Chapter Seventeen: Happenstance

Luck was just not on his side, today.

Nick decided that the moment he saw a car marked "Carmine Valley PD" heading straight toward the property.

One instant, he was standing next to his Crown Vic, about to get in and go look for some witnesses. Next instant, he was down on the ground, cowering like a kicked dog behind the cover of the vehicle. He stayed low, listening, and managed to dart behind the garage just as he heard the cops pull into the driveway.

A steep hill rose up behind the building, littered with loose rocks. Nick scrambled up.

At the top, he settled flat on his belly, and peered over the edge.

It was getting dark, but Nick could still see the trail of dust kicked up by the cruiser. The vehicle itself was parked out of sight. He heard a door slam, and drew his gun.

A young male officer ambled across the gap between garage and house. Nick trained his weapon on the cop, but didn't fire.

Instead, Nick watched curiously as the young man moseyed slowly up the walkway and out of sight. Seconds later, Nick heard the officer knocking on the front door.

Knocking.

It didn't track. When Nick had first seen the cop car, he'd assumed it was all over – the witnesses had made it to the police, or at least to a working phone, and there was nothing left for Nick to do but cut his losses and escape the scene.

But in that case, why were the cops knocking? Why had they driven up at normal speed, no lights blazing or sirens howling? Why had a single officer walked lazily along in plain sight, without even drawing his weapon?

The answer: they didn't know. They didn't know an armed gunman was at large on the property. They didn't know the homeowner was lying dead inside the house, unable to answer the door.

"Blowtorch," as Nick had taken to calling Brody's attacker, hadn't reached the police after all.

Someone else must've alerted them. Maybe a neighbor had heard something – gunshots or breaking glass. Nick didn't really see how, though – the houses were so freaking far apart out here…

Maybe someone driving past had noticed something suspicious. That made more sense. A driver noticed something, and called the police to come check it out.

Nick heard the young officer's voice call out, friendly and full of the South:

"Mrs. Jorsten? Ma'am, are you home? This is Officer Kelly with the Carmine Valley Police Department…"

Nick slithered back from the edge, and contemplated his options. It wouldn't take the police long before they made several gruesome discoveries. Once that happened, more cops would swarm this place like ants on a dropped Twinkie.

Until then, Nick still had some time to find his witnesses. He just needed to decide where to look.

Nick started to heft himself up, but something caught his eye: little raindrop of black, against the pale brown dirt. He leaned closer, squinting through the dimness, and then pressed his finger against the spot. The substance was tacky. Some of it clung to his skin.

Nick brought the fingertip to his nostrils and sniffed deeply.

Delicious copper flooded his senses.

He wiped the near-dry blood off on his pants and started scanning the ground. Two feet ahead, he spotted another small black dot.

Nick grinned.

Maybe luck was on his side, after all.