One Final Breath (Special Agent Ricki James Book 1) by C.R. Chandler

Author:C.R. Chandler [Chandler, C.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BackDoor Publishing
Published: 2020-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

They barely made it ten feet into the parking lot. The entire space was littered with news vans spewing out thick cables that covered the ground, creating nests of coiling snakes made of rubber and wires.

Ricki stared out at the scene framed by the windshield of Clay’s SUV. “Unbelievable.”

“Looks like the entire Seattle news feed has shown up,” Drake commented from the back seat.

Ricki could see his grin in the rearview mirror. The ranger might have enjoyed this kind of publicity, but she did not. It had a surefire potential of interfering with the investigation, and she simply didn’t like the idea of being in front of cameras or having her picture splashed under a lurid headline on the nightly news. Her teeth were already grinding together when there was a light touch on her arm.

“I’ll distract them,” Clay said. “You do an end run and make a break for the building.” He turned to look at the two men sitting in the back seat. “You guys make a straight line for the front door too. We don’t need to be giving a full-on press conference out here. I can hold them off with a few concerned looks and a ‘no comment.’”

“Let’s go.” Not waiting for anyone else’s agreement, Ricki opened the car door as Clay did the same. While he walked forward, she faded to the back of the SUV with the park rangers right behind her.

“Ready?” Clay asked over his shoulder.

She nodded and took a step toward the building on the far side of the parking lot, matching her movements with Clay’s until the first reporter spotted the chief. The man consulted his phone before he started a sprint toward the SUV and the man standing in front of it.

“I’m Clayton Thomas, police chief here in Dabob Bay, and you are blocking my parking lot,” Clay called out.

As a herd of bodies holding cameras and microphones raced toward them, Ricki peeled off to the side. She felt a little guilty about leaving Clay to face the mob alone, but then he was the police chief. It went with the territory.

Ignoring the occasional question yelled her way, Ricki sprinted across the gravel, making it to the front entrance where Ray stood on the other side of the glass doors, his arms straight out in front of him and braced against the glass. His face lit up when he spotted her, and he quickly turned the lock, opening the door just long enough for the three of them to slip inside before pushing it closed again and flipping the lock back into place.

“Saw that jeep of yours parked out there, but wasn’t sure you’d be back today, Ricki.” He winked at her. “Or should I say Agent James?” He looked outside and stretched his neck up to its fullest length. “Is the chief with you? I didn’t know what to do when I saw all those TV trucks pull in, so I just locked the door and ignored them.”

Ricki grinned and gave him a light pat on the back.

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