Chapter 6 - The Pursuit
The red and blue LED lights of my fire marshal truck flashed blindingly against the pouring rain as I backed out of the alley, cutting off Spencer's escape route at the main gate of the rail yard.
Spencer slammed on his brakes, the Audi sliding sideways across the wet gravel before coming to a halt twenty yards from my front bumper.
He put the car in reverse, trying to turn around in the narrow alley, but the rear tires spun uselessly in a deep patch of mud beside the rail tracks.
I threw my truck into park, grabbed my heavy flash lantern, and stepped out into the rain.
Spencer was frantically revving the engine, the Audi’s wheels churning mud and throwing rocks against the metal fence. I walked up to his driver-side window, holding the heavy steel crowbar in my right hand.
"Turn off the engine, Spencer," I said, my voice cutting through the roar of the rain and the spinning tires.
He looked up at me through the rain-streaked glass. His face was slick with sweat, his aristocratic composure completely destroyed. He reached toward the glove box, his hand reaching for something inside.
I didn't wait to see if it was a weapon.
I swung the crowbar, shattering the driver-side window into a thousand sparkling fragments.
Spencer shrieked, covering his face as glass showered over him. I reached through the shattered frame, grabbed him by the collar of his expensive wool coat, unlocked the door, and dragged him out into the rain and mud.
I pinned him face-down onto the hood of his Audi, pulling his hands behind his back.
"You're done," I growled in his ear. "Extortion, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and operating an illegal facility in a condemned building."
"You don't know who you're dealing with, Ellison!" Spencer gasped, his face pressed against the wet steel of his car. "I have contacts on the county board! Your wife signed the transfer agreements! She handed the money over voluntarily!"
"She handed it over under duress from an extortionist," a voice called out from the darkness.
Dale Whitmore stepped out from behind a parked county sheriff cruiser that had just pulled into the yard, its spotlight illuminating the entire scene. Behind Dale were three marked sheriff cars, their red and blue lights painting the wet brick walls in flashing color.
Deputies stepped out with weapons drawn, taking control of Spencer and putting real steel handcuffs on his wrists.
Dale walked over to me, holding an umbrella against the rain. He looked at Spencer being hauled away, then turned to look at me.
"Nice work, Conrad," Dale said, offering a tight, professional nod. "I got your text message while I was at dinner. I brought Deputy Sheriff Miller and the fraud task force with me."
I let out a long, ragged breath, wiped the cold rain from my face, and looked back toward my truck.
Colette and Kaden were standing under the awning of the warehouse, wrapped in a blanket the paramedics had just given them. Kaden was leaning heavily against his mother, but his eyes were fixed entirely on me.
May you like
"Is it over?" Dale asked gently.
"The crime is over," I said, looking at my wife and son. "The rest of it... we're going to have to fix from scratch."