the chief of police would have to be involved in something that big?”
“You’re asking me to trust someone I just met over someone I’ve known for years—someone my husband knew and trusted with his life.”
He hoped to change her mind but could see she was determined. He couldn’t blame her. She had only his word that the police department was corrupt and they’d only just met. For all she knew, he was the dirty cop.
“Fine,” he said, turning the truck around. “I still believe this is a bad idea, but you’re not my prisoner. I’ll drop you at the police station.”
“It would be more believable if you would come in with me and explain what happened.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. My only chance now is to get out of town.”
He parked across the street from the precinct and scoped the area. “I don’t see Mason’s cruiser, so I think you’re okay.” He looked at her, wishing he could say something that would change her mind. But she was right. This was her town. He was the outsider. And maybe she was right about Chief Waggoner. He had to concede he only had Mason’s word that the higher-ups were corrupt. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded. “I have to. I can’t be involved in this.” She looked at him, her green eyes searching his. “What are you going to do?”
“Find somewhere to hole up, call my friends and do my best to get out of this town alive.”
She nodded and then smiled at him. “Goodbye, Blake Michaels.”
“Goodbye, Holly. It was nice to know you.”
She opened the door and had one leg out when his hand shot out to stop her, grabbing her elbow. “Wait.”
He was surprised by the intensity of his feelings for her and his hesitancy to let her go. She’d held up well against circumstances that would make a grown man lash out. He understood her need to try, but it didn’t stop his concern for her safety.
She looked back at him, waiting, but his words caught in his throat. He should say something to help her, but every inch of his instinct was telling him something wasn’t right. “Please don’t do this,” he said. “You’re making a mistake by going in there.”
Her smile said he was being overly cautious. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “You’ll need to change that bandage often or else you’ll get an infection.” She slid out of the car and crossed the street.
He watched her go, his heart hammering against his chest. He’d saved her from Mason only to have her walk into the lion’s den.
Lord, please protect her.
* * *
Holly stopped at the doors to the police station and looked back. Blake’s truck was gone. She sighed, already missing his protective presence.
Stop it, she chastised herself. She didn’t need his protection. But she had needed it today and he’d given it freely—and been wounded himself. She should have wished him well or said she would pray for him, but the words hadn’t come. She wasn’t on good enough terms with God to even pray for someone else.
Besides, she didn’t know Blake. Maybe he didn’t deserve her prayers or her good wishes. But she found that hard to believe. He struck her as one of the good guys. He’d risked his life to save her from Mason and that spoke volumes. But she had to think logically. Reason told her she couldn’t discount all of the police on the word of one man or because of Mason’s actions.
I hope I’m doing the right thing.
She pushed open the door and stepped inside the precinct. The chill of the air-conditioning hit her, a nice change from the muggy midmorning temperature. The room was full of desks and people in uniform. Holly approached the front desk, where the officer on duty was hunched over the computer.
“Can I help you, lady?” he asked without looking up.
“I’d like to see Chief Waggoner.”
“He’s busy. Someone kidnapped a nurse over at the medical center. He’s coordinating the response team.”
Surprise rushed through her. Mason had claimed she’d been kidnapped? That certainly explained the police roadblocks out of town. “Then he’ll definitely want to see me,” she stated.
“Why? Who are you?” he asked, turning to look at her.
She waited a moment, wondering if he would recognize her. He gave her a quizzical look then his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet. “You—you’re...you’re her.”
“That’s right. Only I wasn’t abducted.” Indignation soared through her that Mason had made such a ridiculous claim in order to manipulate the police into a manhunt for Blake.
He nodded then picked up the phone. “I’ll call Chief Waggoner.”
Moments later the chief—a heavyset man in his early fifties—appeared from his office. “Holly! I’m so happy to see that you weren’t harmed,” he told her. “I want you to know that as Jimmy’s widow, you’re still one of us and we take an offense against one of our own very seriously. How did you get away from Officer Michaels?”
“I didn’t. I was never a prisoner. Chief, there has been a terrible mistake made here. Mason Webber accosted me in the parking lot as I was leaving work. He pointed a gun at me and was going to kill me. He even fired it. Blake Michaels intervened. He rescued me from Mason, and when I insisted on coming to the police, he brought me here.”
He glanced around at the officers who were watching and listening. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Mason Webber is the man you should be arresting. After he attacked me in the hospital parking lot, he showed up and shot at us. He’s out of control.”
The chief took her arm. “Perhaps we should speak privately in my office.”
He led her toward a door near the back of the bullpen. Once there, he closed the door and turned to her. “I’d rather you not make such accusations in front of my officers, Holly.”
“Everything I said was true. You and I both know it. Mason is out of control.”
“Mason is an exemplary, longtime member of this police force. He’s never been accused of erratic behavior before.”
She could hardly believe her ears. Was the chief actually defending Mason? “What about what you saw in Jimmy’s journal? The evidence he collected?”
“Well, the few pages you copied for me were really nothing but accusations. I looked into the incidents Jimmy mentioned and found nothing to indicate any wrongdoing. Perhaps if Jimmy had come to me instead of conducting his own inquiry, we might have some solid evidence. Or maybe there’s something more substantial in the rest of the journal. You said you were going to bring it in, but you didn’t.”
A realization hit her and her heart sank. “It was you, wasn’t it? You gave Mason those pages from Jimmy’s journal.” Had Blake been right that this entire force was corrupt?
There
