No Ordinary Killer (29 page)

“Thanks, Pete. No more talking. Dallas, is that
shoulder okay?” He glanced her way and she nodded a confirmation. Nearly
squatting along the hedge, Cooper waited and motioned for Pete to make his way
to Sally’s house. The kid followed the hedge and nearly undetectably moved into
the confines of Sally’s protected backyard.

Assured Pete no longer was a concern, Cooper motioned
forward and edged his way to the gate. He flipped the metal hinge up and inched
the gate open. Low and slow, he pulled himself up alongside the house. Dallas
moved alongside him.

“Wait while I see if we can get a hint of what’s going
on inside,” Dallas whispered.

Cooper nodded and waited while she made her way to the
first set of windows on the west side of the house. His heart pounded in his
chest, increasing the pain to the back of his head. He glanced over at Dallas
and breathed easier as she made her way back to him.

“She’s in trouble all right,” Dallas said. “She’s
sitting at the table with her back to the window. It appeared she is tied to
the chair. I couldn’t see the perp. Why would he be waiting for Jamie—“

“He’s waiting for Gulchinski’s son.” Cooper struggled
not to storm into the house.

“What?”

“How do you get an honest police captain to break the
rules or cover up the evidence?”

“By kidnapping or threatening his son? He would know
Pete’s girlfriend lives here? Who is this guy? He has to be someone you know.”

“If you’re right in thinking it’s someone who is
trying to ruin my life, then this makes sense. Gulchinski is like a father to
me. There would be one way and only one way to force Gulchinski into a
compromising situation. I wonder what evidence the killer wants Guchinski to
tamper with. It could shed some light on the killer.”

“Once Gulchinski does the deed, he’s going to be
exposed. It’s not about the evidence or tampered case files or reports, it’s
about making sure Gulchinski is discredited, dishonored, and removed from his
position. It’s about destroying those you love … one at a time.”

“Okay, I’m going to move in from the patio. You watch
from the window. He may have seen Pete leave and he split before we even got
here.”

“Which could mean he’s observing us right now or he’s
long gone.”

Cooper thought for a moment, then motioned for her to
head toward the window. He gave her a few more seconds, then eased onto the
patio. The drapes were pulled, but he didn’t doubt his silhouette would appear
like a beacon light if the killer watched for him.

A slight pull on the patio door opened it without much
effort. Cooper stepped inside and eased the door shut. He parted the drapes
just enough to step past them. With three quick steps, he approached the
adjoining kitchen area where he knew Jamie’s mom sat. He paused and listened.
Other than a few sniffles, the house fell silent.

Stepping into the room, he glanced at the woman gagged
and tied to the chair. Her tears streamed down her cheeks. He pointed to
himself and mouthed, “Police.” Then asked the question, “Is anyone here?”

She shook her head.

Quickly he rushed up to the woman and pulled the gag
from her mouth. “You’re sure there isn’t anyone here?” He asked in a low tone.

“He left after Pete dropped Jamie off and left. She
went right over to Sally’s house. I think he was planning on taking both the
kids. I left the car in the garage and hoped Jamie would —“

“That’s what tipped us off,” he said, pulling on her
ropes and motioning at the window for Dallas to come in.

“Who are you? Were you with the kids?”

“I’m Detective Reynolds. Actually Detective Fortune
and I were coming here to get a little first aid from you. Jamie said you were
an ER nurse. What’s your name?”

“Betty, Betty Winslow. First aid from me? Isn’t that what
hospitals are for?”

“Well, Dallas has been shot and we didn’t want to call
any attention—“

“Shot? What have you involved the kids in? Are you
crazy—“

“No, actually this all happened before Pete and Jamie
picked us up. The perp thinks we’re both dead and we’d like to keep it that
way. Jamie suggested you could patch us up without drawing attention to
ourselves at the hospital. That’s why we were in Pete’s Jeep when we arrived
here. Jamie said your car parked in the middle of the garage wasn’t right. We immediately
changed our plan to protect the kids and make sure you weren’t in any danger.”

“I’m truly grateful you did. Where is this Dallas you
mentioned?”

The skin on the back of Cooper’s neck prickled. He
rushed from the kitchen, out to the patio and around to the side of the house,
nearly dropping next to Dallas in relief. For a moment he thought the killer
had taken her. She lay on the grass, just below the window. He scooped her into
his arms and carried her into the house.

“You have a bed I can lay her on?” he looked at a
mortified woman. “She’s not dead, she just collapsed. She was shot in the
shoulder, the bullet went right through. At first she lost a lot of blood, but
now I think it’s doing quite well. She’s weak and tired. It’s been a hellacious
couple of days.”

“Come this way. I have a spare bedroom upstairs. I
noticed some dried blood on the back of your head. You okay?”

“Might need a couple of stitches. Got hit with the
butt of a pistol.”

“Have you been having any headaches, dizziness, or
nausea?”

“You might say that. Just didn’t have time to worry
about it. We’ve been running for our lives, and I mean that literally.”

“Lay her down on the bed. Careful now. Let’s get
little Detective Dallas fixed up, and then we’ll see about fixing that hard head
of yours.”

Cooper smiled. “We should call Jamie and Pete so they
know everything is okay here. I think they’re both pretty worried.”

“Would you go downstairs and get my cell phone? It
should be in the outside pocket of my purse which is always on a chair in the
kitchen.”

“Sure,” Cooper said, heading out the bedroom. Half way
down the hall he heard a click from the front door. Pulling his gun, he edged
the inside wall and quietly inched his way down. A shadow on the opposing wall
revealed the intruder was close to the stairs. In an instant, Cooper dived at
the intruder and slammed him to the floor. Gun raised, Cooper pulled back, then
released a heavy breath.

“What the hell, Arnott, I nearly let the air outta
you.”

“Damn it, Cooper, you know I hate it when you say shit
like that. My God, what the hell is going on with you? You couldn’t have called
me for back-up? Pete said you and a half-dead Dallas were entering a possible
hostage situation. I was to keep my mouth shut and come alone. You’ve got some
explaining to do. Would you mind getting off me?”

“I thought maybe you were enjoying it!” Cooper laughed
and moved off his partner.

“You’re hopeless. Well, if you’d shut up for one
minute, maybe I could. Right now I want to check with Betty and see how Dallas
is doing.” He grabbed her cell phone from her purse and headed up the stairs
with Arnott right behind him.

“Betty, this is my partner, Detective Josh Arnott.
Josh this is Betty Winslow, Jamie’s mother. “

“Jamie?”

“Oh, Pete’s girlfriend’s mother.”

“Nice to meet you, Betty.”

“You’re a bit slow on the partner end, huh?”

Cooper laughed, but noticed Arnott didn’t find it as
funny. “Here’s your cell phone.”

“Use it. Both kids’ numbers are in my contacts.”

Cooper waited while the phone rang.

“Hey.”

“What took so long to answer?”

“Oh, the girls were tossing my phone back and forth.
Pissed me off … I mean ticked me off. They finally gave it back. I told them
this was serious sh … serious.”

“Everything is okay here. If you want to come back
over it’s fine—“

“Tell Jamie to spend the night with Sally. Don’t tell
anyone she’s staying there. She’s to call me before she goes to bed and I’ll
see her in the morning before school.”

“I heard that,” Pete said. “I’ll be over in a bit.
That okay? I’ll sneak over from the back in case anyone is casing out the house
out front. You want me to go get my Jeep and park it in the alley?”

“No, Arnott is here and we’ll drop you off to pick the
Jeep up when we leave here. I don’t want you going anywhere without a crowd.”

“What? This is crazy. We have a fu … a football game
tomorrow night. I’m not missing it. You two can run around the field with your
guns pulled if you want to. But I’m playing.”

“Didn’t say you couldn’t and last time I remember, a
football team would constitute a crowd. Get your skinny butt over here in the
next half hour. Okay?”

“Damn straight.”

“Pete, you and I need to have a talk about your mouth.
Girls don’t respect guys who swear all the time and to be honest with you,
neither do men. An occasional damn, shit or even fuck might be warranted. But
you, young man, are getting carried away with it. You hearing me?”

“Okay, I’ll work on it. Don’t tell my old man … my dad
you gave me this talk. Shit … I mean … dang it he just bitched me out for it
last night. I’ll try. It’s habit, you know. I don’t really mean anything by
it.”

“You’re almost a college man. If you don’t want your
professors commenting, I’d advise you work harder on cleaning things up.
Getting into forensics school takes more than just smarts. And, Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for sending Arnott over. If things were
serious, we would have needed him. I should have called him, and it was mature
and smart to have called for back-up.”

“Anytime, uncle.”

Cooper smiled and pushed
end
. “How is she doing?” he asked, handing Betty her phone.

“Exhaustion is the biggest culprit. The wound is
looking good. A mighty lucky lady. That bullet missed every major concern. The
wound is coagulated and already starting to heal. It must hurt something fierce
without pain meds. She really needs to get on antibiotics, but there is no sign
of infection yet. In lieu of the situation, I think I can have a side-chat with
Doctor Burghoust and see if we can get him to prescribe something … let’s say
in Jamie’s name for a rusty nail in her foot.”

“You’re one smart lady, Betty.”

“You might not think so in a few minutes. Let’s go
downstairs and let me take a look at that head of yours. Josh, would you to in
the bathroom and grab a razor, some rubbing alcohol and cotton. Also grab the
box of Band-Aids.”

“Razor? You’re really not going to save my hair, are
you?”

“Men are such babies.”

“Seems I’ve heard that a time or two lately. It’s just
that … well, I’m a little attached to my—“

“It’ll grow back. I’ll need to clean the wound area
and make sure it’s more of a cut than a crack. You might be taking this
lightly, but I’m not. Have a chair detective.” She pulled a chair to the middle
of the floor.

Cooper screwed his lips to one side and took a chair.
Just when he was beginning to like Betty.

Arnott dropped all the items on the kitchen table and
straddled a chair facing him. “Where the hell have you two been? Two days and
not a single word from you. I must have called you and Dallas a thousand
times.”

“Don’t stop dialing.”

“What?”

“Keep trying. The killer has both our cell phones. If
you suddenly stop calling, he’ll wonder why. I’m sure Maxwell must have told
you we were heading to Missoula to personally take some evidence to the lab. To
make a long story short, we were forced off the road into a mud slew. Dallas was
shot and I was pistol whipped. We were taken to a cabin for the night and were
nearly eaten by wolves and blown up.”

“I don’t think he wants you dead … or you’d be dead
already.”

“That’s what Dallas was thinking. I’m asking myself,
who the fuck wants to destroy me?”

“Uncle Cooper, that’s some bad language for a
detective. Hi, Mrs. W.”

“Not funny, Pete. Don’t you knock or something? And
Mrs. W. isn’t exactly the kind of respect your girlfriend’s mother deserves.
She is either Mrs. Winslow or Betty.”

“Right. Hi, Mrs. Winslow.”

“Hi, Pete. Are the girls okay?”

“They aren’t taking this too seriously. I do, on the
other hand. I know this wasn’t a joke. If they would have taken Jamie and me …
well, I’m just glad they didn’t. Was it one guy or more, Mrs. W … ugh, Mrs.
Winslow?”

“One man, Pete. He left after you drove away. He was
definitely waiting for both of you.”

“What did he look like?”

“He wore a ski mask and gloves. His eyes were … green,
I think.”

“How tall what kind of build?” Pete asked, grabbing a
handful of Oreo cookies from the jar.

“I don’t know. I was sitting down most of the time.”

“Okay, then was he my height or maybe tall like Uncle
Cooper?” He grabbed Cooper’s arm and pulled him up for comparison.