Page 328 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I can only think of one more, but I’m not even sure Pete knows it exists. When I was young, I would hide there when Pete’s parents were fighting. The last time I hid there was the day my uncle took his own life.”

“Show me.”

“There are no trails. We’ll have to follow the creek.”

“Will he see us before we see him?”

“If we approach from this direction, he will. We’ll need to take the long way around and come at him from a different angle.”

“Lead the way.”

Thirty minutes later, John held out an arm to keep Wade from going farther. He pointed to a small opening in a rock edifice. It didn’t look large enough for a man to squeeze through, but he trusted the other man knew more about it than he did. If Pete was in the cleft, he could take a potshot at him. If Johnwanted to help his cousin, now would be the perfect time. They were alone in the black of night with a sliver of moon to guide their progress. He’d made the decision to trust his fellow officer. It wouldn’t do any good to second guess himself.

John motioned for Wade to follow him, as he kept his back to the rock face and made his way around it. He hadn’t gone far when they arrived at a cave. Wade understood. The cave went through to the tiny opening on the other side. The mouth of the cave was wide, but it narrowed significantly, so a man would need to slither on his belly to reach the other opening. Knowing the other man was armed, it would be suicide for them to attempt to go after him in the dark of night. They would need to hunker down until first light and hope Pete came out on his own. If he was in there at all.

Wade didn’t sleep.He did his best to remain alert, and when the sky began to lighten, he saw the tracks in the dirt leading to the cave. John was sleeping, and Wade left him to it. He pulled out his phone and saw he’d received several frantic texts during the night. His volume was off, a precaution to keep Pete from discovering their presence. It was too early to respond to Emily’s texts. If she’d been able to sleep, he didn’t want to wake her at the crack of dawn, but he sent a text updating Mac.

John stirred and didn’t seem to remember where he was. Wade made a shushing motion. He kept watching for Pete to exit the cave.

Time dragged on as they waited for him to stir.Had the park ranger had stayed in the rock crevice at all?Maybe he’d considered it before finding a better alternative. He might’ve crossed the creek and made his way to safety. The state policewere doing frequent patrols up and down the highway, but if he stayed out of sight, he could’ve escaped.

A slight noise reached his ears, so he aimed his weapon toward the mouth of the cave. A snake slithered out of the opening, and he watched it as it made its way to a smooth rock near the creek. It stretched out and stilled.

The sound of coughing filled the air. No doubt, human. He was in there. Their vigil hadn’t been in vain. Feet first, Pete Cunningham exited his hideout to find two service pistols trained on him. He held his hands in the air. “Aren’t you going to read me my rights?”

Trooper Cunningham pulled Pete’s arms behind his back and cuffed him.

“You’re going to arrest me, cuz?” Pete twisted his neck to stare at John. “Shoot Brunner, and we’ll leave here together. I’ve saved some money. How’s Tahiti sound?”

John laughed. “I hope they let you rot.”

“Pennsylvania has the death penalty,” Pete said.

“Walk,” Wade said.

The woods were thick with underbrush and full of thorns, so they marched him through the creek. About halfway across when the water reached his waist, Pete dropped below the surface.

“He can’t swim with his hands secured behind his back,” John said before diving in. Wade kept his service weapon above the creek’s surface as he searched the murky water. Pete emerged twenty feet from Wade. His hands were free. He dove under once more and disappeared from sight.

John surfaced. “I can’t find him.”

“He somehow freed his hands, so you don’t have to worry about him drowning.”

“I think I know where he’ll try to come out. We can beat him there if we take the road.”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Wade and Johnstrode up the highway unhindered by water or forest brush. They arrived at a cutout, and John followed it back toward the creek. “If I know him as well as I think I do, he’ll come out of the water here.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Wade said. A sharp pain radiated through his skull, and he dropped to his knees. His hand instinctively raised to his head. Blood. He felt his service weapon being slipped from its holster, but when he tried to grasp it, he was whacked over the head again.

“He needs to die.” Pete’s voice sounded like it was underwater.

Wade squinted up at him, and saw his service weapon pointed at his head. It would be a kill shot. He heard the explosion as the gun went off, but he was still breathing. Pete fell forward, crashing on top of him.

John pulled Pete’s body off him and helped him rise to his feet. “You need a hospital.”

Wade could see the sheen of tears in the other man’s eyes. Making the split-second choice to shoot Pete was a decision John would be forced to live with for the rest of his life, and Wade didn’t envy him the burden.

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