As I approach the location Warren indicated in his call, I see several first responder vehicles already parked in front.I pull in behind a cruiser and turn off the engine, reaching over to retrieve my badge and sidearm from my locked glove compartment.Then I grab my sheriff’s department windbreaker to put on over my sweater, and get out to join the small group about fifty feet down the sidewalk.Deputy Warren Burns, Deputy Lloyd McCormick, and one of the new recruits, Deputy Heather Solingate.
“Sorry,” Warren says when he sees me approach.“I know it’s your day off, but Sheriff Colter had a medical emergency, so she wasn’t available.”
Immediately concerned, I look for clarification.
“Why?What’s going on with Savvy?”
Warren shrugs.“All I know is what her husband told me when I called her cell and he answered.”
God, I hope she hasn’t been overdoing it.Some of us have tried to get her to slow down, now she’s getting a little further along in her pregnancy, but the stubborn woman simply won’t.I can’t help but worry, even though it’s possible this has nothing to do with her pregnancy—or even Savvy herself—but either way, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Shoving down my concerns, I focus on the reason we’re here.
“So…get me up to speed,” I suggest.
Ever since the morning of the fire at Clem’s garage, we’ve been trying to locate his brother, Chance.A drunk, his movements in town are generally either predictable or obvious.Everybody knows him and frequently sees him around.
Not so this past week.He hasn’t shown up at his usual watering holes, hasn’t been seen around town, and after Clem let us into his brother’s small apartment, it was clear he hadn’t been there in a while either.
Of course we considered the possibility he might have been inside the auto shop when it burned down, but no human remains had been found.Even with the fire burning as hot as it did, you’d expect some evidence to be left behind.
But as it turns out, he’d been right under our noses the whole time.
“Mrs.Dixon put a call in to 911 to report an intruder in her shed.She was in the middle of explaining to dispatch what happened, when a loud crash could be heard, followed by screaming.Then suddenly the line went dead,” Warren shares.
“Solingate and I got here first,” McCormick continues.“Circled the house and found the back door kicked in.When I approached, I got a glimpse inside the kitchen through the open door, and saw Chance with Mrs.Dixon.He’s sitting on the floor with his back against the cupboards holding her in front of him with a large knife pressed against her neck.”
“Lloyd says the guy is completely wigged out, and was asking for his brother, so I sent KC to pick up Clem,” Warren finishes up.
I nod.“Good.Is anyone keeping an eye on things?”
“DiVecchio is back there.”
Good call, Sal DiVecchio is a veteran with the sheriff’s office, and as calm and solid as they come.He’s dealt with Chance Tanek on plenty of occasions and knows how to handle him.
“EMTs?”
“Yep, en route,” Warren confirms, and adds, “No sirens,” anticipating what would’ve been my next request.
You don’t want to chance anything—like the sound of sirens—triggering an already tweaked individual.
Burns obviously had that point covered so I move on.
“And has anybody talked to the neighbors yet?”
“Heather and I were about to,” Lloyd responds.
“Good.Do that.”Then I turn to Warren.“Would you mind waiting for KC to get here with Clem and make sure he’s calm before you bring him around back?”
He acknowledges with a nod, and as I start walking around the side of Connie Dixon’s bungalow, I keep my hand on the butt of my sidearm, just in case.
“Sal…” I announce myself calmly as I walk up to the deputy, crouched at the base of the set of steps leading up to the small covered porch.
I take stock of the splintered doorframe and the broken glass in the door opening.In between the shards of glass, I notice what might be drops of blood trailing in to the kitchen.
He may be injured.
“Hey, Chance,” I greet the wide-eyed, pale-faced man, as I crouch down right outside the door, making myself as small as possible.
