Page 5 of Chasing a Kidnapper

He knew the captain would do his best, but the ATF had federal jurisdiction. His boss may not win that battle. He quickly filled him in on the rest. “I recognized Petey Pawners, a perp I’d busted last year for illegal possession of a firearm, but never got a good look at his accomplice. They took off into the woods.” He glanced at Peanut again. “They fired at us, so we felt it prudent to give up the chase.”

“I’m glad you and McCord aren’t hurt,” Ross said. “Having the name and ID of one perp helps. I’ve issued a BOLO for Pawners. I heard McCord’s squad car is shot up pretty bad.”

“Yeah, a tow truck is on the way.” He glanced over to where Trisha was speaking with one of the officers. Strands of her red hair had come loose from the bun to frame her face. He forced himself to look away. He wasn’t interested in a relationship, no matter how pretty she was. His last girlfriend had left him, claiming he was married to his job. And maybe he was. People always left, either on purpose, like Shannon, or by dying, like Kenyon. He was better off alone. “I’ll drive McCord back to her place when we finish here.”

“Okay. I gotta go, the ATF is on the other line.” With that, Ross ended the call.

West shoved his phone into his pocket and joined the others. He and Trisha had already given their statements, and he was the detective on the case anyway, so there was no reason for them to hang around.

“Trish? Are you ready to get out of here?” He kept his tone casual, despite his odd awareness of her. He reminded himself that he’d offer to drive any officer home if their cruiser had been shot up by a pair of gun runners.

“Oh, uh, sure.” She looked surprised. “Thanks.”

“There are forty-eight weapons inside,” Officer Skinner announced.

“That’s about what I thought,” West agreed. “At this point, I’m interested in getting trace DNA or fingerprints from the interior of the truck. Petey Pawners’s info is already on file and a BOLO has been issued, but we need his accomplice.”

“Understood. We’ll preserve the truck until the crime scene techs can do their thing,” Skinner replied.

West wished there was more he could do, but these things took time. Rushing evidence collection wasn’t smart. He turned to Trish, gesturing toward his SUV. Then he bent and scooped Peanut into his arms. “Let’s go.”

She fell into step beside him. “I need to thank you for backing me up.”

“It’s fine.” He waved that off. “Part of the job.”

She nodded without saying anything more. He wondered if the near miss so soon after losing Kenyon was bothering her.

The way it was bothering him.

He did his best to shake it off. Trisha climbed into the passenger seat as he placed Peanut in her back crate. The beagle turned in a circle on her cushion, then settled down for a nap. He stroked the soft brown and white fur for a moment before stepping back to close the hatch. He loved Peanut and was proud of her ability to sniff out weapons, but he still missed his former partner, a yellow Lab named Willa.

After climbing in beside Trish, he made a U-turn to head back to Plains City. As he hit highway speeds, he sent her a questioning look. “Where do you live?”

“I have a small house near Robin Park.” She cleared her throat before adding, “Thankfully, I was able to keep it after my divorce.”

He and the rest of the department knew about her divorce. And how the idiot had left her pregnant and alone. He wasn’t privy to all the details, but any man who would walk away from his pregnant wife was a low-life scumbag in his book. “That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it is.” She relaxed against the seat cushion as if the events of the night were finally catching up to her. She offered a tired smile. “Gabriel is six months old now, and I’m blessed to have him.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that. The kid was a product of a divorce, just like he and his brothers were. At least Gabriel was too young to know anything different.

“Must be hard juggling work and parenthood.” He winced at his lame attempt at small talk. He’d been alone for so long, focused only on his work, that he was out of practice.

“I have a lot of support from my sister, and my neighbor Laurel Newton. Do you know her? She was a police officer for the Plains City PD but has been retired for twelve years.”

“The name sounds familiar. I’ve only been with the precinct for ten years, though.”

“Yeah, she was there before my time, too. Her husband died last year, so she’s been babysitting for me.” Trisha sighed. “Second shift is not my favorite, but I’m next up for days. That will make things easier in the long run, especially when Gabriel starts school.”

He nodded again, unable to come up with a response. He’d spent time with Kenyon and his twin boys, but that was about as much kid time as he could handle. And even then, he and Kenyon would hang out to watch sports after the kids had fallen asleep.

He’d admired Kenyon for being a great single dad after losing his wife to cancer. But that didn’t mean he had any intention of following in Kenyon’s footsteps and being a father.

Trisha lapsed into silence, and he quickly navigated the streets toward Robin Park, anxious to drop her off. “What’s your address?”

She gave him the house number, and he found the neighborhood without a problem.

“It’s the white ranch house.” She pointed to the house on the right side of the road.

---