“The FBI tracked you. Mize brought me along. We got here about an hour ago. We were at the local PD, briefing them when the call came in.” He smiled. “They haven’t seen this much activity in Claude in years, if ever. Half the town is probably gathered here.”

She looked back toward the motel. “Have they brought him out yet?”

“No. They’re still working the scene. No ID on him, they said.”

Reid stepped aside as Mize approached. Harper could tell by the look on his face that she was in more than just a little trouble.

“Well, you’ve taken insubordination to a whole new level.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ve also given new meaning to the term ‘rogue cop,’ Detective Jeremiah.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“But we’ll discuss all of that in my office.” He leaned closer. “I’m glad you got the bastard, Harper, but you’re looking at a suspension. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“But he killed a cop,” Reid said, coming to her defense.

“Yeah. And it very well could have been two cops and a damn actress if things hadn’t worked out. We’ll talk in my office.”

“Yes, sir.”

He turned to walk away, then stopped. “Good job, Harper.”

Reid nudged her shoulder. “So? You really okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

“You’re going to have a nice black eye there, it looks like. You did pretty good with him, though. He was a big man.”

“Yeah, he picked me up like I was one of his damn dolls.”

She turned around, hearing her name being called. She saw Dani in the crowd of cops, looking for her. She raised her hand and waved, trying to catch her attention. Dani saw her and hurried over. Harper saw her hesitate, and she wondered if Dani was fighting an urge to hug her, hold her, make contact. Dani only briefly nodded at Reid before turning her full attention to Harper.

“Are you okay? Anything broken?”

“Just my pride,” Harper said with a smile.

“Are you sure? I thought—”

“I’m fine.”

Dani held her gaze for a long moment, then properly acknowledged Reid. “Detective Springer, you sure got here fast.”

“Yeah, as I was telling Harper, we were hot on your trail.”

“The FBI grill you?” Harper asked Dani.

“Yes.” Then she smiled. “They were actually pretty nice. They’re going to try to keep my name out of it.” Dani turned to Reid. “Do they know who the guy is? The FBI wouldn’t tell me much.”

“Not yet, no. They found his car. There’s like four dolls in there and a bunch of clown shit. Oh, and yeah, an LAPD detective’s shield.”

“Even though I was certain it was him, it’s nice to have that confirmed,” Dani said. “At least I won’t be looking over my shoulder from now on.”