Page 74 of Unexpected Danger
“What’s going on, Dustin?” Renee asked.
“Get her!”
“I can’t really get her, Dustin. I’m in the middle of making omelets.”
“King!” Dustin shouted.
Londyn dodged a broken picture frame and an archaic vacuum. Dogs barked, and she saw King behind her, growling as he ran. He nipped at her leg.
She clasped the doorknob, flung open the door, and stepped out into daylight. Brodie’s truck slowly exited the driveway. “Brodie, wait!” Her legs threatened to give out beneath her. Her lungs struggled with the fresh air after spending so much time held hostage in the hoarder house. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, thumping at a dangerous pace. “Brodie!”
The hot gravel burned her bare feet. When had she lost her shoes?
The unyielding fight within her urged her forward. Her parched throat ached from being gagged, yet she continued to yell, her voice competing with Dustin’s admonishment that she stop.
King tore at her pant leg, and she stumbled. Why didn’t Brodie stop?
Londyn stepped on something sharp, and the pain nearly stopped her in her tracks. Dustin grabbed for her arm, and she flung herself loose of his grasp.
“I’m coming, Dustin!” shouted Renee. “And I’ve got the frying pan.”
Dustin’s heavy breathing warned that he again drew closer. “Brodie!” Londyn’s ankle wobbled as she continued traversing the uneven ground, the rocks pricking her feet. She half-limped, half-ran while waving her arms in the air. Brodie had to stop. Hehadto.
“I said, stop, Londyn!” Dustin reached for her arm again, this time his nails digging into her skin. Brodie gave no indication he’d seen her. She couldn’t give up. Wouldn’t. “Lord, please,” she cried out. Urgency propelled her forward just as Dustin clamped a hold on her wrist.
Chapter 20
Brodie exited Renee Corker’s driveway, turned on the air conditioner, and rolled up his window. He started down the dirt road to the highway when his cell rang. Detective Rivas’s direct line appeared on the screen. He pulled to the side of the road and parked to take the call, hoping for good news.
“Sheriff Brenneman.”
“Brenneman, this is Rivas.”
“Did we catch him?”
“Unfortunately, no. He wasn’t in his apartment.” Brodie knew it was too good to be true that they would have caught Haack. His stomach clenched. Every day Dustin Haack was on the loose was one day longer that Londyn’s life was in jeopardy. There is no telling what a guy who would run someone off the road and try to strangle her was capable of.
Rivas continued. “We pounded on the door, and when there was no answer, we visited with the neighbor, also the reporting party. We were able to look at her cameras and check out the footage from when the truck arrived.”
“Let me guess, he took off on foot?”
Brodie could hear Rivas shuffling some papers.
“No, if only it were that easy. If he had taken off on foot, we would probably have found him by now. Instead, the cameras indicated a black-haired woman emerging from Haack’s truck, unlocking the door of his apartment, and stepping inside.”
“A woman?”
“Yep.”
“Are you guys sure you have the right truck?”
“We ran the plates. It was registered to Haack.” Rivas’s voice came off somewhat defensive, and Brodie regretted that he sounded like he hadn’t believed the seasoned detective knew what he was doing.
“Sorry about that, sir. I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful. I just…this guy’s been so elusive, you can’t even imagine. Every time he commits a crime, he disappears into thin air.”
“No worries. I get it.” Rivas cleared his throat. “Our guys knocked on the door, but there was no answer. We weren’t sure if the woman who’d entered was ignoring us or if she didn’t hear us. I parked across the street in my unmarked car, and within the hour, she exited the apartment with an armful of items and carried them to the truck. Her name is Dorena Mohr, and she’s a nurse from Pronghorn Falls. Does the name ring a bell?”
“It does. She works at the hospital. A colleague previously interviewed her regarding this case.” Brodie recalled Officer Robinson’s report indicating Ms. Mohr was less than forthcoming with answers about Haack’s attack on Londyn in the hospital. In a second interview, Ms. Mohr denied giving any information to Haack about Londyn’s follow-up appointment at the clinic.
