Trail of Evidence

Hopelessness coursed through him as he realized he was in for a wait. There was no going through and no going around.

A car pulled up beside him. The vehicle had the Capitol K-9 logo on the side. The officer climbed from the vehicle, a frown on his face. He flashed his badge at Jonas. “Are you Jonas Parker?”

“I am.”

“I’m Chase Zachary. I got a call you went AWOL.”

“Something like that,” he muttered. “Brooke called me and had to hang up because she was on surveillance and someone showed up. I had to make sure she was okay.”

“You might want to leave that to us. Now would you please get back in your vehicle? I’ll follow you home.”

Jonas had great respect for law enforcement, for the officers who put their lives on the line every day for him. If it had been anyone else in that building besides Brooke, he might have followed the order. Instead he shook his head. “I’m waiting right here until I know she’s safe.”

Chase lifted a brow. Then he narrowed his eyes and gave Jonas a closer once-over. Whatever he saw must have convinced him arguing would be futile. “She means something to you?”

“Yes.” Jonas didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

“Right. Then sit in my vehicle at least. We don’t need some sniper trying to take you out while you wait.”

Jonas blinked. “Sniper?”

“You’ve had two incidents tonight. A break-in and a Molotov cocktail through your window. Seems someone’s after you.”

Jonas nodded. Without another word, he opened the passenger door to the K-9 vehicle and climbed in. He slammed the door, his gaze on the building. “Can you get us through?”

“Of course I can. No reason to, though. It’s being handled.” A dog nudged his ear and without thought, Jonas reached back to scratch his ears. “Who’s this?”

“Valor.”

“He’s beautiful.” The Belgian Malinois butted up under Jonas’s hand again. Jonas complied with another ear rub.

“He’s a great partner.”

Jonas looked at the building again. He knew the situation was being handled but that knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to be closer. “She’s in there, isn’t she? She went in after him.”

Chase nodded. “She and Nicholas Cole, another K-9 team member. And the dogs. They’ll get him. There’s no way he can get out of there without someone grabbing him.”

“What if he decides not to come out? What if he decides he wants to make one last stand?”

“Then it could get ugly. But Brooke and Nicholas are trained. They can handle him. They’ll get him.”

“Of course they will.” Because if they didn’t get him, whoever they’d chased inside might get them and Jonas didn’t think he would survive that. Don’t let her die because of me, God, please.

* * *

Brooke clasped Nicholas’s hand and rose to her feet with a grunt. She swayed and took a moment to get her footing and catch her breath. “Thanks.”

“You okay?” he asked. He looked pale and a little shaken himself.

“Yeah.” She looked at the mangled pile of wood and steel. Nicholas had pulled her away at the last possible second. “How much do you think that weighs?”

“More than you want slamming on top of you.” She shuddered and Nicholas patted her shoulder. “Don’t think about it.”

“I’m not.” But she was. If he hadn’t pulled her out of the way, she would be dead or seriously injured. “This guy is playing hardball,” she muttered. She maneuvered around the part of the desk that blocked the stairs and started up. Nicholas stayed right with her. Barking reached her ears.

“I hear Max,” Nicholas said.

“Yeah, I do, too. He’s already up there?”

“I sent him up as soon as I pulled you out of the way. Mercy’s just inside the door downstairs waiting like a good girl.” He radioed in that they were still in pursuit. Brooke led the way down the hall, her footsteps echoing on the bare concrete that once had probably been covered in carpet.

The barking continued. “He’s got someone cornered.”

“Or he’s trapped and can’t get to the person,” Brooke agreed.

Brooke and Nicholas came to the end of a hall. And a closed door. Nicholas gave the command for Max to sit and be quiet. Brooke held her weapon ready. Nicholas reached around her and opened the door. Brooke swung in. Max darted ahead and up another set of stairs. She followed him to the next level.

“Roof access door,” Nicholas said.

They played the same dance and she breathed a bit easier when no gunshots came her way. Max pushed through and out onto the roof. Nose to the ground then in the air, he darted to the side of the building. And sat.

Brooke rushed over. “Fire escape.”

“The guys would have seen him. Where did he go?” He tapped into his earpiece. “Did you see him come down the north side of the building? Down the fire escape?”

Brooke heard the negative response and took in the area. She stepped out on the fire escape and tried to think like a desperately fleeing fugitive. “He didn’t go down.”

“What?”

“He went over.” She nodded to the overgrown trees lining the back of the building, just on the other side of the fence. “He grabbed that limb and shimmied down that tree. Or even crossed over to the next one. They’re so close together, he could have been three or four trees in before he climbed down.”

Nicholas shook his head. “You’ve got to be right. He never set foot on the ground or our guys would have nabbed him.”

She slapped a hand against the wall. “Which means he got away.”

And would live to come back and strike again.

* * *

Jonas breathed a sigh of relief when Brooke walked out of the building, Mercy trotting at her heels. She was a good distance away, but he’d recognize her and her dog anywhere. “Where’s the guy who tried to break in my house?”

Chase shook his head. “I’m guessing he got away. We’ll find out soon enough.”

Jonas frowned and reached for the door handle as several law enforcement vehicles spun out of the parking lot. Nicholas and Max went with them. “Where are they going?”

“The suspect may have been seen in a different location and they’re going after him,” Chase said. “Nicholas will see if Max can pick up his scent.”

For the next several minutes, Jonas watched the organized chaos. Brooke and Mercy disappeared back into the building. “Where’s she going now?”

“To see if Mercy can find anything.”

A short time later, Brooke and Mercy appeared once again. She moved closer to the fence. Closer to Jonas. He could finally see her clearly. “I’m going to guess by the look on her face she and Mercy didn’t have much success.”

Chase sighed. “I’d say that’s a good guess.”

“Yeah.” Jonas’s sigh echoed Chase’s. “May I go talk to her now?”

Chase nodded. “She’ll have a bit of paperwork to do for this one.”

Jonas stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the edge of the fence then along the perimeter until he came to the gate. Brooke spotted him and her brow rose. She clicked to Mercy and walked toward him. “What are you doing here?”

He drank in the sight of her. Safe, whole, alive. “You hung up on me.”

That brow rose higher. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You scared me.”

Brooke’s jaw dangled slightly before she snapped it shut. “Sorry about that.”

“I know it’s your job, Brooke,” he said softly. “It’s just going to take a bit of getting used to when you’re called into a dangerous situation.”

“Getting used to?” she repeated.

He supposed that statement did make it sound like he planned to be around for a while. Then realized that was exactly what he planned. Now if he could just convince her.

Her expression softened. “I get it, but you really should have stayed put. You’re going to have to trust that I can do my job. That I’m good at it and I take precautions, not risks.”

He nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

“Good.”

A man in khakis and a blue polo shirt headed toward them. He held a hand out to Brooke. “Officer Clark. You want to tell me why the Capitol K-9 Unit is involved in this one?”

Brooke shook the man’s hand. “Detective David Delvecchio of the DC police department, meet Jonas Parker. It was his house the guy was trying to break into. We had a stakeout going on, but unfortunately, as you can see, he got away.”

The detective eyed Jonas, then turned his gaze back on Brooke. “You want to tell me a little more?”

“Jonas’s son found some evidence linking to the Rosa Gomez case, which of course is also related to the Jeffries shooting.”

“I see.” His eyes flicked back and forth amongst the three, Brooke, Chase and Jonas. He finally settled back on Brooke. “How did he get away from you?”

She rubbed her forehead. “He went out onto the fire escape on the second floor, jumped into one of the large trees across the fence line and climbed down. At least that’s what we think.”

“So it’s time to expand the search.” Chase finally broke his silence.

“Yes.”

Jonas pulled his keys from his pocket. “I guess I’ll head back home...er...to my office, I mean.”

“I’ll take you to your car then follow you,” Brooke said.

Chase nodded. “I’m going to check in with Gavin and Nicholas and see what I can do to help.”

Detective Delvecchio nodded. “I’ll fill my officers in. Keep me updated, will you?”

“Of course,” Brooke said.

Brooke said her goodbyes and motioned for Jonas to go ahead of her. She’d parked not too far from his own vehicle, just outside the fence. He turned to her. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“I’m sorry you were worried.”

He shrugged. “Maybe it was stupid of me to come out here, but I just couldn’t sit at the office. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“It wasn’t exactly smart after the fact there have been two violent incidents against you tonight, but I get it.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“No. I’m frustrated. I wanted to catch that guy.”

He nodded. “I wanted you to catch him, too.”

She patted his arm. “It’s not over yet.”

He had a feeling truer words were never spoken. “Meaning he’ll be back?”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Probably.”

* * *

Sunday morning, Jonas slipped from the cot he’d spent the past couple of hours tossing and turning on. It wasn’t the cot’s fault. It was actually pretty comfortable. He just couldn’t shut his mind off. He stepped into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, gave a grimace and averted his eyes. He’d definitely had better mornings.

In the early days of his divorce, he’d often slept at his office. He’d finally had the bathroom installed when things had lagged in the courts and he’d gotten tired of showering at the YMCA. When the dust had settled she’d gotten the house, he’d gotten five-year-old Felix, and his practice. And Jonas was fine with that.

He’d purchased the house he and Felix lived in now and they’d made a good life together. At least he’d thought so. Over the past several years, each time he ran into Brooke stirred his restlessness, though. She made him long for things he’d thought he’d left in the past. Things he’d refused to allow himself to hope for.

Now he found himself looking forward to the day simply because he was going to see Brooke again. The only thing that marred that sweet anticipation was the fact that someone had bombed his house last night. Okay, that and the fact that Felix was still having issues no matter how hard Jonas tried to help him. If it wasn’t a fight, it was grades.

He sighed and mentally recited his to-do list. Call his home owners insurance company was number two. Find out where Felix had gotten the phone was definitely number one.

And learning if anyone had managed to capture the guy who’d returned to his house last night. Brooke had followed him to his office, and they’d planned their next move. Get Felix from his friend’s house and find out where he got the phone. Usually, he and Felix attended the local community church. He wasn’t that active, but he couldn’t seem to completely tear himself away from his faith. In fact, at this point in his life, he knew he should be reaching out for it with both hands. So today would be a different kind of Sunday. He paused. “I guess I should be mending my fences with You, shouldn’t I, God?”

Silence echoed through the bathroom and Jonas sighed and went back to his morning routine. Maybe God was tired of listening.

He’d just finished brushing his teeth when he heard his assistant arrive. Then voices reached him. He stepped into the lobby to find Claire Simpson and Brooke introducing themselves. Brooke hadn’t wasted any time getting back to his office this morning. “Good morning,” he said.

Brooke nodded. “Morning.”

“I see you two have met.”

Claire nodded. “I was just telling her what a beautiful dog she has.”

“Claire loves anything with four legs,” he told Brooke. “Let me just leave a few instructions for her and we’ll head out.”

He could see the curiosity in Claire’s narrowed eyes, but didn’t want to take time to explain Brooke’s presence in addition to the other things he needed to tell her. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Eight forty-five. He’d told the Fullers he’d pick up Felix at nine-thirty. Plenty of time to cover the morning’s work with Claire. He looked at Brooke. “You get any sleep?”

She shook her head. “Not much. I finished the paperwork and closed my eyes for a few minutes.”

Jonas rubbed a hand down his freshly shaven chin. “I can’t believe you were right. The whole smoke bomb thing was just to get us out of my house so someone could search the place.”

“It looks like it.”

“Should have set it up so an officer was inside my house and could have just grabbed the guy when he broke in.”

“Maybe.” She gave him a soft lopsided smile. “Mercy and I’ll be in the car,” Brooke said. “Nice to meet you, Claire.”

“You, too, Brooke.”

They left and within minutes Jonas had finished up with Claire and was climbing into the passenger seat. Mercy sat in the back in her special kennel. “So tell me more about who Felix spent the night with?”

Her question grounded him, brought all of his worries surging to the surface. “He’s a friend from school and the track team. His name is Travis Fuller.” He gave her the address, and she entered it into the GPS and pulled out of the parking lot. “I can tell you how to get there,” he said, amused.

“I don’t want to have to worry about it. You said Felix had been getting into trouble.”

Jonas sighed. “Yes.” He shook his head. “He’s been getting in fights lately. His grades are circling the drain, and his attitude is getting hard to tolerate.” His hand fisted on his thigh. “I’m up to my ears trying to keep my practice going since my partner quit three months ago.”

“Working a lot of hours?”

“Too many,” he admitted.

“And Felix is taking advantage of your distraction.”

“In a big way. I know it, I see it, but I feel trapped. I can’t ignore my work or I won’t be able to keep a roof over our heads, but I can’t ignore Felix either or I’m going to be visiting him in juvenile detention.” He didn’t know why he was baring his soul to her, but he had to say it felt good to share it.

“I’m sure you do the best you can. It can’t be easy being a single parent.”

“It stinks.” He gave a soft laugh. “But I love that kid more than anything.”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I can tell.”

He reached over and snagged her hand to squeeze her fingers. His throat tightened. “I’ve missed you, Brooke.”

She sucked in a deep breath and shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve missed you, too.”

He blinked and she laughed. “What? You didn’t expect me to admit it?”

“No.”

She shook her head. “The past is sitting like a weight between us, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

She tapped the wheel and made a left turn. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jonas. I thought I was making the right decision at the time when I chose to keep all distractions to a minimum and focus on my career.”

“So it was strictly your career that was keeping you from being willing to talk about us having a future together?”

“It was part of it.”

“What was the other part?”

A sigh slipped from her and she gave a small shrug, but didn’t answer the question. He relished the fact that she hadn’t pulled her hand from his yet and continued to watch her as she drove. “I thought we had something, that we could have been good together. I never did understand why you wouldn’t give me a chance. As you can imagine, all kinds of things ran through my mind. Was it because I was divorced? Because I had Felix?”

She seemed to think about it. Then slipped her fingers from his. He grimaced. He wanted to kick himself. He’d moved too fast. Too much too soon. She’d been back in his life for just a few hours and he was already scaring her away.

But this time she didn’t run. “No, your divorce didn’t have anything to do with it. And Felix is a precious gift. He never factored into why—” She fell quiet and he hoped she’d elaborate. She didn’t. “When we were friends,” she said, “you never really talked about your ex-wife. I mean never. Like not one word. And when I brought her up, you changed the subject. Mostly to talk about Felix.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He thought about that. Was she right? Maybe. “What do you want to know about her?”

She shrugged. “What happened with you two? Why did you split up? Or is that too personal?” she asked.

“Not too personal. It’s not a secret. She had a problem with commitment.”

“Ah.”

“She found someone else who suited her ‘live and let live’ lifestyle better than I did.” He shrugged.

“What? So she left you? Why would she leave you? Is she crazy?”

Jonas barked a short laugh. “Well, those questions just did more for my self-esteem than anything else I could think of.”

She flushed and it endeared her to him. She also looked uncomfortable. He let her off the hook. “I miss what could have been, but I don’t miss her now.”

“But Felix does?”

He sighed. “No, he doesn’t remember her. He misses the idea of her.”

“He wants a mother.”

“He does, but when she left us, she left. Like I have no idea where she is or what she’s doing now.”

“You’ve had no contact with her at all?”

“None. After I signed the papers, she disappeared from our lives.”

Brooke pulled to the curb of the Fuller home and cut the engine. “I’m really sorry about that.”

“I was too at the time. But it is what it is and I’ve moved on.” He looked at the house. “And now I’m ready to get some answers from my son.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No. I’ll get him. I don’t want to say anything in front of his friend.”

“I’ll wait here.”

He nodded and climbed from the car. He walked toward the front door and drew in a deep breath. Trouble and Brooke had re-entered his life without any warning. He prayed the trouble was resolved fast and left as quickly as it appeared.

He just hoped Brooke didn’t go with it.

FIVE

Brooke watched him walk up to the front door and ring the bell. She admired his broad shoulders and strong back. He’d always kept himself in great physical condition, and that hadn’t changed. His love of all things sports kept him fit.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, wondering who’d thrown the bomb in Jonas’s house last night. Who had they chased and lost? She’d never had a glimpse of his face. His dark clothes disguised his build, and the baseball cap had hidden his features. The darkness had definitely worked in his favor.

A young teen stepped outside onto the front porch. He had a black backpack slung over his right shoulder. Brooke would have known he was Jonas’s son had she spotted him in a crowd. A miniature replica of his father, he had sandy blond hair and a lanky build. She’d seen him as a young child about five years old and he was now just an older version of the child she remembered. She knew that he had Jonas’s light brown eyes, too.

The sullen expression was all his own, though.

He shoved past Jonas then lifted his head and saw her sitting behind the wheel. He stopped, his frown deepening. He turned and said something to Jonas, who nodded. Jonas shook hands with the man still standing in the doorway then the two of them headed toward the car.

Jonas slipped into the passenger seat. His son slumped in the back next to Mercy’s kennel.

Brooke took a deep breath and let it out in a slow silent whoosh. She caught Felix’s eye in the mirror and he looked away. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Brooke.”

“Hi,” he mumbled.

He didn’t ask who she was or seem to care that she was there. “You hungry?”

He perked up at that question. “Yeah, I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.” He shot his dad an accusing look.

“Hey, it’s nine-thirty. You had plenty of time to eat.”

“I’m a teenager, Dad. I sleep in on Sunday morning. Or I do when I’m spending the night with a friend and we plan to get breakfast at church.”

“The whole breakfast thing might be my fault, I’m afraid,” Brooke said. “I insisted on getting you early. Hence the offer to feed you.”

“Oh.” The defiant look fell away and he actually gave her a curious look. “Okay. Sure. Where are we going?”

“What’s your favorite breakfast place?”

“The Original Pancake House on M. Lee Highway.” He and Jonas spoke at the same time and she smiled.

“Sounds good to me.” She glanced in the rearview mirror and waited for the dark vehicle coming up beside her to pass. It slowed and she tensed, her mind flashing to the night before, her hand moving to her weapon. When the car passed, she let out a slow breath. Not everyone is after him, she reminded herself. But someone was and she’d take all precautions to make sure Jonas—and now Felix—stayed safe.

She pressed the gas and pulled away from the curb. Fifteen minutes later after several failed attempts at conversation with Felix, she parked and they climbed from the vehicle, Mercy trotting obediently at her side.

Once seated with Mercy at Brooke’s feet under the table, they ordered and silence fell again. Jonas caught her gaze. She nodded. He cleared his throat. “Felix, someone broke into our house last night.”

The teen’s head shot up and for the first time that day, he met his father’s gaze. “What? Why? Are you okay? Did they catch him?”

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks.” Jonas’s jaw worked. She could see he was touched at his son’s concern. “The house isn’t so fine, but we are.” He explained what happened and that they would have to stay at his office until the insurance company could give an appraisal on the damage. “But I’ve got friends in high places. We’ll get it taken care of pretty fast.”

Felix looked dazed. “So who are you again?” he asked her. Finally something other than defiance on his face.

“I’m Brooke Clark. I work for a law enforcement organization called the Capitol K-9 Unit.” Felix’s eyes flicked toward Mercy, who sat under the table, her head the only part of her body poking out. Brooke answered his silent question. “Mercy and I are partners. Your dad called us last night after the break-in.”

“Why you?”

“I found this.” Jonas pulled the phone from his pocket and slid it across the table.

Felix’s eyes went wide, and he clamped his lips together.

Brooke’s senses tingled. “Where did you get it?” she asked him.

Felix crossed his arms and looked away, the defiance back in spades. Jonas gave a huff of frustration. “Tell me, Felix. This is important. A picture of a dead woman is on this phone, and we need to know what you know.”

Felix swallowed and a flash of fear crossed his face, but he refused to comment. Jonas’s face began to darken, and his eyes turned thunderous. Brooke laid a hand on his arm. He sat back, and she could tell he was putting good effort into gaining control of his temper. “Felix, do you mind if I tell you a story?”