Page 9 of Cry Wolf

Brett stopped short and stared at his boss. “Matt’s wife?”

Gabe tilted his head in a yes. “Look, I put a call in to the district office. But it’s going to take them a while to get here, being as they have their hands full with another intensive case. We don’t have time to wait. I know Dania was your best friend’s wife, and I shouldn’t assign you this, but with Olivia down and Ted dead, that doesn’t give me much choice. We need to find her before her father-in-law learns what has happened.”

“I can imagine Walter will be ticked off.” Brett finished buttoning his shirt. His best friend had had a turbulent relationship with his father. And Dania had been at the center of their contention.

Before Walter Tyler had become the state’s Attorney General, he’d worked as a magistrate and had been known as the “iron judge.” He’d presided over Randy’s murder trial and had put him on death row. But that had been a few years before Brett knew Matt.

They’d met in a criminal justice class at Evergreen High. Walter Tyler hadn’t been happy that his son was best friends with Brett, but as Walter had gotten to know Brett and learned his goal in life was to be a U.S. Marshal, he’d seemed to change his mind.

Brett grabbed his SIG Sauer, checked the chamber, and stuffed it in the small of his back. “You can’t believe Dania had anything to do with the shootout.”

“Doesn’t matter what I think.” Gabe leaned against the doorjamb. “She’s an escaped convict who was at the scene where one officer died and the other was left in grave condition. Under the law, whether she pulled the trigger or not, she’ll be held accountable. We’ve got to bring her in and fast.”

There had to be more to the story. Brett slid his Beretta into the holster on his belt and slipped the billfold holding his badge into his hip pocket. He tugged on his Kevlar vest and slung his backpack over his shoulder. It held everything he’d need. He grabbed his Stetson. Putting it on, he said, “Let’s roll.”

While Gabe and Jasper headed for the chopper, Brett locked the door to his cabin. As he hustled to catch up with them, his thoughts went to Dania. Was she wounded or even alive?

“Matt, I promise I’ll find her,” he said under his breath.

* * *

The chopper descended to the highway, where a scene of flashing lights and multiple police cruisers lined the road next to where Olivia’s souped-up Dodge Charger rested. The doors were open, and state troopers worked the scene. A coroner stood beside a body covered with a white sheet on the ground.

As soon as the helicopter touched down, Brett started to climb out, but Gabe pulled him back and yelled to be heard over the rotors’ noise. “I’m going on to the hospital to be with Olivia. Her family lives in Idaho, so she’s all alone. I think I’d better be there. I’ll send the bird back in case you need it.”

Brett gave him a nod, then he and Jasper jumped out. He didn’t usually take his dog with him to a scene, but he couldn’t very well have left the animal at the cabin, nor could he burden Gabe with him now.

A group of officers had clustered in front of Olivia’s vehicle. Among them, Brett spied his fellow deputy marshals: Char, BB, and Coop. Coop stood arguing with a rather stout, mustached county sheriff. Coop was a twenty-five-year veteran of the marshals’ service and twenty years Brett’s senior, and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. Gabe had been right. The turf war had already begun.

Brett elbowed his way through the crowd and inserted himself between Coop and the bullish sheriff. “What’s going on?”

“Who are you?” The mustached sheriff suspiciously eyed him over.

“Deputy Marshal Brett Rollins. And you are?”

“Sheriff Bowman.” He glared at Brett, and steam seemed to shoot from his nostrils. “I was explaining how things work in this county. I’m in charge.”

Brett had to quash this and fast. Precious time to catch the escapees ticked away. Trying to help both men save face, he said, “Sheriff, it’s understandable that you’d think that, but in this case, I’m afraid you’re wrong. The dead officer was a U.S. Marshal, and you know very well that that makes this a federal crime.” Brett looked him straight in the eyes so there’d be no misunderstanding. “Fugitives are on the run, so the U.S. Marshals are in charge, and I’m the lead. But I’d appreciate your and the other officers’ help.”

The state troopers and deputies who had gathered around grumbled.

Sheriff Bowman puckered his lips. He had to know Brett was right and he had lost this battle. Finally, he shook his head. “If you want to take over this mess, by all means, be my guest.”

Brett didn’t care that the sheriff’s nose had been shoved out of joint. “I’m assuming you checked to see if our marshals’ weapons were taken, right?”

Bowman glared at him like he wasn’t an idiot.

Deputy Marshal Charmaine Little Feather, Char for short, pitched in. “One of the deputy sheriffs gave me Olivia’s Smith & Wesson. They said that when they got here, Olivia was unconscious and her gun was beside her.” Char patted her jacket pocket. “But Ted’s Glock was gone.”

Brett gave Char an appreciative nod. Either Dania had it or Big Bertha did. Big Bertha’s modus operandi had been rat poison. The huge woman had a love for baking and poisoned her victims, though she still could have grabbed the weapon. But with Dania being a sharpshooter, odds were pretty high that she had the gun, which wasn’t good. Not good at all. “How big is the search perimeter?”

“Only two miles,” Coop said. He gave Brett a look implying that he knew two miles wasn’t large enough. That topic could have been what had sparked the argument he’d been having with the sheriff when Brett had arrived.

Brett gave his coworker an I’ve-got-this nod and turned to the sheriff. “When we transport female criminals in our vehicles, we don’t use leg irons. The women very easily could have run over two miles. They are highly motivated and have at least an hour’s head start. Let’s push that to ten miles and search every home, shed, and snake hole. Keep in mind that the prisoners have probably split up and one of them is armed.”

The sheriff gave directions to his men regarding the search.

Brett scanned the crowd. “Where’s BB?”

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