The Chase, page 1
The Chase
A Schatzenburg Novel
Pamela Humphrey
Copyright ©2018 Pamela Humphrey
All Rights Reserved
Phrey Press
www.phreypress.com
First Edition
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Acknowledgments
Also by Pamela Humphrey
Chapter 1
Friday, April 8
Detective Ben Torres turned and moved the phone to his other ear, leaving his partner shaking his head. Taking a personal call at work wasn’t typical for Ben, but when his friend, Alex, called a second time without leaving a message, Ben guessed there was trouble.
He rubbed the top of his head “Slow down. She what?”
Alex took a deep breath before repeating the news. “Some guy ran Kate off the road. She’s okay, but her ankle is messed up. She’s in a cast up to her knee. Car is totaled, I think. It definitely wasn’t an accident and has to be connected to the break-in.”
Ben dropped into his chair. In the time he’d known Kate and Alex—three short months—she’d been in trouble more than once.
Miller grew impatient with the phone call and waved a case folder before dropping it on the desk and tapping a name.
Ben pointed to a picture on the computer screen to appease his partner’s frustration, then continued his conversation with Alex. “This just happened in the middle of the day? Where? Any leads?”
“About an hour ago here in Kendall County on one of the country roads. Maddox is investigating. The guy dropped a note in her car.”
Ben tensed. “What did it say?”
“Says to give it back or people get hurt—or something like that.” Alex’s unease tremored in his voice.
Ben wanted to support his friend, but the case that had just landed on his desk, the one that had Miller so ready to jump, would keep them busy late into the night. Besides, Kendall County wasn’t Torres’s jurisdiction, and Captain Maddox, who would be working the case, was good at his job.
“What can I do?”
“Nothing right now. I’ll keep you posted.” Voices echoed over the hospital PA system as Alex ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Miller rattled his keys.
Ben flipped through the open file on his desk. “You remember that case from January—the woman found at the mall and her sister, Kate, who’d been kidnapped?”
“Yeah. She’s the one that remembered who she was, then found out it was all a lie? And had the guy with her, the one that lived in a cabin.”
“We’ve become friends. Anyway, someone broke into her place a couple days ago. She hid in a closet the whole time. But Alex just called to say that someone ran her off the road. He was on edge before. This is about to push him over.”
“Hope they figure it all out.” Miller tapped the file, ready to move on with the case in front of them. “The picture you pointed to. Is that the one the witness mentioned?”
Ben shoved thoughts of the accident aside and focused on the case in front of him. “Yeah, that’s the guy. But we don’t have an address for him.”
The situation at the hospital faded into the background as he and Miller worked their leads.
Marisa rehearsed what she wanted to say as she walked up to Paul, but when she noticed him standing near the damaged front bumper of his car, she stopped. “What happened?”
“Fender bender. Guy stopped in front of me, slammed on his brakes for no reason.” He didn’t look at her, which meant he didn’t see her roll her eyes. In every situation, someone else was always to blame.
“That’s terrible.” She said what was expected, though she had little pity for him.
“I’ll be home later.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before getting in the car and backing out.
His taillights disappeared down the street.
For the last two days, she’d planned to break it off with him and move out. After introducing him to her brother and his friends, the attentive older man she thought adored her seemed slimy and overbearing. Mari had paid close attention when they all gathered at Kate’s. Watching Becca interact with her husband, DJ, and seeing the way Alex looked at Kate revealed Marisa’s relationship with Paul as a cheap counterfeit. The fact that she suspected of theft—a suspicion prompted by a recent discovery and something she hadn’t shared with anyone—unraveled any last threads of affection for him.
Her brother, Kate, and their friends had all been polite, but Marisa hadn’t missed the looks. No one understood why she was dating Paul. When she thought about it, she wasn’t sure either. Months ago, convinced that he loved her, she’d moved from Austin to San Antonio to live with him.
His friend had even found her a job with the local realty company where he worked. A new town, a new job, and a doting boyfriend made life fun and adventurous until Paul morphed into someone different.
Checking her phone when he thought she wasn’t looking, asking her not to go out with friends, demeaning her in little ways whenever he found an opportunity—these things flashed like neon after she’d introduced him to Kate and Becca.
Marisa needed out of the relationship.
She couldn’t wait until he returned to give her rehearsed reasons, her explanation of why the relationship wasn’t working. The need to be away from him consumed her. Loathing the thought of him, she raced up the stairs to pack her bags.
As she walked inside, she called Kate. “Hi, it’s Marisa. You busy? Can I come over?”
Maybe she would let Marisa use the guest room until she found a place to stay.
Paul’s off-color humor and wandering hands—behaviors he’d put on display while at lunch with Kate and Becca—embarrassed Marisa, and she wanted to apologize. His behavior that day gave enough reason for Marisa to leave him. She didn’t need to mention her suspicions about him being a thief. Alex loved Kate, and giving her a bad impression of the family was the last thing Marisa wanted to do.
Kate answered in a groggy voice, sounding half-drunk. “Whoa, slow down. I’m in the hospital. Can I call you when I go home?”
Panic grabbed Marisa. “What happened?”
“A car ran right into me. Shoved me into a tree. On purpose.”
Marisa stared out the window at the parking space vacated minutes before. Paul had acted weird whenever Marisa mentioned the break-in at Kate’s, but she’d dismissed it. The coincidence of his damaged bumper was too much to ignore. Suspecting him of stealing made it easier to believe he could engage in other illegal behavior. But breaking into Kate’s house? Running her off the road?
“Marisa?”
Marisa snapped back to the conversation. “The hospital? Are you okay?”
“Yep. Mostly. My ankle is hurt pretty bad, so they have my leg in a cast, and I’m really sore. Otherwise I’m wonderful. Your brother is taking good care of me. Oh, I forgot to call you. I wanted to know Paul’s last name.” Kate’s words disappeared in a fog.
Worry pounding in her head, Marisa hung up without responding. She needed to report her suspicions, but how? And where? If Paul was capable of intentionally running Kate off the road, he was more dangerous than Marisa thought.
If she left now, he’d assume she knew something. Nothing good would come from that. He’d likely go after Kate again, and Marisa wouldn’t risk that. She grabbed her purse and ran out to her car, forming an exit plan that didn’t tip off Paul but eliminated him from the picture.
When she pulled into the lot at work, it was empty except for one other car. Marisa hoped that Ted—the owner of the black Corvette—was immersed in his own work an
She held her keys in her fist as she tiptoed into her office. After swinging her office door closed, she flipped through folders until she found what she needed. Before stepping into the hall with the files, she opened the door and listened. Ted jabbered on the phone in his office down the hall.
Marisa slipped into the workroom. At the large machine that did almost every office function conceivable, she made copies, one file at a time. When she finished, she rushed back to her desk, glad to have completed her task without Ted’s prying eyes watching her. She stuffed the copies in her large purse and glanced toward the door before returning the folders to the filing cabinet. His voice echoed down the hall. After sliding the files back where they belonged, she pushed the drawer closed, relieved.
“Well, hello. What brings you back to the office?” Ted stood in the doorway, looking ready to pounce, his brown eyes boring into her.
“Just following up on something. Checking files.” She didn’t dare share her real reason for copying files with anyone, especially a friend of Paul’s.
“Have time to go for a drink?” He stepped closer to her. Tall and fit, he acted as if every woman wanted to be with him.
“No, thank you. I should get home. Don’t want Paul to worry about me.” Marisa hoped that by mentioning her boyfriend, Ted would back off and not persist in asking her out.
“Okay, then.” He turned but stopped a couple steps out the door. “I hope you used the right code for the copies you made.”
Marisa picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m careful with details like that, Mr. Jenner.” She hurried out the door before he could ask any more questions.
The sun had disappeared from the sky by the time Ben got to his car. He texted Alex as he slid behind the wheel. Kate okay? Any suspects?
The response appeared almost immediately, meaning Alex wasn’t getting much sleep, as Ben expected. In pain, but okay. No leads yet.
He called Alex and put it on speaker before backing out and driving toward home. “Alex, are you okay?”
Worrying about Kate was something Alex did often but didn’t do well. Very much in love, he didn’t deal well when she was in danger. Tortured would be an accurate description.
“She could’ve died. You should see her car. The guy slammed her into a tree.”
“Maddox is good at what he does, and he’s her uncle. He won’t let this drop. They’ll get whoever did this.”
“We don’t even know what he wants.”
“You just take care of Kate and let Maddox worry about the rest. And if you need anything, please call me.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
Ben turned up the radio, letting the classic rock help him unwind from the busy day. Nothing about the accident made sense. He ran through the details Alex had shared, shaking his head. It’s not your case.
When he walked into his apartment, he tossed his keys on the coffee table. Even though it was late, after changing out of his work clothes, he did his routine of pullups and pushups, then warmed leftovers.
Feet kicked up, he turned on the Xbox and spent the next couple hours as artillery blowing up tanks.
Marisa woke up when the front door opened. Disappointment weighed heavily on her. Set on leaving Paul, she hated the idea of sharing a bed with him even one more night. Her stomach soured, and she swallowed back the bad taste that accompanied thoughts of him. Disgust tasted rancid.
She laid still as Paul banged around the apartment. When he slipped into bed and wrapped his arms around her, she pretended to be asleep. His hands wandered as he whispered her name and dotted kisses on the back of her shoulder. She resigned herself to suffering the choices she’d made and rolled onto her back.
Chapter 2
Saturday, April 9
Ben headed for the elevators. He’d managed to get away from work early, which meant he’d make it to his nephew’s birthday shindig.
He answered his phone before stepping onto the elevator. “Hello.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m going to the birthday party. Carlos is how old?”
“Ay, Ben, you don’t know? He’s turning three. Will you be bringing a date?” His mom sounded eager for a yes to the last question.
Who brings a date to a kid’s party? He hadn’t yet met the woman he’d subject, or rather introduce, to his family. “You’re right. I should know how old my nephew is. And, no, I’m not bringing anyone with me.”
“Mijo, you’re thirty-three. Will you ever settle down?”
He listened patiently as his mother repeated her encouragement for finding a nice girl, the same speech he’d heard many times before. When she wrapped up her mini lecture, he rolled his eyes. “Love you, Mom. I’ll see you over there.” He hurried onto the empty elevator as he checked the time. He didn’t have high hopes for arriving at the party before it started.
Ben slipped on his sunglasses as he stepped off the elevator. If he hurried, he could grab a gift, change clothes, and make it to his brother’s house before the piñata broke open. He’d hoped to take off all of Saturday, but criminals didn’t take the weekend off. Absorbed in his thoughts, ticking through the five million items on his to-do list, he nearly plowed into a woman who stepped in front of him.
A long-legged brunette, with stunning green eyes, flashed a nervous smile. Her deep red dress hugged every curve. He hoped his reflective sunglasses hid his stare.
Eyes up.
In her heels, she stood nearly his height. “Excuse me. I need some information.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the front desk, ready to send her that way. Only paces away, it buzzed with uniformed officers ready to answer questions, but something in her expression halted him.
“How can I help you, ma’am?” He nodded toward the far wall, out of the way of foot traffic, and pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head.
She scanned the room, inching closer to him before she explained. “If I wanted to report a possible crime that happened in a different county, can I do that here?”
Marisa had never seen a look like that before, at least, not directed at her. His soft brown eyes held her focus. The wish that they’d met somewhere else, under different circumstances popped in her head and surprised her. In slacks, dress shirt, and tie, he looked the part of a detective. She glanced at the badge on his belt.
He gave information but not without asking questions. “You’d need to report it in that county. What type of crime?”
“A burglary and an—I guess it would be called an assault.” She glanced back over her shoulder, hoping Paul didn’t walk into the station. She worried that he might have followed her. If he discovered what she was up to, no telling what he’d do. But he needed to pay for his crimes. Everything she’d observed pointed to Paul being guilty. She wouldn’t let him hurt her friends without consequence.
Concern registered on the detective’s face. “Assault? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Were you the victim? Did it happen in a nearby county?” The detective kept his voice low; his gaze stayed focused on her.
Marisa didn’t want to drag anyone else into her tangled mess. “Oh no. Not me. I’ll run out to Kendall County to file a report. Thank you so much for your help, Officer …?” She couldn’t leave without, at least, knowing the man’s name, not that they’d ever meet again.
