“Somebody’s about to get hurt,” Ben said with a composure belied by his violent action.“Bad.Guess who?”With both hands, Ben pulled the man off the truck and slammed him back again.The man yelped.
Again, Sarah rocked in her seat.
She’d seen and felt the tender, gentle side of Ben Paxton.Now, she observed the other side.She saw the fierce warrior quality which also defined him.
“Get.In.Your.Vehicles.”Ben bit off each word.
Muttering bitterly amongst themselves, the crowd one-by-one climbed into the news van and passenger cars and began rolling away.
Out his window, Yancy said, “You can’t hide her away here forever.”
Ben watched them disappear down the drive.Coming around the hood, he waited for Sarah to unlock the doors and he leaped inside.“We’ll follow to make certain they’re off the property and the gate’s properly closed.”
She nodded.
As they approached the gate, the last sedan drove through.Waiting outside was Big Jim in his pickup.When he came through the gate, it closed behind him.
He held up a hand to Ben and pulled his truck adjacent to the window.“Trouble in town.Local woman was just attacked.Happened in a dark alley behind the pharmacy.”
Sarah gasped and Ben’s frown deepened.
“What happened?”Ben asked.
“The woman was stabbed.The man assaulting her called herSarah.Her name isn’t Sarah.It’s Annie.”
Chapter Fourteen
Mountain Wood’s smallpolice department hummed with unusual activity, the sounds of raised voices, phones ringing, computers humming.
The station consisted of a single cell in back.In the front, a wide-open area held only one private office for the chief.Desks for officers were piled high with paperwork.An old coffee carafe in the corner churned out pot after pot for the hard-working staff.
The property room officer sat behind a desk near the door manning a computer terminal.In this small department, he served double duty as dispatcher and public information officer.
The entire Mountain Wood department consisted of three on-duty officers, including Chief King.They were all there.
Sarah and Ben entered the station, Ben grim and Sarah wary.
