Bred in the Bone (Widow's Island #4)(13)

Cate, Tessa, and Henry nodded, and the five of them piled back in the SUV, the rear bench seat even tighter than before from the bulk of their ballistic vests. Gunderson continued down the narrow track, but the atmosphere inside had changed. The easy camaraderie of before had been replaced by watchfulness and tension.

The trees cleared, and a mobile home came into sight. Behind it were three scattered outbuildings, two large and one small. The home had plywood nailed over the windows, but the door appeared accessible. The SUV stopped at the edge of the clearing, and the two deputies stepped out. As they strode toward the door, the three others waited.

“Need to clear all the buildings,” Tessa muttered, her gaze flicking between the structures.

“They’ll get to it,” said Cate. Her stomach clenched, and a wave of dread swept through her. “We shouldn’t be here.”

“What?” Both Henry and Tessa turned to her.

“No . . . that’s not what I mean,” Cate tried to explain. “I’ve got a bad feeling. That’s all. Everything feels off.”

“Do we warn them?” asked Henry, looking to the two deputies, who’d reached the house and were knocking on the door.

“About my gut? No.” She’d watched the deputies. They were using every proper precaution for approaching an unknown property. “It’s probably the idea of knocking on a strange door that’s affecting me.”

Tessa tipped her head, her gaze holding Cate’s. “Still an issue?”

“Yeah,” Cate said softly. “It’s not good.”

An explosion filled the clearing, making Cate’s ears ring and blasting air through her window. The three of them gasped and focused on the sudden smoke rising behind the house. The deputies leaped off the small porch at the door and stood with their backs flat against the home, their weapons drawn, scanning their surroundings.

Cate couldn’t move.

“Get them out of there,” said Tessa as she stepped out of the vehicle. She drew her weapon and stood behind her open door.

They need our help.

Cate shoved her anxiety aside and copied Tessa’s actions on the other side of the vehicle, offering cover for the deputies to return to the SUV. Tessa waved them back as she and Cate watched the house and area for possible threats.

Black smoke billowed behind the home, but no flames rose.

A movement near one of the outbuildings grabbed Cate’s attention. Is that a child?

“Did you see that?” Tessa asked. “It looked like a kid!”

“It was. He had a dog with him as he ran into the barn,” said Cate. “He looked right at us.”

“Is he hurt?” Henry asked as he leaned over the back seat to grab his bag.

“He was running pretty fast,” answered Cate. “I suspect he’s fine.”

The deputies reached the SUV, and everyone moved behind the vehicle, putting as much metal between the house and themselves as possible. “We need backup,” panted McClure.

“Already called it in,” answered Gunderson, his chest heaving from his dash across the clearing. He surveyed the smoke, his eyes taking in every detail. “What blew up? I don’t see any flames.”

“Did you hear anything when you were at the house?” asked Cate.

“Thought I heard a door close a few seconds before the explosion,” said McClure. “It sounded like it was at the back of the house.”

“Same,” agreed Gunderson.

Cate watched the smoke vanish as it rose. “I think that was a distraction,” she said slowly, scanning their surroundings for the twentieth time. “We saw a kid with a dog dart into the barn. If it’d been an emergency, I think he’d run away from the blast, not hide.”

“He wasn’t interested in coming our way,” Tessa said. “He saw us, but he didn’t seem scared . . . just intent on getting inside the barn.”

“How old?” asked Gunderson.

“Maybe seven? Younger?” said Cate as Tessa agreed.

“We can’t have a child running around when stuff is blowing up,” said McClure. “Which building did he go in?”

“The largest,” said Cate.

“What if he’s the one who set it?” said Tessa. “No one else has shown their face. No one is shooting. Just one big bang to send us running away.”

“Let’s check the barn,” said Gunderson. “I want that kid out of the way before more officers step foot on this property.” He eyed Cate and Tessa. “I’ll need you two.”

“I don’t want to patch up any bullet holes either.” Henry was grim.

“I want one of you with each of us since we have radios,” Gunderson told Cate. “You and McClure circle around to the back of the barn in case Tessa and I flush him out from the front.”

The four of them slowly moved into position, leaving Henry at the SUV. Cate followed the deputy along the side of the barn, trying to listen over the sound of her pounding heart for any sign of the boy. The explosion’s acrid odor filled the area, making her want to cough. McClure did a quick check around the corner of the barn.

“There’s no other entrance or windows at the back,” McClure said into the mic at his shoulder. “There’s nowhere for him to go.”