Page 11 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

This meant he was a fugitive. This also meant she was aiding and abetting. This could mean the end of a career in law.

An innocent person deserved a fair chance. Nikki needed to find the truth. She didn’t have confidence in small-town law enforcement, especially when they mistakenly believed they’d already found their perp.

Something her first-year law professor had said cycled back through her thoughts.Once a suspect is in custody, law enforcement often stops searching for the truth. They often, subconsciously, begin only proving they are already correct.

Now that a law enforcement officer was on the way to arrest Conrad, the investigation would shift to finding even more proof he was guilty. The evidence so far was circumstantial unless the ax yielded Conrad’s fingerprints. Of course, it would. He’d been chopping wood minutes before the murder had taken place. He’d been seen.

A question stamped her thoughts. Conrad was a Sturgess, a high-profile person whether he wanted to be or not. Where on earth could they hide where someone wouldn’t recognize him? Without food or water, they couldn’t stay in the woods forever, and thank the stars for that because she was a mosquito magnet and was scared to death of spiders and snakes. An involuntary shiver rocked her body just thinking about them.

The law would mark her as an accomplice. Her car was still parked near the main house. Her cell had been tossed toward the barn along with Conrad’s. She understood why he’d had to get rid of them since they could be tracked using the location finder.

Not having a phone caused her chest to tighten with anxiety. Being cut off from the world caused her pulse to pick up even faster, as if running wasn’t doing the trick. How would they call for help if they were trapped by a bear or wild hog? From everything she’d heard, those things were as disgusting as they were deadly.

Nikki wasn’t a country girl. Her chunky boots proved the point more than words ever could. Holding tight to her purse straps helped keep her handbag from smacking into her side.

Breathe. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important to you.

Repeating the mantra helped until her toe caught on underbrush. She faceplanted and skidded, scratching her hands up in the process as the contents of her handbag splayed across the ground.

Nikki pushed up to sit and gathered her breath mints and wallet, leaving loose change behind. In an instant, Conrad was next to her with a helping hand. She grabbed hold of his wrist before he pulled her up.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m good,” she said, shouldering her purse strap.

“It’s not too late to go back,” he stated, his deep timbre barely above a whisper.

“I’m in this, Conrad. I intend to see it through.”

He heaved a sigh. “Okay, then. Can you keep going, or do you need a break?”

“Where are we headed?”

“Not too much farther,” he reassured as a rustling sound caused both of them to freeze. In the next second, he gently guided her down to acrouching position. It was too dark to see clearly. The winds picked up. Spring break in Texas could mean any type of weather, from an ice storm to blazing heat. You never knew what you were going to get.

A gust of wind shook the trees.

Nikki’s heart skipped a couple of beats.

They waited. Listened.

When it was deemed safe, they started again. She had no idea what was close to here. Fears of sleeping in a spider-infested equipment shed caused her body to shiver again. At least her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness.

Conrad stopped at a fort. It was old, made out of wood with heavy blankets, but sturdy.

“Tell me we’re not sleeping in there,” Nikki said.

“We’re not sleeping in there,” he responded.

“Thank heaven.”

“Stay right here.” He moved around to the opposite side of the fort, returning a few seconds later with a dirt bike.

“Why would that be out in the middle of nowhere?”

“This isn’t nowhere,” he said. “It was one of my favorite places to come when I was young.”

“You can’t be serious,” she said. “That thing isn’t going to work after all these years.”

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