He reached the truck, then halted in his tracks.
Eyes widening, he stared at the tires in disbelief, wondering if he was imagining it. As his pulse pounded between his ears, he knelt down, then let out an obscenity.
All four tires had been slashed. And not just once. Someone had taken a knife to them and sliced so many holes in the thick rubber that driving would be impossible.
It must have happened when he was being questioned at the station, and he hadn’t noticed the damage when Martin had dropped him home. He’d been too distracted at that point. Too devastated.
With a growl of frustration he tore back into the house and skidded into the kitchen, where he grabbed his phone from the counter and dialed Jamie’s number. As the ringtone chimed endlessly in his ear, dread climbed up his spine.
“Damn it, Jamie, pick up.”
“Hi, you’ve reached Jamie Crawford. I’m unavailable to take your—”
“Damn!”
Cole quickly controlled his rage before he gave in to the impulse to whip the phone across the room. With stiff fingers, he dialed a different number, and the sheriff’s gravelly voice filled his ear. “I’m in the middle of something, Donovan. This had better be important.”
“In the middle of what?” Cole demanded. “Is Jamie with you?”
“No, she’s at the station. I left to answer an emergency call. False alarm, though.”
Cole’s spine stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
“Someone reported finding a body on Joe Gideon’s property,” Finn said, sounding impatient. “But there’s nothing here. We just searched the area where the body was supposedly found, didn’t see a damn thing. And Gideon is now getting in my face, threatening to sue me for harassment because we interrupted him in the middle of a damn bender. Now what the hell do you want, Donovan?”
Finn was at Gideon’s, which meant he could get here in no time, Cole realized. “Look, I need you to come and pick me up. Someone slashed my tires, probably when I was at the station with you, and I have no way to—”
“Someone slashed your tires?”
“Yes. So get over here, Finnegan.” He swallowed a lump of panic. “I think Jamie’s in danger.”
“What are you talking about? What’s going on, Donovan?”
“I’ll explain everything when you get here.” Cole spoke quickly, urgently. “Just hurry.”
A click sounded in his ear. He could only hope that Finn had hung up without a word to save time and was running to his car at this very second. Gideon’s cabin was only a five-minute drive, the sheriff could make it here in less than that if he ignored the speed limit.
Cole bounded to the security room to unlock the gate, then went out to the porch, where he fixed his gaze on the end of the driveway, as if he could will Finn’s Jeep to appear. It must have worked, because the Jeep burst onto the dirt path a minute later. Cole was in the passenger seat before the vehicle came to a complete stop and then Finn did a sharp turn and barreled down the driveway again.
“Where are we going?” he demanded.
“My house.” Cole’s lips tightened. “Where Teresa died.”
“Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
The trees on the side of the road whizzed past like streaks of lightning as Finn sped toward the main intersection.
“I think Jamie is in danger,” Cole burst out. “I got a phone call from— Oh crap.”
His abrupt exclamation came at the same time Finn slammed on the brakes. Cole hadn’t bothered with his seat-belt, and he nearly smashed his head against the dash as the Jeep came to a screeching stop. A few yards from the intersection sat a white Honda Civic, its passenger door carelessly flung open.
Cole’s heart thumped as he squinted for a better look. A dark head was slumped over the steering wheel. Valerie. He recognized the car, knew it had to be Teresa’s sister in the driver’s seat. The open passenger door indicated that someone else had been in the car with her.
Jamie.
After Finn drove the Jeep onto the shoulder of the road, Cole jumped out and ran to the white car, reaching it seconds before the sheriff lumbered up from behind. As Finn rounded the vehicle to examine any potential damage, Cole stuck a hand through the open window and touched Valerie Matthew’s raven hair, nudging her gingerly. “Valerie. Valerie!”
She gave a strangled moan and then her head moved ever so slightly.
“Valerie, wake up. Where’s Jamie?” Cole pleaded.
Another moan, followed by a whimper, and then she slowly looked up at him, her gray eyes glazed with confusion. “C-Cole?”
“Someone hit them from behind,” Finn muttered, returning to the driver’s side. “The bumper is all but gone.”
Cole cursed at the news, then glanced back at the injured woman. “Valerie, are you okay?” He touched her hair again, lifted his hand and saw it was stained with blood.