“Thanks for the support, Sis.” He stood, and tossed a few bills on the table. “Tell Mom I love her and that I’ll give her a call when it’s safe to do so.” He left the deli for the bright light of the afternoon sun and walked toward the post office, where he could see the Volvo in the distance.
Angry with himself for letting his sister get to him, he thought about going back and wrapping his arms around her, something he hadn’t been able to do in a very long time. But how would he ever be able to hold her tight if she thought he was a murderer? Even Angela, a complete stranger, believed in him. The notion sent a fire through his belly, pushing him to speed up. He needed to find Dirk’s killer.
A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
A man stood on the street corner by the signal. Jason noted his height, a bushy beard, bulbous nose and sunglasses. When he noticed Jason watching him, the fellow turned and pretended to check his phone.
Jason kept walking. Eyes straight ahead, he focused on two ladies drinking coffee and eating pastries in front of a donut shop. But when he glanced over his shoulder, he wasn’t surprised to see the bearded man following him.
Keeping a brisk pace, he stayed on course.
What could this guy want? Jason aimed to find out.
***
Angela was relieved to see Jason heading her way. She was about to roll down her window and talk to him, but he glanced sideways and began scratching his throat.
Something wasn’t right.
Once he passed the car, he made a run for it, heading toward the street.
She kept her head low, pretending not to notice that someone was running across the parking lot after him. Another man, tall and slender with thick blond hair, suddenly appeared from around the corner of the building, gesturing wildly with both hands for first guy to hurry up and go after Jason.
After both men disappeared, she started the engine and made her way around the building. The guy who had been madly gesturing was now climbing into a black Explorer. She made note of the license plate number as she drove past, then headed in the direction she’d seen Jason go, her adrenaline soaring.
Catching a glimmer of Jason’s white T-shirt as he cut into the empty parking lot of what looked like a junior high school, she drove past the man who was following him, making sure not to look his way. But in the rearview mirror, she saw something in his hand glinting in the sunlight. A knife?
Her heart plummeted.
What was she supposed to do now?
She made a U-turn and headed back toward the parking lot where Jason and the other guy had disappeared. She followed a narrow driveway until a guardrail stopped her from driving closer to the school’s soccer field.
With shaking hands and her insides doing flip-flops, she found a pen and quickly jotted down the license plate number she’d set to memory.
Then she looked around. All she saw were trees. Everywhere. She couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. Jason could be in serious danger.
Making a split-second decision, she turned off the engine and grabbed the gun from the glove compartment. With it gripped tightly in her hand, she hopped out of the car and ran toward the sound of a dog barking wildly in the distance.
Pine trees and oaks surrounded the school campus. Only halfway across the soccer field, she already felt winded. But she forced herself onward, climbed over a four-foot chain-link fence, and snagged her shirt, ripping the sleeve as she fell to the other side.
Where did they go?
Heart racing and legs trembling, she followed a dirt trail that led her through myriad trees. She hurried past a row of homes protected by a high wooden fence and a German shepherd out for blood. The dog shoved its snout through a loose board and its low growl unnerved her as she passed the animal. By the time she made it to the top of the hill, she was winded.
Bent over, one hand on her side, she lifted her head for another look around. There were homes to her left and a vast lake to her right. Having no idea which way to go, she headed toward the water, once again running as fast as her legs would take her. She stopped when she caught a glimpse of the bearded man sliding down an embankment toward the lake.
From her vantage point, she was able to spot Jason. He was hiding, hunched down behind a large grouping of boulders.
***
The heat was unbearable.
Jason thought back to the last time he’d been in Granite Bay, when he was twelve and he and his dad had gone bass fishing at Folsom Lake. But no time to go down memory lane now. The big guy was closing in on him. He could hear the sounds of his boots kicking up rocks and dirt. Jason tensed, preparing himself, and the moment he heard labored breathing, he pounced.
They rolled around on the ground. His attacker had to have sixty or seventy pounds on him. Sharp rocks and branches left behind after the water levels dropped cut into Jason’s arms and neck.
They both strained, grunting and gasping, each trying to get the upper hand.