Page 65 of Unexpected Danger
Brodie clenched his fist on the steering wheel. How had Dustin Haack discovered Londyn was at Roarke’s house?
The man was relentless.
And worst of all, elusive.
That was the only bad thing about the ranch. It took forever to get there. Numerous curves and turns in the road necessitated slower travel. Tractors frequently also used the road, and livestock—and especially deer—were common and compelled all drivers, even ones in sturdy trucks with impressive grill guards, to mind their speed.
No updates came in through the radio, but Brodie was confident Juanita remained on the line with Mila or Londyn, whoever had called in. He used the hands-free feature and checked on Mom and reiterated to her to lock all the doors.
Finally, he turned on his blinker and traveled up the road first to Mom’s house, then continued on to Roarke and Mila’s.
Had someone called Roarke? He was assisting another rancher in the nearby town of Upton. Would he arrive beforeBrodie? But as Brodie reached the end of the lane, he saw no sign of Roarke’s truck.
Dwyer pulled in behind him, and Brodie radioed dispatch. “Please let the reporting party know we have arrived, but will be securing the perimeter before coming to the front door.”
He recognized Juanita’s, “Copy that.”
Brodie and Dwyer checked the area around the house, in the backyard, where it was clear Xander and his friend had been playing in the swimming pool, then on the exterior of the fence in the field. They saw nothing and no one suspicious.
As he scanned the area, Brodie looked up on a ridge on the other side of the highway and noticed a sports car. Could that be Haack? He radioed dispatch again, told them he was going to check out the sports car, gave the location, and that he would need backup, then confirmed that Dwyer would stay at Roarke and Mila’s in case Haack returned.
It could be Dustin Haack in the sports car, could not be. If it was him, the guy wasn’t getting away this time.
Not on Brodie’s watch.
Brodie nearly lost track of the older model green sports car, but it came into sight again. He turned on his lights just as Juanita informed him that backup was on its way. The car zipped through a narrow canyon, nearly hitting a pair of antelope on the side of the road. It climbed Highway 45 toward the mountains, its erratic driver weaving all over the road.
The driver, a man with blond hair who resembled Haack, reached over and grabbed something from the passenger side. Brodie braced for the worst. Did he have a gun? Would he attempt to shoot while driving? Success wasn’t in Haack’s future if so.
But it wasn’t a gun Haack reached for, but a gallon of something. The man tossed it out the driver’s side, causing Brodie to swerve to avoid hitting it. He radioed dispatch andinstructed them to have someone check the jug for liquid—if there was any.
The solid yellow line briefly became a dotted one, allowing one to pass. Brodie kicked the truck into gear and sped beside the sports car. “Pull over!” he shouted, although it was doubtful Haack could hear him above the roar of the vehicles’ engines.
Haack raised a gun and fired at Brodie’s truck. The bullet pinged off the hood.
The solid yellow line re-emerged, and Brodie kept dispatch in the loop as to his location. Flat grassy ranchland gave way to pine-covered hills, and when Brodie arrived at the top of the first switchback, a semi pulled out from an overlook just at the top of the mountain, directly in front of him. Didn’t say much for the truck driver’s attention, or lack thereof, that he hadn’t seen police lights and a truck.
Two twenty-mile-an-hour switchbacks later, Brodie arrived at the crest of the mountain. Guard rails, warnings of falling rock, and a steep grade greeted him, but no sign of the sports car. Likely, it had sped up and far surpassed anything Brodie could have achieved following the slow-moving semi, which finally pulled over at the first safe turnoff.
He touched base with dispatch. Juanita was on her lunch break, and the other dispatcher was covering. A half hour later, Brodie was still weaving around curvy mountain roads, scoping out the area for the car. Had it even come this far? Was it in the next county? He traveled a while further, then turned around and retreated back down the mountain. As he did so, he spied the sports car tucked in a grove of trees he hadn’t been able to see before due to the semi.
An empty sports car.
The search was on to find Dustin Haack, but given that there was a second set of tire tracks leading out of the grove of trees, itwas relatively clear someone had stopped by, picked him up, and driven him to who knew where.
The sports car had been stolen, which was no surprise, and they couldn’t get a location on his latest burner phone, which had been purchased with cash in Upton. Brodie drove back to the ranch to check on Londyn and see if Dwyer needed any assistance taking Londyn’s and Mila’s statements.
Roarke had already arrived, and things had settled a bit.
“Uncle Brodie! Uncle Brodie!” Xander and his friend, Kit, bolted toward him. “Look what we found in Mommy’s closet. We were playing a game called hider.” He partially opened his hand. “I can’t open my hand all the way or the moth will escape.”
“Sounds like we have a detective in the house.”
“Yep, that’s me. My sign-ment was to find a bug, and I did.”
Brodie ruffled Xander’s hair, and the little boy and his friend ran off toward the backyard.
Londyn emerged from the kitchen. “Brodie.” Her words escaped muffled, but he thought he detected the relief in her tone.
