Page 52 of Flashback

Dakota had no idea what had happened to Allie there by the river, but something was broken between them, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

Allie had kinda fallen apart and then pushed him away. Wouldn’t most people be grateful after being saved from drowning? Was she that upset that they hadn’t gone back for Scout?

She wouldn’t look at him at all once that rafting party had found them and taken them back to the campground. She’d only spoken to him when she’d asked him to drive her car. And there she sat, head slumped against the passenger side window, eyes slammed shut. But with every bump in the road, she winced, so she must not be sleeping. What was going on?

Lord, if I can help here, You’ll have to guide me. But more than anything, I know Allie needs Your healing touch.

He just didn’t know why. But he had some suspicions. Lots of people called their pets their children, but?—

“So…” He kept his voice soft. “Baby?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her clipped words echoed off the window she faced.

Whoa-kay then. After all they’d been through, she still didn’t trust him. He shouldn’t be surprised. It wasn’t like they’d known each other long, but he really thought they’d connected. He’d actually seen a future with Allie.

Guess once again, he was wrong.

He glanced at her. Dripping hair, damp clothes, and shivering despite the soaring temps outside. Like it or not, ittugged at his heart. “Let’s swing by your place and grab you a change of clothes. We can shower and change at base camp and then head to the sheriff’s office. If you still want to.”

“We should go to the sheriff first.” She didn’t lift her head from the window.

“You need a hot shower and dry clothes. The sheriff can wait. Besides, maybe he’ll take us a little more seriously if we don’t show up looking like drowned rats.”

“I suppose.” Allie laid her head back on the seat and closed her eyes.

Rest was probably the best thing for her.

Thankfully, base camp was quiet, the parking lot mostly empty with most of the crew out enjoying the reprieve of a day off. They showered, changed quickly, and—after redoing his bandages, this time by himself—they got back in Allie’s SUV. He tried not to bother her with chitchat while she drove.

As soon as they entered the sheriff’s office, he spotted Ray Haroldson behind bars in the small holding cell. Dakota tried to quench the desire to knock the arrogant smirk right off his face. But being surrounded by desks, three other deputies in uniform, and a woman answering phones kept him in check. The smell of ink, coffee, and stress, and the beeping and scratchy voices on the radios had a calming effect, reminding him of his SWAT days with his own team back in Benson.

The sheriff sighed as they walked in the door. “Let me guess. You’re here as two concerned citizens again to give me intel on my open murder case?”

Dakota told him about their morning. Allie sat there, saying nothing. It was almost like the light in her had been snuffed out.

“Allie, can you show him what we found?”

“Hmm?”

He nodded to her bag.

“Oh, right. We found this.” Allie pulled out the soggy baggie with the bandana.

That was it? Didn’t she have more to say?

The sheriff studied the bag.

“And we can give you a description of the shooter in the woods,” Dakota said. “He was tall, six-four or six-five, and had dark hair pulled back in a long ponytail, but he was balding on top. He had the tattoo of a gun and a flag running up his right arm.” Dakota pointed to his computer. “I even took a picture of his face and emailed it to you.”

Hutchinson pecked at his keyboard and stared at his screen. With a long sigh he leaned back in his chair and ran his hands down his face. “That’s Earl Blackwell.”

“So, you know him?” Dakota asked.

“He and his brother are usually up to no good, but they’re smart enough to cover their tracks. We don’t have enough evidence to do anything. Besides, the feds are storming in. They want a piece of the action since the victim was a Ranger.”

“But you have two kids who witnessed a murder, and that makes them loose ends to tie up. And this Earl was shooting at us. We’ll testify.” Dakota tried to keep the irritation out of his voice.

“I’ll go out to his cabin and some of the places he’s been known to hang out, but I guarantee you, even if we could find him—and that’s a big if, since he was born and raised in that forest—he would come up with some valid excuse. He could claim you were trespassing, thought you were an intruder, or any number of reasons for shooting at you. And his brother would back him up.”

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