Honor And Defend

She handed Ellen a piece of paper. “The hospital called just to say there’s been no change in your mother. Dr. North said to let you know he had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to meet with you this afternoon, but if you’ll call his secretary to reschedule, she’ll fit you in as soon as possible.”

“That’s fine. Thanks.” She frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t call my cell.”

“He said he did but you didn’t answer.”

“She was kind of busy,” Lee said.

Ellen nodded. “Thanks, Carrie.”

“Of course.” She turned back to her computer and Louise continued the trek to a conference room.

Officer Donaldson shut the door behind them and Lee saw Ellen check her phone. “Yep. Missed call.” She glanced at Lee. “Right in the middle of our little incident. I never heard it ring.”

He hadn’t, either.

Ellen removed her weapon and placed it in the bag the officer held out for her. “You know the drill,” Officer Donaldson said. “There’ll be an investigation. You’re off duty for the moment.”

Ellen sighed. “I know.”

“The good news is since there are no wounded or dead bodies, you could be cleared for return to duty as early as tomorrow or the next day. We’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, Louise.”

The woman’s brown eyes softened a fraction. “You’re welcome. You did good, rookie.”

Ellen gave a faint smile. “Thanks.”

“How’s your mother?”

Her smile slipped. “She’s still alive. We’re just praying she wakes up soon and can tell us who did this to her. Until then, she’s under twenty-four-hour guard to make sure no one can get to her and finish what they started. Chief Jones was willing to have you all take shifts guarding her, but I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted to take you away from your duties here. I’ve hired a private agency to make sure there’s a guard on her door. So far, that’s worked out well.”

“We’re all praying for her.” Louise set the weapon aside and motioned for them to sit at the table. Once seated Lee wanted to fidget. He wasn’t interested in being in this building ever again. Louise pulled a laptop in front of her. “All right, let’s go through it all again.”

Lee started to say something when Carrie entered the room. Louise raised a brow. “Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but someone found a glove behind a Dumpster near veterinarian Tanya Fowler’s office and brought it in.” She held up the bagged glove while he pictured Tanya, the veterinarian he’d seen occasionally when she’d come to the prison to vaccinate the dogs with the Prison Pups program. A sweet lady whose nonjudgmental eyes never failed to raise his spirits. He tuned back into what Carrie was saying. “Two kids were waiting with their mother while she had their dog in with Dr. Fowler and they ran around the side of the building playing hide and seek. Little Justin Daniels found it and gave it to his mother.”

“Okay. And it’s important because...?”

“It matches the set worn by one of the robbers who robbed that bank in Flagstaff six months ago.”

Louise frowned. “How would she have known that?”

“She wouldn’t. She turned it in to us because it had five one-hundred-dollar bills in it and thought someone may have reported it missing.”

“Has someone?”

“No.” Carrie pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. “But when the robbery first happened, we got all those wanted notices faxed to us, remember? The chief also got the video footage of the robbery.” She walked farther into the room and placed the glove on the desk. “He and I watched it together just in case I spotted anyone hanging around town. Turns out I recognized the gloves in the surveillance video. They’re a pretty popular brand and I sent this exact pair to a cousin for Christmas last year.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, not this one, but a pair just like them. So I just checked the bank footage again to be sure, and this sure looks like one of the gloves.”

Louise nodded. “Okay, that’s good news. I wouldn’t have thought there would be any chance of picking up that trail again. Send the glove off to the lab. Take Justin Daniels’s fingerprints as well as his mother’s and send them for comparison.” Carrie nodded. “Also, get the serial numbers from the bills and send them to the Flagstaff PD. I don’t know that they’ll need them, but it can’t hurt to have them just in case.”

“Got it.” Carrie turned and walked out, carrying the evidence.

Louise looked up at Ellen. “You heard about that bank robbery, right?”

“Vaguely. It happened shortly after we started our training with Veronica and that’s where my focus was. I think I remember that they never found the money, right?”

“No, it happened just as the bank was closing on a Friday afternoon. Two men in masks and semiautomatics in broad daylight. Shook the whole city up.”

“They were obviously professionals and they had it well planned.”

“True,” she sighed. “They got away that day, but the FBI was called in and arrested one of the robbers—a Nolan Little. The second robber got away, but the FBI tracked him down right here in Desert Valley two days later, hiding in an abandoned mobile home. He got into a shootout with them and was killed. They searched and found his weapon and a few bills, but he didn’t have the bank money on him.”

“Let me guess, the one they caught isn’t talking.”

“He couldn’t if he wanted to. He was killed about two months into serving his sentence.”

“So anyone who might have known where the money is can’t talk because they’re dead.”

“Yes. At least the ones we know about.”

“You think there’s someone else involved?”

“The FBI was convinced there was a third person—a driver—but they’ve never been able to prove it. He wasn’t in the video and there wasn’t a car at the scene.”

“How did they get away?” Ellen asked.

“On foot. Ran right out the back door through a back alley and disappeared. That’s why we think there was a third person involved. Someone with a car that was never seen. Someone who knew where the security cameras were and made sure to park out of view. The robbers climbed in and they drove away.” She sighed. “The FBI sends the chief an update every so often, but I think they’ve probably given up on ever recovering the money—or the third person if there ever was one.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe with the glove, they’ll get a fresh trail to follow.” She drew in a deep breath. “Now, Lee, what can you tell me about the shootout that just occurred?”

Lee shifted. “I think I have something that will help.”

“What’s that?”

“I have a dash cam on my truck. We just need to watch the video.” He held up his phone and pressed the screen to pull up the app.

He shook his head at the irony. After everything this department had put him through, he had something that could possibly help them. And he was going to push aside his initial reaction of “let them fend for themselves” and do it.

This time they’d better not mess up.

TWO

An hour later, Ellen and Lee walked out of the building with Lee rolling the puppies behind in their carriers. “A dash cam?” Ellen asked him.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Call me paranoid. But after everything that happened with the crooked cop and...” He shook his head. “I’m not going to be in that position again. So I mounted a dash cam on my rearview mirror as some sort of protection, I guess. Maybe it was stupid.”

“And maybe you’re brilliant. I can’t say I blame you a bit. And it allowed us to see one of the men in the car.”

“Yes.” He frowned.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes. I’m just thinking.”

“About?” She spotted the SUV in the road, getting ready to turn in to the lot. “Hold that thought.”

Whitney Godwin, also a rookie K-9 officer, pulled in and parked. She climbed out of the truck, her shoulder-length light blond hair blowing around her face. She shoved it back and waved at Ellen. “Hey, there. Are you okay?”

“We survived. That’s the good news. Thanks for bringing the car,” Ellen said. “Lee picked me up at my home this morning so we’re a bit stranded.” She took the keys from Whitney’s outstretched hand. Looking into her friend’s eyes, she could see contentment. Happiness. All due to the new man in her life. A doctor named David Evans. They’d had some hard times but had made it through to the other side. Now they were planning a wedding.

It made Ellen happy for Whitney...and sad for herself. Would she ever have that look? She glanced at Lee. She’d actually had it years ago. Back when she and Lee were together. When they weren’t fighting about her mother, they’d had some great times, been happy. She sighed. Whitney’s features clouded in concern. “Why the heavy sigh? You okay?”

Ellen forced her lips into an upward curve. “Yes, just...reminiscing, sorry. Do you need a ride anywhere?”

“No.” Whitney’s smile came back. “David’s on his way to get me. We’re taking Shelby for a picnic.” Shelby was Whitney’s baby daughter.

Lee found a spot of grass, clipped leashes to the three pups and let them loose to take care of business. When they were finished, he got them back into the carriers and rolled them over to the vehicle where she and Whitney stood.

“Lee, do you know Whitney?”

He set the puppies in the back area of the vehicle where Carly usually rode, then held out a hand to Whitney. “I don’t think we’ve met. It’s a pleasure.”

“Same here.” She eyed the building and grimaced. “I hate to go in on my day off, but I have some leftover paperwork I need to finish up before David and I can enjoy the rest of the day. I’ll see you later.”

She disappeared through the glass doors. Lee turned to Ellen. “I’m starving,” he said.

“Want to hit a drive-through and take the food to the training facility? We can eat and talk business if you’re up to it.”

“I am if you are.”

He still looked a bit distracted. What was on his mind? The shooting probably. “You okay?”

He blinked and climbed into the passenger seat. “Yeah.”

“Something’s bothering you.”

“How do you figure?”

She gave a low chuckle. “Come on, Lee, we used to be best friends.” Actually, they’d been more than that, but that sentence was much safer than saying they’d one time been in love. The flare in his eyes said he was thinking it. She cleared her throat. “I can read you pretty well even after all these years. You have that little tic in your forehead that gives you away every time.”

He pressed his fingers to it and his brow furrowed. “Let’s get back to the facility so we can talk without distractions.”

Ellen wasn’t crazy about the fact that he wanted to wait to talk, but she could be patient. When she had to. But... “Why don’t you just tell me what it is that’s bothering you?”

He sighed. “Fine. When we were attacked, I thought I recognized one of the men in the car. The dash cam confirmed it.”

* * *

Ellen stared at him even while she cranked the vehicle’s ignition. “What? And you’re just now saying something?”

“I wanted to know for sure before I said anything.”

“And you’re sure now?”

“No, but I figured you could help me find out if I’m right or not.”

“So who do think it is?”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure so maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but if it’s him—”

Her ringing phone cut him off. She glanced at the dashboard. Chief Jones’s number flashed. “Hello?”

Her Bluetooth kicked in and his voice came over the speakers. “Foxcroft. Where are you?”

“Just leaving the station. Do you need me to come back in?”

“No, just wanted to let you know we got a hit on that partial plate.” While the chief talked, she drove.

“And?”

“There was a vehicle stolen last night. When we ran the partial against all of the ones in the system, we managed to narrow it down to the one that was used in the attack. Who knew you were going to pick up those puppies today?”

Ellen thought. “I don’t know. It wasn’t a secret. I’ve already checked with Lee and he didn’t mention it to anyone. I told my staff at the assistance center so they could get an area prepared, but other than that, no one that I recall. Sophie could have mentioned it to someone, I suppose.”

He grunted. “And it’s possible the attack had nothing to do with that anyway. All right, rookie, be careful. Hopefully we’ll get all this cleared up in the next day or so and you’ll be back on duty. Tell Earnshaw the dash cam thing is paranoia at its finest. Glad he had it installed. Sorry he felt the need for it.”

“He heard you.”

“Thanks, Chief,” Lee said before falling silent.

She hung up and within minutes, she was pulling into the parking lot of the Desert Valley Canine Assistance Center attached to the K-9 Unit Training Center.

Ellen threw the vehicle in Park and climbed out. Lee followed, rolling the puppies with him. He took them into a fenced area that had been specifically set up for them and let the three pups out of the carriers. They bolted into the warm grass, tumbling over one another, nipping and yapping, clearly glad to be able to run off some energy. “What are their names?” she asked. “They should be on their tags.”

He pointed to the one running laps around the space. “That one is Dash.”

“Appropriate.” She looked at the other two. One sat on his haunches, tongue lolling as his gaze bounced between his friends. She walked over and snagged his tag. “This is King. I see why they named him that. He looks like a king ruling over his subjects.”

“You’re right, he does,” Lee said with a nod. He grabbed the last dog by the collar as she wandered past and checked her tag. “And this is Lady.”

She licked his hand and Ellen laughed. “Dainty and sweet.”

He smiled. “All right. Dash, King and Lady. Poor girl is outnumbered, isn’t she?”

“It’ll make her stronger.”

He nodded and locked the gate and walked toward her.

She waited for him, hands on her hips, mind only partially on naming the pups. She wanted to focus on what he’d revealed before the chief’s call. “So you think you know one of the guys who attacked us?”

“Yes. A guy from the prison who was released around the same time I was.”

She studied him. “What were you mixed up in at the prison, Lee, that would inspire someone to come after you like that?”

His jaw went rigid and Ellen blinked at the flare of rage—and hurt—that flashed in his eyes. “Really? That’s the first thing that comes to you mind? That’s what you think?” His fingers curled into fists. “You’re just like her, aren’t you?” he said, his voice low and strained.

“What?”

He jabbed a finger at her. “You’re just like your mother.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not fair that she didn’t like me just because of who my family was. It’s not fair that she interfered in our relationship. A lot of things aren’t fair. And you’re following right in her footsteps. You’re judging me without all the facts. Well, that’s fine. You’re entitled to think and say what you want, but I don’t have to stand here and listen to it.” He started to walk off.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“How are you going to get there? You don’t have a car, remember?”

He held up a cell phone, his eyes narrowed. She shivered at the coldness there. “All too well. However, while there aren’t many, I do have a few friends left in this town. I can get a ride. Or I’ll just walk. It’s not that far.” He spun on his heel and kept going.

Ellen sighed and dropped her chin to her chest. Was he right? Was she being judgmental? The fact that he compared her to her mother made her shudder. “Wait, Lee. Stop. You haven’t even eaten your food.”

“It’s still in the bag, I’ll take it with me.”

He stopped his march at the car, opened the door and pulled out one of the fast-food bags. Then he turned his back on her once more and headed for the edge of her property, which would lead him to the main road. “Who was it, Lee? Who did you recognize?” He didn’t answer, just kept walking. “Lee!”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Ellen.” And then he disappeared around the edge of the house.

She gave a low groan and took off after him. “Stop, will you?”

She rounded the corner and slammed into his hard chest. “Oof.”

He caught her biceps, the white food bag dangling from one hand. She looked up. The chill in his eyes hadn’t thawed one degree. His features resembled granite. She drew in his scent and swallowed, the past rushing in to blindside her. She remembered clearly being held in his arms. Sitting in the hammock, her ear pressed against his chest, listening to his heart thud a steady beat. She remembered his sweet kisses and whispered promises. She remembered it all. And yearned to go back to recapture each and every moment.

He gently set her away from him and reality intruded. She straightened. There was no going back. There was only now and what the future might bring. And that didn’t include Lee. Once the murders were solved and her mother woke from the coma—and she refused to believe she wouldn’t—Ellen was going to request a transfer. There was no way she was staying Desert Valley forever. She was simply marking time until everything was wrapped up.

No matter what her mother thought—or wanted.

She was still leaving once the murders were solved. Ryder Hayes’ wife’s case was still open after five years, and the two deputies whose deaths originally looked like accidents now appeared to be possible murder victims. And so she and the other deputies were in Desert Valley until these cases were solved. But until then...

“Don’t go,” she blurted. Then bit her lip.

His eyes didn’t soften—but he did hesitate. Hope flared. “I need to think about some things,” he said, “and I need to do that at home. We’ll talk later.”

She sighed. When he was in this kind of mood there was no talking him out of it. “Fine. I’ll give you a ride home. Let me get Carly.”

He studied her a moment, then gave a terse nod. She walked up the steps to the front door, unlocked it and whistled for Carly. The sleek golden retriever with the soft brown eyes bounded over to her and expressed her delight in Ellen’s presence. Ellen scratched the dog’s silky ears then led the way to the truck. She opened Carly’s door and the dog hopped in, sniffing the area. The pups had left their scent and Carly definitely noticed. She finally seemed to accept the smell and settled down. Ellen shut the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. Lee was already in the truck with his seat belt fastened. “Will you at least tell me who you recognized? I need to know.”

* * *

She started the truck and backed out of the spot. Lee considered keeping the information to himself, but couldn’t do it. When she hit the main road, he finally answered her.

“A former inmate,” he said. “And while he served at the same I did, I knew him before I went to prison.” He winced. “Even after everything it still galls me to say that sentence.” He tightened his jaw against the anger then breathed deeply before exhaling slowly. He could tell her this. He used to tell her everything. And even though he wasn’t exactly happy with her jump to judgment, if he had information that could lead to Veronica’s killer, he’d swallow his pride. “I used to hang out with him before I met you.”

“So who is he?”

He sighed. “A troublemaker. Like I said, he was released about the same time I was. Not because he was innocent, but because he’d served his time.”

“A name, Lee.”

He sighed. “Freddie Parrish.”

She lifted a brow. “Freddie Parrish? Wait a minute. I know him. We went to high school with him.”

“Yep. He and I graduated together. I kind of lost track of him after high school, though. We went our separate ways.”

“Yeah. You went to college.”

“Yes.”

“And so did Freddie, for a while. He had options. He could have finished school. He could have just gone to work if he didn’t want to do school. I wonder what made him turn to a life of crime.”

He shook his head. “Some people just make bad decisions, get mixed up with the wrong people. I don’t know.” He rubbed his chin. “You know, they offered a lot of college courses at the prison.”

“Sure, I know that. Including the vet tech program through one of the local colleges in Flagstaff.”

He nodded. “A lot of the inmates take advantage of it to get their education. It gives them hope that when they get out, they can stay straight and get a good job.”

“I think it’s a great idea.”

“I know Freddie took a couple of the courses, and was even real close to finishing the program before he was recruited to work with the program’s veterinarian, who took care of the puppies.”

“What was he in prison for?” she asked.

“He had several DUIs and had gotten off with fines the first couple of times. Then he got into a bar fight with a guy who was supposed to be a friend and cut him with broken bottle. The judge gave him three years. He served all three.”

She tapped the wheel. “We’ll check him out, see if he has an alibi for the shooting.” She handed him her phone. “Send a text to the chief with the information, will you? Tell him I want Freddie brought in for questioning.”

Lee did as she’d asked.

She drove with confidence, and then he caught her looking at him from the corner of her eye. “What?” he asked.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but did you renew your friendship with Freddie in prison?”

Her question rocked him and he shot her a black look. “No, we didn’t renew our friendship. The only reason I was ever around him was because he was a vet tech for the Prison Pups program. We worked together and that was it. I liked the program. Sophie Williams is a good woman and amazing with the dogs. I kept my mouth shut and my head down because I didn’t want to lose out on the only thing that allowed me to forget—if just for a brief moment—what my life had become.”

She swallowed and looked down. “I understand.”

“No. You don’t. And I hope you never do. Anyway, I caught Freddie mistreating the animals and told Sophie. She was furious and kicked him out of the program.”

She pursed her lips and raised a brow. “I would think that might cause him to hold a grudge.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to work alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a bully only when he feels like his victims won’t—or can’t—fight back or when he knows someone’s got his back. In prison, during the time in the yard, he only hung around with those he’d earned favor with.”

“Earned favor with?”

Lee sighed. “You’ve been in law enforcement long enough to know that prison has its own culture. There are rules and regulations just like on the outside, but they’re tailored for prison life. It looked like Freddie was behaving himself. It looked like he was a model prisoner, but mostly that was because he was so sneaky. He never got caught doing anything wrong—until I caught him being rough with the pups. But he had access to areas of the prison that others didn’t have. As a result, he was able to gather information that he could either use to gain favor with those who had more clout than himself or sell to the highest bidder.”

“I see. He had friends who would watch his back so he could continue his sneaky activities. Friends that would do his dirty work if he needed them to.”

“Exactly.”

Ellen frowned. “Okay. Hopefully the chief will have someone bring him—and whoever was with him—in for questioning soon.”

“Hopefully.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to change the subject,” he said.

“All right. What is it?”

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but you cops are looking at the wrong people for suspects in Veronica’s murder.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re looking at the troublemakers, the people with grudges—and that’s a list a mile long and is going to take forever to cover. You need to be looking at the not so obvious.”