came over Jake when the suspect stepped on the gas and roared out of her driveway. Revving the engine, even more, she swung the car around to face him.
He heard squealing tires. He saw smoke from burning rubber. The next thing he knew she was barreling straight for him at full speed. He could see the murderous intent in her eyes as she gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles and prepared to ram his cruiser.
At the last second before impact, Jake opened the driver’s door and dived for the pavement. Rolling into a patch of hedges, he watched as the Lexus careened up onto the sidewalk and took out a row of prized pink rosebushes just beginning to bud.
Clipping the hedges didn’t seem to stop her momentum. She floored the vehicle as it roared off down the road.
He managed to get to his feet to radio in. “Suspect is on the move heading east on Valiant Way in a gold Lexus. She tried to ram my car. Consider her armed and dangerous.”
Hopping back into his cruiser, Jake yanked the gearshift and turned the car around, then shifted again before stepping on the gas to give chase.
Hightailing it down Valiant Way, he caught sight of the Lexus rounding the corner onto the old section of the 101.
“Suspect is now heading north on the old junction road.” He no sooner got the warning out of his mouth when he edged up on the Lexus. At speeds inching toward seventy, Jake caught sight of an SUV with the Coyote Wells PD insignia. The SUV cut him off and fell in behind the speeding sedan.
Pushing eighty miles an hour, the SUV soon overtook the Lexus. It wheeled in front, forcing the Lexus off the road and into a ditch.
Jake pulled up to the side of the gully, blocking the sedan so it couldn’t go anywhere. He jumped out of his car. “I’m sorry. I tried to keep her contained.”
“No problem. We’ve got her now. That’s what’s important,” Lando stated as he marched over and yanked open the driver’s side door. He saw Jocelyn bleeding from her lip and forehead where the airbag had deployed. She had a glazed look in her eyes. “Planning on taking a trip, Jocelyn?”
“My lawyer will sue your ass off for this.”
“Quick recovery. I don’t think so. You’ll need a criminal attorney for what we have in mind. I’m arresting you for the murders of Samuel J. Dinsmore, Benjamin Zurcher, and Daniel Albrecht.”
“Those charges are just for starters,” Dale added. “We’ve got arson and breaking and entering.”
“You can’t prove a thing,” Jocelyn yelled as Lando pulled her out of the front seat. He snapped a pair of cuffs on her wrists. When he began walking her to his SUV and reciting the Miranda warning, she tried to kick him in the legs. “Dale, do me a favor. Take this piece of trash and lock her up for me. Will you?”
“You bet.”
“And finish reading her her rights. By the book, remember? I’m sick of looking at her already.”
“You got it.”
Zeb let the scene play out as Dale put Jocelyn in the back of his squad car and took off. He stood there in the middle of the street and stared at his youngest officer. Zeb decided the kid deserved some praise. “You did good.”
“You think so? I thought for sure she’d barrel right into my car, take me out with her. She tried to run me down.”
“Is that a fact?” Lando said with a grin. “You just made my day even better. She’s certainly one of the most devious females I’ve ever encountered. Now, we’ll add a charge of attempted murder of a police officer to the other stuff. How’s that sound?”
Zeb slapped Jake on the back. “You’ll be famous. You just helped take down a serial killer. This arrest might easily be the highlight of your career.”
Still a little shaky from the ordeal, young Jake stood up taller. “I looked into the eyes of a serial killer? For real? That woman is a serial killer?”
It was Lando’s turn to dish out a compliment. “Yep. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if you got a commendation out of this.”
A startled Jake went bug-eyed. “No way.”
Lando exchanged an amused look with Zeb. “You didn’t mention to him that he was keeping an eye on one of the County’s worst criminals ever?”
“Nah, I figured if he knew, he’d hit me up for a raise.”