Page 46 of Sins of the Fathers
Dawson spared him a glance. “There was something wrong with theflaming antlers!”
From the split-second glimpse he’d gotten, Dawson knew that Grady was right. “It looked like a computer graphic of a deer’s face—if the artist had never seen a real one.”
“Shit. Isn’t it bad luck to see a not-deer?” Grady asked.
“Only people who are in danger are supposed to be able to see them. Well, there’s a surprise.”
Dawson’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel as the muscle car hugged the tight curves of the mountain road, flattening the hills with its speed. The engine’s purr was a growl tonight, and Dawson found himself spoiling for a fight.
The Mustang was fast but not quiet. Dawson parked her a block away, pausing just long enough to grab their weapons before they sprinted toward Kingston Hardware.
Streetlights and store security lighting didn’t reveal any suspicious figures, but Dawson knew that didn’t mean the danger had been averted. He and Grady advanced, guns in hand.
Dawson could feel the coming storm with the way the wind had kicked up.
Knox’s hardware store took up most of its block, with an alley running behind it. Dawson signaled for Grady to go right, crossing in front of the shop and down the other side, while Dawson went along the left.
There.Dawson spotted movement near the wooden pallets as Knox had predicted. He ran toward the hunched figure in a black hoodie as the smell of gasoline confirmed his worst fears.
If I shot at him, would a spark set off the gas? With the wind, a fire could take out the whole block.
Dawson ran and dove, tackling the arsonist from behind and taking them both to the ground, but not before the man tossed a lighter into the pile. The dry pallets went up in flames with awhooshas he wrestled with the man and tried to pin him to the ground.
Hoodie Man slammed a fist into Dawson’s temple, tearing free and tossing Dawson close enough to the flaming pallets that embers burned his skin, and fire licked at his boots. The man ran down the alley, and Dawson climbed to his feet to give chase.
Two shots rang out.Grady.
Flames leapt high into the darkness against the brick back wall of the store. Dawson pulled his phone out and dialed 911 as he ran toward where he’d heard the gunfire.
“Fire at Kingston Hardware. Arson. Hurry.” He ended the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
“Daw!” Grady shouted. “Over here!”
Dawson made out a standing silhouette and something crouched on the ground. He slowed and advanced cautiously, gun raised.
“You okay?” Dawson called to his partner, keeping his Taurus leveled at Hoodie Man, who lay on the street, clutching his leg.
“I’m fine. He’s got a bullet in his knee,” Grady replied. “Sucks to be him.”
A movement in the shadows made Dawson pivot, gun trained on the darkness. “Come out real slow,” he ordered.
“You called us, remember?” Gibson stepped into the light. “Looks like you didn’t need the backup after all.”
“We had no idea what we were walking into. Thanks for coming. Where’s your buddy?” Dawson tried to look around Gibson into the night.
“Down there,” Gibson replied with a jerk of his head to indicate the fire. “Wanted to get a look before the forensics were completely fucked all to hell.”
Gibson turned to eye the scene. “Could have been a lot worse. I checked around front—no explosives, no long fuses. Looks like this guy wanted to stay in the dark—like a roach.”
Sirens sounded, echoing from the walls of the buildings around them. Emergency flashers and bright headlights lit up the alley as a fire truck and ambulance arrived, and the fire crew swung into action to save the hardware store and the buildings around it.
A sheriff’s vehicle blocked the other end of the alley. “Guns on the ground, hands in the air,” a voice sounded over a bullhorn.
Dawson and Grady moved slowly to comply, warily watching their captive. Gibson responded with jazz hands and a “don’t fuck with me” expression.
“I’ve got a shiv in my boot,” Dawson growled to the arsonist. “I can be on you in a heartbeat, so don’t try anything.”
“Dawson and Grady King—why am I not surprised?” Sheriff Rollins barked as he walked into the alley, backed by two deputies. “And a fed. What the fuck is going on?”
