Page 53 of Her Baby, Her Badge

The adrenaline shot through Dutton, and getting off the seat, he stepped out and turned his gun in the direction of the man. Grace looked up from her phone, then tossing it aside, she got out also and took aim at him as well. The guy wasn’t running, but he was hurrying.

And he had a gun.

“Everyone get down,” Grace shouted.

That caused the man to stop in his tracks. “Is Aileen dead?” he called out.

Both Dutton and Grace cursed, saying nearly identical profanities, because they recognized the voice.

Wilson.

Dutton didn’t ask himself why the county sheriff was here. He just kept his gun trained on him. Wilson had to know if he shot Grace that the deputies would open fire on him, but if the man was filled with enough hate and desperation, that might not matter.

“It’s me, Wilson,” he said after looking at the stances of the deputies, Grace and Dutton.

He had five guns trained on him.

Wilson did some cursing as well, and he shook his head in what seemed to be disgust. “You think I’m here to kill someone?” But he didn’t wait for a response. “Well, I’m not.”

“Then, holster your gun,” Grace snapped. “And then you can tell me what you’re doing here.”

That amped up Wilson’s disgust. However, he did put away his weapon. “Because I want to catch the person who nearly killed Bailey. I want to do your job for you since you’re not doing it.”

Grace ignored him and looked at Rory. It seemed to Dutton that she was debating with herself as to how to handle this. “We need to check out Lunsford’s vehicle and deal with Wilson,” she said, keeping her voice low, probably so that Wilson wouldn’t be able to hear. “Dutton and I can take Lunsford’s vehicle—”

“No,” Rory and Dutton said in unison. Dutton held back and let his brother take over his particular argument.

“Ellie and I can go across the road in a cruiser,” Rory insisted. “We’ll be careful, and yes, we’ll look for any traps. If your mother’s there, we’ll find her.” He tipped his head to Wilson. “Bennie, Dutton and you can deal with him.”

“Take Bennie with you,” Grace told Rory. “All three of you should go.”

Rory shook his head. “If Wilson’s the killer, you’ll need backup.”

“Dutton is my backup.” She glanced at him for a confirming nod.

But Dutton wasn’t sure he wanted to give her a confirmation. He would have preferred Grace had an entire team of cops around her, but he understood it was important for her to find out if her mother was in that vehicle. Important, too, to get to her fast before she could be murdered like the other female cops.

So Dutton nodded.

“Go,” Grace told Rory.

Rory groaned, but did as he was told, eventually. He hesitated a couple of seconds, probably hoping Grace would change her mind. When she didn’t, he muttered some profanity under hisbreath, and he hurried to the other deputies to get them moving to the cruiser.

“What the hell is going on?” Wilson demanded. “They’re leaving?” he asked when Bennie, Rory and Ellie hurried to a cruiser. “Do they have a lead on the killer?”

Dutton huffed and was glad Grace ignored Wilson’s questions and fired off some of her own. “Who told you about my mother, and how did you know to come to this spot on the ranch? While you’re at it, you can explain why you’re walking and not in your vehicle.”

Wilson was slow to answer. “I have my police radio tuned to Renegade Canyon PD Dispatch. And before you say I don’t have a right, I do. Bailey is going through hell and had to be sedated. Her folks are with her now, but they’re a mess, too. All because you can’t catch this killer.”

“And you came here to catch him,” Grace said with a whole lot of sarcasm in her voice.

The man shrugged. “Well, this was where he left the first two victims. So I parked up the road and walked here. I wanted to see what you were doing, and I figured my best shot at that was sneaking up on you and having a look for myself.” He glanced at the fence. “Is Aileen here? Is she dead?”

Dutton shot Wilson a glare for the callous tone, and he so wished he could take the man down a notch. But now wasn’t the time. Not when they were sitting ducks. Best for Grace to finish up what she needed to do, so they could go back inside the ranch gates.

“No, Aileen isn’t here,” Grace said, and her tone matched the icy feelings Dutton was having about Wilson. “Tell me about Teddy Lunsford,” she demanded.

Wilson shook his head. “Who? I’ve never heard of him.”

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