The Pregnant Colton Witness

Before she could yell to let them know they were being watched and should cease whatever they were doing, the man dropped the woman over the side of the boat. There was no struggle, nothing but the soft splash as the body disappeared from sight. As if it’d never been there.

Patience couldn’t stop the gasping cry that escaped her lips. Her exclamation, while not at top volume, carried across the eerie stillness. Frozen in place, she kept the binoculars focused, noting whatever details she could.

Icy shock crept over her as the man turned toward the clinic, searching for the source of the sound. She saw the moment he spotted her on the shore, his ice-blue eyes clear and sinister in the moonlight, through the binocular lenses. She didn’t recognize him, but knew that he saw her, and his frown was the only warning she had before he leaned over and started a high-power motor she hadn’t noticed before. Patience dropped the binoculars to her chest and scooped up Fred, adrenaline lending her strength. She’d lifted heavier dogs before, but she never had to move this quickly with them.

“Hang in there with me, Fred.” She ran back into the clinic and quickly put him in his kennel. Her phone was on her desk where she’d left it, but she had to lock the back door before running for it. When she turned the standard lock, she looked through the window and noted that the boat had carved through the thin layer of lake ice and the hulking man was close to the shore behind the clinic. He was clearly aiming for the small pier that the RRPD used for its launches and when training the K9 divers.

Patience went into alert mode, following the protocol practiced in drills with the RRPD. She locked herself in her office, grabbed her phone and went to the gun safe as she called the dispatcher.

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” Frank Lanelli’s familiar, confident voice eased her nerves as she rattled off her circumstances. All the while she unlocked her gun safe, took possession of her weapon, ensured it was loaded and then climbed under her desk, her designated safe spot.

A shot rang out and she couldn’t keep from flinching. She knew the killer must have gotten through the outside security fence by now, which she told Frank.

“The shot I heard had to be him breaking through the outer gate.”

“Good action, Patience. You locked the back door up tight. That will slow him down, too.” Frank had known her since she was a kid and had five children of his own, whom she’d gone to school with. He was an anchor for the Red Ridge County emergency dispatch system. “Where are you now?”

“I’m in my office—the room closest to the kennel, farthest from the clinic’s back entrance. I’m under my desk with my .45.” She heard a crash and instinctively tightened her hold on her weapon. “I think he just broke a window.” She couldn’t help gasping for breath.

“Where are you, you bitch?” The man’s roar reverberated through the walls.

“Oh, no. He’s coming for me, Frank.” Frantic, she tried to focus, figure out what to do next.

“Hang on, Patience. Was that the intruder yelling?”

She clung to Frank’s voice. “Yes. That was him. He’s angry and calling me a b-b-bitch.” She could barely breathe as fear’s noose tightened the muscles around her chest, where her heart raced. She felt its beats on her thighs, pressed up against her as she was folded under the desk. And against her baby bump. Her baby. Please, please let her make it through this. For the baby if nothing else.

“You’re good, Patience. You locked your office door?”

“Yes.”

“And turned off the lights?”

“Yes, but he has a weapon—”

“Tell me what you hear, Patience.” Frank’s voice remained steady and clear.

“He’s calling for me. He’s going to kill me, Frank.” And the baby. The baby no one but she knew about.

“No one’s going to hurt you, Patience. You’re doing great. You have your weapon ready to go. Keep me on the line. Keep talking if you can. If you have to put your phone down, keep it on, okay? Two units are en route. You’re certain you saw a body go into the lake?”

“Yes, positive.” She repeated the details of what she’d seen. “Even if she was alive, there’s little chance she still is. She looked unconscious, or dead, and the water is too cold.”

“Okay, we’re dispatching one K9 team now. That will be Sergeant Maddox with Greta. They’ll go straight to the lake. You stay put until the other RRPD units arrive.”

All she heard was Nash’s name. Nash would make it okay. He was an accomplished, practiced, proficient K9 officer.

Frank continued with the running commentary, but even his professional expertise, his years of calming traumatized citizens, couldn’t soothe her. There was an intruder in her clinic, most likely a murderer. The doom that shrouded Red Ridge over the Groom Killer had nothing on the dread that choked her. Had she found out she was going to have a baby today only to lose everything at the hands of some evil stranger?

A loud crash, followed by the sound of splintering glass hitting the clinic’s floor, sharpened her senses. He was breaking the kennel windows that lined the corridor. The dogs started barking and Gabby shrieked in outrage. Please don’t let him hurt the patients.

“Where are you? Come out now or I’ll take out your precious animals!” And he had a weapon to make good on his promise.

He was closer, too close. Patience tightly hugged her knees, weapon ready in her right hand. She’d do whatever she had to do to stay alive and protect her baby.

“One minute out, Frank.” Nash spoke to dispatch, his siren blaring as he raced through town in his RRPD K9 SUV, Greta secured on the back seat. His entire shift had been routine until Patience’s call came in from the clinic. He had to help her, to reach her before the suspect did. He kicked himself for not calling her, asking her out again. And then immediately shoved that thought aside. There’d be time for self-reflection later, after Patience and the clinic were secure.

“Go ahead to the lake, Nash. We’ve got two units approaching the clinic.”

“How far out?”

“Three and four minutes.” Frank’s concern was audible. “Repeat, K9 officer is to go to the lake. Victim in the water.”

“I hear you. But I’m going into the clinic first if no other unit is there yet.” Nash was only a minute out, and seconds could mean the difference between life and death. He’d be damned if he let anyone harm Patience. He strained to see up the road, willing the clinic to appear.

“You’re right, Nash—we need you to go to the clinic first. We’ve now got a crazy man in the kennels, threatening Dr. Colton. She’s armed.”

“Copy that. Clinic first.” Like it was going to be anything else. A victim in the cold depths of the lake, even with his and Greta’s expert abilities, stood a slim chance of making it, if any. There was still hope for Patience.

Damn it. Why hadn’t he called her, reached out to her after their night together? If he got them through this, he’d make it up to her.

Greta whined in the back seat.

“It’s okay, gal. We’re going to get there.” Greta never made a sound unless reacting to her instinct that something was wrong. That made two of them. It was constant these days in Red Ridge, from the Groom Killer case to the incessant pace of drug crime.

The clinic buildings came into sight, and as they appeared on the horizon Nash expelled a harsh breath. He willed the vehicle to go faster, faster as he navigated the familiar road. The security lights were blazing, but no inside lights were visible. He also noted no sign of RRPD units, confirming Frank’s reported ETA for them, so Nash pulled around to the back, next to the fenced area for the dogs and K9 training.

Wasting no time, he got Greta out of the vehicle. With his weapon drawn, they ran for the building. Greta needed no orders, for they’d practiced and served together thousands of times. They were more than K9 partners; they were a team.

Nash went to let himself in through the secured fence, ready to punch in the code known only to himself as the lead K9 officer and Patience. His gut sank when he saw the broken gate, proof of forced entry. Together he and Greta ran to the clinic’s rear entrance, where he found shattered glass on the concrete doorstep, the door ajar. He signaled for Greta to jump over the sharp shards.

“Come on, Greta!” Employing the moves that were second nature to them, Nash and Greta went through a coordinated series of tactics that allowed him to ensure the way was clear, while she remained on alert for any unusual sounds or scents. Several of the windows that looked out onto the lake and lined the corridor had been smashed, but Nash noted that none of the animals in the kennels appeared to have been injured, and only a few were yipping or meowing in distress. The loudest of the bunch was Gabby, the bird Patience boarded so often she was becoming a familiar sight. What wasn’t usual was the huge red parrot’s screams that threatened to split his eardrums.

“Help, help!”

The parrot’s cries were downright spooky as he and Greta moved forward through the dark corridor. Patience. He had to get to Patience.

Chapter 3

Patience grasped her .45 and aimed it at the office door. The thug continued to pound on it after firing once, and it was beginning to splinter around the handle. She stayed steady behind her desk, resting her arms atop it, ready to shoot. Mentally, she recalled all she’d learned at the firing range, and in various training scenarios the RRPD had put her through in the rare event she’d ever need to protect herself or the K9s. She’d never expected someone to break into the clinic to come after her, though. To steal the valuable K9 dogs, sure, or to score prescription painkillers for street sales—specific crimes the clinic was at risk for. But to have a murderer break in and come after her? Not expected.

Adrenaline surged as she prepared to shoot, but she maintained her steady focus on the door, visualizing the shape of the man she’d take down.

And then...nothing. Footsteps running away. Sharp barks, more footsteps.

“Patience, Nash Maddox is on scene with Greta.” Her phone, on speaker, barked into the quiet office.

“You mean at the lake.” Despite the silence she remained ready to shoot. Her mind heard Frank’s calm explanation, but her nerves weren’t ready to stand down.

“No, he’s come to ensure your safety and apprehend the assailant.” Sirens reached her ears. “Stay put as he clears the front reception area.”

“Okay.” She heard Nash’s deep voice echo through the halls, heard Greta’s bark as the K9 team secured the clinic.

“RRPD is on-site, Patience.” Frank’s relief was evident. “Nash and Greta chased off the suspect, turned over security to the other RRPD units and are headed to your office now.”

“Thanks, Frank.” She let out a shaky breath, but still couldn’t let go of her weapon. What if the man had circled around back?

A knock sounded on the damaged door, followed by a deep bark—Greta’s.

“Patience, are you there? It’s Nash.” Greta’s second bark let her know the huge Newfoundland wanted to declare she was there, too.

Slowly, Patience unfolded from behind the desk. “Nash is at the door, Frank.”

“Affirmative. You can let him in, Patience. Repeat, he’s chased off the intruder and our units are on-site.”

“Patience?” Nash’s voice reflected concern, even muffled by the door.

“I’m here.” She unlocked the door and opened it, and was immediately engulfed by Nash in a bear hug. His arms pressed her to him, his solid, hard body the most comfortable thing she’d ever felt. Patience melted against him and let herself receive his warmth.

“Thank God you’re okay.” He placed his free hand, the one not holding his Glock, on her shoulder, and his eyes blazed with intent as he looked at her. “Are you? Okay?”

“I am. It was...” In a totally uncharacteristic move, tears fell from her burning eyes and she fought to speak. “I’m sorry. This isn’t like me.”

“It’s just the shock. I’ve had to fight tears on ops before, too.” He wiped one cheek with his thumb, then the other. She relished the rough, calloused slide of his skin against hers. It grounded her, allowed her to stop gulping for air.

“Thanks, Nash. You’re right. It’s shock, I guess.”

“And some adrenaline.” He dropped his arm and looked her over. “Did you hit anything while you were diving under the desk?”

“No, really, I’m fine.” She rubbed both eyes with the heel of her hand, and realized that she, too, still gripped her weapon. “Except I didn’t know I was still holding this.” She engaged the safety and placed it on her desk. “I think I used everything I ever learned in our practice drills over the last twenty minutes.”

“You probably did. And you handled it perfectly, from what I can see.” As she looked into his eyes she saw his conviction, and it chased away the dark cloud of anxiety that the killer had left in his wake.

“Where is he now?” Quakes of relief started to move through her. She’d done it. Nash had helped. The killer was gone.

“Hopefully, in custody. He took off toward the mountains. The RRPD will get him.” Nash sounded certain, but she wasn’t so sure.

“A man who’s so cold-blooded as to...to dump a body in the lake like that?” She shook her head. “He’s not going to get caught. Not this easily. I’ll bet he has a getaway car stashed nearby.”

Nash put his hand on her shoulder again. “That’s not your problem anymore. You’re safe. The clinic is secure. Get some water or coffee.” He nodded at the teakettle behind her desk.

“Okay.” Her stomach heaved at the thought of ingesting anything, but tea might be good. Her stomach—had Nash noticed her midsection was thicker?

“Stay put until the other officers show up. They’re here now, I think. Greta and I have to run to the lake.”

His attention was focused on the case at hand, not her burgeoning baby bump. She had to tell him. But not now, in the middle of a crisis.

She tried to offer him a wobbly smile. “The man came up in his boat—it’s on the shore at the bottom of the clinic property. You could take that out to where I saw him dump the body.” Shivers raced up and down her spine. “Nash, be careful. He’s—he’s going to kill you if he can.”

“He’s not going to hurt anyone else, Patience. You’re safe now.” He repeated that, as if he understood just how shook up the entire circumstance made her. “I’ll be back for you.” He paused, and for a moment that hung between them like eternity she thought he was going to kiss her. His eyes glittered with promise, one not solely related to the dark happenings of tonight. Dare she read anything into his heated stare? But instead of placing his lips on hers, he offered a wink instead. “Be right back.”

Nash and Greta disappeared into the corridor, and as she watched through the broken windows, they raced out the door and across the training area toward the lake, their movements in perfect unison. Her instincts told her to go into the kennel and calm her patients, but Nash was right—she needed to wait until she knew the entire property was safe again, that the killer hadn’t come back.

“Dr. Colton!” Officer Maria Ruiz caught her attention, waving from the other end of the corridor. Relief swamped Patience. If Maria was here, then what Nash said was true. The building was secure. For now. She’d feel better when he was behind bars, when the mental image of him sneaking back to kill her didn’t seem an inevitable outcome to her hyped-up brain.

“Maria. Thanks for clearing the place.”

“It’s my job.” Maria looked at her, then peered out a window toward the lake. The K9 team was in the boat after the evidence team quickly dusted it for prints and searched for evidence. The launch made its way toward where Patience had seen the woman’s body being dropped. “That Officer Maddox and Greta in the launch?”

“Yes. They’re headed for the center of the lake, by the dive platform.” Patience had a hard time reconciling the spot with where they trained the diving K9s and sometimes sunbathed during the summer. “It’s where the suspect was when I saw him with the woman.”

Maria nodded. “Yeah—the other K9 unit is already there. See the other launch? They just said Greta’s going to be diving.” She looked around Patience’s office, checking every cranny and under the desk before she was satisfied. “You should be safe in here for now. How did the man get into the clinic to begin with?”

“I heard a gunshot when he was still outside. I think he must have broken through the security gate and then smashed a window to unlock the back door.”

As she replied Patience realized how slim the chances were that the thug was able to not only expertly break through the eight-foot security fence, but also enter the clinic so quickly. “He had to be trained to do this. Or knew the codes.” But then that would mean someone they trusted was a criminal. Or maybe one of her staff had unwittingly given information to the wrong person.

Maria watched her with a gravity reserved for their toughest cases, reflecting Patience’s concerns. “That he knew the codes seems unlikely—we’ll check to see if he actually shot the outer gate, and determine exactly how he got in. At the very least he has a good understanding of the clinic’s layout, judging by how quickly this escalated. The fact that he came right to your door...” She assessed Patience with a compassionate gaze. “Do you want to come out back with me?”

“Sure.” There was nothing she’d like more than to see the assailant caught, or better, the woman he’d dumped into the lake still alive and okay. And staying in her office alone right now wasn’t high on her list of fun things. Patience needed to be with people, and Maria’s grounding presence fitted the bill.

They walked past the kennel and Patience noted that most of the patients were amazingly calm, even with the wide-paned windows shattered. “We’ll be back, everyone.”

“Do you think they understand they’re okay now?” Maria spoke as they reached the back door, which had clearly been broken through, its window also smashed.

“Absolutely. Gabby, the parrot, is being quiet—that’s telling. When she gets riled up, she can incite a puppy and kitty riot in there, let me tell you.”

Maria laughed. “At least your sense of humor hasn’t left the building. That’s a good sign.”

“Probably.” She wasn’t feeling particularly jovial, but more like punch-drunk. The adrenaline comedown affected everyone differently. The baby’s welfare gnawed at her. Adrenaline flooding her system was bad enough; it couldn’t be great for the baby. She had to make an appointment with her doctor soon, and get a referral to an ob-gyn if necessary.

Thoughts of the baby’s needs took a back seat as they approached the open gate. Patience saw bullet holes in the area surrounding the keypad.

“I’ve got to take photos and gather evidence.” Maria pulled out a plastic evidence bag.

“Of course. I’m going to see if I can watch the dive ops from the deck.” Patience jerked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the clinic’s small pier. There were a half-dozen launches used for K9 and police diving exercises and ops. Three were out in the center of the lake. “Thank you, Maria. I wouldn’t have left my office if you hadn’t shown up.”

“No problem.”

Once she was on the deck, looking across the icy water, it hit Patience how close the killer had come to reaching her. The fact she’d made it back to the clinic and managed to lock the door was incredible, seeing how easily he’d broken through the fence. It had felt as if she’d run miles with the recuperating labradoodle in her arms, but it had been less than a hundred yards. Too close.

Her heartbeat raced and she closed her eyes. The baby needed her to be calm. Patience reminded herself what Nash had emphasized: she was safe. But the woman the man had dumped in the water—probably not. Patience quickly refocused on the dive operation.

With the binoculars still around her neck, she used them to watch the divers from the shore, ignoring the cold as she shivered in her jacket. It was clear that Greta wasn’t having the luck she was expected to, as Nash and the other K9 officers repeatedly encouraged her to go back under, to find what they knew was there. The woman with the long pale hair. Finally, Greta’s large head surfaced and Nash’s arm signaled for the other officers to help. Patience made out something in Greta’s mouth as several shouts from the assembled RRPD officers echoed across the water.

“We have something!”

“Positive contact!”

“Pull her up!”

The rescuers got the body on board a slightly larger RRPD vessel normally used in the warmer months when boaters and swimmers got into trouble. EMTs who’d joined the op worked over the woman, valiantly attempting to ascertain if she’d survived, or had a chance of life once at the hospital and warmed back up. But the pit in Patience’s stomach confirmed what she already knew—there was no way the victim had survived her chilling plunge.

“Good dog.” Nash gave the hand command for Greta to shake herself off, and she did so, her huge bulk moving with unexpected grace aboard the small launch. The woman Greta had found was unresponsive and already being transported to the Red Ridge Medical Center, on the off chance she could be miraculously brought back to life. Nash wasn’t expecting good news, though, as she’d been in the water for too long. There was a gash on her forehead that appeared lethal. He suspected she’d been dead already when the killer dumped her.

Frustration that the killer had gone free chased away the relief he felt over Patience’s survival. Someone cold-blooded enough to kill and dump a woman in the chilly lake waters wouldn’t have hesitated to kill a possible witness. Thank God Nash and Greta had made it there in time.

“You’re a good girl, Greta.” He petted her, wet fur and all.

“They both are good dogs.” Officer Mike Georges stood next to him, his Belgian Malinois, Rocky, under a space blanket. Mike had been first on the scene and Rocky had dived for the woman with no luck. It was common knowledge that Greta was their best water dog, but Rocky was well trained, too, as were the several Belgian Malinois on the K9 team. Still, Nash couldn’t help the surge of pride at Greta’s job well-done.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get out here sooner.” Nash knew that it didn’t matter—they’d all been too late to save the woman. Still, he’d had an option and he’d chosen to rescue Patience from the intruder over heading for the lake. He’d do it again, even if dispatch hadn’t agreed.

“We both know it wouldn’t have made a difference, unfortunately. And we were here at least five minutes ahead of you, with no luck.” Mike’s face was grim, softening only when he looked at his K9. “Is Dr. Colton okay?”

“Yeah. She was armed for bear and ready to take out the jerk.”

Mike nodded. “She was a great study when we did our training last time. And her shot is perfect—as good as any officer’s.”

“I know.” And he did. Nash knew a lot about Patience Colton that would cause Mike to raise his bushy eyebrows. More than he should, in fact, for a woman he’d known only one night, no matter how incredible. He couldn’t help noticing her whenever she was in the vicinity, or listening extra carefully when one of the other police officers mentioned her name in passing.

“I’m going back to check on her. She can give Greta a quick look over, too.” He knew Greta was okay; the dog was bred for cold water activity. Newfoundlands excelled at pulling half-ton nets full of fish, as well as soaked men, aboard ships in the northern Atlantic. A quick dip into the bone-chilling lake in the middle of autumn was all in a day’s work for Greta. In fact, judging from the dog’s smile as she panted, she wouldn’t hesitate to jump back into the water. It was in her DNA.

Still, Patience insisted on looking over all the K9s after they’d performed any particularly demanding task, or had worked for an extended length of time. Another reason she was so respected by the RRPD. Dr. Patience Colton cared for her charges.