The Wrong Bones (Widow's Island #10)(27)

10


Logan stopped dead, his heart slamming as Shannon Dooley pointed a rifle at Tessa.

He drew his weapon. But before he could take aim or even shout, Tessa withdrew behind the tree. A shot rang out. But Tessa was no longer in sight.

Sunlight blinded him for a second; then Logan squinted at the car. It seemed Mona was behind the wheel. Was that Chandler in the back seat?

There were too many civilians in the area. Logan did not want to shoot, but he needed to stop Shannon. She was raising the rifle again.

Logan brought up his weapon and aimed at Shannon. “Freeze!”

She swung the long gun around to aim at Logan; then she pivoted back to Tessa. Shannon kept the rifle barrel up while opening the car’s rear door. She dragged Chandler out and tugged him in front of her. Clearly unable to keep the rifle barrel level one handed, she dropped the long gun and yanked a handgun from her waistband at the small of her back. She pointed it at Tessa over Chandler’s shoulder.

Horror seized Logan. She was using her own child as a shield.

She shuffled backward to the sidewalk, pulling Chandler by the arm. Attached shops lined the street. Chandler resisted. She grabbed a handful of his hair and leaned close to his ear. With a glance behind her, she pulled him through the door of the first shop, Island Gifts. The tiny bell rang as the door swung closed.

“Shit!” Tessa raced toward the car.

Logan went to the Corolla and peered inside. Mona still sat at the wheel, her eyes vacant and terrified. Blood dripped from a gash in her temple.

“Are you all right?” Tessa stopped next to the vehicle. She’d been on her radio updating dispatch.

“Yes.” Mona pressed a hand to the cut. “Please save Chandler. She did not look rational.”

“Where’s Dwyer?” Logan yelled.

Mona looked confused. “Who?”

“The man with the long hair?” Tessa asked.

She shook her head. “There isn’t anyone else. It’s just her. She carjacked me at the gas station while I was filling my tank.” Mona touched her head. “She hit me with the butt of the rifle.”

Logan and Tessa shared a glance. Then they ran for the gift shop. Tessa approached the front door and motioned for Logan to cover the rear exit. He raced around the building. The alley was clear. Logan turned the doorknob slowly and opened the back door. Leading with his weapon, he scanned the cluttered shop, but stacks of displays and revolving racks provided plenty of hiding spots.

He heard the bell of the front door jingle. Tessa coming inside, he hoped.

He crept up and down the rows of island-themed merchandise. The shop sold everything from stuffed orcas to salt and pepper shakers shaped like orcas.

A muffled moan sounded from somewhere inside. Logan spotted Tessa over a table stacked with hand-painted tableware. He moved carefully, keeping low, sweeping his weapon into the many nooks and crannies of the shop.

Two doors opened off the side wall. One was likely a restroom. Who knew where the other led? A closet? To the neighboring store?

Logan’s heart jackhammered against his sternum. Across the store, Tessa jerked her head toward the doors.

Logan skirted a revolving postcard display to move beside Tessa. They moved down the aisle badge to badge. Something crashed in the rear of the shop. Logan whirled, aiming at the noise: a tipped-over display of hand-painted greeting cards. Sweat trickled between his shoulder blades and pooled at the base of his spine. A cat shot out from under the debris.

Next to him, Tessa exhaled.

As a unit, they turned toward the doors. Logan listened hard. From behind the door, he heard the scrape of a shoe on the tile floor. Stepping to the side, Tessa touched the door handle. She yanked the door open. Logan took aim on the doorway. A bathroom. Empty.

Tessa moved back. They sidestepped to the second door. She reached for the knob and pulled it open. An elderly woman crouched in the corner of a storeroom, her hands over her head, her face turned away.

Logan couldn’t remember her name, but he recognized the shopkeeper.

“Where did they go?” he mouthed.

The old woman moved to the doorway and pointed to a folding screen on the other side of the shop. She mouthed, “Door to the next shop.”

Tessa motioned for him to go out the back door and cut off Shannon’s escape. As much as he hated to be separated from Tessa in a crisis, he knew she was right. With a nod, he slipped through the store and out the back exit. The rear door to the next shop was unlocked. Logan eased inside. Whispers came from the front of the store.

“Move it!” Shannon hissed. “You’re my blood. I know you won’t betray me like he did.”

Logan followed the voices. He ducked behind a table piled with T-shirts. Between the stacks, he could see Shannon pulling Chandler toward him. They were heading for the back door. They disappeared behind a stack of boxed merchandise. Logan waited for them to emerge on the other side.

A click sounded from the side door.

Tessa.

He crept a few feet toward Shannon and Chandler. Peering through a one-inch gap between boxes, he spotted them.

Shannon had spun toward the sound. She clutched Chandler in front of her and aimed the gun toward Tessa.





11


“Stop right there, bitch.”

Tessa froze, her gun up and aimed toward Shannon. Except Tessa didn’t have a clear shot. Once again, Shannon held Chandler in front of her own body. Her handgun was aimed at Tessa.