Page 53 of Fatal Witness

As soon as Dani was inside, Alex turned to Nathan. “Thanks for waiting for my deputy.”

“I’ll come on as soon as Jenna arrives.”

“I thought you had an appointment with Ben.”

“He wants to go over my budget—this will be a good excuse to cancel it.”

An SUV with the Russell County logo on the door pulled around to the back of the house, and a tall brunette climbed out of the Ford Interceptor.

“Thanks for getting here so fast,” Alex said to the female deputy. She’d recruited her from the Chattanooga Police Department the same time she’d hired Hayes.

“I read the file on Danielle Bennett that you emailed earlier. And I heard the call for backup go out, and I was halfway here when you called. Any word on what’s going on yet?”

Alex could always depend on Jenna being a step ahead of everyone else. “Not yet. I didn’t call Mark for fear it would distract him if he was in a tight situation. Thanks for staying here until I get back.” She turned to Nathan. “Are you coming with me or driving your vehicle?”

He hesitated only briefly. “Riding with you.”

She nodded, and they climbed into her SUV. Alex punched in Hayes’s number as she pulled out of the drive. “He’s not answering.”

“Service is spotty on the mountain sometimes,” Nathan said.

“Yeah, I know.” She tapped the steering wheel. “Why is someone after Dani? ’Cause I’m pretty sure whoever is tailing Mark in her SUV thinks it’s her.”

“Been thinking about that and was going to discuss it when she wasn’t around. While she seems strong, a person can take only so much.”

“What’re you thinking?”

“That her parents’ killer is afraid she will identify him.”

Alex gripped the steering wheel as she turned off the highway onto the mountain road. “She was safer before she came back. I’ve done a few searches for her over the years and never got any hits. Her uncle did a thorough job of going off the grid.”

“My question is, how did someone tail Mark? He would’ve spotted one before he got to Eagle Ridge. And evidently not just tail him but attack? He wouldn’t have called for backup otherwise.”

They were both quiet, then they both spoke at the same time. “A tracker!”

“It wouldn’t have been hard to put one on at the hotel parking lot.”

Alex nodded. “Or even at Mae’s house last night.”

Silence filled the SUV as she took the mountain road as fast as possible. She rounded a curve and spotted flashing blue lights. The tension in her shoulders released when she saw Mark standing at the back of Hayes’s cruiser. She hated it when one of her deputies was in danger.

“Sorry to get you out,” Mark said when she approached.

“What happened?” She took her phone out and texted Dani a message that Mark was uninjured, then turned her full attentionto her deputy as he filled her in. When he finished, she said, “Did you see him?”

“No—just enough to know it was a man before he started shooting.” Mark jutted his jaw. “I can’t believe he caught me off guard.”

Alex glanced at the Navigator. “Maybe he knew when you stopped and where. Did you return fire?”

“No, I didn’t get a chance. He kept me pinned down, then just disappeared.”

Nathan scanned the woods. “You think it’s someone who knows the area?”

“Yep—he knew where to find the logging road, and where to leave his vehicle. Since Hayes didn’t see a car, he must’ve taken the road that goes by the Bennett place. I figure from the silent way he moved in the woods, he’s a hunter.” Mark glanced toward the SUV. “He didn’t follow me out of Pearl Springs. I bet he put a tracker on the Navigator while it was in the hotel parking lot. Get Dylan to put it up on a rack.”

Alex nodded. Great minds and all that. “How many casings and slugs should we look for?”

Mark thought a minute. “At least ten. Do you want me to stay and look for evidence with the CSI team?”

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