio for backup. I took my shoulder radio off earlier.” He looked at the dog. “Freddy, stay.”
Isaac’s footsteps pounded on the concrete. His SUV was at least five yards from her car. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the sound of another gunshot. Freddy moved in close to her. His fur brushed against her arm as if to say I’m here for you. She reached out to rub a velvety ear. Having the dog close helped reduce the fear that made her heart race and her body tremble.
Aubrey heard a car door open and then the sound of Isaac talking into the radio.
Still no gunshots. Maybe the shooter had realized there was too much danger of being caught and had taken off running.
By the time Isaac returned, she could hear sirens in the distance. Other police officers must have been close by.
“Lansbury and Nielson will search the road where that forest is. He must have parked somewhere.” Isaac knelt close to her. Freddy took up a sitting position beside him. “Aubrey, you’re coming with me,” said Isaac.
“What?”
“He’s come after you two times already. Until this guy is caught, you’re not safe,” he said.
Though she knew what he said was true, the thought of spending time with Isaac caused a tight knot in her stomach. It was clear ten years had not healed the chasm between them. Time had just numbed the hurt.
“Can’t I just go back to my condo and you can arrange for a policeman to be parked outside?” Being around Isaac stirred up old pain that she thought she’d gotten past. Though he seemed to be a very good cop, she really didn’t want to be reliant on him for protection.
“All that takes time to set up. What if this guy already knows where you live?”
“I don’t see how this could be personal.” The notion sent a shiver down her spine. “So, where do I go?”
“I’ve got a room at a lodge up the road. I’ve been staying there while I worked a case with the National Park Service. The place is not busy. I’m sure we can get you a room next door.”
“Okay. I guess I have no choice.” The lodge would actually be closer to work. “Can we go back to my condo and get some things? You can follow me in your vehicle. I can’t leave my car here.”
Isaac studied her for a long moment then looked at the trees again where the shots had come from. “Sure.” He pulled his phone out. “Give me your number, and I’ll text you back so you’ll have mine.”
Now they were exchanging phone numbers. She wanted to believe that this was just about him doing his job.
He must have picked up on her hesitation.
“For your safety, Aubrey. We need to be able to contact each other.”
She recited her number.
He and Freddy made their way to the SUV. “I’ll follow you, but don’t let me out of your sight.”
Aubrey got into her car. Another park police car pulled into the lot. The officer got out and headed toward the forest on foot, looking for the man who had shot at them. Aubrey drove toward the road. Even before she was out of the lot, she could see Isaac’s car in the rearview mirror. He stayed close to her the whole time as she took the winding road that led out of Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
She turned the radio on to try to shut down the cavalcade of thoughts spinning through her head. Maybe they would catch the shooter before the night was over, and she wouldn’t have to think about the past every time she looked into Isaac’s eyes and saw hurt there.
She wondered if it would make a difference if he knew the whole story after all this time. They had been in love once. Or it had felt like love to her back then.
When she aged out of the foster care system, Aubrey had taken a job as a housekeeper and cook with the McDanes, a wealthy family. Their son, Isaac, had been away in Europe for the summer. When he came home, they had clicked right away. He was weeks away from going to college on the East Coast when he asked her to marry him. He didn’t care about the Ivy League school; he’d go where she went.
Isaac announced their engagement at a family dinner. The response was polite but cold.
The next day Isaac’s mother, Susan, had confronted her when she was alone.
Even after all these years, the words Susan spoke were like a thousand stabs to Aubrey’s heart. “Isaac has a bright future ahead of him. Once he has his law degree, he could be a senator or even governor. He needs a wife who can help him make that happen.”
The message was clear. Aubrey did not have the pedigree to be his wife. Marriage to her would rob him of success.
She’d cried when she sent the text.
She had broken up with him to give him the life he deserved.
After the breakup, she’d thrown herself into getting a geology degree and then grad work to forget that she had ever looked into his eyes and thought she’d found home.
His mother was right. They were a mismatch. The romance had been an illusion driven by her naivete. People like Isaac didn’t marry orphan girls like Aubrey.
Honestly, until she saw him get out of that SUV, she’d thought she was long over Isaac McDane. When she looked into those blue eyes, her settled life veered toward chaos. Until she saw him, she had viewed her world as complete and fulfilling. She loved her job and the people she worked with. She had a great bunch of friends she studied the Bible with. Recently, her older sister, Emily, had come back into her life after years of estrangement.
She stared at the road in front of her and gritted her teeth.
She couldn’t fix the past. The sooner she didn’t have to rely on Isaac for protection, the better.
The winding road connected with the highway that led to her home, and she sped up. Traffic was light this late at night. When a sedan got between her car and Isaac’s K-9 vehicle, she felt a momentary panic.
But then the car slipped into the right lane, speeding up to pass her.
Aubrey parked in front of her condo. Seconds later, Isaac pulled up behind her. She gripped the steering wheel and took several deep breaths before opening the door.
Isaac and Freddy were already waiting for her on the sidewalk. The beagle offered her a little tail wag as if to encourage her. The dog’s sweetness and his ability to tune in to her emotions was endearing.
“I bet he’s fun to work with,” she said.
“He’s all focus when we’re on the job, but yes, he does have a good sense of humor,” Isaac said.
“Any word from the other police officers?”
He shook his head. “They haven’t caught the guy.”
Her heart sank. This wasn’t going to be over by tonight. If only she could just figure out what the man thought she had. She pointed at her end unit condo. “Just right over here.”
With Freddy between them, they walked to her door. She twisted her key in the lock and moved to open the door.
“Wait.” Isaac put his hand over hers. “I need to clear it first. Just step inside and wait by the door after Freddy and I go in.”
His touch caused her heart to flutter. She shook her head at her reaction. Even after all these years. With Freddy heeling beside him, Isaac searched the living room and kitchen before heading down the hall. She turned to peer through the window at the street outside. She shuddered remembering what it felt like to be shot at and running for her life.
Isaac and Freddy came up the hall. “All clear.”
“I’ll just pack an overnight bag.” Hopefully, that was all she would need. It was her prayer that the disruption to her life would be over tomorrow. The man who had shot her would be caught, and they would discover why he thought she had something he wanted. Then she and Isaac could part ways.
She appreciated so much that Isaac took his job seriously, but with the exception of when Freddy lightened the moment, there was a tension between them that was palpable.
A noise on the street caused her to jump. Her heart pounded. “That sounded like a gunshot.”
* * *
Without hesitation, Isaac ran to Aubrey. “Get back from the window.” Drawing his gun, he swung open the door and scanned up and down the quiet street, making sure the door shielded him. He stepped back inside.
Aubrey had moved deeper into the living room. Fear still clouded her face.
“I think it was just a car backfiring,” he said.
“Guess I’m kind of jumpy.”
He reached out and patted her arm. “Understandable.” When he’d touched her hand earlier, the silkiness of her skin had reminded him of the first time they’d held hands.
He’d invited her to go for a walk with him in the evening light along the lake that bordered his parents’ house. Isaac had never put any stock in the love at first sight theory until he met Aubrey. When he’d arrived home from Europe, his dad had picked him up from SeaTac. He’d walked into the kitchen, where a woman with her blond hair in a ponytail faced the stove. She said something funny to his then twelve-year-old brother, who sat on a stool watching her cook.
His dad spoke up. “Isaac, this is Aubrey, our new live-in housekeeper and cook.”
She’d turned and smiled at him. He’d never experienced anything like it before or since that moment. Her green eyes so filled with life had given a jolt to his heart.
“You must be the elusive Isaac come home after your travels.” Her voice had made him think of sunsets and oceans and laughter and hot chocolate and everything that was good in the world.
Now years later as he stared at her in her living room, he realized it had all been a lie. That first time he’d opened his heart to her without hesitation. He did not care to revisit the agony she had caused him or risk it happening again.
He had a duty to see that she was safe, nothing more.
“I’ll just go throw a few things in my backpack.”
After she disappeared down the hall, he continued to watch the street through the window. She came out a few minutes later holding a backpack.
Before getting in the passenger seat of Isaac’s SUV, Aubrey made sure her condo as well as her car were locked up.
As Isaac stared around at the other cars and people, he found himself wishing he had the backup of other members of the PNK9 team. A little extra protection for Aubrey would ensure her safety. With all the cases in the parks, the team was stretched pretty thin. He didn’t want to draw resources away from where they were needed, but he missed the support of his team.
One case in particular was on the minds of everyone in the unit because it hit so close to home. Over four months ago in April, there had been a double homicide in Mount Rainier National Park, a young local couple. Their own crime scene investigator, Mara Gilmore, the ex-girlfriend of the male victim, had been seen fleeing from the murder site and had gone into hiding. His colleagues were torn over her guilt or innocence.
Isaac wiped his mind clean of concerns over ongoing cases and focused on the job at hand. He had a fleeting thought that he missed the team for another reason. It would be nice to talk to someone about how running into Aubrey had affected him.
He offered Aubrey a smile that he hoped didn’t give away what was on his mind.
When he was on duty, Freddy stayed in the kennel in the custom-designed back seat. The arrangement kept the dog calm and enabled Isaac to deploy him quickly. He even had the ability to open the door remotely if needed.
Tonight, though, Isaac allowed Freddy to sit between him and Aubrey. The dog seemed to have a comforting effect on her. They drove in the darkness back to the national forest, first on the highway and then on the road that led to the lodge.
Because he’d promised a write-up for the other officers on what had happened to Aubrey and any details that might help the investigation, he thought he could use the time to extract as much information from her as he could.
