approached.”
“I see you,” Jonas said. “I’m coming up to your right. Wait for my signal.”
She quickened her pace, worried about the possibility of another hostage situation. They were going to have one chance of taking him down, and they didn’t know if he was still armed or if he’d lost his weapon during the jump. They couldn’t assume anything. Jonas came up next to her, while the other three officers fanned out in front of them, surrounding the man.
Jonas signaled for them to move in. “Police! Put your hands in the air now!”
“Get down on the ground!” one of the officers yelled.
The man dodged to the left, crashing through a display of candles, knocking them to the ground. Madison followed close behind, but she slammed her shoulder into a metal pole. She fought to catch her balance, then took off after him.
“Stop now! Police!”
Her heart quickened when he didn’t obey. She picked up her pace, bridging the gap between them, while Jonas kept up with her. The man knocked over another display, then took off across the parking lot. A car turned in front of them, then slammed on the brakes, barely missing him. The momentary confusion gave them just enough time to catch up. Jonas wrestled him to the ground while the rest of them covered him, then quickly handcuffed the man and turned him around.
Unfamiliar eyes stared back at them.
Madison glanced around. “Why’d you run?” she asked the stranger, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
“Because you were chasing me.”
She caught the panic in the man’s eyes. What had just happened?
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Then once again, why did you run?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s start over. Where did you get this hat?”
“Some guy offered me fifty bucks to wear it. I gave him my Broncos sweatshirt and hat.”
Jonas radioed the description into the station.
“Did he say anything else to you?” Madison asked.
“No. I thought he was crazy—you know, since he was soaking wet and all—but I thought why not. I could use the fifty bucks.”
Jonas kicked at the asphalt with his boot, the irritation on his face as strong as hers.
“He couldn’t have gone that far,” she said in an effort to calm her partner, but frustration dug through her at another missed opportunity. How did he keep vanishing into thin air? With the mountains surrounding them, there were limited ways out of Glenwood Springs, but Barrick had grown up around here. That tipped the advantage once again in his favor.
The police chief drove up in the parking lot while someone took their imposter down to the station. He’d be questioned again, but more than likely would be let go.
At the police station, Madison and Jonas stood before a map of the city with the police chief.
“If you were trying to get out of here and knew the area well,” Jonas said, “where would you go?”
The chief stared at the map. “There aren’t a lot of options. He’ll probably assume we’ve set up roadblocks, so he’ll want to stay off the main roads.”
“What about the water?” Madison glanced at him. “He could rent a boat and head south on the Roaring Fork River, or east on the Colorado.” She moved in front of the map and studied the routes. “Where’s the roadblock on 82?”
“We have it set up right here,” he said, pointing to a pin. “Just south of town.”
“So it’s possible he follows the river and misses the roadblock altogether. If Denver is his destination, he could find transportation then head south and east toward the city.”
Jonas shook his head and took a step back. “Or he could be heading to Albuquerque or Phoenix, for that matter. Without any concrete evidence, there’s just no way to know.”
Madison frowned. He was right. Barrick’s original plan had been to take the train to Denver. With contacts and friends there, it made sense that he wouldn’t change his original plans. But they didn’t have time to head off on another wild-goose chase.
“I think our best move at this point would be to continue on to Denver,” she said.
“Agreed.”
“We can give the marshals there a heads-up that we’re on our way and coordinate from there.”
She started walking, stopping when Jonas called her name.
He stepped up in front of her. “Are you okay? You’re holding your shoulder.”
“It’s fine. I think I slammed it into something while I was chasing the decoy.” She hadn’t even felt the pain until now.
“Let me see,” Jonas said.
She pulled down her sleeve. Her arm was already turning