Ghosts From the Past Ch. 7

There was a time for stealth and a time for speed. Caz could run and still make less noise than a deer bounding through the trees if he wanted, but he knew even that would be enough noise for those looking for him. This was a time for stealth. He’d grown up in these woods so, even moving quietly, he was able to cover the distance faster than most.

As he drew close to where he knew the edge of the clearing would be, he slowed. He could see a break in the trees now. He lowered himself onto his stomach and began quietly crawling, only standing when he came to a tree whose branches hung low to the ground.

A hill, covered with knee high, green grass filled his vision as he sat there, analyzing what he could see. There, at the top of the small hill, was his target. A small, square flag affixed to a short stick was stuck into the ground. The red fabric flicked lazily as a slight breeze caught it. There was no one around to guard it, it seemed.

Caz backed himself further into the cover of the trees. Looking around, he spotted one with enough branches and foliage left on it to provide cover. He began methodically climbing up, careful not to shake the branches hard enough to give away his position, until he was high enough to get a better view of the enemy territory. He had to climb nearly halfway up before he could finally see the other side of the hill. He scanned again, seeing nothing on his first pass. As he scanned back, however, he noticed movement. A boy, about his own age, crouched between another tree and a bush. He was nearly invisible behind the leaves, having covered himself in dirt to blend in better. Caz would never have noticed him had the boy not stretched his leg to shake feeling back into his foot. And if there was one, there would surely be another. Caz spotted them up in a different tree a short distance away from the boy on the ground, keeping a lookout for him.

Caz had broken his siblings up in a similar way. He, Hugo, Emilia, and Giselle went out on the hunt as they were the fastest. Ingrid and Karl stayed back to guard their own flag, hidden as best they could be. But they had both stayed on the ground. Better to have two ready to run if needed.

Caz was beginning his climb down when movement caught his eye. Giselle crouched at opposite edge of the woods from him. Looking first left and then right, she dashed towards the flag. She had not noticed the two boys hidden in the leaves. She was always too hasty, not taking the time to do a thorough check before taking action. A cry came from the lookout in the tree, spurring the guard on the ground to spring forward. Giselle had a lead on him, being halfway to the flag now. Seeing the boys now, she lowered her head and started sprinting. She snatched the flag, pulling it from the ground without slowing and continued running toward Caz’s unseen position. As fast as she was, the boy, who was a couple years older, and tall for his age, covered the space between them, tackling Giselle 15 yards before the tree line. He pulled rough rope from a pocket and tied her hands behind her back. Hoisting her up onto his shoulder, he began carrying her to where their prison would be, all the while Giselle was squirming and kicking. Her knee connected with his face hard, nearly sending them both to the ground. He drove his fist into her thigh for that but had to wipe away the blood now pouring from his nose. Caz smiled with pride. Giselle may be small and hasty, but she had a fighter’s spirit.

In celebrating his triumph over the younger Giselle, the boy had forgotten the flag. Caz waited for them to crest the top of the hill before dropping down and creeping his way over to where it lay on the ground. As he picked it up, he heard the panicked shouts from the lookout, who was now pointing over at him. Caz grabbed the flag and turned to run back the way he’d come.

This was the time for speed.

Without looking back, Caz ran as fast as he could toward his home base. Ducking under branches and hurdling roots, Caz wove his way through the trees. He heard shouts from behind him, too far away to catch him now though.

A blur jumped from behind the trees in front of Caz. Another boy from the enemy team had been close and heard the yells from his comrades. The other boy dove, driving his shoulder into Caz’s side.

The boy didn’t wrap up Caz in his arms, but the force still sent him to the ground rolling until he came to a rest on his back under a tree. The flag was still firmly in his grip.

“Psst,” came a whisper from above, “Caz. Up here!” Emilia was squatting on a low branch above him. She pointed to herself, then down to the ground, and finally toward their base. Caz gave her a small nod before standing up and facing his attacker. His name was Lukas, and he was about the same age as Caz.

“You should not outrun your senses, Caz.” Lukas sneered at him.

“Good advice Lukas. Now let me give some to you,” Caz slipped into a fighting stance. “Do not let a small victory blind you,” Caz could hear the other boy getting close. “NOW!” Caz yelled, tossing the flag behind him. Emilia dropped from her perch, catching the flag in mid-air. She landed, with knees bent, and sprang forward laughing and whooping as she ran.

Lukas snarled and lunged in her direction, but Caz stepped forward, planting an open palm in his chest that shoved him to the ground.

The other boy, Caz could see it was Bruno now, came into sight. He grabbed Lukas by his shirt, hoisting him up with his brown tanned hand.

“You go after her,” Bruno told Lukas, shoving him in the direction Emilia had run off to. “I will take care of the sneaky little thief.” Caz repositioned himself to face Bruno. As he stepped back, he felt a long stick under the fallen leaves on the ground. He slipped his foot back and underneath it.

The sneer crept back onto Lukas’s face as he began, again, to run in Emilia’s direction. Caz brought his knee straight up, hooking the stick with the toe of his shoe which sent it up into the air. Caz grabbed it in his right hand and threw it like a spear toward Lukas. It flew between his legs mid-stride, the tip driving into the ground. Lukas sprawled to the dirt, the stick tripping him and ending his attempt to catch Emilia.

The maneuver, unfortunately, had left Caz wide open for a big right hook from Bruno. Before his head reached the ground, Caz’s vision had gone dark.

The sound of someone in his kitchen pulled Caz from his dream. He sat up, grabbing his phone to check the time. ‘05:23’ showed on the screen. He pulled on a t-shirt and sweats before walking over to where Janus lay by the door.

“Too grumpy to come to bed last night I see.” Caz opened the bedroom door, Janus shooting out as soon as the opening was big enough. As he walked into the kitchen he saw Claire, bent forward with her head in his fridge. The bottom of her yellow blouse sliding up to reveal the small of her back as she searched inside. Caz looked away and cleared his throat.

“Ahh--” Claire jumped, hitting her head on the bottom of the freezer door. “Ouch,” she rubbed the top of her head as she stood up.

“I am sorry Claire, I did not mean to startle you,” Caz walked over to her.

“It’s fine, my fault for being distracted,” she smiled at Caz. “Although, if you kept actual food in here, I wouldn’t have had to focus so hard on looking for some. I was going to make you breakfast as a thank you for last night, but all you have is take-out boxes in here,” she pointed back to the open fridge.

“I have been working long hours lately. And, besides Janus,” Caz looked to the cat crunching the dry food left in his bowl from last night, “I am here alone, so there is no one to cook for.”

“No excuse,” Claire put her hands on her hips. “All the extra sodium and preservatives in that food is going to kill you! You have to balance it with healthy, homemade foods. I’ll tell you what, I’ll pick some stuff up and make you dinner tonight instead of breakfast. That way I’ll know you had at least one meal this week that was healthy.”

“I appreciate the thought Claire, but I cannot tonight,” Caz said. “A good friend is retiring, and we are all getting together at the bar after work. He has been a sort of mentor to me, and I cannot miss it.”

“Well… fine,” Claire huffed. “But you have to let me pay you back somehow before I leave. I’d feel bad if I didn’t.”

“There really is nothing to pay back Claire,” Caz laughed. “I am just glad I could help.”

“Fine,” Claire threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I won’t fight you on it.” She walked over and sat at the table. Janus sat by his now empty food bowl. “So, you said you live alone? Besides the cat I mean,” Janus gave a soft growl as she mentioned his name.

“That is correct.” Caz sat on the opposite side of the table.

“I only ask because, when I went into the bathroom this morning, I saw there were two toothbrushes on the counter. I’m assuming the blue one was yours. Who does the purple one belong to?” Claire asked.

“Violet, actually,” Caz corrected. “That one… belongs to someone else. Someone who used to live here. I have not had the time to throw it out yet.”

“Right. Sore subject, sorry. My brain kicks into work mode on its own sometimes. I have to remember I need to differentiate it from a casual talk with a friend.”

“It is fine. Sore, yes, but not fresh. I guess I have been putting off taking care of the small things,” there were a number of other items Caz had held onto.

Claire’s phone chimed. “Oh! That’s my ride. I should grab my bag,” she stood and walked to the spare bedroom.

“I could have taken you Claire. You did not have to pay for a ride.” Caz stood from the table. Claire came out of the room, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

“It’s alright. You’ve done so much for me already.” Claire adjusted the strap on her bag.

Caz walked her to the door. Claire stepped out, then stopped. She turned back and threw her arms around Caz’s shoulders in a hug. “Thank you, Caz. For everything.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning again and walking down the hall. When she got to the stairs, she looked at Caz and winked.

Caz heard her laughing as she disappeared down the stairwell. He stood there a moment, confused, rubbing the spot on his cheek she had kissed. Then he shut the door and started getting ready for the day.

Caz was greeted by a stack of new files on his desk. The officers and techs had finished documenting their investigation into Claire’s room at the Montreal from the night before. He sat down, pulling the file on top and flipping it open. It held the written reports from the night before, all of which indicated a lack of physical evidence able to be collected. A large number of fingerprints had been gathered but, being a hotel room, most probably belonged to cleaning staff or past guests.

The next file had written statements from the night shift crew at the hotel. One was from Kendra, the assistant manager from the front desk, as well as a few from cleaning staff and security. No one remembered seeing anyone suspicious during the hours between the time of the murder and his arrival at the hotel.

The third file held a CD in a paper case which Caz inserted into his computer opening a file labeled ‘Photos’. There would normally have been a second disk with any video but, as indicated in the statements given by security, all the cameras had been offline for the upgrade.

The photos didn’t give any new insight either. Clothes were thrown all over, bags emptied onto the ground, drawers left open. Nothing that offered any insight to who had done this. There was no damage done to the room and, even though all of Claire’s items had been thrown around, the bed was not touched. The edges of the blankets were tucked under the bed neatly and the pillows lay at the top in order. It was as if they were looking for something specifically in her belongings. Nothing appeared to be missing, but that could not be confirmed until Claire was able to check herself.

“I’ve seen better organization than that in a pigsty!” Dan leaned over Caz’s shoulder to look at his computer screen. “Tell me that isn’t how your mysterious girl from the past always lives.”

“No,” Caz leaned back in his chair. “The killer got a hold of her room key and beat us back. He was gone before we arrived.”

“Really! Well that was ballsy of him. Leave any good evidence behind?”

“Not that we can find yet.” Caz had finished looking through the photos, not finding anything he hadn’t already noticed last night. “I will have to take Claire back to the room to see if anything is missing. She is at her seminar for most of the day so I will have to figure out when would work best for her.”

“Speaking of the blast from your past,” Dan turned around, leaning back onto Caz’s desk, “What did she do last night? Surely you didn’t let her stay there with a lunatic knowing where she was.”

“No, she did not stay at the hotel,” Caz said. “She stayed at my apartment. In the guest bedroom.”

Dan’s eyes widened and a grin spread over his face. “You dog!” He shoved Caz’s shoulder, his voice growing even louder.

“Quiet down, Dan. It was not like that,” Caz looked around to see if the outburst had caught anyone’s attention. No one seemed to be looking over at them. “She could not stay there, and she had no way to access her bank to pay for another hotel. I let her stay the night in a separate room. She will be able to go to the bank today to get what she needs for the rest of her trip.”

“I didn’t realize Casa de Caz accepted alternative forms of payment,” Dan lowered his voice to a more reasonable level now, the grin remained.

“I told you, nothing happened,” Caz stacked the files back up on his desk. “She went to sleep last night soon after we got to the apartment and then left early this morning.”

“Alright buddy. I believe ya,” Dan stood up, slapping Caz on the back. “It wouldn’t have been such a bad thing though. I mean normally yes, very bad. But this is a unique situation, and she obviously has a thing for you,” he turned and started walking away. “Just saying, sometimes you have to accept a slice of warm apple pie when it’s offered haha.”

“I prefer my apple pie with vanilla ice cream, actually,” Caz called after him.

“Don’t we all!” Dan laughed louder as he walked back to his own desk.

Caz turned back to his computer wanting to go over the pictures again, but the conversation with Dan left him distracted. He couldn’t focus and just kept scanning the photos without being able to see more than the mess left in the room. He needed to go back and look at the room for himself. He could come back to these pictures later if he needed. He gathered all the files and locked them in his desk before leaving the office.

“Where ya goin’ Caz?” Dan called from his desk.

“Out,” Caz replied. “I need to go figure a few things out for this case.”

“Uh-huh. Getting a piece of that apple pie I hope haha!” Dan smiled.

“Pie?” Mezzer lifted his head up from playing a game on his cell phone. “If you’re getting some pie, could you bring me back some?”

“Mezzer! Every man has to get his own pie,” Dan yelled to the older detective. “Besides, how can you eat anything with that bush growing on your upper lip?”

“You’re just jealous ‘cause you can’t grow hair anywhere except your ass Dan!” Mezzer yelled back.

“Don’t forget on my head! Your blader than--” Caz walked out, cutting off Dan’s words as the door closed.

Caz got into his car and began to drive toward the Montreal, hoping he could find something with another look at the room. He turned the radio on.

In other news, former Prosecuting Attorney George Kristiansen told local news sources that he’s reached out to the city’s police administration to talk about reforms.

“I have, multiple times now, invited the police chiefs and commissioner to sit down with me and my people about possible future reforms. They have yet to respond to any of these offers which, to me, seems like a pointed and resounding ‘No’. Unfortunately, this doesn’t surprise me. They may not be good at their job, but they are smart enough to know what this would mean for them. Any reforms would mean a big target on their own backs. Their jobs could be the least of their worries, though. My legal team has been conducting its own independent investigation into the departments. It’s still ongoing, but hopefully we will be able to share some of the gathered information with you soon. And trust me, you’re going to want to hear—”

“Meaning you do not have anything to share.” Caz told the radio, switching it off as he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

The sound of the fountain greeted Caz as he walked through the front doors. A man and woman wearing business suits sat by it now, they talked over papers which were spread out on the table between them.

“Good morning and welcome to the Montreal. Checking in?” It wasn’t Kendra behind the counter now. A twenty-something male with curly brown hair and a name tag that said ‘MICHAEL’ smiled at Caz as he walked up.

“No,” Caz replied. “I am Detective Donovan with the police department. I was here last night with a friend. We spoke to Kendra about room 315.”

“Right! That’s the one the cops were looking at earlier today,” Michael leaned closer to Caz, lowering his voice so the two guests in the lobby wouldn’t hear.

“Yes,” Caz also leaned closer, “I was hoping I could go back in and take another look. Unless it would be too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all!” Michael stood back straight, the enthusiastic smile back on his face. “The cleaning staff already put everything back in order, but no one’s checked into it yet. Let me go get you a keycard.”

“Thank you,” Caz said as Michael spun around and strode to the back room.

Caz stepped away from the desk and checked the room. Besides the two sitting by the fountain, there was another man sitting in the corner reading the newspaper. Caz could see now where the cameras had been removed. Holes in the ceiling acting as invitations to anyone wanting to commit a crime in the lobby. There was a T.V. on the wall opposite the front desk showing the news, a picture of a local man found murdered just last night was filling the screen. It was Nicholas Reutz. Jackson’s murder had not been big news because of his past. But an upstanding, middle-class citizen butchered in the street made waves in the media.

“Here you go.” Caz turned around to see Michael placing a key card down on the counter.

“Thank you,” Caz picked up the card. “Is there anyone scheduled to check in anytime soon?”

“Nope,” Michael said. “The lady who was in there cancelled the rest of her stay with us. No one else has snapped up the opening yet.”

“Good to know. It should not take me too long anyway.” Caz walked down the same hall to the elevator he and Claire had the night before.

The room had been put all back together by the cleaning staff. Drawers were back in the dresser, chairs stood back up, and the bed was still neatly made. Caz made his way through, checking the now closed drawers, under the bed, behind the curtains. He was looking for anything the tech team may have missed.

Caz was beginning to lose hope of finding anything. The room was now spotless, whatever may have been missed would have been found by the cleaning staff and taken care of. That gave Caz an idea.

He rode the elevator back to the lobby and saw Michael was busy checking someone in at the front desk. Caz walked over, waiting until he finished.

“Back already? That was pretty fast,” Michael smiled at Caz.

“Yes, it did not seem I was going to find anything else there. I was wondering, however, if you knew if the cleaning staff found anything after the scene techs left?” Caz asked.

“Hmm,” Michael tapped his finger on the desk and grabbed his chin with his other hand. “I’m not really sure. I can check in the back though. We have a lost and found box. Everything is labeled with the day and room it was found.” Michael disappeared in back again, reemerging after only a few moments with a big smile. “Room 315, right? Just so happens there was something turned in,” he set a brown leather-bound planner on the counter. “Apparently it was stuck between the wall and the desk in the room.”

Caz opened the planner, turning the pages until he reached where todays should have been. The planner stopped at the page for yesterday. Everything beyond that had been ripped out which meant whoever had taken the pages knew Claire would be at the convention today.

“Thank you. I will make sure this gets back to Ms. Evans.” Caz shut the book and hurried back to his car, dialing the number for dispatch on the way. “This is Caz,” he told the dispatcher. “I need any units in the area of the convention center to stay close and be available.” Caz disconnected, pulling out of the parking lot.

Caz bypassed the crowded rows in the parking lot, driving straight to the front of the building and slammed his car into park. He jumped out and ran through the front doors.

“Sir, you can’t park there,” a young woman told him from a greeting table in the lobby. “You’ll have- - “

“I am a detective with the Denton Police Department,” Caz told her. “I need to speak with Claire Evans, she is a speaker here this weekend. It is very important I see her as quickly as possible.”

“Of course, detective. Let me see if I can find her schedule. The seminars haven’t started yet, but she should be on her way to her first one,” the woman began looking through a list of names.

“Caz?” He heard someone call out. He looked over and saw Claire waving and walking in his direction.

“There she is, thank you,” Caz walked over, meeting Claire halfway.

“Hey,” Claire smiled, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here this morning. Did I forget something?”

“No,” Caz answered. “I went back to your hotel room this morning, Claire. Your planner was found behind the desk with pages missing. Did you put your schedule for this conference in it?”

“I did. They emailed the itineraries out a week ago and I wrote it down. Why?” Claire’s smile turned to a look of concern.

“Everything written down after yesterday was taken,” Caz opened the planner to the torn-out pages and handed it to her. “I think it would be best for you to leave. I have my car out front, I can take you to the police station.”

“Caz,” Claire’s smile returned. “The convention center has security on scene, and no one is allowed passed the front without being an attendee. I appreciate your concern for me, I really do, but I have to be here. I can’t let what happened dictate how I move forward. Here,” she ripped out a piece of paper from the planner and scribbled something on it. “This is my number. I picked up a replacement phone on my way here. Text me so I have your number and I will call you when I’m done,” she tucked the paper into the pocket of Caz’s jacket.

“I do not like the idea of you being here with a murderer knowing your schedule,” Caz said.

“I’ll let security know what’s going on so they stay alert. I will be okay, Caz,” Claire gave him a quick hug. “Now, I have to get to the first seminar. I’ll wait for your text and call you at the lunch break. I’ll see you later.” Caz watched as her golden hair got lost in the crowd of people going into different rooms. After he lost sight of her, he walked back to the front tables.

“Would you please make sure security knows someone may come looking for Ms. Evans,” Caz told the same woman from before. “Tell them unless the person asking for her has a badge, don’t let them know where she is.”

“Of course, sir,” she answered. “No one is being allowed entrance who isn’t on our list of attendees or employees.” As the woman was talking, Caz saw a man come walking through the crowd. He was tall, bald with a scruffy beard, and he was wearing the same black leather vest he had on in the gas station security video.

The man turned, his gaze falling on Caz and a yellow toothed smile split his face. Seeing that face, now in person and not through the poor quality of the video, Caz recognized Jaeger Bewhärt. The older man suddenly spun around, pushing people out of his way as he ran back the way he had come.

“Have security cover all the exits,” Caz told the woman before running after Jaeger, not waiting to see if she understood him. He weaved his way through the dense crowd, the wake left by Jaeger filled quickly with conference attendees rushing to help those who had been knocked to the ground by the massive man. “Police! Out of the way!” he yelled. Instead of moving, the people just looked at him in confusion.

Finally, Caz made it behind the crowd to a door Jaeger had disappeared through, which led to the kitchen. The ground was littered with mixing bowls, cutting boards, and vegetables. There was a younger woman in a server’s uniform and an older man in a chef’s jacket helping up a younger man who was slumped against a wall and holding the back of his head.

“Which way did he go?” Caz asked. The older chef looked up at him then pointed to the back of the kitchen. Caz drew his sidearm and continued, slower now, to the back.

Caz came to a corner, circling wide to scan down a darkened hallway. He thumbed a switch and his gun near the trigger well, a bright beam came from a flashlight attached to the barrel.

Caz shuffled forward, his hands extended in front of him ready to snap up on target. As he crossed the threshold into the dark, his hand was hit hard by something, jarring his gun from his grip. It flew into the wall, causing the light to cut off, and skittered across the floor beneath a shelving unit stacked with extra pots and pans lined against the hallway wall. Caz stepped back instinctively and watched as a shadow emerged from around the dark corner. A shadowed figure stood in the hallway, a dented baking sheet in one hand.

As Jaeger stepped from the dark into the dim light, his grizzled face smiled. His eyes were nothing but ice as he glared at Caz. “Well, if it isn’t the apple who fell far, far from the tree,” Jaeger growled.

“That is far enough. Jaeger Bewhärt, you are under arrest for the murder of Jackson Montgomery and Nicolas Reutz. Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” they were close enough now for Caz to see the gray streaking through the older man’s black, wiry beard.

“Who?” Jaeger’s head cocked to the side in mock confusion, “Oh… you mean those traitors. Their lives were forfeit the moment they abandoned their family. Just like all the others.”

“Jaeger Bewhärt, as a detective for the Denton City Police Department I am placing you under arrest,” Caz repeated. “I am ordering you to turn around and place your hands behind your ba-”

“Or what?” Jaeger reached behind his back, his hand slowly reappearing holding a large, wooden handled knife. “Can’t shoot me without your gun. And even though you’ve grown up, I’m still bigger than you.”

Caz pulled his much smaller folding knife from where it was clipped into his pocket, flicking it open as he raised it. “This is your last chance to come cooperatively. Failure to do so will result in force being used.”

In answer to this Jaeger lunged forward, the tip of his knife aimed just below Caz’s ribcage.

Caz dodged to the left, driving the point of his own blade towards Jaeger’s throat. His knife only found air as Jaeger dropped his own body down, planting his hands on the ground and swept his left leg out to catch Caz’s feet. Caz jumped back between a counter and prep table to avoid being tripped. Jaeger was already back up and advancing toward him. The narrow area limited Caz’s options for movement. He feigned a step back before lunging forward. He brought his blade around in an arc towards Jaeger’s face, forcing the bigger man to jump sideways, outside of the knife’s range. This gave Caz the room to step out from the prep table and back toward the hallway.

Caz advanced, not wanting the opportunity to go to waste. Jaeger shifted into a wide stance with body slightly turned toward Caz and had switched his knife to a reverse grip. Jaeger lunged again, arcing the blade at Caz’s chest. Caz brought both his hands up to catch the older man’s forearm knowing his smaller folding knife could not stop the blade with this added force. The blow pushed Caz back toward the tables he had just escaped from. Absorbing as much of it as he could with his arms, he hooked his own hands around Jaeger’s hand and elbow and slammed it down with all his strength. There was a sharp CLANG as the buck knife hit the metal prep table, jarring it from Jaeger’s grip and sending it spinning to the ground.

Caz braced himself as he felt two hands grip his shirt. Pain bloomed through Caz’s head as Jaeger’s head met his. The kitchen spun as he was tossed aside, pinpricks of light filled his vision as he slid on his back into the dark hallway. Shaking off his daze, Caz sat up. He watched as Jaeger stood back up, having picked up his knife from the ground.

The older man turned toward him, grinning again. He sprinted at Caz, his long strides eating the distance between them. Caz braced himself, readying for Jaeger to dive on top of him. As the crushing weight of Jaeger’s body came down on him, Caz grabbed both of his thick wrists and tucked his knees up into his chest. He used Jaeger’s own momentum to rock back and then kicked with all the energy he had left, sending Jaeger through the air behind him.

Caz rolled, throwing himself toward the shelves his gun had disappeared under. He felt the textured grip and gave a relieved sigh. He pulled it out from under the shelves and aimed down the hallway, coming to one knee as he turned.

The hall was empty. A metal door at the end clicked closed, in the pale green glow of the EXIT sign above it. He stood up, jogging to the door and taking a short moment to catch his breath.

Caz shouldered the door open stepping outside at the end of an alley that ran behind the building. He saw Jaeger dive into an open side door of an old, brown van which started moving before the door could slide closed. He was able to raise his gun and fire once into its windshield as the van raced toward. Diving out of the way, he rolled across the uneven sidewalk.

Caz could only watch as the van continued down the road at a high rate of speed. A car had to slam on its brakes as the van ran a red light and nearly crashed into the side of it.

“Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired,” Caz keyed his radio. “Detective Donovan to all units in the area of the expo center. Suspects have fled East down Atlantic, away from the expo center. Vehicle is a full size, brown utility van with damage to the front windshield from a gunshot. No license plate on the front or back.”

Caz holstered his gun and dusted off his jacket as the sound of sirens filled the air around the city.