from hurting Dallas and destroying evidence, but since she wasn’t armed and probably wouldn’t be able to restrain Rudy, she did as the sheriff said and stayed put.
The seconds crawled, and she looked around to see if Sarah had followed them, but the woman was nowhere in sight. Later, Joelle would need to find her and ask her about Owen’s possible access to the knife.
“Rudy went down the laundry chute,” she heard Dallas shout.
Joelle remembered exactly where that was, and it wasn’t anywhere near Webb’s office. Maybe Rudy hadn’t planned to set it on fire after all, but she didn’t breathe easier yet because Dallas was still up there, and Rudy was clearly trying to escape.
And that’s when she remembered that the chute emptied into the basement. Basements were a rarity in Texas, but Rocky Creek had one that was used as a laundry and storage area.
She also remembered something else.
“There are basement access doors on the ends of the building,” she called out to the Dallas and the others who were upstairs. She immediately heard someone headed back down the hall toward the stairs.
Joelle hurried to the front door and looked out. Still no sign of Sarah, but it didn’t take long for her to spot some movement.
Rudy.
He must have cut the lock on the east side of the building because he staggered out into the near darkness and headed toward the thick woods that led to the creek. And his trailer.
“Rudy’s getting away!” she yelled, and it didn’t take long for Dallas to appear on the stairs.
He practically jumped down the steps and raced outside. “Which way did he go?”
Joelle pointed in the direction where she’d last seen him just as the sound cracked through the air. Her heart dropped. Because she knew that sound.
A gunshot.
Oh, God. Was someone shooting at them?
She couldn’t tell if the bullet had hit anything, but it had seemed to her that it’d been fired close by. Of course, miles was too close as far as she was concerned.
“Get inside,” Dallas ordered.
Joelle stepped back into the entry, but Dallas didn’t do the same. Using the building for cover, he went outside. So did the sheriff, and one of the deputies leaned out from the door and fanned a bright flashlight into the woods. She didn’t see Rudy, but the deputy and others inched closer toward the trees.
Joelle peeked out, praying that there wouldn’t be another shot and that no one was hurt. But that thought had no sooner crossed her mind when she heard someone shout.
Rudy.
“I’ve been hit,” he yelled. “Someone’s trying to kill me.”
That put her heart in her throat. She wasn’t fond of the man, but she didn’t want him dead.
But someone did.
Who?
And why?
Joelle glanced around, looking for Sarah. Or God forbid, even Owen, but she didn’t see anyone, only Dallas and other law enforcement.
The deputy’s flashlight slashed over the dark woods, and he came to an abrupt stop when the light caught the movement. All of the lawmen aimed their weapons in the direction.
“Stop!” Dallas called out. “And put your hands in the air.”
Joelle held her breath, hoping that Rudy would do just that so the standoff would end. But then she heard Dallas curse.
“What the hell?” he mumbled.
Joelle leaned out even farther so she could see what had prompted that response and the puzzled mumblings of the other lawmen. Thanks to the spray of light, she saw that the person in the woods had indeed done as Dallas had ordered.
But it wasn’t Rudy.
It was a woman.
With her hands lifted in the air, the woman turned toward them. Joelle couldn’t see if she was armed, but she did get a good look at the woman’s face.
Lindsey.
What the devil was she doing at Rocky Creek, and why had she shot Rudy?
Chapter Fifteen
Dallas hadn’t figured this night could get any longer or more frustrating, but he was obviously wrong. The latest phone call had proven that, and he hung up wondering if he was ever going to catch a break on this investigation.
Joelle’s huff let him know she felt the same way.
“I can tell from your expression that it’s bad news,” she mumbled.
Well, it wasn’t the news he’d wanted. Before Dallas explained, he opened the door to the ranch house and motioned for her to keep her voice down. It was late, nearly midnight, and he didn’t want to wake up Kirby.
And Kirby was another subject he needed to tackle.
Take a number.
Dallas wasn’t pleased with his foster father withholding the pregnancy news,