Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

What was with this guy? Jina was so over ducking from this perp’s gunfire. She pulled her weapon, wishing once again that she had her sniper’s rifle. Her scope would enable her to pinpoint this joker’s location.

Wishing for the situation to be different was useless. They had to outsmart this guy.

How, she wasn’t sure.

“Klapper?” Cole asked in a whisper.

“Must be. Mike may have tipped him off by mistake.”

As suddenly as it had started, the barrage of gunfire stopped. There was nothing but a prolonged silence for several long moments. She glanced at Cole crouched beside her, both using the open rear passenger door as cover, then tipped her head toward the woods. “You go left, I go right.”

“Not yet.” He grabbed her arm with his free hand. He’d pulled his weapon too and was also prepared to return fire. “Could be a trap.”

“This whole thing is a trap,” she hissed in a low voice. “We need to get him! ”

“Jina? Cole? Anyone hurt?” Grayson asked from the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“Negative, we’re good,” she responded. Having a radio for communications would have been nice too. If the shooter was lingering nearby, he might be able to overhear their exchange. “You?”

“Fine here,” Grayson confirmed. “I think our perp is in the woods behind the building.”

“I’m sure he is,” Cole agreed. “They’re not deep but extend the length of the gym. A buffer of sorts between the back of the gym and the strip mall behind it.”

“Understood,” Grayson said. “What’s the plan?”

“We need you to provide cover,” Jina spoke up. “Cole and I will split up and try to find him.”

There was a long moment as Grayson considered her request. Finally, he said, “Okay. Give me a minute to get into a better position.”

Another long moment of silence hung between them. Jina battled a wave of frustration at the thought of this guy getting away yet again.

And now she felt certain their perp was Jeff Klapper. A fellow officer, a guy she barely knew wanted to kill her. It didn’t make any sense, especially after all this time, but her only goal now was to grab him.

“I’m ready,” Grayson said. “I’ll take three shots, then you can go.”

“Roger that.” She tensed, waiting for the gunfire. Grayson was close enough that the sound was deafening, but the moment he’d fired the third and final shot, she sprinted away from the SUV to the right, trusting Cole to do his part.

She ran quickly but not silently. Klapper must have known they’d come after him and was probably already trying to make his getaway in the black Honda. The urge to derail his escape was strong, but once she reached the sparse wooded area, she paused to regroup.

Using a tree for cover, she swept her gaze over the area. There were about five cars parked in front of the strip mall, but a quick glance proved none were a black Honda without plates. A minivan, a sedan, and a black Ford SUV with plates, which gave her pause.

Had the shooter changed vehicles? Or had he parked his SUV behind the strip mall the way he’d done that first night?

Was that just thirty-six hours ago? It seemed like a lifetime.

She couldn’t see Cole, so she made her way through the trees toward the front of the strip mall. Glancing down the tree line, she caught a glimpse of Cole about forty feet to her left.

The silence was nerve-racking. Had Mike called the police? Reports of gunfire, especially in the suburbs, usually garnered a quick response.

Catching Cole’s gaze, she gestured to her right, wordlessly telling him she was going around to the back side of the strip mall. He nodded and gestured to the opposite side. Much like the first night they’d gone after this guy, they would circle the building and meet in the middle.

Sweeping one last gaze over the area, she ran toward the right end of the strip mall. Pausing at the corner, she edged along the building, looking for anything unusual.

But she didn’t see anyone or a black SUV.

Upon reaching the opposite corner, she peered around it to scan the back. She’d expected to see the black Honda again, but there was nothing.

Not a car or a person. Absolutely nobody was back there. Except for Cole, mirroring her movements on the other side of the building.

Where had the perp gone? He couldn’t have disappeared into thin air.

She spun on her heel and ran quickly back to the front of the strip mall. The black Ford was still there, so she quickly approached, her weapon up and ready.

A door opened, and she swung around to face the person coming out. A woman screamed and threw up her hands, dropping her bag on the ground. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” she cried in alarm.

“I won’t. I’m police officer Jina Wheeler.” She lowered her weapon. “Did you see a man with a gun go past here?”

“What? No! A shooter?” The woman glanced around nervously.

“We’ve cleared the area, ma’am,” Jina assured her. “Which vehicle is yours?”

“Th-the SUV?” The woman still looked terrified. Glancing at the ground, Jina noticed cosmetics had spilled from her bag.

“Sorry to frighten you,” Jina said apologetically. “You’re free to go.”

The woman took a few steps to the car, then remembered her cosmetics. Jina suspected she had well over a hundred dollars’ worth of products there and quickly bent to help her retrieve them.

Cole came over to join her. “Any sign of him?”

“No.” She couldn’t help sounding disgusted. “I don’t get this Klapper dude. Why take shots at us in broad daylight?”

“A crime of opportunity.” Cole shrugged. “He knows we’re onto him. He waited here to pounce the minute we arrived.”

“Yeah.” She glanced around the strip mall area, then sighed. “Let’s go talk to Mike. Maybe he can shed some light on the sequence of events.”

“Agree.” Cole gestured for her to go ahead of him. “Keep your eyes peeled, though, in case we somehow missed him.”

Taking the lead, she cut through the narrow swath of woods, heading over to where Grayson was still stationed near his now bullet-ridden SUV. She felt a twinge of regret over the hit Rhy’s budget would take over this.

Again.

“He escaped?” Grayson asked.

“Seems that way.” She holstered her weapon as the screech of police sirens filled the air. “Oh boy. The Brookland cops won’t be happy to see us.”

“I’ve updated Rhy on the situation,” Grayson said. “He’s heading here with Cassidy and Zeke. Flynn is still drilling down into Jeff Klapper’s social media.”

“I’m surprised he’s on there, proves he’s not very smart.” She glanced at Cole. “Let’s go see Mike.”

“No need, he’s watching from the doorway.” Cole gestured to Mike, letting him know it was safe to come out. Mike left the sanctuary of the gym and hurried toward them.

“When did Klapper leave?” Jina demanded.

Mike looked surprised by her comment. “I asked him to stick around after he showered. Last I knew, he was still in the men’s locker room when the gunfire rang out.”

She turned back to the gym, eyeing the building thoughtfully. “Could he have left via the back without you seeing him?”

“Maybe. I can go back and check,” Mike offered. “When I heard the gunfire, I told all the patrons working out to seek cover in the locker rooms until I told them the coast was clear.”

“How many people total, aside from Klapper?” Jina asked.

“Only six or so,” Mike said. “This isn’t my peak time of the day.”

Three Brookland police cruisers with red and blue lights flashing were headed their way. Jina knew they’d get stuck giving statements if they didn’t get inside the gym. “Grayson, can you handle this while we find Klapper?”

“Go,” Grayson said with a nod.

She grabbed Mike’s arm and gestured to the main entrance. “We need to hurry.”

Mike didn’t hesitate to move toward the gym. She and Cole flanked him on either side. The MMA gym was nothing fancy, which was exactly what she liked the most about it.

“This way,” Mike said, heading straight toward the men’s locker room. He glanced at her, and added, “No women in here today.”

“Understood.” She knew she was one of the few female members. She let Mike go in first, but then crowded in behind him, not caring if some of the guys were half dressed or not. She didn’t care about that.

She needed to find Jeff Klapper.

“Where is he?” she asked as Mike frowned, glancing around in confusion. She didn’t trust her memory to recognize him.

“I guess he’s not here.” Mike lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “I know he came this way, though.” The gym owner gave her a chagrined look. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

She managed a smile, even though she wanted to pound her fists on the lockers. “Not your fault.” She nodded at the six guys standing around looking concerned. “Sorry to interrupt. Obviously, there has been some gunfire outside, but the local police have arrived, and the shooter has left the area. You can head out if you’d like.”

“Man, this place is really going downhill,” a handsome arrogant guy muttered harshly as he brushed past her.

“Not true. None of this is Mike’s fault,” she said sharply. “It’s mine.”

Mr. Arrogant glanced back at her as if he wanted to say something more, then must have thought better of it. Without another word, he disappeared through the doorway. Her comment seemed to shut the rest of them up as they filed suit.

It burned to know Mike’s business would take a hit after this. Granted, two episodes of gunfire in two days was a lot. Even though many of the gym members were cops, they wouldn’t want to hang out at a place where random shootings were rampant.

Maybe she could convince the rest of the team to join the gym to make up for any memberships Mike might lose after this.

She followed Cole and Mike out of the locker room, then paused to glance over at the women’s locker room. After being inside the men’s, she could attest to how much smaller it was in comparison. Which was logical as there weren’t nearly as many female members from what she could tell.

In most of her recent visits, she’d had the locker room to herself. A far cry from other gyms she’d used to belong to.

Turning, she pushed the locker room door open and shouldn’t have been disappointed it appeared empty. Still, she went all the way inside to check the shower area too.

And found nothing .

Where in the world had Jeff Klapper gone?

Emerging from the locker room, she saw Mike and Cole talking in low voices near the front door. She turned to head back toward Mike’s small office area, determined to check the rear door.

Buildings were required by fire codes to have more than one exit. Maybe being a member of Rhy’s tactical team had made her overly paranoid, and the first time she’d toured the gym prior to paying for an annual membership, she’d asked Mike to show her the rear exit. Thankfully, he’d obliged.

As she passed Mike’s office, she heard her name. Glancing to the right where the storeroom was located, she saw Duncan lurking there. His eyes were wide, his scarred face mostly covered by his beard. She remembered Mike telling her Duncan had been in a work-related accident that had caused him to require surgery for deep facial lacerations. She hadn’t noticed them much before, but the white lines looked more pronounced up close.

“Jina, this way.” Duncan gestured for her to come closer. “I saw a guy leaving out the back before the shooting started.”

“You did?” She quickly hurried over to join him. “Do you know Jeff Klapper? I think he’s the guy who’s been targeting me.”

“Yeah, I know Jeff,” Duncan said with a nod. “He was here earlier, talking to Mike. I wasn’t included in their conversation, but I could tell Mike was concerned. Come with me, I’ll show you where he went.”

No surprise Klapper had gone out the back, just as she’d suspected. She nodded, and asked, “Does he drive a black Honda SUV?”

“Yep. I’ve seen it a couple of times,” Duncan admitted. “ I was surprised when Mike said he needed to talk to Klapper. I had a feeling it was because you considered him a suspect.”

“You guessed right. Mike was trying to hold him here so I could confront him.” She wished they could have gotten there a few minutes earlier.

“If I had known that, I would have grabbed him,” Duncan said with a frown.

“Not your fault.” She might have included him but hadn’t expected Duncan to be there. In her experience, he mostly worked late evening and night shifts. And those were the shifts she usually came in to work out too.

She followed Duncan farther down the hall toward the exit. There was no window on the door like there was in the front, so she couldn’t see outside. As they reached the doorway, Duncan abruptly turned and jammed his hand into her side.

A hand that held a gun.

“What are you doing?” She tried to reach for her weapon, but Duncan had already removed it from her holster, an evil grin playing across his features.

“We’re taking a little ride,” he said in a harsh whisper. “Just you and me, Jina.”

Realization dawned a fraction of a second too late. Klapper wasn’t the shooter. Duncan was.

And she’d foolishly walked right into his trap.

“Where was Klapper when the gunfire went off?” Cole asked, trying to follow Mike’s timeline.

“I asked him to stay and talk to me, but he claimed he had to go. That he needed to take a shower and then hit the road because he was running late,” Mike explained. “I was about to follow him into the men’s locker room when I heard the gunfire. That’s when I went out into the main gym to tell the others to get into the locker room too.”

Cole frowned. “How much time passed between Klapper going into the locker room and the sound of gunfire?”

“Barely a minute, maybe less.”

That wasn’t nearly enough time for Klapper to have been their shooter.

“I’m sorry if I messed up,” Mike said. “I tried to get him to stick around.”

“He’s probably not our guy anyway, so don’t worry about it,” Cole assured him. He ran his frustrated hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, that only means we still have no idea who this guy is or why he wants to hurt Jina.”

“I wish you were closer to finding this guy. I’m going to lose business over this.” Mike looked depressed.

“Hey, we’ll find him.” He clapped Mike on the shoulder as Rhy, Cassidy, and Zeke approached the gym. “And once we do, there won’t be a reason for people to avoid coming here.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

He didn’t ask if Mike wasn’t sure they’d catch the guy or if the gym members would return once the danger was over.

And decided now wasn’t the time to ask.

“Did you find Jeff Klapper?” Rhy demanded.

“No, and based on Mike’s timeline, he’s not our guy.” He quickly filled the captain in on the sequence of events.

“Where’s Jina?” Zeke asked.

Cole turned to glance behind him, surprised she wasn’t there .

“I think she ducked into the female locker room,” Mike said.

“I’ll check on her.” Cassidy brushed past him.

“If Klapper isn’t our guy, then how in the world did he know you, Jina, and Grayson were on your way here?” Rhy asked with a scowl. “Something isn’t adding up.”

“I know, that’s bothering me too.” He didn’t want to put Mike in the hot seat but turned to face the gym owner. “Was there anything else unusual prior to hearing the gunfire?”

“No. I was reconciling my monthly statement for last month when you called,” Mike said. “I dropped everything to head out to find Klapper.”

Cole masked his disappointment. It wasn’t Mike’s fault. He turned back to Rhy and Zeke. “Jina and I split up as Grayson provided cover. We went through the woods all the way back around the strip mall. There was nothing back there. Unfortunately, it seems as if our perp escaped before we could get a visual.”

“I hear you.” Rhy grimaced and glanced behind him. “The local police are here and need your statements. When we’re finished, we can head back to the precinct to plan our next move.”

“Do you think setting Jina up at the Timberland Falls property is still a go?” Zeke asked.

“Unless we can come up with something better, yeah,” Rhy said. “I’m open to other options.”

“Jina’s not in the locker room.” Cassidy’s expression held concern as she joined them.

“Maybe she went into my office?” Mike turned to head that way.

“No, we’ll go.” Cole grabbed his arm to stop him. “We’re armed. ”

“Yeah, sure.” Mike moved out of the way. “My office is on the left, and the storeroom is to the right.”

Cole took the lead, as he was closest, but Zeke, Cassidy, and Rhy were not far behind. Holding his weapon ready, he crossed the room toward Mike’s office. Finding the door hanging ajar, he hung back as he kicked it open.

Empty.

Without hesitation, he moved farther down the hall. The storeroom door was also hanging open, and when he kicked that door open, he found it empty too.

The knot in his stomach tightened as he continued down the hall to the rear exit. Maybe he was overreacting. Jina could have come this way solely to check the area for herself.

But that didn’t stop him from praying she was okay. He pushed the door open, then hung back to sweep the area with his gaze.

And found nothing.

Battling another wave of fear, he ran outside, looking from left to right.

“Maybe she’s out front, already giving her statement,” Rhy said, coming up beside him.

He nodded, turning to head around the corner to the front of the gym. There were lots of people milling about now. A few of the gym members they’d released from the locker room were still standing around, along with what seemed like even more cops than had initially shown up to the scene.

“I don’t see her,” Zeke said with concern.

“I don’t either,” Cassidy said. “Her blond hair usually stands out.”

Cole continued forward, taking his time to look methodically from one person to the next until he, too, understood Jina wasn’t out there.

Then he turned to glance back at the wooded area. Had something out there drawn her attention?

“We need to check the strip mall again.” Without waiting for a response, he broke into a run. Apprehension clawed at him, telling him something wasn’t right.

The same way it had when he’d been interviewing Henry and Erma Crow.

He burst through the trees, searching desperately for Jina’s blond hair or the black Honda. When he didn’t see them, he continued moving to the back of the strip mall, still praying for God to keep Jina safe.

He stopped abruptly when he noticed the area behind the strip mall was deserted.

Where could she be?

“Cole?” He turned to meet Rhy’s grim expression. “We need to head back to the gym. That’s the last place she was seen.”

The last place Jina was seen alive. A warning chill slid down his spine, and he glanced at his watch. She’d only been missing for a few minutes, but that was more than enough time for the perp to grab her, kill her, and dump the body.

Please, Lord, protect her! Please keep her safe in Your loving arms!

“Cole?” Rhy searched his gaze, as if sensing how close he was to losing it.

He managed to nod and quickly joined the rest of Jina’s teammates as they jogged back to the gym.

“Detective Cole Roberts?” He recognized Brookland police officer Howard scowling at him. “I need to talk to you.”

“Not now.” He went around Howard and his cohort Tyson to head back inside the gym. Jina had been there, but now she was gone.

What were they missing?

He found Mike sitting at his desk. “I need to know the names of everyone who’d been inside when the shooting started.”

“I already told you that,” Mike said, looking defeated. “It was a slow day. Those guys in the locker room were the only ones here. Oh, and Jeff Klapper too.”

“And you’re sure there wasn’t anyone else?” It was all he could do not to scream at the gym owner. “If you were in your office, how would you know who was out there and who wasn’t?”

“I checked them in, then when there was a lull in the action, I came back here.” Mike gestured to the computer. “I mentioned before that I have a camera that shows me when someone comes inside.”

“Roll the video,” Cole said. “And hurry.”

“Sure.” Mike tapped a few keys, bringing the video up on the screen. He went back to the time before the shooting, then hit the play button.

Cole watched as one guy, then another came into the gym. Then he saw Duncan. “Stop the video. You didn’t mention Duncan.”

“Oh yeah. Well, he works here and gets the perk of a free gym membership.” Mike frowned. “He’s not usually here so early, though.”

Alarm bells went off in the back of Cole’s mind. “Fast-forward the video, see if he leaves the gym through the front door.”

Mike did so, then sat back in his chair with a dazed expression on his face. “Duncan didn’t leave out the front. And he wasn’t in the locker room either.”

Cole was already turning away. Duncan was their shooter, and he had Jina.

There wasn’t much time left to find them.