“Yeah,” he said. “That sounds like a good plan. Thanks, LT.”
There was a pause before Blessard cleared his throat. “Right. Well, you’re…welcome, I guess.”
Theo held back a laugh. If he’d known that thanking his lieutenant would bewilder the man so much, he’d have done it earlier. “What’s the address?”
“It’s the Monroe Diner.”
Chapter 20
Theo froze for what felt like a long minute before he turned, his gaze hunting the clock display on the microwave. It was 4:49 a.m. His lungs released in a relieved huff. Jules didn’t start until five, and she rarely got in more than five minutes early. She hadn’t been in there. She was fine.
“Bosco? You there? Bosco!” The lieutenant’s irascible tone echoed through his phone. “Damn shitty cell reception. Bosco!” The cell went quiet and then beeped, indicating that Blessard had ended the call.
Theo called Jules, listening to it ring as he turned to tell Hugh and Otto what was happening. The other men were already moving—Hugh toward the back door to grab Lexi from the yard, and Otto to the front, where his squad car was parked. The robotic voice of Jules’s generic voice-mail message began reciting her number, and Theo impatiently waited for the message to end before he clipped out, “It’s Theo. Call me as soon as you get this.”
“Was that LT?” Otto asked as Theo hurried after him, catching the door after Otto pulled it open.
“Yeah. The first call, at least. Norman Rounds was shot at the diner.”
“Got that from dispatch.” As they separated, heading toward their respective cars, Otto called over his shoulder, “LT give you any details?”
“Just that Rounds is alive, but barely. He wants us to check for explosives before the crime scene team goes in.” Theo climbed into his squad car and fired the engine with one hand while he called Otto on his cell with his other. As soon as Otto answered, Theo started talking like there’d been no interruption of their conversation. “LT thought it’d be a good retraining opportunity for Viggy.” The dog sat up in the backseat at the sound of his name.
“Good idea.” Otto took the abrupt start to the call in stride. “Who’s in there this time of day? Megan?”
“Yeah. Maybe Vicki, unless she’s running late like usual.” Although it felt slightly stalker-like, Theo had developed the habit of driving by the diner on his way to work—or from work, depending on his shift. If he timed it right, he’d see Jules hurrying into the diner. Megan’s Volkswagen was usually there, but Vicki’s motorcycle was generally absent until she roared into the lot a few minutes after five.
“Not Jules?”
“Not Jules,” Theo repeated firmly, trying to reassure himself as much as Otto. There had to be a good reason why she wasn’t answering her phone. They would have already evacuated the building, of course, and the lieutenant would’ve told him if anyone else had been injured, but he hated that she was nearby if there was any possibility of danger. Although he didn’t want Megan or Vicki to be harmed in any way either, Theo couldn’t stop obsessing about Jules. He’d feel better when he got on scene and was able to see that she was safe.
And she would be safe, he told himself as he called her again. Of course she would be safe. He couldn’t consider any other option. He just wished she’d answer her damn phone.
By the time he’d pulled up to the diner a few short minutes later, he’d left three more messages on Jules’s voice mail. Before getting out of his car, he shot her a quick, Call me now text, and then rushed over to the lieutenant.
“Everyone’s out?” Theo asked.
Blessard gave him an are-you-insane look. “What are you going on about, Bosco? Of course we’ve cleared the building.”
“Good.” Theo scanned the parking lot as he spoke. The rising sun had painted the sky red behind the mountains, silhouetting the patrol officers working on setting up a perimeter. “I’ll—”
His words and heart stopped at the same time when he saw the Pathfinder sitting on the far side of the lot.
“Where’s Jules?” he demanded as he frantically searched for her among the small crowd of people milling around outside of the perimeter.
“Who’s Jules?” Blessard asked, but Theo was already jogging toward the SUV. “Bosco! Get back here!”
Theo was so focused on the Pathfinder that he barely heard his lieutenant’s yell. Before he even reached it, he knew it’d be empty. The second he’d spotted her SUV, he’d known in his gut that she was inside the diner. Why, though? Why hadn’t she been evacuated? Turning, Theo saw Blessard had followed him.