Page 4 of Chasing a Kidnapper

“Yep.” He reached over to open another box. “And here are several Bushmaster assault rifles.” He opened yet a third box. “And a whole variety of handguns.”

She swallowed hard, trying not to imagine these weapons being used to commit crimes. “How many do you think are in here?”

“I’d say fifty total.” West shook his head. “I guess the night isn’t a total waste. We were able to prevent these weapons from getting into the wrong hands.”

“Thanks to you.” She had to admit she was grateful for his timely arrival. If he hadn’t been there, the outcome may have been much different. Then she frowned. “You followed the truck from the pizzeria?”

“Yes. I was too far back to know what was in the boxes, or to use Peanut to see if they contained weapons. As soon as I saw Petey with the gun, though, I knew my gut instinct on the cargo was right on point.”

“Petey?” She cocked her head to the side.

“Petey Pawners, I arrested him last year for possession of an illegal firearm. I happened to pull up behind the pizzeria in time to see Petey loading the last box. Although I did not know there was a second man in the truck.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll call this in.”

She nodded, stepping back as he did so. She stood and gazed in the general direction the two gunmen had taken.

Were they still out there, waiting for a chance to return for the guns? The gun trafficking crew had already killed their teammate, Kenyon Graves. His death had sent them all reeling, and Kenyon’s good friend, her sister, Raina, now had custody of his twin boys.

She felt certain the same men who’d set the explosion would not hesitate to kill any other police officer who got in their way.

The image of her six-month-old son flashed in her mind. She’d go home to him tonight.

This time.

It didn’t pay to dwell on the downsides of her chosen career. She liked being a cop. Was good at being a cop.

But it was clear the danger wasn’t over.

And worse, their two suspects had gotten away.

TWO

It didn’t take long for the rest of the officers on duty to arrive at the scene. They were near the edge of the city limits, but since the truck had been loaded at the pizzeria and followed to this remote location, West knew the case belonged to the Plains City PD.

After filling the officers in on the events of the night, including the rounds of gunfire that had pummeled Trish’s cruiser, he requested the truck and weapons be taken in for processing to find fingerprints and DNA.

“We’re on it,” Officer Jerry Skinner assured him.

“Thanks.” He glanced down at Peanut, who was sitting at his side. The K-9 was waiting patiently for her next command. Unfortunately, there was nothing more for Peanut to do here.

His phone rang, and West was surprised to see the name of his boss, Captain Douglas Ross, on the screen. He quickly answered. “Captain.”

“Fifty guns?” Ross asked. “That’s quite a haul.”

“Yeah.” It still irked him that Petey and his accomplice had gotten away. It wasn’t Trish’s fault—she was doing her job. If he was honest, he’d have done the same thing in her shoes.

It was just bad timing all around.

Or maybe good timing, in that he had been there to back her up. Two bad guys with guns had been in the truck. If she had been alone...

His gut clenched and he quickly thrust that troubled thought aside. Trisha was fine. She’d handled herself extremely well under fire.

Stubborn, which he had to admire. She hadn’t hesitated to pursue the two armed suspects.

“I need to place a call with the ATF on this,” Ross was saying. West silently groaned. He did not want the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to take over.

“I understand,” he said, masking his feelings. “I just hope they let us assist with the case.”

“Oh, we’ll be involved,” Ross assured him. “Kenyon was one of ours. That makes it personal. I’ll insist we be included in all intel moving forward.”

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