He squeezed her shoulder before opening his door and then deploying Frankie and grabbing Elsie’s coat. The other handlers were already waiting in the parking lot. With Frankie heeling by his side, he ran over to them.
“Two to the inside, moving in opposite directions, and one on the perimeter,” said River.
“Haven and I will take the outside,” said Maren.
After allowing the K-9s to get the scent off the coat, they moved toward what had been the main entrance of the mall at the center of the building. Evidence of vandalism was everywhere, broken windows, trash and graffiti. Eli and River entered the building and split off. To prevent detection, they’d be searching in the darkness relying on the dogs’ noses.
No surprise that Frankie picked up on Elsie’s scent right away. The child may have been all through the facility, which meant they might be running in circles for a while. A noise in one of the smaller stores caused them to turn down a side corridor. Once at the threshold, River pressed against a wall and listened. More noise, a sort of rushing sound. He heard one object colliding with another. He angled his body so he could peer in with one eye. A light breeze from a broken window ruffled some papers on a broken shelf. Frankie growled and lurched.
“Stay.”
A moving shadow on a high shelf indicated the source of Frankie’s ire. A raccoon scrambled down and disappeared through the broken window.
River let out the breath he’d been holding before heading back to the main corridor. They moved past a chair with no cushion laying on its side and more garbage and debris.
Frankie pulled hard when they came to a large store filled with broken display cases and empty clothing racks. Hangers and trash cluttered the floor. River stepped on broken glass, which made a crunching noise. He stopped and listened.
Frankie moved forward, padding silently. She alerted at the closed door of what must have been used for storage or a break room. He pulled a treat from his pocket as a reward for her.
River stared at the closed door. He didn’t hear any sound inside.
Though all the task force members had grabbed their shoulder radios, he dare not use it for fear of giving himself away. If someone was inside, he assumed there was no other exit.
Taking in a deep breath, River pulled his weapon and reached for the doorknob. Frankie wiggled her butt with a laser focus on River as she waited for a command.
He twisted the nob and pushed the door open with his gun raised. “Police.”
No rustling sound or voices reached his ears. No one was in the room. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw why Frankie had alerted so strongly. There were two cots and sleeping bags, children’s toys and books, as well as some boxes of ready-to-eat food. This must be where they’d kept Elsie. She would have trusted her grandparents and maybe they had found a way to make a game out of why they were in such a place.
Still, he wondered if Elsie had asked about her mother, maybe even cried over her not being with her. The notion was like a stab to his heart.
He moved back out into the wide corridor that led to the display floor of the store. A shuffling noise and then moving shadows caused him to lift his head and stare into the darkness. Frankie emitted a low growl.
Nanoseconds before the first shot was fired at him, River pressed against the wall. Frankie sounding the alarm had saved his life. The dog slipped in close to him. Two more shots were fired in his direction.
Still staying close to the wall, River raised his gun and moved toward where the shots had come from. The sound of his own breathing augmented the silence as he listened for any noise that might indicate the shooter’s location. Eli would hear the shots and come running with Wrangler. They’d be able to trap Norm.
River scanned the darkness for any sign of Norm. It had to be him who had the gun. That meant Sheryl was probably with Elsie.
His phone vibrated loudly in his pocket. Probably Lydia wanting an update.
Even though the phone was on vibrate, he heard retreating footsteps. The noise had been enough to alarm Norm. No time to answer it. He and Frankie raced through the store toward the corridor that connected to all the empty stores, moving in the direction he’d heard the footsteps.
On high alert, he stayed close to the wall, watching and listening as he scanned the entire area. There were a hundred nooks and storefronts Norm could have slipped into.
At the other end of the corridor, he spotted Eli and Wrangler making their way up toward him.
He saw the muzzle flash right before he heard the bullet leave the chamber.
Shots resounded, breaking the glass storefront behind him and raining glass down upon him. He put his arms up to protect himself. Another shot caused him to grip his arm where he felt a radiating and intense sting. He’d been grazed.
He dropped to the floor just as another shot whizzed toward him. Gripping his arm, he sought the cover of an overturned chair before lifting his gun to fire back, praying that the bullet found its target.
NINETEEN
Lydia’s heart pounded erratically as she stared at the phone. River had not answered her call. She’d seen two people come out of the mall and move toward the trees. There had been enough moonlight to discern that one shadowy figure was smaller and shorter than the other.
She didn’t have the phone numbers of the other officers. There was no time. Sheryl was probably escaping with Elsie. She pushed open the door and ran to where the two people had disappeared into the trees.
