“Are they bringing her back here?” I snapped, relief flooding me.
“Yeah. They’re on their way.”
“Tell them to keep looking for Bethany Byrd.” Skinner eyed me. “Can you give a description?”
“Blonde, shoulder length hair, brown eyes, I think, but can’t be sure. Jeans, sneakers, reddish shirt. Athletic, can run damn fast.”
The officer relayed in the information to the other units as I spoke, then walked back to his car. Within ten minutes or so, a cruiser with lights flashing but no siren blaring arrived and came to a halt beside us. The cop stepped out and opened the rear door.
Lindsey emerged, her expression defiant as Skinner and I bore down on her. The officer handed Skinner Lindsey’s gun, then stepped back as Skinner entered her personal space, looming over her.
“What were you doing?” he bellowed, his fury radiating from him in waves. “I should arrest you right now.”
“For what?” she demanded. “I didn’t commit any crimes.”
“Stupidity. Chasing an armed suspect. Being armed with this.”
“I own that legally and have a license to carry it.”
“I don’t care,” he roared. “You could have been killed.”
The two stared at once another, both furious, neither repentant. I stepped between them, forcing Skinner back and his angry attention switched to me. I raised my hands in a gesture of peace, not giving him a reason to either punch me or arrest me. Or both.
“Look, man, it’s all good,” I said. “Lindsey is okay, she didn’t catch that bitch, she didn’t hurt anyone. Let’s calm down, all right? Be cool. Both of you.”
Skinner visibly forced himself to relax, sucking in a deep breath, then blowing it out. I slid my arm around Lindsey’s shoulders, feeling her tension, her stiff body indicating she wasn’t letting her anger go. Still, she nodded her agreement to stay cool.
“Okay, you chased Bethany Byrd,” Skinner said. “What then?”
“I ran a few blocks,” Lindsey replied, her tone low. “I couldn’t gain on her. She was too fast.”
“Did she shoot at you?”
Lindsey shook her head. “No. She saw me chasing her, but never tried to use her gun. She ran down an alley. I can’t see how she could have planned it, but she found an unlocked door to a store in a strip mall. By the time I reached it, it was locked.”
“And then what?”
“I ran around to the front,” Lindsey answered. “But I lost sight of her. The store employees said she ran through there like her ass was on fire, but they didn’t see where she went.”
Skinner drew another deep breath, nodding, and handed Lindsey her gun. “At least you were partially smart about what you did. Ms. Byrd is now without a vehicle. We’ll keep searching for her, checking car rental agencies, dealerships.”
“What’s to stop her from simply stealing a car?” I asked.
“That, too,” Skinner agreed. “We’ll start a city-wide hunt for her. She won’t escape.”
“She’ll come after me again,” Lindsey murmured. “Won’t she?”
“We’ll catch her before she can,” Skinner said. “We’ll find both these miscreants, Byrd and Rivers. We’ll find them before they can do any more harm.”
Chapter Nineteen
Lindsey
Dispirited, angry, weary beyond belief, I followed Brody in his new ride toward our houses. The crime scene investigation took long hours and most of the afternoon. Photos, fingerprints, bullets pulled from the rental car. Skinner proclaimed the silver Ford stolen from someone in California, and that Bethany’s prints revealed a warrant for her arrest.
“She’s wanted for assault with a deadly weapon,” Skinner said as Brody and I watched the investigation wrap up. “No details yet. Keep your eyes peeled.”
“How trite,” I muttered, then got into the sedan.
