Sharon Dunn - Guard Duty

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees as she stared at the computer screen. It was clear what had happened. Her mother would never send such a horrible email. So now the syndicate was hacking into family members’ emails and threatening the life of her niece?

Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the phone to dial her home number.

Stella picked up on the first ring. “Hello.”

Valerie took a breath, hoping to hide the anxiety in her voice. “Hey, Mrs. Witherspoon, I was just checking to see how Bethany was doing.”

Stella’s voice exuded cheerfulness. “She’s such a doll. She just finished her cereal and is playing with her blocks.”

“So, everything’s okay?”

“Couldn’t be better.” Stella paused as though she were thinking something over. “Are you having a little separation anxiety, dear?”

Valerie gripped the phone a little tighter. “That must be it.”

“It happens to every mother. Call here a thousand times a day if you need to.”

Though she couldn’t let go of the fear over harm coming to Bethany, Valerie relaxed a little. Bethany was in good hands. “Mrs. Witherspoon, you are an answer to prayer.”

Valerie said her goodbyes and hung up. She called her mother who said she didn’t think her email had been hacked. She barely turned her computer on. These guys were good. She pressed her trembling hands, palms down against the desk. Tuned into Valerie’s heightened emotion, Lexi lifted her head and looked at her with dark brown eyes.

The words echoed through her mind. It would be a shame if anything happened to her. She felt like she was being shaken from the inside. Would Garry’s murderer hurt Bethany to get to her? Now she knew for sure she was being watched. They must have seen her with Bethany.

“Everything okay?” Trevor stood beside her desk.

She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders, forcing her voice to sound professional. “Sure. Why?”

He sat down in the chair beside her, concern etched across his face. “Your complexion’s the color of rice.”

“It’s nothing.” She couldn’t explain to him. He wouldn’t understand why she was so upset. It was just an email, right? It wasn’t like a gun had been pointed at her. “My face is always this color. I’m a light-skinned redhead.”

He cracked a smile. “That you are, Officer Salgado, but that doesn’t explain why your hands are shaking.” He reached over and cupped his hand over hers.

She’d laced her fingers together so tightly her knuckles were white. He pulled back and studied her while the warmth of his touch lingered. Would he think she lacked strength as an officer if she revealed how much the threat had shaken her up? Cops were supposed to have titanium spines, right? There probably wasn’t anything in the world that made Trevor Lewis afraid...except maybe feeding babies.

The warmth in his eyes, the same that she had seen at the warehouse, told her she could risk sharing.

She drew in a breath and turned the computer monitor toward him. “I just got this.” She pulled the photo of Bethany off her cubicle wall and held it to her chest. Images about bad things happening to Bethany rampaged through her head. She shivered.

Trevor’s jaw hardened as he looked away from the screen. He shook his head. “Unbelievable. This has got to be the syndicate’s doing. Your mother would never send an email like that, right?”

Valerie nodded. “Who else would do this but the syndicate? The first threat came in an email, as well.”

His presence had a calming effect on her that she didn’t understand. Maybe it was just because he looked like he could smash small buildings with his fist. Being able to share with him had eased her fear. Now that she could get a deep breath, she felt like she was seeing things more clearly. “They wouldn’t actually hurt Bethany, would they? It’s me the Serpent is after.”

“It doesn’t matter if they will or won’t. They are threatening your kid and upsetting you. It’s all part of a game they’re playing.” His tone suggested deep offense at what had been done to her.

She exhaled. “It might be that it was meant to scare me. You know, the syndicate’s reminder that they are still watching and waiting for their chance to kill me.” She just didn’t want to believe that anyone would harm an innocent child.

Trevor touched his clean-shaven face as his eyes narrowed. “I’ve seen this before with witnesses we were trying to protect. The intent is to break you psychologically. You don’t want something bad to happen to your kid, so you back off from finding this woman.”

“I can’t even identify the woman yet for sure. We haven’t been able to put together a sketch or a police lineup.” She turned back to her computer and clicked out of her email program. “I just know that if I saw this woman that we think is the Serpent again, I would recognize her.”

Trevor sat back in his chair. “The murderer doesn’t know that, though. She probably thinks it’s just a matter of time before the Sagebrush police track her down. These people are ruthless. They’ll do everything they can to shake your resolve.”

“I wish there was protection for Bethany when I’m not with her.” Talking with Trevor had eased some of her fear, but every time she looked at Bethany’s picture, she felt a jab to her heart. If anything happened to that little girl....

“Maybe the department can provide some protection,” Trevor suggested.

“I can ask, and I’ll let the captain know about the email, but it’s always a funding and resources issue,” she said.

At the other end of the administrative area, Captain McNeal stepped out of his office. “Dispatch just got a call from a black and white downtown. The car you saw Murke drive away in has been spotted outside a hardware store on Sagebrush Boulevard.”

Valerie jumped up and grabbed Lexi’s leash. “We might have Murke in custody before the day is over.” Excitement pulsed through her. Chasing down Murke would get her mind off the email.

She clicked Lexi into her leash, glad to be doing something she could deal with.

Trevor quickened his pace as he moved toward the door. “Let’s go catch a fugitive.”

FOUR

Adrenaline surged through Valerie as Trevor selected a parking space with a view of Derek Murke’s older-model Buick parked across the street. Murke was nowhere in sight. He had to be in one of the shops. She loved this part of the job—the prospect of catching a criminal brought the importance of her work back to her.

The sidewalks bustled with afternoon activity. Downtown Sagebrush was a mixture of boutiques and restaurants that provided a medley of rustic charm and trendy affluency. She recognized the patrol car up the block and two other unmarked police cars that had moved into place. Now it was just a matter of sitting and waiting. Murke had to come back to his car sooner or later.

Lexi leaned forward and panted.

Trevor angled his head away so he wouldn’t get slobbered on.

“Sorry, she just likes to be a part of the action,” Valerie explained, smiling indulgently as she stroked Lexi’s ears.

The radio sparked to life. “Car two this is car one. I’ve got eyes on Murke. He’s standing at the check-out line in Bealman’s Hardware.”

Trevor lurched in his seat. “All right, let’s move in. Keep the uniforms out of sight range. I don’t want Murke to know we’re on to him.”

Valerie sat back in her seat trying to hide her disappointment. “I guess that means me, too.” She looked down at her uniform.

“He scares easily.” He’d already pushed open the door and slipped out of the car. “Radio the other units of his position if you see him.”