Hunter’s jaw locked as they pulled down the long gravel drive to Rick’s place, and he pulled up behind several official FWC vehicles and Pete’s sheriff’s department SUV. Abrams’s small, aging mobile home sat right on the banks of the Ocklawaha. It was about two miles past the Outpost’s property line, right next to Josh’s place, which sat on the opposite end of the property from Charlee’s cottage.
Hunter marched over to the group. “Is there some reason you all weren’t at the meeting at Charlee’s I asked you to attend?”
Five pairs of official eyes widened at the accusation. A few feet away, Rick Abrams stood silent, a smug expression on his face.
Josh was the first to respond. “What meeting?”
“I sent every one of you a text.”
Josh, Sanchez, Fish, and Pete all pulled out their cell phones. “I got nothing,” Pete declared. “There’s no signal out here.”
Fish held up her phone. “Sorry, Lieutenant. I didn’t get it. Or maybe I did, but like Pete, I have no signal out here.”
“Me, either,” Josh said. Sanchez nodded agreement.
Hunter scanned the group again but saw no belligerence, which took his temper down several notches. When he checked his own phone, he didn’t have a signal either. “What are you all doing out here?”
“We caught a call,” Josh said, though he wouldn’t meet Hunter’s eyes.
“Right. Large nuisance gator.” He looked at Abrams, spread his arms to indicate the surrounding area. “Where is he?”
Abrams stepped forward, hands on hips. “Sorry about that, Boudreau.” He didn’t look a bit sorry. “My bad. After I called it in and asked for help, crazy beast just wandered back into the river and disappeared.”
Josh looked uncomfortable, Sanchez wouldn’t meet his eyes, and Fish fiddled with her phone.
At that moment, Charlee appeared, and Abrams’s whole demeanor changed. He hurried over and tried to hug her, but Charlee stepped out of his reach. Hunter instinctively moved closer.
“Good to see you, Charlee. Are you okay?” He stepped into her personal space again, and Hunter watched her back up another step. “I was so worried when I heard what happened. I came by the hospital, but you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out who did this to you.”
“I believe that’s my line,” Hunter drawled.
Abrams spun around. “This is none of your business, Boudreau.”
“Actually, I think it is.” He scanned the faces around him. “Since you’re all here, I have a few questions for you, Abrams. First of all, when was it exactly that you went by the hospital?”
“What? Why are you asking me this?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Two days ago, not long after they brought Charlee in, after Brittany was shot.” He glared at Hunter. “You can’t believe I’d hurt her?”
Hunter didn’t answer. “What were you doing at the hospital the following night, say between midnight and three a.m.?”
He shook his head, folded his arms. “I wasn’t at the hospital then.”
“Really? Then who is it we saw on the security footage, stepping off the elevator?”
His eyes widened. “That wasn’t—” Abrams began, then he stopped, and all the arrogance leached out of him. “Fine. I was there. I was keeping an eye on things, you know? Just in case.”
“In case what? Charlee had already been released.”
He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, blew out a breath, wouldn’t meet Hunter’s eyes. “My boy had to go back to the hospital for some tests. My ex won’t let me visit, so I came by late at night to check on him, make sure he was okay.”
Hunter studied him. Abrams’s frustration was so genuine, Hunter believed him. “It still doesn’t explain why you manipulated everyone out here on a false call.”
“It wasn’t false. There really was a gator.”
Hunter merely raised a brow.
“Okay, I shouldn’t have done that. But I wanted to tell my friends”—he put extra emphasis on the last word—“about what really went down with the so-called bribe.”
Hunter let that go for now and eyed his team. “Head over to Hollywood’s, and we’ll have that meeting.” He turned to Abrams. “I’m sure the guys will call you later, but right now, you’ll have to excuse us.”
Abrams stiffened. His whole body coiled as though ready to strike, but then he thought better of it and stormed past his blue pickup truck and into the aging mobile home, slamming the door with enough force to rock the entire structure.
The others glanced at each other, clearly uncomfortable. Hunter scanned the group. “I get that he’s your friend and was the squad leader. He was mine, too. This whole situation sucks, but for right now, we have a murderer to catch.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned back to his truck and slid inside. Charlee, he noticed, climbed into Josh’s FWC truck. Sanchez and Fish headed to their own trucks, while Pete headed for his sheriff’s SUV alone.
Within minutes, they were at Josh’s place, sitting on the screened porch out back. Hunter gave them a rundown on the camera he’d found, the private school both Brittany and JJ Jennings had attended, and finished up with what the medical examiner had said. They fired questions at him, and he gave them everything he knew, then asked, “How are we doing on background on Oliver Dunn and Paul Harris? We need to find out everything we can on Tommy Jennings, too, right away. Josh, anything on Travis Humphries’s background pop?”
“Actually, it did.”
Hunter shot him a look that clearly asked why he hadn’t called him right away. Josh held up a hand and said, “Sketchy cell service, remember. But there’s enough coverage here that everything just came through.” He scrolled through his phone as he talked, giving them the summary. “Apparently, our friend Travis spent a good bit of his childhood in Miami, shuttled from foster home to foster home before coming here to Marion County to live with an elderly aunt and uncle when he was fifteen. He ran away several times, and they kicked him out when he turned eighteen. The reports said his relatives felt he was ‘mentally disturbed’ and needed more help than they could give him.”
“So they kicked him out?” Charlee asked from where she sat on the porch swing.
Josh nodded. “Right.”
“Dig deeper,” Hunter said. “See what they meant by ‘mentally disturbed.’ Sanchez, Fish, you guys see what you can find out about this Oliver Dunn. His answers seemed too vague. Talk to Paul Harris again, too. Charlee and I will go talk to Tommy Jennings and his ex-wife, Sally.”
Pete and Josh exchanged glances. Hunter narrowed his eyes. “What?”
Pete’s chin came up. “Josh and I took a ride out to Jennings’s place the morning after Charlee got shot, couldn’t find him. His boss said he hasn’t been in for a couple of days.”
Hunter thought his jaw would break from clenching it. “You didn’t think to mention it?”
“At the time, nope,” Josh answered. “We were thinking of Charlee.” He paused, met Hunter’s eyes. “But in retrospect, it was childish to keep it from you.”
Beside him, Pete nodded, expression sheepish. “Since the Harris girl got killed, I’ve made sure you’re kept in the loop.” He worked his jaw, then met Hunter’s eyes. “Should have done it from the beginning.”
Hunter eyed each one, then nodded. “Appreciate it.” Before he could say more, dispatch called on his radio. He answered using his call sign. “719-Ocala. Go ahead.” He listened, then said, “10-4. Hollywood is with me, and his boat is ready to launch. We’ll check it out.” He disconnected, then turned to Charlee, whose whole body had gone tense. He couldn’t blame her. Seemed every time a call came in, more bad news arrived.
“Dispatch got a call about some dead gators here on the Ocklawaha, near the confluence of the Silver River.” He turned to Josh. “I’ll drop Charlee off at the Outpost, and you can pick me up at the dock there.”
“10-4. Be there in twenty,” Josh said, the earlier hostility finally gone. He gave Charlee a quick kiss on the cheek before he headed for his boat.
Pete bussed her cheek, too, before he took off, Sanchez and Fish not far behind.
Hunter climbed into his truck, relieved they were finally working together again.
* * *
On the short drive to the Outpost, Charlee watched Hunter slide into warrior mode. Intense, focused, lethal, it was far fiercer than simply cop mode, which was as natural to him as breathing.
She understood priorities, but she was still irritated that he’d taken her compliance for granted. “Never thought to ask if I was okay with this plan?”
His head snapped in her direction. “Weren’t you planning to work at the Outpost today?”
“Yes.”
He looked at her, eyebrow raised as if to say So what’s the problem, then?
Charlee carefully pulled on her Outpost ball cap, cautious around the stitches in her scalp. She pulled her ponytail through the hole in the back and sighed. She wouldn’t be petty. “Never mind.” She wasn’t FWC anymore. Her job was here at the Outpost.
Hunter slid out and came around the vehicle, dark sunglasses hiding his expression. “I’ll wait for Josh on the dock. You’ll be okay here for a couple hours?”
Charlee raised her backpack, in which he knew she kept her gun, and saluted. “Scout’s honor.”
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head as he walked around the side of the building.
The bell overhead chimed when Charlee walked into the office. “Hey, Dad. How’re things?”
Some of the fatigue left his face when he saw her. He wrapped her in a careful hug, then leaned back to study her face. “How’s the noggin? How many of me are there today?”
Charlee grinned and kissed his cheek. “Only one, but that’s always been more than enough.”
Her father threw his head back and laughed, and Charlee realized how much she had missed that sound. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like that.
“Natalie went back to school, right?”
Her father grinned. “You could see the cloud of dust for miles. I’m still wondering if the stork dropped the wrong baby off all those years ago. She couldn’t wait to put on those crazy high-heeled sandals and her fancy little outfit and blow on out of here.”
“Glad she’s able to get back to ‘the real world.’ I hated keeping her exiled here a minute longer than necessary.”
Her father eyed her carefully again. “You sure you’re okay, Charlee? We’re not real busy today. You could take another day. I’m fine here.”
Charlee looked up and saw Travis watching her through the window. “Travis is working today?”
“I asked him to come in, just in case you weren’t up to it yet.”
She wanted to fire him on the spot. But maybe it was better to keep him around for now. It gave her father extra help in the office and let them keep an eye on him.
The bell above the door chimed, and Charlee smiled when she saw who it was. “Hi, Sammy. What brings you out here?”
He grinned from ear to ear and pulled a handful of rather bedraggled bright-pink wildflowers from behind his back. “I was riding my bike, and I saw these pretty flowers.” He held them out to her. “I know you like flowers, so I brought them for you.”
Charlee buried her face in the blooms and then leaned up to give Sammy a kiss on the cheek, watching him duck his head and blush. “Thank you, Sammy. These are beautiful. It was so nice of you to bring them for me.”
The bell above the door chimed again, and Charlee sighed when Rick Abrams strode through the door and headed right toward her. “We need to talk, Charlee.” He brushed past Sammy, who narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of him.
“I was talking to Charlee. She’s my friend.”
Abrams dismissed him. “Right, but now it’s my turn. Scram.”
Charlee turned her back on Abrams and gently touched Sammy’s arm. “Ignore him. I’m glad we’re friends, and thank you again for the flowers.”
Sammy flashed an angry look at Rick and then turned and left.
Charlee turned back to Rick, hands on her hips. “Why did you follow us over here, Rick?”
He chewed the inside of his lip in a gesture she’d always disliked. “Just hear me out, Charlee. What happened at work—”
Charlee’s temper spiked. At him, but mostly at herself. When they’d first started dating, he’d been great. He’d treated her like a princess, so she’d ignored the warning bells about the things he said, the little ways he undermined her. It had taken months before she’d realized how subtly he’d gotten her to doubt herself and lose her confidence. She was still trying to get over that—and forgive herself for allowing it.
Now he’d taken a bribe? What did that say about her ability to read people, a critical skill in law enforcement? She’d told him they were through months ago, and he was still pretending he hadn’t heard. Now he’d been rude to Sammy, the sweetest guy in the world.
Decision made, she brushed past Rick, kissed her father’s cheek, and headed for the door, backpack over her shoulder. “As long as Travis is here, I’ll just go with Josh and Hunter. They have a report to check on.”
“Are you sure you—”
“Love you, Dad. I’ll be fine.”
“Hey. We’re not done, Charlee. We need to talk.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “We’ve been done for months. I have nothing to say, and you have nothing I want to hear.” She almost added sorry but stopped herself in time. Not sorry.
She almost ran over Travis, who smiled when he saw her. “Hey, Charlee. I wasn’t sure if you’d be in today.”
She poked the black T-shirt that covered his skinny chest. “You’d better do your job today, Travis, and do it right, or I’ll fire your sorry butt.”
She hurried down the dock, afraid she’d literally missed the boat.
Josh’s SeaArk idled at the dock while he and Hunter studied a cell phone. Josh stepped to the helm, and Hunter started untying the lines.
“Wait.” Charlee broke into a jog. Both men looked at her in surprise when she hopped aboard.
Josh pulled away from the dock.
“Hold up, Josh. What are you doing, Charlee? I thought you were working in the office with your dad.”
Charlee studied his face but couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark shades. Some silly corner of her mind had hoped he’d be glad to see her. She kept her voice light. “Travis showed up to work, and I figured he and Dad could handle it without me.”
He folded his arms and studied her. “And you didn’t want to watch him drool all day.”
She grinned. “That, too. And Rick showed up.”
Hunter stiffened. “What now?”
“Said he wanted to talk. I said I didn’t.” She shrugged. “Just let dispatch know I’m riding along. I can’t think of a safer place for me to be, can you?”
Behind them, Josh snorted. “She’s got you there, Lieutenant.”
Hunter whipped his head around, and Josh quickly added “sir.” But he was grinning as he said it.
Hunter let out a sigh and turned back to Charlee. “You are making me crazy.” His expression hardened as he glared in her direction. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”
Charlee saluted smartly and saw him smother a grin before he shook his head and turned away.
She turned to Josh, kept her tone light. “Hey, Bro, how’s your basketball team doing?” Elaine had been a tutor at the forest community center and had convinced Josh to start a boys’ basketball team. Since her death, those boys seemed to be the one thing that gave him purpose.
He smiled, a real smile this time, and a seed of hope took root in Charlee’s heart. He was starting to heal. “We’re going to have a tournament soon. Will you bring cupcakes?”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Of course. You don’t even have to ask.”
* * *
The woman would drive him completely nuts before this thing ended. Hunter found himself watching the way she moved, checking to see if her head hurt, for when it did, she’d get this little frown line between her brows. He understood, better than ever, her brothers’ need to wrap her up and keep her safe. Charlee was unlike any woman he’d ever known. From the time they’d become friends over beers with the whole FWC squad, he’d been drawn to her wit and quick comebacks, never mind her ready smile. Then, after what happened at the Shoals, she’d needed a friend, someone to be there while she worked through her guilt. And when she’d finally ditched that douchebag Abrams, he’d seen the uncertainty in her eyes and been determined to help her regain her confidence. Seeing the self-assured woman he’d first met reemerge was incredible to watch.
Like now, seeing her standing next to Josh as he sped along the river, she looked like she’d been born on a boat. He caught the glimpses of anxiety as she eyed the water, but she didn’t back down from her fear. Charlee didn’t shy away from dirt or hard things. The fact that she would move heaven and earth for her family got to him. That unwavering devotion was achingly familiar. He understood, and he never wanted her facing the kind of guilt that would haunt him until the day he died.
As though she sensed him thinking about her, she stepped up beside him with a playful smile.
“Those are some very deep thoughts, Lieutenant. Care to share?”
He pushed memories of Johnny aside as one corner of his mouth kicked up. She’d blush to the roots of her hair if she knew how badly he wanted to pull her flush against him, run his hands over every inch of her skin, and kiss her until the flames consumed them both.
“Just trying to figure out which crazy person is after you.”
He watched the playfulness fade from her expression and wanted to call the words back. But it was better this way. Distance was good. Safe. For both of them.
* * *
They smelled the dead alligators before they saw them. Josh came around a bend in the river, and the stench slapped them like running into a wall of awful. Charlee covered her mouth and nose as Josh slowed down, and they all looked around, trying to identify where the gators were.
It didn’t take long.
They were lying along the banks, vultures circling overhead. Charlee had spent her life on this waterway, so she’d seen dead alligators before. As an FWC officer, she’d found several that poachers had gotten hold of, missing their heads and tails. But she had never seen one hacked up like this. Never mind three.
She looked over her shoulder and saw that Hunter and Josh wore the same shocked expressions.
Hunter motioned to Josh, who eased the boat closer. Hunter grabbed a camera and took pictures of the scene from every angle he could get from the water. They didn’t want to mess up any potential evidence or footprints when they stepped ashore.
Hunter put the camera down and studied the dense swamp. Charlee shaded her eyes from the afternoon sun, trying to see into the shadows. “The swamp goes way back at this spot,” he said. “There’s no way someone came in by truck or even ATV. They had to have come by water.”
Hunter glanced at Josh. “I agree. You couldn’t get a vehicle back in there.”
Josh nosed the boat up between two cypress trees, and both men pulled on rubber boots. Charlee glanced down at her shiny white tennis shoes. “I’ll just wait here.”
Hunter let his sunglasses dangle around his neck and slid over the side and into the mud. He looked back over his shoulder and winked. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Charlee rolled her eyes and watched as they slogged around the area, looking for something, anything, that might help them identify who had done such a horrible, senseless thing.
* * *
Hunter had seen a lot of things in his life, but this kind of animal cruelty made him sick. This wasn’t someone looking to earn a buck by selling a hide or a tail to a restaurant. This was a seriously sick individual.
He and Josh climbed back into the boat, and he met Charlee’s questioning look. “Whoever did this was one angry son of a gun and took his fury out on those poor creatures,” Hunter said.
“But how would he hack them up? If he’s going after one, the other two aren’t going to calmly sit around and wait their turn,” she said.
Her razor-sharp brain never stopped. “They’d been trapped first. All three jaws had been taped shut.”
Charlee’s eyes widened. “So somebody caught them and then killed them. Didn’t take the tail to eat, at least?”
“No. This was unnecessary violence.” Josh fired up the motor, jaw clenched. “And we are going to track down and find the scumbag.”
Hunter slipped his sunglasses back on. “Let’s head back and see if anyone we know has a wildlife camera near here. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and someone will have captured this model citizen coming or going.”
Josh turned the boat around, and they started back toward the Outpost slowly, all three of them scanning the riverbank. They passed several canoes and kayaks, but none of the people they questioned could offer anything helpful.
Charlee sat down in the bow of the boat, eyes on the river, watching for obstructions below the surface and pointing them out to Josh.
Suddenly, she stood, cocked her head to listen. “What’s that noise?”
She waved Hunter over. He stepped to her side, taking in her curious look. “Something just started ticking.”
“Ticking?”
“Listen.”
He motioned Josh to idle the motor. Then they all heard it. Like an old-fashioned alarm clock.
Hunter and Charlee both reached for the front cubby at the same time. Hunter opened the latch and lifted the cover.
He froze. The ticking came from a timer.
Which was strapped to explosives.
The red flashing countdown timer was at fifteen seconds, fourteen…thirteen…
He turned to Josh. “We’ve got a bomb!”
He glanced back at the timer, grabbed Charlee’s hand, and yelled, “Jump!”
He and Charlee leaped off the port side, and he saw Josh hurl himself off the starboard side.