Page 81 of Sheltered by the Lawman

Chapter 28

CULL HAD GOTTEN into the apartment—he’d kicked in the door, but he’d wasted no time. “Hello?” he called out. His weapon was drawn as he carefully stepped into the quiet living room. The smell of death hung in the air and his stomach dropped. What if he was too late? He’d never forgive himself.

The room was cast in a shadow and he slowly made his way toward the center of the room, all instincts on high alert. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the familiar loafers. One was laying on its side and the other was still on a foot. Swallowing hard, Cull stepped around the side of the couch and there he found Burke lying in a puddle of blood. The man was cold with no pulse.

Cull’s heart slammed into his stomach.

Peering down the hallway, the floor was covered in splintered wood and the door to the bathroom had been busted in. It was empty inside…the entire apartment was empty except for Burke’s body.

“Shit!” Cull clenched his teeth. Where was Sally?

Grabbing his phone, he dialed Detective Whitlock’s number and told him what he found.

“Stay there, partner. I’ll be there soon,” Whitlock said.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Sally Holloway is missing and I’m going to find her!”

A lawman learned to keep his emotions out of a case and stay clear headed, those were Cull’s thoughts as he stomped down the hallway toward Deke’s office. He found the place empty.

Slamming his fist against the top of the desk, he upset the pen holder and an empty cup that rolled to the floor. Bending over to pick the cup up, he saw something in the trashcan that caught his suspicions. He looked closer, realizing there were bloody bandages and an empty tube of wound care in the can. He remembered that his buddy had been limping. Had he been injured? Why didn’t Deke say something?

Narrowing his eyes, Cull grabbed a pen and used the tip to push the used bandages aside. Instinct warned him something wasn’t right, although he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He found message receipts, a Little Debbie plastic wrap, and a wadded piece of paper at the very bottom. Spreading the sheet of paper on the desk, he smoothed the wrinkles out and tried wiping at the coffee stain. It was written in Deke’s sloppy handwriting. A flight itinerary, an international address, and an exchange rate for Dirham. His buddy was planning a trip? Out of the country? Again, why didn’t he say something?

Reaching for his phone in his back pocket, Cull made a few calls and got the information he needed. Morocco. Deke was planning a trip to Morocco tomorrow. This didn’t make any sense.

The bloody bandages. The limp. His buddy’s odd behavior.

Cull remembered what Deke had said, “I’d take this case myself for the money.”

Deke’s wife was a piano teacher. Yates was killed with piano wire.

Then it all clicked for Cull with the velocity of getting smacked in the face with a baseball bat. His buddy needed someone good at tracking—a tracker not within law enforcement. Fuck! Cull slammed his fist down onto the desk, this time not bothering to pick the cup up again. He rubbed his forehead in stress. He’d led Deke right to the girl’s apartment. It had been a complete coincidence that Sally showed up returning the purse and Deke thought it was Monica, struck her over the head, hoping she’d die in the fire. The cigarette butt Cull found by the apartment garage steps didn’t belong to a hand, but rather it was Deke’s.

He knew where Sally was all along. Cull had told him almost everything.

Deke was working for the widow?

Cull could barely breathe.

Deke had taken Sally. What did he have up his sleeve?

“Can I help you?”

Cull brought his chin up to look at the middle-aged woman standing in the doorway. “I’m looking for Deke. Do you know where he is?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in two days.”

“Have you spoken with him?”

She hesitated as if she wasn’t sure she should share any information. “He’s on vacation. He won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”

Cull knew the gauze in the trashcan was long enough strip to cover a wound…possibly a gunshot wound? So, he had been right when he thought he’d shot the gunman the night of the fire.

That was enough for him. Enough facts fell into place.

And he knew exactly where his friend would go.

He made record time to his truck and did a U-turn on the street, heading for the mountains. Reaching for his phone, he dialed a familiar number. It was answered on the second ring. “Phoenix, I need your help…yeah, I’ll meet you at the crossroads in two hours. I need to do something and hopefully I’ll have more information to tell you…” He clicked off, trying hard not to allow his emotions to outweigh his logic. He needed to keep his head on straight. Cull could easily fuck up here because he had something personal at stake. The woman he loved. He’d grown to love Sally and now her life was in danger. How could he have been so stupid and missed the clues? It all made sense now.

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