Page 12 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“Prove it.”

“Fine,” he said, keeping his hands in place while pointing down. “I’m going to reach into my pocket and pull out my badge.”

“Slowly.” Paulette’s gaze flicked to Kaylee briefly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Kaylee said, thankful Paulette was the one who’d booted him. Harvey, the other patrol officer, might have believed his bullshit about being college sweethearts.

“Tell her the truth, Kaylee,” Rick growled, digging into his pockets to produce his badge. He held it out to Paulette, who took it cautiously. After studying it for several moments, she handed it back.

“Kaylee?” Paulette prodded, giving her a stern look.

Kaylee swallowed. “He is a fed, but I don’t want to go with him.”

Paulette’s sharp stare passed between them again before she nodded. “We’re going to need to head to the station to verify all this. Just because you’re a fed doesn’t mean you aren’t up to no good.” Paulette reached out and moved Kaylee over to her side. “What do you want with Kaylee, anyway?”

Rick scowled. “She’s a material witness to a crime.”

“Seems like she isn’t too keen on being a witness if you have to force her.” Paulette put her arm around Kaylee’s shoulders, leading her toward the Razor. “Come on. We’ll go to the station and get this sorted out.”

“She isn’t leaving my sight,” Rick said, following behind them.

“Then you can ride along with us, and after I verify your business here and what legal rights you have to Kaylee, I’ll un-boot your car. I’m here to protect and serve, and she is one of my people.”

Static and a voice came over the radio before Rick could protest.

“Officer Banks, we need you. Over.”

She pressed on the radio at her shoulder and answered, “This is Officer Banks. Over.”

“We got a situation at the Calvary Chapel on Juneteenth Street. Mr. McNally’s goats got out again, and they’re eating the nativity scene.” Suddenly, the voice shouted, making them all flinch, “No! Not the baby Jesus! We need all hands on deck wrangling them back in. Over.”

Paulette eyed the two of them before she responded, “We’re on our way. Over.”

Chapter Seven

Rick

How had Rick ended up in the back of the Razor while Kaylee got to ride up front, like she wasn’t the one avoiding her civic duty? The two women chatted about how many times these goats had escaped and caused havoc, while Rick stared out the plastic window of the winterized ATV cover and contemplated his life choices. So far, he’d been reprimanded, skunked by multiple leads, tased, and booted, all because of one stubborn woman. The minute he’d thought they had a lead, she would vanish, until now.

The most confounding thing about her was why she’d stayed in this place so long. Rick studied the small town during their short drive. While the brick buildings were all older, probably built in the fifties or close to it, many of them had received a new coat of paint within the last twenty years. It was a cozy, tourist town, much like Lava Hot Springs, one of the places he’d passed through on his way from California. The businesses were warm and welcoming, with cutesy names and artistically decorated windows. He’d grown up in a town just like this, only more run-down and poverty-stricken.

He couldn’t wait to get out of there and back to the city. He found small towns suffocating, filled with judgmental, narrow-minded people. There’d been a few decent ones, like his eighth-grade teacher and the counselor at the high school, but other than that, he’d been happy to put his hometown in his rear view.

Paulette pulled the Razor along the side of the street, parallel parking it easily between two Crown Vics. The ATV must come in handy for getting around in the winter or in peak tourist season.

“Well, shit,” Paulette muttered, and Rick pressed his face against the plastic, his mouth dropping at the chaos erupting in front of him.

At least twenty goats were scattered throughout the manger on the church’s front lawn. Several were calmly eating straw, ignoring the melee, as a black-and-white goat with large, curved horns played keep-away with two uniformed officers, a baby doll dangling by an arm from its mouth. The goat hopped, skipped, and kicked his feet in the air as he dodged every attempt to catch him.

Several more goats were climbing the steps of the manger and railing, jumping off and bleating with joy. A brown goat with stubs for horns reared back and headbutted the Virgin Mary statue, sending her flying backward.

Paulette and Kaylee spilled out, each trying to herd the goats together, while Rick got out slowly, unsure what to do. Goat wrangling wasn’t his expertise.

“Here, Goatee-Goatee,” he tried, earning a few disgruntled frowns from the officers trying to chase the animals. Rick spotted a baby goat rubbing its head against the side of the manger and crouched down, approaching it with soft, careful steps. In a flash of stealth, he snatched up the tiny creature, wrinkling his nose against the smell. The baby thrashed and screamed in his arms.

“Watch out!” someone yelled seconds before something hit the back of his legs. He twisted in time to not crush the goat, his back slamming against the grass, knocking the wind out of him as he kept hold of the baby. A brown, whiskered face hovered over him, letting out an angry “Bahhhh.”

“Let the kid go!”