Laurel grinned. He always made her laugh. “Yes, I will.”

She left the station and was on her way to the Butterman house when she saw Chief Pittman. He was out of his cruiser and talking to an older woman in her yard. Laurel thought of that abandoned car again and, on impulse, stopped.

Lon heard the car brake and turned around. Laurel had her window down.

“Did you want to talk to me?” Lon called out.

She nodded.

“Be right there,” Lon said, then ended his conversation with the woman. “Just go about your business today, but keep your car doors locked and your house locked, whether you’re there or not.”

The woman nodded and hurried back inside as Lon walked out across the street to talk to Laurel.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I passed an abandoned car out on the highway. It was just before the city limit sign. I didn’t think anything of it until I got into town and saw all the police and heard what it was about. That’s when I wondered if the car might have anything to do with him.”

“What kind of car was it?” Lon asked.

“It was a gray Ford Focus. I’m no good at guessing the year, but it was in really good shape.”

Lon’s heart skipped a beat. They’d just gotten their first break.

“Thank you, Laurel. We’ll check it out right now. Are you heading to work?”

“Yes.”

“Then keep your car locked and the doors locked to the house you’re working in, okay?”

“Yes, I will,” she said, and drove off.

Lon got in his cruiser and picked up the mic. “Chief to Deputy Ralph, come in.”

“This is Ralph, over.”

“Check abandoned car just north of your ten-twenty and advise.”

“Ten-four, Chief. Over and out.”

Lon started the car and was on his way back to Main when Ralph radioed back.

“Ralph to Chief, over.”

“This is Pittman, go ahead.”

“Positive ID on vehicle in question. Over.”

“Call a tow. Log it in, then resume patrol within city limits. Over.”

“Ten-four, Chief. Over and out.”

Lon keyed up the mic again, knowing they would all have heard the conversation between him and Ralph.

“All units. Suspect likely on foot. Be aware. Over and out.”

Finding the car so close to town upped the danger level. Slade would be looking for wheels, and there was a town full for the taking. But the word was already spreading in Blessings to lock the doors and stay inside.

When Lon made the call to Superintendent Powers that a lockdown was necessary, it set off a whole other level of tension. Then he notified the state police that Slade was in the area.

* * *

Hoover had snuck into Blessings from the park side of town and was working his way through the alleys, looking for a new ride, when he saw the first patrol car. He thought nothing of it until a couple of blocks down he saw another, then another. He was starting to panic. The need to get out of town was immediate. There was no more time for caution. He couldn’t go back to prison.