Page 39 of Grave Peril

Chapter 10

While Lela talked to her friend, Rip stood guard. It was early in the evening, so the park wasn’t busy. A few late afternoon swimmers lingered, and several couples strolled down the beach. The sun hung brightly in the distance for a few minutes, then dipped below the horizon.

The shadow of dusk lowered visibility, but it was still light enough to see. Rip kept an eye on the area from outside the restrooms. He checked out every car in the lot, and any person in the vicinity. He’d stressed how risky the liaison was, so Lela had promised not to talk for too long.

Ashlee and Lela appeared to be just two friends sharing the details of their day. No one looked their way, or took special note of the encounter—except Rip. And he did so without attracting attention. For a while, no other car pulled into the lot, so he assumed that Ashlee hadn’t been followed.

But Rip didn’t relax, and he wouldn’t until Lela was back at the hotel.

It would have been better if Rip had been allowed to observe from a closer vantage point, but he’d acquiesced to Lela’s request for a few minutes alone with her friend. Watching from the shadows did have the advantage that he could spot any threat before his presence was made known.

Ashlee had parked her car in the far corner of the lot, probably for a quick exit if needed. A paved road paralleled the lot, and she’d followed it to the lot then parked. No other cars were close to hers. The few vehicles that remained were several rows up, nearer to the water.

Then the situation changed. An unmarked police car rolled along the paved road to the far end of the lot. There were two men inside, and Rip noticed the driver looking a bit too intently at Ashlee’s car. Shit, he hadn’t considered that her vehicle might be tracked.

In that case, it wouldn’t take close surveillance to follow Ashlee. Her pursuers could track her wherever she went. Rip was on high alert. Lela wasn’t far from the end of the pier, and was escorting her friend toward the lot.

The unmarked car pulled into an empty spot, not far from Ashlee’s car. It could be a routine patrol of the public area. But Rip doubted it. Why drive an unmarked car? He stepped away from the building just as a plainclothes cop opened the passenger door and got out. Lela slowed her pace and looked down, as if to hide her face.

*****

When Lela looked up, a plainclothes cop was just getting out of the car. Following her warning about the car, Ashlee had stopped walking. But Lela had no chance to inform her friend that the occupants of the car were cops.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lela saw Rip move away from the building, coming in their direction.

Lela wanted to call out to Ashlee, but didn’t dare give herself away. She feared risking her friend’s life. An unmarked police car was alarming. It was too coincidental, this late in the day at a remote location, for the police to show up. And one of them was walking straight toward Ashlee.

The man approached Ashlee’s position, but kept his eyes on Lela. The other policeman was out of the vehicle now, not far back. Lela’s pulse pounded in her ears.

Lela walked forward until she was a few feet from Ashlee. She needed to grab her friend, get her to safety, then deal with the cops. Rip was there for backup. He was striding purposefully toward the scene.

The cop ignored Ashlee, and said in a loud voice, “Lela Cabelo…stop where you are.” Then he pulled out his gun.

In the same instant, Ashlee cried out, “No…run, Lela!” Then she grabbed the policeman’s arm, forcing the gun away to deflect the shot.

Lela was less than a foot from her friend, who had one hand on the policeman’s arm and the other on the gun. Ashlee had committed a cardinal sin without realizing it. Police regulations were to shoot any person who touched a cop’s firearm or threatened the life of a police officer.

A split second before Ashlee made the grave error, the other cop had reached the scene. He drew his weapon.

Lela predicted what was next, and leapt toward Ashlee to push her out of the way. But as she tumbled to the ground on top of her friend, the bullet found its target.

Ashlee’s eyes were closed, and blood was all over. Rip’s strong arms wrapped around Lela’s waist and he pulled her up from the ground. Stunned, she stared at Ashlee motionless in the dirt, and prayed she was still breathing.

*****

Lela screamed, and Rip lifted her up to haul her away from the trauma. He’d witnessed the shooting. Ashlee’s body had hit the ground hard. A gunshot felt like a punch with a steel beam, and could have knocked her unconscious, no matter the severity of the injury.

One of the cops pulled out his phone and said, “We need an ambulance, stat. Sylvan Beach Park parking lot.”

Rip sprinted to the car, carrying Lela in his arms. He dumped her into the front seat, hopped in the driver’s side, and peeled out. One of the cops ran toward him, shouting, “Stop, police!” The sound of gunshots cracked through the air.

But Rip didn’t slow down. He floored the accelerator and sped down the road, then out to the main street. He hauled ass until well away from the scene. The cops might have made the plate.

Without letting up on the gas, Rip turned to look at Lela. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she was pale as a ghost.

Rip’s sole focus was to get Lela to safety. An ambulance had been called, and cops were trained in emergency measures. Ashlee would be rushed to the hospital, and there wasn’t anything more that Rip could do.

Lela gripped his arm, sobbing. “Is Ashlee dead?”

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