Authors: Alexa Grace
Brody nodded. "I think Ryder shot him at short range. He may have hit his head on the way down. The impact could also have broken or cracked his ribs. He's still breathing. I just wish that medical helicopter from Lafayette would get here."
"Who is he?"
"Sean Mahoney. He's one of the agents assigned to the case. The other one, Jon Finnelly, didn't make it."
"Where's Carly?" Kaitlyn asked.
"She stayed with the special agent in charge, Sam Isley. He looks like he's hurt pretty bad. Follow the path through the woods. You'll find her. She needs that first aid kit you're holding. Please hurry. Look for a huge sycamore tree. Do you know what they look like?"
"Seriously, Brody? I'm a Hoosier, too. Of course I know what a sycamore tree looks like," Kaitlyn called back, as she entered the woods and followed the path.
Kaitlyn reached Carly, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged, holding an injured man who looked unconscious. The man lying next to him had turned a greenish-blue and was decidedly dead. Carly was covered with blood, making Kaitlyn wonder if she were injured, too, but didn't realize it, thanks to the adrenaline racing through her body.
"Kaitlyn!" Carly cried. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Gabe in the copter. He's with Brody and an agent named Sean."
"Sean? Oh my God. Did Ryder kill him?" Carly asked, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Sean can't be dead. He and his wife are expecting a baby."
"He's not dead. Ryder's bullet hit his Kevlar vest. He's unconscious, but he's breathing." Kaitlyn sat down near Carly, putting her hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture and whispered softly, "It's going to be okay, Carly. Are you sure you're not injured? You have a lot of blood on you."
"It's blood spray from Sam and Jon." Carly shook her head. "When Ryder started shooting, Brody got in front of me. He protected me."
"For Brody to lay his life on the line for you, he must love you more than his own life."
"I love Brody in the same way, Kaitlyn. I'd give my life to save his." Carly paused for a second, and then continued. "I don't want to think about not having Brody in my life. I've been such a fool, such a coward. I have something very important to tell him."
"There will be time. Just relax right now."
They heard the distinct roar of a helicopter, its whirling rotors sending trees and leaves into a frantic trembling. Help had arrived.
<><><>
Ryder ate tuna on crackers and downed a couple of warm beers. Who knew killing federal agents would make him so hungry? He chuckled out loud. He knew he'd hit the sheriff in the chest, but what about his bitch ex-federal agent girlfriend? He'd fire up the old Toyota in a week or so and visit a gas station to find a newspaper. If Carly Stone wasn't dead, he'd find her and make her wish she was. Opening a green metal toolbox, he rifled through the disguise paraphernalia he'd purchased at a costume shop in Indianapolis. In the toolbox were beards, mustaches, hairpieces, glasses, makeup, and hats that could make him look like a different man every day of the week if he wanted to. He'd travel about in a disguise, driving his old Toyota, and no one would be the wiser.
Opening the duffle bag filled with weapons, he peered inside. He had enough guns and ammunition to hold off an army if he was ever found. Ryder checked to make sure all his food and supplies were exactly where he'd left them, along with the burner cell phones he'd stored in an airtight plastic container. Instead of waiting to go into town, perhaps he'd give his favorite special agent a call to see if she was alive.
<><><>
Brody, Carly, Gabe and Kaitlyn watched the medical helicopter until it disappeared from view.
"Do you think either of them will live?" Carly asked.
Brody let out a breath. "I think Sean will. He was conscious and talking when they loaded him into the copter."
"What about Sam?"
"Not sure. He's lost a lot of blood. We'll call the hospital later and check on them." Brody wrapped his arms around her. "Right now, I want to find Ryder."
Gabe headed toward the helicopter and fired it up as Kaitlyn, Carly, and Brody piled inside. From the air, they followed U.S. 136 east to Crawfordsville, then back west to Morel, and then east, following State Road 341 all the way to Newtown and back. Then they followed Interstate 74 east all the way to Indianapolis and back. Along the way, the tops of Shawnee County patrol cars, with flashing emergency strobe warning lights, could be seen as deputies searched the area for Ryder.
Brody phoned Cameron, putting him on speaker. "Call the media. I want Ryder's face on every television in the state."
"Will do. I'm at the cemetery and woods with the crime scene techs. Where are you?"
"We're with Gabe in the copter sweeping over the county's roads, highways and Interstate 74, looking for the Suburban."
"Don't you think he would have ditched that beast as soon as he could? Don't forget he was a cop. He knows every method we'll use to find him," said Cameron.
"I don't care what that bastard knows, I'm finding his evil ass," Brody vowed. "Get a list of every foreclosed and empty house in the area. I want deputies to search each one."
"Will do. Got to go. Bryan just arrived."
Brody was just about to end the call when he heard Cameron's voice. "Hey, wait a minute!"
"Yeah?"
"I've got a message from Seth Ziegler for Gabe. Tell him the gun used to shoot at Kaitlyn's house is an AK-47. A list of anyone in the county who owns one will be ready soon. Got one of my detectives working on it. If the Gamers shot at Kaitlyn's house, this list is a good lead."
"What about the necklace Destiny Cooke was wearing?" Gabe asked.
"Wayne Griffin, the detective from Indy, says the necklace belonged to Sharon Maud. He confirmed it with her mother, whose photo was inside the locket."
"Griffin was right," said Brody. "There
is
a connection between the prostitute murders in Indianapolis and the killings of Abby Reece and Destiny Cooke in Shawnee County."
"Find them," whispered Kaitlyn, wiping at a tear rolling down her cheek.
Brody said to Gabe, "Fly over any place you think Ryder might have ditched the Suburban."
"If I were Ryder, I'd push it over a ravine or into the Wabash River." Gabe grimaced. "Let's go to the river first, then I'll fly over the less-traveled country roads."
"I'll text Cam to get some deputies over to the cottages that line the river to find out if anyone saw anything." Brody pulled his cell out of his pocket.
"How many more hours do we have before we lose the light?" Carly asked.
Gabe narrowed his eyes on the equipment panel. "We've got maybe three more hours, but this copter is equipped with heat-seeking equipment that strips away the darkness."
Kaitlyn frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The system senses heat from the ground below, whether it be the heat radiating off sweaty suspects hiding in sheds, or beneath bridges. We're able to pinpoint the exact location on this monitor of all living things, or heat, thousands of feet below." Gabe said pointed to what looked like a small television screen.
"It saves thousands of man-hours, compared to our deputies doing a grid search," Brody chimed in. "It enables us to search an area effectively and quickly. If Ryder is down there on foot, we can direct our ground units to his exact location."
<><><>
Evan wrote Destiny Cooke's name on a large white label that he slapped on a plastic bin filled with her clothing and jewelry. He then placed it on top of a stack of bins nearby. They'd already scrubbed the floor with bleach and removed the sheets from the bed.
Glancing at Devan, who was sitting on a folding chair and opening his laptop, he said, "What are you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm on the web looking for our next target."
"There's no need for that. I have our next target," Evan stated evenly, and then braced himself for what he knew would be an argument of epic proportions.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Kaitlyn Reece is our next target," Evan said as forcefully as he could.
"No!" Devan shouted, his face reddening with anger. "We talked about this before."
"No,
you
talked about it," Evan insisted.
"What I say goes. Come over here and we'll find another target on Facebook."
"No!" For the first time, Evan went against his brother's wishes. "The target is Kaitlyn Reece!"
"What did you say to me?" Devan put the laptop aside, and rose from the chair, his fingers balled into fists.
"Bring it on! I'm not a kid you can boss around anymore, Devan. I'm as big and strong as you are. I have a say, or I'm out."
Surprised but still angry, Devan shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at his twin. "Why the hell are you so stuck on Kaitlyn Reece?"
"She's dating Gabe Chase. What better way to stick it to the sheriff and the private investigator at the same time?"
"Maybe
. . .
"
"You heard Dad at dinner last night. People are asking for Sheriff Chase's resignation. They were already angry with him because Ryder was one of his deputies. Our killing Abby Reece and Destiny Cooke has sent them over the edge. One more murder, and he'll be lucky if they don't lynch him."
"You've got a point. Maybe Kaitlyn Reece
should
be our next target."
It was the first time his brother had ever backed down, and Evan was elated. "We've got six hours until curfew. Let's wait until dark, then let the stalking begin."
Evan turned off the van's headlights as they neared Kaitlyn's house. He'd visited her house the day before in time to see a tow truck haul off Gabe's Dodge Ram, which was riddled with gunshots. The shattered windows of the house had already been replaced. There were no physical reminders of the night he shot at the house, but the memory and heady feeling of power would never be erased.
Passing the house, he noted a light on in the front room, but there were no vehicles in the driveway. Was Kaitlyn at home?
"That's her place?"