Dark Tide. Susan Sleeman

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СКАЧАТЬ she whispered so the man couldn’t hear her. “I need help.” She blurted out her story as she heard his boat thump against the end of the deck.

      “Hurry. Send someone fast. He’s right behind me. Closing in on me faster than I’d thought.” She huffed out Lilly’s address, but she could no longer carry on a conversation and pull in enough air to run. She shoved the phone in her pocket and charged toward the gangplank that connected this small floating village with the shore.

      In the parking lot, she wished for her car, but she’d flown to Portland and arrived at Lilly’s house by taxi. She ran as hard as she could, her feet pounding toward the nearby mall.

      Heavy footfalls soon slapped on the asphalt in the distance behind her. She had to hide and hope the police arrived on time. At the nearest store, she sank into the shadows of a large Dumpster.

      A foghorn sounded from the river.

      Fog. What about the fog? Wouldn’t it slow down the police response? She couldn’t risk them not arriving in time. She had to summon more help. Preferably someone nearby.

      Derrick.

      Thankful a mutual friend had shared his cell number just after she’d arrived in town, she dialed the phone.

      Please answer, Derrick. Please. I need you.

      The thought took the last shred of her calm. She didn’t want to need him or anyone else. Didn’t deserve his help with the way she’d walked out on him.

      But she trusted him to come through for her, whether she deserved it or not. Life-and-death matters trumped pride. He’d balk at helping, but he was a man of honor. Of integrity. One who worked hard to find justice for the underdog. He’d never let her down. No matter what she’d done to him in the past.

      As reality settled in, her stomach cramped hard. Sophia’s and her own life now depended on the very man who never wanted to see her again.

      * * *

      From the upper deck of Derrick Justice’s houseboat, he stared over the Columbia River, letting the rhythmic flow of the river melt away his terrible day. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been terrible. Just stressful. Something he never thought he’d say about an early dinner with his siblings, but since they’d all married, he felt out of place at family gatherings.

      “Get used to it,” he mumbled to himself. You’re not marriage material. This is your life now. A life that would be filled with watching all of them making doe eyes at each other and playing touchy-feely. It was enough to gag him.

      The hardest to take was his twin, Dani. He’d always been able to count on her to stand in solidarity with him. But now, she’d gone to the other side, too. In the two months since she’d married Luke Baldwin, Derrick had hardly seen her outside of work at the family’s private investigation agency.

      He drew in a deep breath, let it out and watched the vapor swirl up then disappear into the haze. He propped his arms behind his head and noticed long fingers of the fog creep over the edge of his second-story deck. Soon it would surround him and he wouldn’t be able to see a thing. Perfect. Just the way he wanted it tonight.

      His phone chimed. He glanced at the screen. Not someone he knew, but the call could be related to a case so he answered. “Derrick Justice.”

      “Derrick.” The whispered voice hit him like a Mack truck, and air whooshed out of his lungs. He shook his head in disbelief.

      Was it really her, or had all these thoughts of marriage parading through his head tonight unearthed a memory he’d rather avoid? Holding his breath, he waited for her to speak again.

      “Derrick, are you there?” Her voice was stronger this time.

      Gina.

      A chill settled over him, and he thought about hanging up. He didn’t need to talk to the woman who’d walked out on him. Especially not today when he was already crabby about family members leaving him behind.

      “A man is going to kill me unless you help me,” she whispered.

      “What man?” He came to his feet to pace the deck.

      “My brother was murdered. The killer just shot my friend Lilly right in front of me. I grabbed Sophia and ran. Derrick, she’s only seven months old. He’ll hurt her, too. I can’t fail her. But he’s...” Her voice fell off in a strangled sob.

      The Gina he’d known was calm, levelheaded and not prone to exaggeration. Self-reliant, asking for help only as a last resort. She also didn’t panic. Unless the situation called for it. The threat must be real.

      Unease curdled his dinner. “Where are you?”

      “Jantzen Beach. I’m hiding behind Coffee to Go’s Dumpster.”

      “Did you call the police?”

      “Yes, but I’m afraid the fog will slow them down and they won’t get here in time.”

      “I’m on my way. Make sure your phone is set to vibrate so it won’t be heard if I need to call you.”

      “Thank you,” he heard her say as he disconnected.

      Dropping his phone in his pocket, he charged inside and headed straight to his bedroom. He grabbed his gun from the drawer and filled his pocket with ammo. No telling how much he might need.

      On the way to the main door, he snatched his car keys from a hook. Running cross-country would be faster than getting his car out of the garage and driving, but he’d need his car to pull off the safe rescue of a woman with a child.

      Child. Gina has a child.

      A vice gripped his heart. She had a baby. Should’ve been his child. His daughter.

      “Too bad,” he mumbled as he climbed into his SUV. She didn’t want you, now, did she?

      Once on the road to the mall, doing fifty in a thirty-five zone, he speed-dialed Dani. It was foolhardy enough to go into a dangerous situation without backup, but the situation was too dangerous for him to wait. Still, he needed to let one of his siblings know where he was going.

      “Derrick,” she answered on the third ring.

      He quickly explained the situation. “Gina called the police, but this is a potential homicide, so call Mitch, too.” Their sister, Kat’s, husband was a Portland homicide detective. “I’ll call you as soon as I have anything else to report.”

      “Be careful.”

      “Always.”

      He turned into the strip mall’s lot, his focus going straight to the coffee shop at the far end of the mall. Hazy mist clung to the concrete, inching up the siding as if planning to devour it, while windows on the darkened stores stared blankly back at him. He crawled through the lot, not spotting any movement.

      Had Gina fabricated this incident? Played him? If so, what did she want with him? Only one way to find out.

      He parked at the end of the building and got out. He drew his weapon, and after a careful sweep of the area, rounded СКАЧАТЬ