Page 79 of Run to Ground
“Yeah. Maybe Vicki, unless she’s running late like usual.” Although it felt slightly stalker-like, Theo had developed the habit of driving by the diner on his way to work—or from work, depending on his shift. If he timed it right, he’d see Jules hurrying into the diner. Megan’s Volkswagen was usually there, but Vicki’s motorcycle was generally absent until she roared into the lot a few minutes after five.
“Not Jules?”
“Not Jules,” Theo repeated firmly, trying to reassure himself as much as Otto. There had to be a good reason why she wasn’t answering her phone. They would have already evacuated the building, of course, and the lieutenant would’ve told him if anyone else had been injured, but he hated that she was nearby if there was any possibility of danger. Although he didn’t want Megan or Vicki to be harmed in any way either, Theo couldn’t stop obsessing about Jules. He’d feel better when he got on scene and was able to see that she was safe.
And she would be safe, he told himself as he called her again. Of course she would be safe. He couldn’t consider any other option. He just wished she’d answer her damn phone.
By the time he’d pulled up to the diner a few short minutes later, he’d left three more messages on Jules’s voice mail. Before getting out of his car, he shot her a quick,Call me nowtext, and then rushed over to the lieutenant.
“Everyone’s out?” Theo asked.
Blessard gave him anare-you-insanelook. “What are you going on about, Bosco? Of course we’ve cleared the building.”
“Good.” Theo scanned the parking lot as he spoke. The rising sun had painted the sky red behind the mountains, silhouetting the patrol officers working on setting up a perimeter. “I’ll—”
His words and heart stopped at the same time when he saw the Pathfinder sitting on the far side of the lot.
“Where’s Jules?” he demanded as he frantically searched for her among the small crowd of people milling around outside of the perimeter.
“Who’s Jules?” Blessard asked, but Theo was already jogging toward the SUV. “Bosco! Get back here!”
Theo was so focused on the Pathfinder that he barely heard his lieutenant’s yell. Before he even reached it, he knew it’d be empty. The second he’d spotted her SUV, he’d known in his gut that she was inside the diner. Why, though? Why hadn’t she been evacuated? Turning, Theo saw Blessard had followed him.
“What’s going on?” the lieutenant demanded. “Is there someone still inside?”
“Jules.” Just saying her name made his stomach cramp with fear. “Julie Jackson. She’s a waitress here. That’s her vehicle. Who cleared the building?”
Instead of answering him directly, Blessard turned and shouted at one of the uniformed officers erecting a traffic barrier across the entrance to the diner’s parking lot. “McNamara!” The cop lifted his head. When Blessard waved him over, McNamara started walking toward them. Unable to stand still, Theo strode to meet him.
“You searched the diner?” At the other cop’s nod, Theo continued hammering him with questions. “Was there a woman in there—early twenties, dark hair, about five-four, one-twenty-five?”
“Uh…no, sir,” McNamara stammered, clearly intimidated. “No one was in there—except Rounds, of course.”
“You checked everywhere? Bathrooms, kitchen, closets?”
Even before he answered, McNamara’s shamefaced look told Theo what he needed to know. “Well, I…I looked around and called out.”
Whirling around, Theo jogged for his squad car. His heart was pounding, and there was a buzzing under his skin.
“Now what are you doing, Bosco?” His lieutenant sounded cranky, as usual, but there was a note of worry underlying his voice. Theo had worked with Blessard for years, and his LT knew him, knew that Theo was not likely to overreact. In the past few months, the problem had been that Theo wasn’t feeling anything, and he faced every situation, dangerous or not, with the same impassive facade. Theo’s reaction now was akin to another officer’s hysterical screaming, so Theo didn’t blame Blessard for his concern.
“Grabbing Vig,” he said. “If it goes well, he’ll let me know if we have any explosive materials to worry about. If it doesn’t go well, he’ll at least help me search for Jules.” Opening the back of his car and attaching the leash snap to the middle ring on the dog’s harness, the spot that told Viggy it was time to work, Theo took a breath, trying to steady his breath—and heart and stomach and brain. “He likes her.”
“Sounds like he’s not the only one.” The lieutenant gave Theo a sharp look. “You okay doing this? If you’re not up for it, I’ll grab someone else. No shame in being too involved to keep a clear mind in the field. That’s what your partners are for.”
Even though Blessard’s words were well meaning and considerate—at least for him—Theo felt a flare of impatience. If there was any chance that there were explosives in the diner, he needed to get in there and get Jules out—now. “I’m fine,” Theo snapped, and then softened his tone with an effort. “Thanks, LT.”
Blessard studied him. After a second that felt like an eternity, the lieutenant gestured toward the diner. “Go get her, then.”
The command released his legs, and Theo grabbed Viggy’s plush penguin from the front passenger seat, jammed it in one of his BDU pockets, and jogged toward the diner. As if he knew something important was happening, Viggy trotted at his side rather than being hauled behind.
“Please find it,” Theo muttered under his breath, sending the dog a sideways glance. Even though they’d had a breakthrough, they didn’t have anywhere close to a solid partnership yet. And they need that to help Jules. “If there’s something to find, find it. And help me findherbefore something bad happens. Please.” Viggy glanced up at the sound of his voice, wagged his tail a single time, and then faced front again.
Pushing the door open, Theo set his jaw. He’d let Don down when the other cop had needed him, and now Don was dead. He wasn’t about to do the same to Jules. Whatever her secrets, there was something between them, something new and exciting and incredible. He was going to keep her as long as he was able, and even a bomb wasn’t going to stand in his way.
Glass crunched under Theo’s boot, and he bent to pick up Viggy so the dog wouldn’t cut his unprotected paws.
“Here we go,” Theo said.
