C.J. Miller – Colton's Texas Stakeout (страница 8)
She clicked her radio. “I have a blue pickup fleeing the scene of a crime. Older model. Two suspects. Consider them dangerous and proceed with caution.” She jogged back to assist Luis.
Luis had one man cuffed and seated against the exterior wall of the saloon. Luis was leaning over the victim, checking his neck for a pulse. As their backup and the sound of an ambulance siren approached, a crowd began to form.
“Sir, stay with us. Help is on the way,” Annabel said. She spoke to the man, watching the rise and fall of his chest and hoping he survived. He had cuts on his face and from what she had witnessed, likely other injuries to the rest of his body.
Annabel felt someone watching her. She lifted her head and saw Jesse Willard. He stepped toward her with a first-aid kit in his hand.
He knelt on the ground and opened the kit. He took a fresh gauze pad and pressed it over a cut on the man’s face.
Jesse seemed to know what he was doing.
“How can I help?” she asked.
Jesse glanced at her. “Not sure there’s anything we can do until the ambulance gets here. I have some medical training, but he needs a doctor.”
The ambulance arrived, and the crowd parted to allow the paramedics through. Annabel’s priorities became securing the victim into the care of the EMTs and paramedics. They would take him to Blackthorn County Hospital. Detectives would be sent to the hospital to question him when he was able to talk.
Luis led the remaining attacker to their squad car. He’d be questioned for information on his associates. Something about the wildness of his eyes and the way he walked made Annabel think this was drug related. A drug deal gone bad or a territory dispute? Granite Gulch was a small town and not without its problems.
Annabel turned to thank Jesse, but he was gone.
Annabel had pulled out her books from the police academy and had reviewed her notes on conducting a stakeout the night before. Though the chance of spotting Regina Willard walking around Willard’s Farm was low, she wanted to be prepared. This was her first assignment without Luis outside routine police work, and Chief Murray was watching her closely. She wouldn’t make a foolish mistake and have the chief believing he had made an error in giving her this task. She had stuck her neck out, claimed she was ready for more and she would rise to the challenge.
Feeling guilty for watching Willard’s Farm when Jesse had been helpful at the scene of the beating outside the Bar and Saloon, Annabel reminded herself a stakeout wasn’t personal. This was about stopping a killer and following every lead, regardless of how remote the chances of finding Regina were. Annabel didn’t owe Jesse anything, and even though he had seemed nice, plenty of things in Annabel’s life had seemed good until they weren’t. She had happily lived in the big farmhouse with her parents and siblings, her home with Mama Jean had been wonderful, but those things had been snatched away. Jesse might seem nice, but he could be a sociopath. Being attracted to him was utterly confusing, and she did not make good decisions in her personal life. This stakeout wasn’t personal, no matter her feelings for Jesse Willard. Having a crush on someone involved with a case didn’t supersede her responsibilities to remain professional and objective.
Annabel drove to Willard’s Farm and parked across from the main farmhouse on a public road. With acres of land, crops, the barns and outbuildings, it was difficult to find a good angle to see everything.
Staying on the main road, Annabel would note who came and went from the farm. She would check license plates and look for anyone off schedule. If Regina was hiding at her brother’s farm, she had to show herself at some point. She’d need to go out, if for no other reason than to search for victims or to mail more sicko letters to Matthew Colton.
Annabel had checked the aerial view of the farm on a map and didn’t see other access roads, but the data she’d been using was at least three months old. She would circle the property later and see if Jesse had another way onto his property Regina could use to move about discreetly.
Annabel made herself comfortable and tried not to think about someone creeping up behind her. Her undercover police vehicle had extra mirrors to give her a 360-degree view around the car, but she couldn’t look everywhere at once. Chief Murray had sent her out alone. He must believe the chances of someone approaching her were slim. She agreed with that assessment, but being farther from town in a location she wasn’t familiar with made her uneasy.
She settled into her seat and focused. It was ten minutes before two in the afternoon. According to the police department’s file on Jesse Willard, his farmhands changed shifts at two. As cars drove up the road and turned into the driveway, Annabel scrawled notes. A few minutes later, other cars left the ranch.
Regina could be hiding in one of the cars, and Annabel was tempted to stop the vehicles and search them, but Chief Murray had been clear. She was only to watch. If she had suspicions about more going on and that someone, Jesse or a farmhand, was hiding Regina, she would report it and return with a proper search warrant. Or rather, another officer would. Since Annabel’s last name was Colton, any evidence she found would be subject to question by a decent defense attorney. A lawyer could claim she was emotionally invested in the case and lacking impartiality. Though Annabel knew the difference and wouldn’t make a legal mistake that could cause Regina to go free, it was better to do as Chief Murray asked.
They would find Regina and not make mistakes along the way. The case would be strong, and Regina would spend the rest of her life in prison. At least she would as soon as they located her.
Willard’s Farm was well maintained. Annabel recalled the farm ten years ago when it had been a nonproductive, run-down eyesore. The former owner had lived on the farm his whole life, and after he passed, he had no family to leave it to and the land was sold.
Jesse obviously took pride in his farm and his home. The farmhouse looked as if it had a new roof and a fresh coat of paint on the exterior, the shutters shining in the afternoon sun. The porch had a few chairs, and the gardens around the house were tidy and blooming with pink and purple flowers.
Behind the house, extending as far as she could see, the rows of crops were lush and green. The barn was painted red, and farmhands were moving around the property with purpose.
Could Jesse Willard be hiding his sister? Family was important. The Coltons had been separated when they were children. Annabel hadn’t stopped longing for and looking for her brothers. They had been sent to different foster homes across Blackthorn County, and it had been difficult to keep in touch.
Annabel had reconnected with Chris in high school. Despite the initial distance and awkwardness between them, she and Chris had gotten along well. He had even assisted her with a bully in high school who had been pestering her and whose harassment had turned physical.
She and Chris had located the rest of their family after high school. Only Josie was still missing.
Josie had wanted nothing to do with them. Annabel had thought she would outgrow it. The family had been through a lot, and as children and then teenagers, they’d each had their personal struggles in coping with their father’s crimes and the death of their mother and dissolution of their family. Their experiences in foster care had run the gamut, and life had been hard for each of them in different ways. Only Josie hadn’t come around.
If Josie came knocking on her door needing help, Annabel would assist her without questions. Is that how Jesse felt about his sister?
Annabel’s attention caught on a woman walking across the property. She had her hair pulled up into her hat, but she was the right build for Regina. Annabel used her binoculars to get a better look at the woman’s face. The woman stopped in front of the house, and Jesse Willard came down the steps. They didn’t touch, but a warm familiarity existed between them. Was she his girlfriend? If she was, why did that make Annabel both jealous and disappointed? She and Jesse weren’t dating. Annabel brushed aside the ridiculous notion and ignored the flip-flop of her belly thinking about Jesse taking her out.
Then the woman removed her hat, and locks of brown, curly hair fell down to her shoulders. When she angled her face, Annabel could see this was not Regina Willard. The woman was too young. Regina could be in disguise, but no disguise was that good.
Annabel’s heart caught in her throat when Jesse looked in her direction. He did a double take, and his shoulders fell. Would he talk to her? Ignore her? Should she approach him? Though she had been clear on her assignment, seeing him made that clarity disappear. All she wanted was to talk to Jesse Willard.
* * *
“I have a call into the vet about Misty,” Grace said. “Her hair has lost its luster, and she’s been acting strange.”