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The person who’d thrown the accelerant or whatever might have used it as a ruse to draw them out. It was entirely possible that someone would try to kill them the moment they climbed out. Still, there was no choice here. Even though he’d already called the fire department, it would take them twenty minutes or more to respond to this remote area.
If they stayed put, Livvy and he could be dead by then.
“I’ll go first,” he instructed. He took her equipment bag and hooked it over his shoulder. That would free her up to run faster. “Cover me while I get to those trees.”
She nodded. Coughed. She was pale, Reed noticed, but she wasn’t panicking. Good. Because they both needed a clear head for this.
Reed didn’t waste any more time. With his gun as aimed and ready as it could be, he hoisted himself over the sill and climbed out. He started running the second his feet touched the ground.
“Now,” he told Livvy. He dropped the equipment bag and took cover behind the trees. Aimed. And tried to spot a potential gunman who might be on the verge of ambushing them.
Livvy snaked her body through the window and raced toward him. Despite the short distance, she was breathing hard by the time she reached him. She turned, putting her back to his. Good move, because this way they could cover most of the potential angles for an attack.
But Reed still didn’t see anyone.
He blamed that on the smoke. It was a thick cloud around the cabin now. There were fires, both on the front porch and the back, and scattered around the fires were chunks of what appeared to be broken glass. The flames weren’t high yet, but it wouldn’t take them long to eat their way through the all-wood structure. And any potential evidence inside would be destroyed right along with it. If this arsonist was out to help Shane, then he was sadly mistaken.
Of course, the other possibility was that the real killer had done this.
It would be the perfect way to erase any traces of himself. Well, almost any traces. There was some potential evidence in Livvy’s equipment bag. Maybe the person responsible wouldn’t try to come after it.
But he rethought that.
A showdown would bring this fire-setting bozo out into the open, and Reed would be able to deal with him.
“Will the fire department make it in time to save the cabin?” Livvy asked between short bursts of air.
“No.” And as proof of that, the flames shots up, engulfing the front door and swooshing their way to the cedar-shake roof. The place would soon be nothing but cinders and ash.
Reed was about to tell her that they’d have to stay put and watch the place burn since there was no outside hose to even attempt to put a dent in the flames. But he felt Livvy tense. It wasn’t hard to feel because her back was right against his.
“What’s wrong?” Reed whispered.
“I think I see someone.”
Reed shifted and followed her gaze. She was looking in the direction of the county road, which was just down the hill from the cabin. Specifically, she was focused on the path that Woody had taken earlier. He didn’t see anyone on the path or road, so he tried to pick through the woods and the underbrush to see what had alerted Livvy.
Still nothing.
“Look by my SUV,” she instructed.
The vehicle was white and barely visible from his angle so Reed repositioned himself and looked down the slope. At first, nothing.
Then, something.
There was a flash of movement at the rear of her vehicle, but with just a glimpse he couldn’t tell if it was animal or human.
“There’s evidence in the SUV,” she said. Her breathing was more level now, but that statement was loaded with fear and tension. “I’d photographed the cabin and exterior with a highly sensitive digital camera. Both it and the photo memory card are inside in a climate controlled case, along with some possible hair and fibers that I gathered from the sofa with a tape swatch.”
Oh, hell. All those items could be critical to this investigation.
“The SUV’s locked,” she added.
For all the good that’d do. After all, the person out there had been gutsy enough to throw Molotov cocktails at the cabin with both Reed and a Texas Ranger inside, and he could have broken the lock on the SUV or bashed in a window.
Livvy grabbed her equipment bag from the ground and repositioned her gun. Reed knew what she had in mind, and he couldn’t stop her from going to her vehicle to check on the evidence. But what he could do was assist.
“Stay close to the treeline,” he instructed.
He stepped to her side so that she would be semi-sheltered from the open path. Another automatic response. But this time, Livvy didn’t object. However, what she did do was move a lot faster than he’d anticipated.
Reed kept up with her while he tried to keep an eye on their surroundings and her SUV. None of the doors or windows appeared to be open, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it’d been burglarized. Obviously, someone didn’t want them to process that evidence.
He saw more movement near the SUV. A shadow, maybe. Or maybe someone lurking just on the other side near the rear bumper. Behind them, the fire continued to crackle and burn, and there was a crash when the roof of the cabin gave way and plummeted to the ground. Sparks and ashes scattered everywhere, some of them making their way to Livvy and him.
Livvy didn’t stop. She didn’t look back. But when Reed saw more movement, he latched on to her arm and pulled her behind an oak. This was definitely a situation where it would do no good to try to sneak up on the perp because the perp obviously was better positioned. Despite the cover of the trees, Livvy and he were in a vulnerable situation.
“This is Sheriff Hardin,” he called out. “Get your hands in the air so I can see them.”
He hadn’t expected the person to blindly obey. And he didn’t. Reed caught a glimpse of someone wearing a dark blue baseball cap.
Reed shifted his gun. Took aim—just as there was a crashing sound, followed by a flash of light. Someone had broken the SUV window and thrown another Molotov cocktail into the vehicle.
“He set the SUV on fire,” Livvy said, bolting out from cover.
Reed pulled her right back. “He might have a gun.” Except there was no might in this. The guy was probably armed and dangerous, and he couldn’t have Livvy running right into an ambush.
“But the evidence …” she protested.
Yeah. That was a huge loss. Like Livvy, his instincts were to race down there and try to save what he could, but to do that might be suicide.
“He could want you dead,” Reed warned.
That stopped Livvy from struggling. “Because of the evidence I gathered from the cabin?”
Reed nodded and waited for the rest of that to sink in. It didn’t take long.
“Shane couldn’t have done this,” she concluded.
“No.” Reed kept watch on the vehicle and the area in case the attacker doubled back toward them or tried to escape.
“But someone who wanted to exonerate him could have,” Livvy added.
Reed nodded again. “That means the fire starter must have thought you saw or found something in the cabin that would be crucial evidence.”
That also meant Livvy was in danger.
Reed cursed. This was turning into a tangled mess, and he already had too much to do without adding protecting Livvy to the list.
In the distance Reed heard the siren from the fire department. Soon, they’d be there. He glanced at the cabin. Then at Livvy’s SUV. There wouldn’t be much to save, but if he could catch the person responsible he might get enough answers to make up for the evidence they’d lost.
More movement. Reed spotted the baseball cap again. The guy was crouched down, and the cap created a shadow that hid his face. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. But whoever it was, the person was getting away.
“Stay put,” Reed told Livvy.
Now it was her turn to catch onto his arm. “Remember that part about him having a gun.”
Reed remembered, but he had to try to find out who was behind this.
“Back me up,” he told her. That was to get her to stay put, but the other reason was he didn’t want this cap-wearing guy to sneak up on him. Reed wouldn’t be able to hear footsteps or much else with the roar of the fire and the approaching siren.
Keeping low as well, Reed stepped out from the meager cover of the oak. He kept his gun ready and aimed, and he started to run.
So did the other guy.
Using the smoke as cover, the culprit darted through the woods on the other side of the SUV and raced through the maze of trees. If Reed didn’t catch up with him soon, it’d be too late. He ran down the hill, cursing the uneven clay-mix dirt that was slick in spots. Somehow, he made it to the bottom without falling and breaking his neck.
Reed didn’t waste any time trying to save the SUV. The inside was already engulfed in flames. Instead, he sprinted past it, but Reed only made it a few steps before there was another sound.
Behind him, the SUV exploded.
He dodged the fiery debris falling all around him and sprinted after the person who’d just come close to killing them.
Chapter Four (#ulink_dada88b4-b67d-5e5e-b846-b9d8f7816c0d)
Livvy dove to the ground and used the tree to shelter herself from the burning SUV parts that spewed through the air. She waited, listening, but it was impossible to hear anything, especially Reed. Beyond the black smoke cloud on the far side of what was left of her vehicle, she saw him sprint into the woods.
Since Reed might need backup, she got up, grabbed the equipment bag and went after him. Livvy kept to the trees that lined the path and then gave the flaming SUV a wide berth in case there was a secondary explosion. She’d barely cleared the debris when the fire engine screamed to a stop on the two-lane road.
“Sergeant Hutton,” she said, identifying herself to the men who barreled from the engine. “Sheriff Hardin and I are in pursuit of a suspect.”
Livvy hurried after Reed but was barely a minute into her trek when she saw Reed making his way back toward her. Not walking. Running.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Reed drew in a hard breath. “I couldn’t find him, and I was afraid he would double back and come after you.”
Because the adrenaline was pumping through her and her heart was pounding in her ears, it took Livvy a moment to realize what he’d said. “I’m a Texas Ranger,” she reminded him. “If he’d doubled back, I could have taken care of myself.”
Reed tossed her a glance and started toward the fire department crew. “I didn’t want him to shoot you and then steal the evidence bag,” he clarified.
Oh. So, maybe it wasn’t a me-Tarzan response after all. And once again, Livvy felt as if she’d been trumped when she was the one in charge.
By God, this was her case and her crime scene.
She followed Reed back to the chaos. The fire department already had their hose going, but there was nothing left to save. Worse, with everyone racing around the SUV and the cabin, it would be impossible to try to determine which footprints had been left by the perpetrator.
Reed stopped in front of a fifty-something Hispanic man, and they had a brief conversation that Livvy couldn’t hear. A minute later, Reed rejoined her.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll use my truck to take that evidence to my office.”
Livvy looked around and realized there was nothing she could do here, so she followed Reed past the cabin to a back trail. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing stroll because both Reed and she hurried and kept their weapons ready. With good reason, too. Someone had just destroyed crucial evidence, and that same someone might come after them. The woods were thick and ripe territory for an ambush.
Reed unlocked his black F-150 and they climbed in and sped away. He immediately got on the phone to his deputy, and while Reed filled in Deputy Spears, Livvy knew she had to contact her boss, Lieutenant Wyatt Colter.
She grabbed her cell, took a deep breath and made the call. Since there was no way to soften it, she just spilled it and told him all about the burned cabin, her SUV and the destroyed evidence.
On the other end of the line, Lieutnenant Colter cursed. “You didn’t have the evidence secured?”
“I did, in the locked SUV, but the perp set it on fire.” She was thankful that she’d already stashed her personal items at the Bluebonnet Inn where she’d be staying so at least she would have a change of clothes and her toiletries. Of course, she would have gladly exchanged those items, along with every penny in her bank account, if she could get back that evidence.
More cursing from the lieutenant, and she heard him relay the information to someone else who was obviously in the room with him. Great. Now, everyone at the regional office would know about this debacle.
“Things are crazy here,” Lieutenant Colter explained. “I’m tracking down those illegally sold Native American artifacts, and I’m at a critical point in negotiations. But I’ll be out there by early afternoon.”
“No!” Livvy couldn’t get that out fast enough. “There’s no need, and there’s nothing you can do. I have everything under control.”
The lieutenant’s long hesitation let her know he wasn’t buying that. “I’ll talk with the captain and get back to you.”
“I don’t need reinforcements,” she added, but Livvy was talking to herself because Lieutenant Colter had already hung up on her.
“Problem?” Reed asked the moment she ended the call.
“No,” she lied.
He made a sound to indicate he knew it was a lie.
Since it was a whopper, Livvy tried to hurry past the subject. “After I get this evidence logged in and started, I’d like to question Shane about the murder.”
Reed didn’t answer right away. He had her wait several moments, making Livvy wish she’d made it sound more like an order and not a request.
“Shane will cooperate,” Reed finally said. He paused again. “And while you’re talking to him, I’ll call your lieutenant and let him know this wasn’t your fault.”
“Don’t.” She stared at him as he drove onto the highway that led to town. “I don’t need your help.” Though she probably did. Still, Livvy wouldn’t allow Reed to defend her when she was capable of doing it herself. “I’ll call him in an hour or two and explain there’s no need for him to be here.”
And somehow, she would have to make him understand.
“This case seems personal to you,” Reed commented. “Why? Did you know Marcie?”
“No.” But he was right. This was personal. Murders always were. “My mother was murdered when I was six, and she was about the same age as Marcie. This brings back … memories.”
And she had no idea why she’d just admitted that. Sheez. The chaos had caused her to go all chatty.
“Was the killer caught?” Reed asked.
Livvy groaned softly. She hadn’t meant for this to turn into a conversation. “No. He escaped to Mexico and has never been found.”
“That explains why you’re wrapped so tight.”
