Dead and Gone by Jack Patterson (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📕

on the fact that I wasn’t going to help you.”

“Thank God.”

“Yeah, so, where are you?”

“I’m almost at the track. One of my friends was kind enough to come rescue me from the hospital. I think someone there was trying to kill me.”

“Why would someone do that?”

She sighed. “You tell me. I can’t keep track of all the reasons why, but I know they were. I left in a hurry.”

“Okay, text me your location on a Google map when you get there and I’ll come find you. We have a lot to discuss, but we don’t have a lot of time.”

He hung up and continued to stare into his rearview mirror. No suspicious movements.

Twenty minutes later, he drove over a rise and the track lights served as a beacon for his final destination.

He checked his rearview mirror again.

What the—

Behind him, police car lights flashed in his mirror. He watched as the car swerved past one car and whipped into the lane behind.

This time there was no mistake about it.

They were after him.

CHAPTER 44

HUNCHED OVER NEAR THE FLOOR, Kelly dried her hands off on her pants. She picked up her weapon of choice and waited.

If she was going to escape this situation, she’d have to wait until the best possible moment to unleash her fury and land a knockout blow. Although she didn’t like to think about it, she’d gone over this situation in her mind hundreds of times before. She hoped it would never happen again, despite the fact that it’d occurred more than once in the past. But here she was, this time prepared for whatever the attacker creeping around her house tried to subdue her with.

The cast iron skillet in her hand seemed to be a better choice given the circumstances. Cal had also put a bat and a handgun in her arsenal. She didn’t want the bat used against her—and she didn’t want to kill anyone, even if her life was in danger. A knockout blow would suffice.

She watched the monitors, refusing to blink. The man groped his way through the house, knocking over one of her favorite ceramic knickknacks she’d bought while in Costa Rica on vacation the year before. A little green frog with the words “Pura Vida” painted on its lily pad.

Why that little punk!

She clutched the skillet handle tighter and tried to breathe normally.

You can do this, Kelly.

He continued to move toward the foot of the stairs, right into her wheelhouse. She slipped on her night vision goggles, turned off all the equipment and crept out.

On all fours, Kelly looked up to see the man a few feet away, still unaware that she was in the room with him. With both hands clasped around the butt of his revolver, he moved quietly toward her.

Without a sound, Kelly rose up on her knees and whacked his kneecap. He staggered to the ground and suffered another blow to the face before he had time to react defensively or otherwise. He slumped to the ground.

The gun had fallen from his hand, and Kelly kicked it aside. He groaned before she delivered another smashing blow to his face.

“That’s for shooting at me,” she said.

She drew back the skillet again and walloped his face with the side of it.

“And that’s for breaking my frog.”

She crawled back into the safe room and pulled out a parcel of rope and duct tape. She tied him up before taping his mouth shut.

When she opened her front door, Phil Pearson, her nosy next-door neighbor, stood on the sidewalk dressed in a robe with his mouth agape.

“Are you all right, Mrs. Murphy?” he asked.

“Never better.” She smiled.

“Oh, well, I thought I heard a ruckus going on at your house and something like a gun shot fired.”

“Yeah, that’d be from the punk who tried to shoot me. But he’s tied up right now.”

He stared at her and said nothing.

“Since you’re here, it’d be great if you called the cops for me and had this scumbag dragged away.” She started walking toward her car and unlocked it with her fob.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve gotta be somewhere. But take care of this for me, will ya? I’ll be back shortly to explain everything.”

She padded her left pocket to make sure she still had the thumb drive with all the images proving Cal’s innocence. After a head nod to Phil Pearson, she climbed into her car and headed toward The Observer offices.

She dialed Folsom’s number.

“I’m on my way,” she said after he answered.

“So soon? What happened?”

“It’s a long story, but just be ready. I’m not in a mood for any games from you.” She paused. “Oh, and make sure your publisher is there, too. He needs to see this.”

CHAPTER 45

CAL PULLED INTO THE Phoenix International Raceway parking lot between the track and RV city and skidded to a stop. He slung his bag over his shoulder, jumped out of the car, and took off running toward a throng of people gathered for the Lady Antebellum concert. He glanced over his shoulder to see two officers pursuing him on foot. With about a 50-yard lead, Cal figured that’s all he would need once he pressed his way into the mass of people.

He darted into one section that allowed for a makeshift aisle before he headed straight into the crowd. Several people expressed their displeasure at his interruption with an obscene gesture or two. The people who bothered to yell at him couldn’t be heard above the crooning of the country trio.

Cal wove between drunken revelers, teenage make-out sessions, and screaming fans.

Gotta love live concerts.

He kept his head down and sought for a discreet exit. Just as he spotted a way out, he also came across a man who seemed to be enjoying everything about the concert.

“Nice hat,” the man said.

Cal pulled his cap off his head and eyed the man’s cowboy hat. “I’ll trade ya.”

The man nodded and swapped hats with Cal.

“Thanks,” Cal said before