Closing it the rest of the way, Rod pulled out his cell phone again. He had to take a photograph of this. Chief St. Claire was staring back at him from a newspaper clipping. The headline below read Sophia St. Claire Named Chief of Police. Her lips were curved in a gorgeous smile. But that wasn’t why he wanted to record what he’d found. Leonard or someone else had written with a red marker across her face: Die, Bitch!
It was time for Rod Guerrero to realize he couldn’t flout her authority simply because she was a woman.
Sophia thought about calling one of her officers in for backup. She would’ve felt more comfortable with reinforcements, even if they consisted of a twenty-three-year-old man who was probably a bit too gentle to be in law enforcement and a thirty-nine-year-old who’d come to the job later in life and was too heavy to run or fight. But, for some reason, it was important to her that she be able to solve this problem all by herself. He’d never respect her if she didn’t. She’d never be able to respect herself, either, because this went deeper than just a pissing contest between her and an old classmate. She had to handle this little problem as decisively as any man. Maybe she didn’t have Rod’s brawn. But she had a brain, and she was going to use it to insure that she gained possession of the evidence he’d taken. If he refused to give it to her, she’d arrest him, but she hoped it wouldn’t go that way.
There was only one small problem. While she was getting gas, she’d run into Stuart Dunlap, who’d been in the foulest mood she’d ever seen. He was complaining that his father had coaxed Rod (“the dirty bastard”) back to Bordertown for no good reason except that he’d been obsessed with him ever since Rod had become a Navy SEAL.
Stuart’s jealousy didn’t matter to Sophia. She didn’t like Stu all that much, and she didn’t feel sorry for him, either. He’d been handed just about everything and seemed to expect the gravy train to go on forever. But learning that Rod had once been a SEAL was definitely a concern. Was she crazy for standing up to him?
Maybe. But she didn’t really have a choice. As the chief of police, she was in charge of an important investigation, and she couldn’t lose control of it. Rod had taken something from the crime scene, essentially breaking the law, and he’d disarmed her and resisted arrest.
It was after midnight as she entered the parking lot of the Mother Lode Motel and paused in front of the small office. A vacancy sign glowed in the window, but the lights were off and the front desk was empty. Bordertown didn’t have that many visitors, especially in the height of summer. Leland Jennings lived with his widowed mother. They went to bed every night around ten and came out of their small apartment only if someone rang the buzzer. Sophia knew because she often cruised by to make sure Hillary Hawthorne, a wayward teenager with an insatiable craving for sex, wasn’t turning tricks here again.
Glad she wouldn’t have a witness after what he’d done to her in front of Debbie Berke this morning—she drove through the empty lot and parked a few spaces from Rod’s Hummer. Then she got her Taser gun and her battering ram and climbed out of the cruiser. She had to have some way to enforce her demands. She knew he wasn’t going to simply give her what he’d found unless he had to, just as she knew she’d never shoot him, so there was no point in drawing a gun. A Taser was the only thing that might provide the force she needed without doing permanent damage.
She’d used it before—once to break up a fight and once to take down a guy who was so high on PCP he was a danger to everyone around him. She was very aware that for a man of Rod’s age and in his physical condition, she’d be lucky if the effects lasted ten seconds.
But she was as ready as she’d ever be. Except for a racing heart and an abundance of nerves.
Calm down. You can do this. It’s textbook police work.
The battering ram was heavy, but she’d used it before and knew she could do it. The door would break and the city would have to pay to fix it, but she wasn’t about to announce her presence by knocking on the door. He’d refuse to open it. Then she’d be trying to get in while he was up and fully alert.
She’d have a much better chance of a successful arrest if she could confront him without that door between them….
Adjusting her bulletproof vest to make it as comfortable as possible, she situated herself outside the door, where she stood for several seconds, listening for movement. There wasn’t a single sound. Even the TV was off. He had to be sleeping.
This was it. Taking a deep breath, she studied the lock. She had to hit it directly and with as much power as possible. If it didn’t pop open on the first blow—
She didn’t want to think about what might happen then.
Willing herself to remain calm and strong, she began to count. One…two…three… Then, putting everything she had into it, she swung the battering ram, using her body weight to lend it more power.
“Police! Open up!” she shouted, but her words were drowned out by splintering wood as the door crashed against the inside wall.
She was in. She almost couldn’t believe it. Dropping the ram, she fumbled for her Taser gun and managed to aim it in the direction of the bed, where the lights from the parking lot revealed a surprised and disheveled Rod, pushing himself into a sitting position.
“Freeze! I’m here to collect the evidence you took from my crime scene. Provide it and I’ll forget what you did this morning. But if you don’t…”
He didn’t give her time to finish. Lunging for her, he grabbed her left hand, trying to get to the Taser in her right.
Before he could disarm her as he had earlier, she used a move she’d once learned in a self-defense class and succeeded in breaking his hold—but only because he wasn’t completely awake and the tangle of sheets around his lower half hampered his movements. He kicked free of the bedding so he could come at her a second time, but the slight delay enabled her to regain her balance and her determination.
If he wouldn’t cooperate, she had no choice but to insist. As he leaped out of bed, she pressed the button on her Taser.
The two probes shot out. They didn’t need to come into direct contact with his skin. They merely had to land within a few inches for the electrical current to arc over. But, from his grunt, she was pretty sure she’d actually hit him.
The Taser affected only the muscles between the two probes. Rod jerked as he should have but seemed intent on fighting through the shock. She must not have hit him very effectively. And no doubt he knew that if he could get hold of her it would all be over.