Page 9 of Ambush

“Looks that way.”

Several more shots zinged off the metal lock at the gate. He thought the gunshots were from a 9-millimeter. Was the shooter trying to break the padlock and let out the bears? He popped his head out and saw the barrel of a pistol poking through the back window of the safari truck. The seemingly innocuous couple were the ones responsible for the attack.

He pulled out his phone and shot a text to his mom.Active shooter.

“You can’t trust anyone,” he said. “I thought that couple was more interested in making out than learning about the animals. It was all a front.”

No more shots rang out, and he saw the couple running away down the path into the thick brush. Blake rose and held out his hand to help Paradise up. She ignored his help and scrambled to her feet. “Are the bears okay?”

He jogged over to the gate, now hanging open, but there was no sign of Serena and her cubs. “I don’t see any blood. They probably took off at the first shot.”

“Who would risk hurting the animals like that?” She brushed the dirt off her jeans. “The bears could have been hit by a ricocheting bullet. We need to check on them. Can we find them?”

“I’m sure Serena led her cubs to safety.”

“You don’t know that they weren’t hit.”

True enough. Normally, Serena had never shown a sign of aggression and loved attention from the workers, but her protective instincts could change that. “I’ll get the tranquilizer gun.”

Paradise had been around wild animals long enough to know it wouldn’t do much to stop a charging grizzly. Serena could be on them before the sedative could work. All he could do was pray the friendly grizzly knew they were trying to help.

He walked to the truck and retrieved the tranquilizer gun, then reluctantly picked up a rifle as well. Paradise grimaced when he returned with the deadly weapon.

“I don’t think I’ll have to use it.” He pointed to the bucket. “Let’s take some food with us. That might distract her if she’s hungry.”

She grabbed the pail of food by the handle. “What if we try to call her over again like you just did? It might reassure her.”

He nodded. “Be ready though. I’ll need tools to fix the gate, and she might try charging through it.”

Paradise banged the metal pail against the fence. No movement or sound occurred for several minutes. She did it again and called out Serena’s name. Blake heard a snuffle, then the bears wandered into view.

“I don’t see any blood on them,” Paradise said.

A truck engine roared toward them before it stopped and two officers got out. The cavalry had arrived.

Chapter 5

Paradise sat in the conference room with Blake, Jenna, and Detective Greene, who was the last person she’d hoped to see after the shooting incident. She should have expected him to be the one to show up. Though the situation had been terrifying at the time, she hoped the incident would convince the detective that none of them had anything to do with the murder of Ms. Mason.

The room held the aroma of strong coffee mingled with the freshly baked sweet rolls Jenna had brought in. Paradise’s stomach growled, and she realized she’d missed lunch. She rose and poured a cup of coffee while Greene grilled Blake. At least he was leaving her alone.

Greene clicked his pen off and on again before putting the tip to the green notebook in his hand. “You claim to have never seen the couple before.”

Blake’s eyes flickered at the way Greene emphasizedclaim. “As far as I know they weren’t with the initial protests, though I could have missed them. The first group of protesters included probably thirty or so people. This couple today sat in the back of thevehicle and seemed more concerned with making out than with seeing the animals.”

When Greene’s lip curled as he wrote, Paradise decided she’d better jump in even though she hated to attract the man’s attention. “I can corroborate that. When I boarded the vehicle, they were wrapped around each other and didn’t interact with Blake through the tour. They didn’t get off the truck either and didn’t even seem to notice we’d stopped.”

“Did you say anything to them directly about getting off the vehicle?” he asked.

“No. It’s common for people to stay in the truck and observe the animals through the open windows. Some people are afraid or simply don’t want to get out. Like I said, they seemed uninterested in the animals. I wondered why they even came.” Blake ran his hand through his thick dark brown hair and it stood on end. “When the first bullet pinged on metal, I grabbed Paradise and hit the ground. I yelled for the few people who got out to take cover too. You can talk to them to corroborate our story.”

“You recognized the sound as gunfire?”

“I’ve been in war zones, Deputy, so I immediately recognized it. I’m pretty sure it was a 9-millimeter.”

“Did you feel threatened, like the shooter was aiming for you?”

“They never shot at us directly—only at the lock on the gate. But ricocheting bullets can kill just as easily as intentional ones, so I knew better than to ignore the danger.”

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