Page 32 of Hawk and the Cougar

Chapter Ten

The following morning at dawn, Liz stopped walking and jerked her gaze to Hawk, who already had the rifle pointed in the direction of the sound to their right. Sunlight seeped across the early morning sky, casting enough light into the wide saddle they were crossing to make them easy targets. A murmur of voices floated to them from around the hill.

Hawk motioned her to go to the left toward the hillside. She quietly followed his lead as he sidestepped in that direction. Her heart pounded. There were no trees or rocks to use as cover. If Hawk shot one of the men, would the other shoot him before he could shoot back? They were so close to the dig—fifteen minutes, Hawk had estimated. Reid must be desperate to have sent his men into the mountains after them again.

A man appeared around the bend. “Whoa!” he called, his eyes glued to Hawk’s rifle.

He lifted his hands to show he held no weapon, but Liz saw the revolver strapped to his waist. She gave a small cry at recognizing the grey uniform of law enforcement and the mounted unit patch on his arm.

Hawk lowered the rifle. “You almost got yourself shot.”

“I see that.” The man glanced from him to Liz. “Professor Hawkins? Ms. Williams?”

Hawk nodded.

“You two all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Hawk replied.

The man pulled the radio from his belt. “Joe, I found them fifteen minutes to the north. They’re alive and well. We’ll meet you back at the cars.”

The radio clicked, then, “Roger that,” Joe replied over the radio. “Over.”

Liz startled at the feel of Hawk’s hand on her shoulder and leaned into him as he pulled her close.

The man clipped the radio back to his belt. “You’ve got some worried friends and relatives.”

“Who alerted you?” Hawk asked.

“Ms. Williams’ daughter reported her missing. We would have had no idea to look for her out here, but the sergeant who questioned her remembered a call from a Ms. Gloria Alameda who said you didn’t come home last night, Professor Hawkins.”

Hawk shook his head. “That’s the first time I’m thankful for nosy neighbors.”

The officer nodded. “When Ms. Williams’ daughter mentioned your name, he put two and two together.” He gave them a penetrating look. “The officer who drove out here found your two vehicles and realized something was wrong. What happened out here last night?”

“We had a couple of men shooting at us,” Hawk said.

The officer’s gaze sharpened. “You know who they were?”

“I do,” Hawk replied. “We can give a full statement.”

He nodded. “Let’s get back.” He looked at Liz. “Your daughter is very worried.”

* * *

Detectives Lyons looked at Hawk from across the small table in the interview room. The police had separated him and Liz when they’d arrived at the precinct an hour ago.

“You’re absolutely positive the men were Harry Jones and Jack Phillips?” Lyons asked.

“I’ve seen them half a dozen times,” Hawk said. “The Beanstalk—Harry Jones—drives that SUV that tried to run us down the other night.”

“You recognized him that night?”

Hawk shook his head.

“What about a license plate number?” the detective asked.

“I didn’t have time to take notes. You have a witness who saw the whole thing. Didn’t they get it?”