Cold Case Pursuit by Dana Mentink

Author:Dana Mentink
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-07-13T02:10:58+00:00

* * *

Tyler did not allow himself to think about anything but Dusty as she scurried from spot to spot on the wide, slatted boardwalk. If he had, he would have tried to puzzle out just what in the world he’d been thinking kissing Penny.

To his left, past the boardwalk railings, was a wide expanse of golden sand with only two hardy individuals building castles in the autumn temperatures. It reminded him that Rain’s upcoming birthday plan was to go to the beach in spite of the season. To his right was a line of ride entrances intermingled with pizza and hot-dog establishments, gelato stands and souvenir vendors. The smell of popcorn filled the air.

He trailed Dusty, confident that nothing would derail her from her quarry. He’d called for backup on the way. Noelle was scanning the crowd. Since Tyler had never actually seen Holland face-to-face, he was counting on her to make the identification more quickly that he could from the photos he’d been shown. With her eyes and Dusty’s tracking, they would get him if the tipster’s information had been correct. The golden retriever’s nose was working overtime trying to sort out Holland’s scent from the millions of visitor trails crisscrossing the boardwalk. So intent was he on his dog that he almost didn’t notice the towheaded boy who raced over to pet Liberty, oblivious to the Police Dog, Do Not Pet sign emblazoned on her harness. As Noelle tried to get between the boy and Liberty, Tyler looked for the mother. He suspected it was the woman so distracted paying for two hot dogs she hadn’t realized her son had wandered off.

At that precise moment, Dusty whined and sat near a man with sunglasses perched on a metal bench. The man tried to look nonchalant, but Tyler saw his posture stiffen as he took in the police dog. Noelle’s eyes widened as she signaled Tyler. No mistake. Holland’s panicked look flicked from Dusty to Tyler and he shoved a hand in his coat pocket.

“Stop right there—police,” Tyler called, drawing his weapon.

Holland leaped to his feet and darted behind an older woman, who looked up in surprise. At the sight of Tyler’s weapon, she froze and let out a small scream.

The scream caused panic to ripple through the handful of visitors, who began to run in all directions. “Get down,” Tyler shouted, but he lost sight of Holland behind the scurrying bystanders.

“Tyler.” Noelle’s voice was tight with tension. He spun to find Ivan Holland with his hand gripping the neck of the boy who had been on his way to pet Liberty. Holland had a gun pressed to the boy’s head. Noelle restrained a barking Liberty with one hand and gripped her revolver in the other.

The mom turned toward the commotion, dropped the hot dogs and shrieked. “Stay there,” Tyler shouted at her. “Holland, let the kid go,” he commanded.

Holland’s eyes thinned to slits. “No way. One of my people tipped you off, huh? Traitor.”

Tyler took a step forward.

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