As the masked man passed by, Brad edged out from his hiding spot. Fell in behind him.
Once they reached the clearing by the house and cottage at the edge of the woods, he’d have to stay farther back and—
He came to an abrupt halt as two does barreled through the brush a handful of yards in front of him and bounded out of the woods.
The man swung around. Froze when he realized he was being followed. Took off down the path, toward the cottage and house.
Brad sprinted after him, identifying himself and demanding that he stop.
He didn’t.
Instead, he ran faster.
Brad surged forward too, but he didn’t intend to get too close. Not without backup.
Now that the man was on the run, however, it would be tougher to keep tabs on him until Larry got here.
All at once, the intruder veered into the woods.
Wonderful.
Pursuit through a dense thicket would complicate this chase exponentially.
Nevertheless, Brad followed him in, pushing aside branches, keeping him in sight for the first twenty yards—until mother nature, in the form of a tree root, intervened.
His foot caught and he went down.
Hard.
Biting back a word he never used, he pushed himself to his feet. Gritted his teeth as pain exploded in his ankle the instant he tried to put weight on it.
The word spilled out.
Nothing felt broken, but at the very least he had a bad sprain. Worst case, he’d torn a tendon or ligament.
Didn’t matter.
He was out of this race.
In the distance, the noise of someone hurtling headlong through the underbrush gradually receded.
The trespasser was history.
Expelling a breath, he gripped the tree beside him with one hand to prop himself up and called Larry.
“I’m ten minutes out.” His chief deputy’s tone was all business.
“Don’t bother. I tripped while in pursuit and he got away.”
A beat ticked by.
“You went after him without backup?”
Not the smartest choice in general, but he wanted this mystery solved. ASAP.
“Yeah. I intended to lay low and watch him until you got here, but two deer foiled that plan. I hoped he’d stop when I yelled at him.”
“Do they ever?”
