Chief Chavez slammed his notebook down on the conference table and glowered at us. “So where the hell is Griffith? You were sure he’d be at the theater, and he wasn’t. I’ve got limited resources, people. Jesus, what if he’s not even in town anymore?”
It was Friday afternoon, late in the day.
After the play ended and the theater cleared out, Finn and I and the team had spent the rest of the night patrolling the town. We stopped at pubs and restaurants, the movie theater, even the twenty-four-hour high-end fitness club on the north side of town.
No place was too small or too large for us to check.
But we’d found nothing and finally, around three a.m., we’d each driven home for a couple of hours of shut-eye. Then we’d been back at it again, working in pairs, checking and rechecking potential targets.
And now here we were, back at the station, getting our asses chewed out by Chief Chavez.
The whole team sat around the conference table staring glumly at one another. Sheriff Underhill was nowhere to be seen, and I wondered if she’d stuck around all night, or headed out in the evening after the play had started.
Chavez continued. “What’s the plan, people? What’s next?”
“Look, Griffith knows that we know who he is. Whatever his plans were, they’ve been momentarily thwarted. But … he’s not going to give up that easily.” I tried to remain calm.
I thought about the maps on Griffith’s closet walls, the way one in particular had seemed familiar and yet strange. Then it came to me and with it, a sinking feeling in my gut. Griffith was in the one place that I never wanted to return to. But it looked like I’d have to.
I swallowed hard and said, “The Ashley Forest. Milo’s gone to ground at the ruins, in the Old Cabin Woods.”
Finn exhaled, was skeptical. “There’s nothing there. It’s been snowing off and on for the last week. He’ll freeze; he can hardly risk starting a campfire.”
“There’s an underground root cellar that’s still intact. He’ll hunker down there and use the ground cover to shield smoke. It’s dense back there; no one would notice. Chief … Griffith is committed to his mission. He’s not going anywhere until he sees it through. He’s a professional. A few nights in a protected shelter will be a cakewalk compared to the sniper’s nests he has been in.” I stood, anxious, then sat back down. “We’ve got to go in tonight, as soon as it’s dark. A small team. We’ll get in nice and quiet and take him by surprise.”
Chavez slowly shook his head, a scowl deepening the lines between his eyebrows. “Those woods are littered with traps and mud pits. You’re talking about going into unknown territory with a skeleton crew in pitch-darkness against a Navy SEAL–trained sniper, who has had the last few months to get the lay of the land. You’re out of your mind. We go in tomorrow, full force, at first light. Surround the place and flush him out.”
“No. It has to be tonight,” Finn said urgently. “Gemma’s right; Griffith won’t wait any longer. Whether the theater was his target or not, he’s going to make a move tonight.”
The chief stood and leaned forward on the table, fixing his gaze on the five of us. “My answer is final. We go at dawn. Prepare a tactical team. I want all roads in and out of the Ashley Forest guarded by two-man teams. I want a tracker, with a fresh dog, ready to go by five o’clock. Everyone wears a vest. Get maps of the forest, especially the ruins. Understood?”
“Yes, Chief,” I muttered.
Chavez exhaled. “Good. Get a move on.”
Outside the conference room, Finn and I looked at each other.
I read the unspoken words in his eyes and nodded, just once.
Though it might cost us our jobs, we were going into the woods.
Tonight.
For all his faults, and he had many, Finn knew his people. Within ten minutes, he’d managed to convince Armstrong and Moriarty to join us. Armstrong was an easy sell. And Moriarty was always up for an adventure, especially if that meant sticking it to the man.
Even when the man in question was Angel Chavez, a chief he admired and respected.
“This could get us all fired,” I said by final warning. We were in the alley behind the police station, Moriarty taking a smoke break, the rest of us ostensibly keeping him company. Our voices low, our eyes peeled for anyone entering the alley at either end. “I’m serious. I think catching Milo Griffith tonight is worth the risk but you all need to be sure. You need to be one hundred percent in.”
“I’m in.” Armstrong bummed a cigarette from Moriarty and clamped it between his teeth. Armstrong’s eyes were mere slits, his voice a low growl. “I’m going to tear Griffith’s head off.”
“Yeah, I’m in if Armstrong gets first dibs on the thug. A father needs that kind of opportunity. It’s healing.” Moriarty lit Armstrong’s cigarette, then yanked it from his partner’s mouth. “Give me that, you’ll hate yourself if you smoke it.”
“No one’s getting first dibs on anyone. We take him in by the book, nice and easy. It’s the only chance any of us have of making it through this with our necks intact,” Finn said. He ran a hand through his dark hair, glancing behind him at the setting sun. “The chief won’t fire all of us. He’d have no detectives left. That’s a move he can’t make.”
I glanced at the sun as well, watched it move fast in the western sky, dropping farther and farther down. I pulled a map from my back pocket and flattened it against the alley fence. “We need to be in place by nightfall. Moriarty, you take the entrance on the north road. It’s the farthest from the cabin, but all along Griffith has done the unexpected. He could have an escape vehicle stashed there. If you find it, disable it. Armstrong, you take the trail on the western edge. It’s the cleanest route to the cabin. Griffith may try to elude us by doing the obvious, running right back into town. Finn, you’ve got south, and I’ll take east. There’s no trails or roads, so we’ll have to hike in. We’ll approach the cabin and try to catch Griffith by surprise.”
“You really think we should split up?” Finn looked doubtful. “Chavez was right; those woods are a death trap if you don’t know your way around them.”
“It’s our only shot. There’s no way that four of us traveling together will take Griffith by surprise; but, if by some miracle we did and he escaped, the easiest routes out of the woods would be unmanned.” I folded the map and stuck it back in my pocket. “Right. We’ve got about forty-five minutes before that sun sets. I want everyone in black, with vests. Backup flashlights and batteries. It’s going to be dark out there.”
“Where do you want me?”
I spun around to see Jimmy standing in the shadows. He stepped forward, a sly smile on his face. “I’ve been shooting since I was twelve years old. I’m sick of standing on the sidelines. I want a piece of the action.”
“Son, step the hell down.” Finn put a hand on the intern’s shoulder and gripped it, hard. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“I’ll tell the chief.”
“No, you won’t. You don’t want to spend the next six months with the four of us as your enemy.” I tried a gentle smile. “You’ve got what, one more semester left at the community college? Finish school and then apply for the academy in Denver. We’ll put in a good word for you.”
“I’m going with you tonight and you’ll write me a letter of reference. The best damn letter you’ve ever written.”
Sighing deeply, Moriarty tried. “Come on, Jimmy, get with the program. You’re a civilian. We can’t let you join us, period. No matter how much we’d like to.”
Jimmy smirked. “What are you going to do, lock me in the trunk of your car? Sun’s setting. Tick tock.”
I sighed, frustrated but knowing we couldn’t waste another second. “He’s right. Jimmy, you’re riding with me. We’re putting you on the third-floor balcony at the Montgomery house. You’ll have eyes on the whole forest. Grab four pairs of night goggles from the supply room and four flare guns. You’ll have to sign them out, but no one will question it; just tell the officer you’re working with me on a special assignment. Meet us in the parking lot in three minutes.”
“What the hell am I going to do with flare guns on a balcony?”
“We’ll have the flare guns. You’ll have your phone. First sign of trouble, one of us will shoot. At that point, it’ll be all on you, Jimmy. The second you see a flare go off, you call in reinforcements.” I was talking fast, shepherding Jimmy out of the alley, praying the others would hustle and get in place.
We were nearly out of daylight.