The Price Of Justice

Chapter Eight

"Where is she?" Ryan asked as he paced in an deserted picnic shelter at Dallas Community Park.

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know. I texted her to meet us here at 11:00 almost an hour ago." His forehead creased. "I hope she didn't run into any trouble with the Miller kid's sister." He turned to face his partner. "She would have called if she needed backup, right?"

"Of course she would, unless she was shot through the forehead or her phone was crushed during a struggle. Did she ever text you back?"

"Yes, she just said "K, I'll see you there."

"Short and sweet. Maybe someone forced her to text that, or took her phone once they..."

"Hayes! You've got to work on your tactfulness. If I wasn't worried before, I....I'm calling her."

Ryan chuckled. "Man, I'm just messing with you. I'm sure she's fine. Just because she's fifteen minutes late doesn't mean that something terrible happened to her. At least give her a few more minutes before you go all protective coworker on her."

Kyle lowered his phone. "You're probably right. It's just that she was furious when she left the police station, and I was worried she might have wrecked. It never even occurred to me that she could be in danger."

"She's probably fine. I wouldn't worry about it." Ryan checked his watch before casting a quick glance towards the road. "But if she doesn't show up soon, I'd be concerned about what Anderson will say to her later."

"That could be more dangerous than her having a confrontation with the man who killed that girl last night. She almost lost her temper this morning after he assigned her to inform the relatives about Cassandra. She was cussing mad. Said that she wanted to tell him off. I almost thought I was going to have to physically hold her back so she wouldn't lose her job."

"For such a little thing, she's sure got a lot of spirit."

"Well," Kyle leaned against a wooden support post and smiled. "My dad always says that it isn't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. And that girl's got more fight in her than a Pit Bull."

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're thinking about an angel."

Well, maybe I am. Kyle turned away lightly. "I'm not."

Shock ran down Ryan's face. "Wait, don't tell me...."

A truck racing down the highway caught their attention. Kyle drew in a quick breath. You couldn't have shown up at a better time, Taylor.

"She's gonna get herself killed one of these days driving like that." Ryan remarked. He glanced over at Kyle, and immediately regret washed over his face. "Kyle, I'm sorry, I wasn't....."

"Forget it." Sorrow sliced through Kyle's quiet demeanor, thickening in his throat. Ryan was right, Taylor did drive way too fast. A lot like someone he used to know.

Except that person's reckless driving had gotten them killed.

Taylor swerved into a parking space before killing her F-150's engine. She jumped to the ground and sprinted towards the picnic shelter. "Sorry I'm late." She apologized as she stepped up to her coworkers. "I ran into a bit of trouble."

Kyle nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "What happened?"

The moment Taylor lifted her head to look into his face, he knew that she had uncovered a vital piece of information. "I think my assignment might just have overlapped with yours."