Honor and Defend
Author
Lynette Eason
Reads
16.4K
Chapters
19
A captivating romantic suspense from Lynette Eason. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, Lee Earnshaw is two weeks out of prison when an ex-con tries to kill him and his former love, K-9 rookie cop Ellen Foxcroft. Recognizing their attacker as a man he met in prison, Lee knows he must be the intended target. But is the shooter settling a score, or does Lee have something he wants? Determined to start over, Lee vows to keep Ellen safe. But as they investigate together, Ellen's Golden Retriever partner at their side, they find themselves dead center in a killer's crosshairs.
One
K-9 police officer Ellen Foxcroft shot a sideways glance at the man who drove in silent concentration. Just ten minutes ago, theyâd picked up three puppies from Sophie Williams. Not only was Sophie a trainer for the Canyon County K-9 Training Center, she also worked with the Prison Pups program. A program Lee Earnshaw, the man behind the wheel, was intimately familiar with, since heâd been part of it up until two weeks ago when heâd been released from prison. Framed. Set up by a dirty cop, heâd lost two years of his life. Heâd developed a new hardness and more lines around his eyes than when sheâd last seen him.
Two of the dogs theyâd just picked up from the prison program were ready to start training to be assistance animals for Ellenâs clientsâadults and children with disabilities. In addition to being a K-9 officer with the Desert Valley Police Department, she also ran the Desert Valley Canine Assistance program sheâd started a few weeks before Lee was released. Already she and her four employees were making a difference in the lives of the people in their community, training the dogs to be service animals for the disabled.
Thanks to Sophieâs generosity, Ellen hoped to have the two older puppies ready for the summer camp she planned to offer next month. The younger puppy needed more workâa job Lee would take on as soon as they got back to the facility. âYouâre awfully deep in thought,â she said. âAre you all right?â
Lee blinked and sighed. âIâm fine. I just wish we had some better leads on who might have killed Veronica.â Veronica Earnshaw, Leeâs sister, had been murdered a little over three months ago. Her killer still walked the streets, and Ellen could tell Leeâs frustration level was about to boil over.
âI know. Weâre working on it, Leeâwe really are.â
He scowled at her, then turned his attention back to the road. âThatâs what everyone says, I wish I could see evidence of that.â
Ellen grimaced. She wished she could, too, frankly. âAn investigation like this takes time. Itâs unfortunate, but it just does. At least youâre out of prison now, and that happened as a result of this investigation. Look at the positive side.â
His lips quirked. âYou would look at it that way.â The puppies in the travel carriers in the back barked and yipped. âI appreciate your giving me this chance to work with you and the pups. Not everyone believes Iâm innocent, in spite of the press conference and Ken Bucksâs arrest.â
âYouâre welcome.â
Former Desert Valley sheriffâs deputy, Ken Bucks had been arrested and, in order to secure a deal and a lighter sentence for himself, had confessed to framing Lee and sending him to prison two years ago for a robbery he didnât commit. âI just really want to put it all behind me.â
âIâm sure you do.â Probably easier said than done. This was Leeâs second day on the job. Two days ago, after much self-examination and encouragement from Sophie, sheâd approached Lee about working for her, and heâd been reluctant. With their history, she couldnât say she blamed him. Theyâd dated in high school. Until sheâd allowed her mother to chase him away. Her jaw tightened. She didnât want to go there.
Instead, she remembered the flare of attraction sheâd felt just from being in his presence again. Just from talking to him and looking into his eyes. Eyes sheâd never been able to forget.
Eyes that looked years older and much harder than she remembered. But sheâd shoved aside her attractionâand her pride. After some fancy talking, heâd agreed to give working with her a trial run. She figured his love of animals and training had convinced him. She didnât care what it was, she was just glad heâd conceded. Heâd started yesterday with a tour of Ellenâs assistance facility, which connected to the Canyon County K-9 Training Center. âYou know, I was thrilled when Veronica said she was fine with me leasing the unused portion of the K-9 training center.â
âVeronica never was one to turn down money.â
âWell, whatever her reasons, Iâm just glad she let me.â
Coming from a wealthy background, Ellen knew people looked at her differently, had various expectations of her, some good, some bad, most wrong. But at least sheâd done something good with some of that wealth.
Sheâd started the program with money from her trust fund. And then listened when Sophie Williams insisted that Lee Earnshaw would be the perfect person to hire to help train the dogs.
Today she could see his eagerness to get started working with the new animals. âSophie said when it came to working with the dogs at the Prison Pups program, you were the best sheâd ever seen. She called you a dog whisperer.â After Veronica had been killed, Sophie had taken over the program that trained dogs and rookie K-9 officers. She often used inmates at the prison to help with the training of the puppies until they were old enough for the center. Lee had been one of those inmates.
He gave a low laugh then frowned. âA dog whisperer?â He shrugged. âYou know me. Iâve worked with animals all my life. I like them and they like me. The Prison Pups program was the only thing that kept me sane these past two years.â
âI know. And Iâm sorry.â
âYeah. I am, too, but it is what it is. Iâm trying to move on.â
âYouâre not bitter?â
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. âIâm bitter. I just fight it on a daily basis, hoping Iâll eventually win the battle.â
âYou will,â she said. âWhatever happened to your plans to become a vet?â
He sighed and shrugged. âLife happened.â
âBut you graduated from college.â
âYes, with a degree in biology. I even started on graduate school, then everything kind of went south with Dad and I had to help him pay bills. Breeding and training dogs was the way to do that.â
âDo you have plans to finish school?â
âYes. One day. Ken Bucks kind of messed that up pretty good. And then Veronica was murdered...â
Ellen heard the unspoken end of the sentenceâand her killer is still out there.
She couldnât help studying his features. Brown hair with a brand-new cut, brown eyes that at times looked hard and cold but were always alive and warm when he worked with the animals His strong jaw held a five-oâclock shadow. She used to kiss that jaw on a regular basis. She cleared her throat and tried to shake her memories, but they just wouldnât leave her alone. Memories of being his girlfriend, the vicious conflict with her mother. And then Lee had walked away from it all.
Now she was back in town and he was out of prison and she was working in Desert Valley. For the time being. Thanks to her motherâs stipulation that she and the other rookies had to stay in Desert Valley until Veronicaâs murder was solved or she would withdraw the funding sheâd given the department. Funding the department couldnât afford to lose. Ellen planned to have a few words about that with her mother when she woke from the coma sheâd been in for the past three months. Someone had broken in to her home and attacked her, almost killing her. âI can understand your frustrations, Lee. I feel the same way about my motherâs attacker.â Ellen desperately wanted to find out who did it.
âI know, itâs justââ
The back windshield shattered and Ellen gave a low scream of surprise. Lee jerked the wheel to the right. âGet down!â Outside sounds rushed through the missing window. Someone was shooting at them!
Ellen ignored his order and turned in her seat to look out the back. âHeâs coming up on your five oâclock. Coming in for another shot.â It was the perfect place for an ambush. On a back road that didnât see much traffic just outside a small town.
Ellenâs tension mounted and she was extremely glad sheâd left Carly, her golden retriever K-9 partner, at the training center for this trip. It was supposed to take no more than two hours all in. An hour to the prison and an hour back. And while Lee had been as tense as sheâd ever seen him at returning to the prison, he hadnât said a word. She released her weapon from its holster and gripped it in her right hand, readying herself for the next attack.
Four months, she thought.
Less than four months ago, sheâd finished the twelve-week training session at the Canyon County K-9 Training Center. The state of Arizona had started the program years ago and found it quite successful. They trained new police academy recruits to be K-9 officers. She was a newbie, a rookie officer with the Desert Valley Police Department.
And now she might have to shoot someone.
The thought wanted to paralyze her, but her training kicked in and she knew she could do what she had to in order to protect herself and Lee.
The car roared up beside them and she got a brief glance at the driver and the gun he had pointed at her. Lee stomped the brakes, throwing her against the seat belt. She jerked forward then back, her head slamming into the headrest, her hand against the door. She lost her grip on the weapon and it clattered to the floor. The next shot took off the passenger-side mirror of the truck. Another hit a tire. Lee fought with the wheel and the truck listed to the side, but that didnât stop him.
He spun the wheel to the right and they roared onto a side road. The other vehicle swept past. Lee hit the brakes again and backed up, the truck lurching, the rim of the flattened tire grinding. But he managed to complete his three-point turn so that the front of his truck now faced the road. She watched the disappearing taillights of the other car.
As soon as Lee put the truck in Park, Ellen rolled out of the passenger door, grabbed her weapon from the floor and aimed in the direction the other car had gone. âLee, are you okay? Come out the passenger door.â
âIâm fine.â He landed on the ground beside her, kneeling behind the protection of the open door. He radiated tension. âIâm going to check on the dogs.â
Ellen registered the barking. âIâm calling for backup.â She grabbed the radio from her hip and put in the call. When Dispatch answered, she rattled off the information. She glanced at Lee who was also watching the road. âAnything?â
âNo, not yet.â
âHelp is on the way.â
She maintained her vigilance even as her mind searched for answers. Who would want to attack her and Lee? Probably the same people behind the other trouble the police department and her fellow K-9 officers had faced since being assigned to solve Veronica Earnshawâs murder. Then again, Lee had just been released from prison. Could it be someone after him?
The drone of an engine caught her attention and all speculation fled. She heard it coming closer as Lee pulled the two crates from the backseat of the king cab one after the other and set them on the ground by the blown tire. He handled the heavy cargo as though it weighed nothing, but she knew the two six-month-old pups weighed about fifty pounds each. âI hear something. Are they coming back?â
âSounds like it.â She raised her gun and aimed it. When the car crested the hill, she knew they were in for a second attack. âThatâs them.â The dark gray Buick slowed; the barrel of a rifle appeared in the window. She figured it was now or never and tightened her finger, heard her weapon bark, felt the kick against her hand.
The sedanâs front windshield exploded. The driver hit the gas and the vehicle blew past in a drunken weave. Ellen spun from her position and moved to the back of the truck near the crated, yapping puppies. This time the car didnât turn aroundâand she got a partial plate. âOh-four,â she whispered. âI didnât get the rest of it. But I got 04.â
She turned to find Lee hovering over the puppies, his features tense, face pale. âAre you all right?â he asked.
âYeah. You?â
He nodded. âThe puppies are fine, too.â
Ellen pulled her phone from the clip on her belt. âIâm going to find out where backup is. Keep an eye out for them to come back while Iâm on the phone, will you?â Not only did they need a tow truck for Leeâs vehicle, they needed a ride back to town and a Be On the Lookoutâa BOLOâput out for the gray sedan.
âOf course.â He looked distracted. Thoughtful. His brows pulled together over the bridge of his nose as if he knew something and was pondering it.
âWhat is it?â she asked.
His eyes flicked to hers then he shook his head. âNothing.â
The dispatcher came on the line. âWhereâs my backup?â
âOn the way, Ellen. They should be there within minutes.â
âTell them to be looking for a dark gray sedanâa Buickâwith 04 in the license plate.â
âCopy that.â
Ellen hung up and paced behind the protection of Leeâs truck while she watched the road and thought about what had just happened. âDid you tell anyone about us going to pick up the puppies?â she asked.
Lee frowned. âNo. But itâs not because I thought it was some top secret missionâitâs just that I donât talk to too many people.â
Ellen heard the bitterness behind the words. Being imprisoned for two years for a crime one didnât commit could do that to a person. She also knew that people in Desert Valley, Arizona, had long memories and werenât very forgiving. Never mind that the man before her had been set up by a corrupt cop.
When sheâd heard Lee had been arrested for robbery, sheâd been stunned. Then disbelief had set in. But the evidence had been overwhelming. Now she knew why. It was easy to frame someone when the investigating officer planted evidence. Disgust curled inside her. She had nothing but contempt for those who used their power to hurt others, to fulfill some kind of personal agenda.
Sirens broke the silence and she straightened, her eyes once again going to the place where the gray sedan had disappeared. Some of her adrenaline eased now that she felt sure they werenât coming back.
Chief of police Earl Jones stepped from his cruiser. Seventy years old, he topped six feet two inches and carried himself well in spite of his large gut. His gray hair looked mussed, as though heâd run his hands through it several times. His gaze landed on Ellen then slid over to Lee. âNot out of prison two weeks and youâre already causing trouble? Not a good way to start your new life.â
* * *
Lee nearly bit through his tongue to keep the words heâd like to fling at the man from making their way past his teeth. He simply stared at the chief. He wouldnât defend himself. He didnât have to. The fact that he stood here a free man was defense enough as far as he was concerned. Chief Jones raised a brow, a glint of respect lighting his eyes before he hitched his britches and held out a hand to Lee. âYou got a raw deal. Iâm glad it all worked out for you.â
Lee blinked and swallowed his anger. He shook the manâs hand. âThanks. I am, too.â
The chief looked at Ellen. âWhatâs going on here, Foxcroft?â
Ellenâs gaze darted between the two them. Lee maintained his cool stance. Deputy Louise Donaldson exited her cruiser and joined them on the side of the road. The woman was in her early sixties and, if Lee remembered correctly, had been widowed at a rather young age.
She was tall and solid, her hair cut in a no-nonsense brown bob. Her dark eyes were serious and concerned. He also knew she planned to retire soon. In fact he wondered who would retire first, the chief or Louise. And why he was even thinking about that confused him. He attributed it to some kind of coping mechanism. If he thought about the mundane, he didnât have to think about the fact that he and Ellen could have been killed a short few moments ago.
âWe were shot at,â Ellen was saying. âI think there were two of them in the vehicle. They drove a dark gray Buick and I got a partial plate.â She gave it to him. âTheyâve also got a busted windshield.â
âIâll call for a tow truck,â Louise said. She got on her phone and Earl rubbed a hand over his craggy face.
âAll right, letâs get you two back to town and get this figured out. Donaldson!â
âYes, Chief?â She slid her phone back into the clip.
âGet Marlton and Harmon out here to take care of the evidence collection before the sun goes down. Weâve only got a couple hours before dark.â Dennis Marlton and Eddie Harmon, two more of Desert Valleyâs finestâonly Lee had come to figure out they werenât quite so fine. Between ready-for-retirement cops and simple ineffectiveness, Lee decided it was a wonder enforcement of the law even happened in Desert Valley.
Chief Jones was a good man, but his upcoming retirement had him slacking off. The chief continued, âIâll stay here while you chauffeur these two back to town. Officer Foxcroftâs got some paperwork to fill out on the shooting. Make sure her gun is turned in and all is done according to procedure.â
Louiseâs jaw tightened as though she didnât like being told how to do her job, but she simply nodded. âOf course. Come on.â
Lee put the crated puppies in the back of the DVPD SUV cruiser then he climbed in the back while Ellen took the front passenger seat. Louise started the vehicle and pulled away from the edge of the road. Lee reached over and settled his hand on Ellenâs shoulder. She started and turned to look at him, confusion clouding her eyes. But at least she didnât pull away. âIâm glad youâre all right,â he said. âThat was some quick thinking and good shooting out there.â
She shot him a tight smile. âThanks. I just wanted to stop them.â
âYou did that, all right.â
She fell silent and Lee removed his hand from her shoulder to look out the window and watch the scenery pass by. He didnât take for granted the fact that he could do this now. Heâd missed riding in a car for the past two years. Missed driving his truck. Heâd missed a lot of things. The anger wanted to bubble up, but he took a deep breath and forced it down. Anger at what he couldnât change wouldnât help anything. It would just cause the bitterness to grow, and he didnât want to go through life that way. Had made a vow he wouldnât let it consume him. Not like it had his father. He forced the thought away.
Within minutes they were at the police station. Lee climbed out of the cruiser, grabbed the puppies from the back and waited for Ellen to climb out. He let her go in front of him, watching her enter the station, her steps light, movements graceful. He realized his feelings for her hadnât diminished one bit from their high school days. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he was still attracted to her. And her mother still hated him. No doubt even more so at this point. He wasnât just a kid from the wrong side of the tracks anymoreâheâd been incarcerated. Oh, yes, that would go over well with Marian Foxcroft. Assuming she ever woke up from her coma to find out he was now out and working with her daughter. As much as he disliked the woman, he realized he could feel compassion for her. She was in the hospital in a coma, a victim of a home invasion and a vicious attack. No one deserved that. He swallowed hard and pulled the rolling crates behind him. He trailed Ellen as she led the way through the Desert Valley Police Department lobby.
âEllen?â
Ellen paused and turned to the woman whoâd called her name. âYes, Carrie?â
Lee racked his brain trying to place what heâd learned about the secretary and couldnât come up with much. In her thirties, she wore thick horn-rimmed glasses and her brown hair was always in the same style every time heâd seen her around town. Up in one of those messy-bun things some women managed to twist their hair into. She was quiet and kind and did her job well if the rumors were true.
She handed Ellen a piece of paper. âThe hospital called just to say thereâs been no change in your mother. Dr. North said to let you know he had a family emergency and wouldnât be able to meet with you this afternoon, but if youâll call his secretary to reschedule, sheâll fit you in as soon as possible.â
âThatâs fine. Thanks.â She frowned. âI wonder why he didnât call my cell.â
âHe said he did but you didnât answer.â
âShe was kind of busy,â Lee said.
Ellen nodded. âThanks, Carrie.â
âOf course.â She turned back to her computer and Louise continued the trek to a conference room.
Officer Donaldson shut the door behind them and Lee saw Ellen check her phone. âYep. Missed call.â She glanced at Lee. âRight in the middle of our little incident. I never heard it ring.â
He hadnât, either.
Ellen removed her weapon and placed it in the bag the officer held out for her. âYou know the drill,â Officer Donaldson said. âThereâll be an investigation. Youâre off duty for the moment.â
Ellen sighed. âI know.â
âThe good news is since there are no wounded or dead bodies, you could be cleared for return to duty as early as tomorrow or the next day. Weâll let you know.â
âThanks, Louise.â
The womanâs brown eyes softened a fraction. âYouâre welcome. You did good, rookie.â
Ellen gave a faint smile. âThanks.â
âHowâs your mother?â
Her smile slipped. âSheâs still alive. Weâre just praying she wakes up soon and can tell us who did this to her. Until then, sheâs under twenty-four-hour guard to make sure no one can get to her and finish what they started. Chief Jones was willing to have you all take shifts guarding her, but I know Mom wouldnât have wanted to take you away from your duties here. Iâve hired a private agency to make sure thereâs a guard on her door. So far, thatâs worked out well.â
âWeâre all praying for her.â Louise set the weapon aside and motioned for them to sit at the table. Once seated Lee wanted to fidget. He wasnât interested in being in this building ever again. Louise pulled a laptop in front of her. âAll right, letâs go through it all again.â
Lee started to say something when Carrie entered the room. Louise raised a brow. âYes?â
âSorry to interrupt, but someone found a glove behind a Dumpster near veterinarian Tanya Fowlerâs office and brought it in.â She held up the bagged glove while he pictured Tanya, the veterinarian heâd seen occasionally when sheâd come to the prison to vaccinate the dogs with the Prison Pups program. A sweet lady whose nonjudgmental eyes never failed to raise his spirits. He tuned back into what Carrie was saying. âTwo kids were waiting with their mother while she had their dog in with Dr. Fowler and they ran around the side of the building playing hide and seek. Little Justin Daniels found it and gave it to his mother.â
âOkay. And itâs important because...?â
âIt matches the set worn by one of the robbers who robbed that bank in Flagstaff six months ago.â
Louise frowned. âHow would she have known that?â
âShe wouldnât. She turned it in to us because it had five one-hundred-dollar bills in it and thought someone may have reported it missing.â
âHas someone?â
âNo.â Carrie pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. âBut when the robbery first happened, we got all those wanted notices faxed to us, remember? The chief also got the video footage of the robbery.â She walked farther into the room and placed the glove on the desk. âHe and I watched it together just in case I spotted anyone hanging around town. Turns out I recognized the gloves in the surveillance video. Theyâre a pretty popular brand and I sent this exact pair to a cousin for Christmas last year.â She wrinkled her nose. âWell, not this one, but a pair just like them. So I just checked the bank footage again to be sure, and this sure looks like one of the gloves.â
Louise nodded. âOkay, thatâs good news. I wouldnât have thought there would be any chance of picking up that trail again. Send the glove off to the lab. Take Justin Danielsâs fingerprints as well as his motherâs and send them for comparison.â Carrie nodded. âAlso, get the serial numbers from the bills and send them to the Flagstaff PD. I donât know that theyâll need them, but it canât hurt to have them just in case.â
âGot it.â Carrie turned and walked out, carrying the evidence.
Louise looked up at Ellen. âYou heard about that bank robbery, right?â
âVaguely. It happened shortly after we started our training with Veronica and thatâs where my focus was. I think I remember that they never found the money, right?â
âNo, it happened just as the bank was closing on a Friday afternoon. Two men in masks and semiautomatics in broad daylight. Shook the whole city up.â
âThey were obviously professionals and they had it well planned.â
âTrue,â she sighed. âThey got away that day, but the FBI was called in and arrested one of the robbersâa Nolan Little. The second robber got away, but the FBI tracked him down right here in Desert Valley two days later, hiding in an abandoned mobile home. He got into a shootout with them and was killed. They searched and found his weapon and a few bills, but he didnât have the bank money on him.â
âLet me guess, the one they caught isnât talking.â
âHe couldnât if he wanted to. He was killed about two months into serving his sentence.â
âSo anyone who might have known where the money is canât talk because theyâre dead.â
âYes. At least the ones we know about.â
âYou think thereâs someone else involved?â
âThe FBI was convinced there was a third personâa driverâbut theyâve never been able to prove it. He wasnât in the video and there wasnât a car at the scene.â
âHow did they get away?â Ellen asked.
âOn foot. Ran right out the back door through a back alley and disappeared. Thatâs why we think there was a third person involved. Someone with a car that was never seen. Someone who knew where the security cameras were and made sure to park out of view. The robbers climbed in and they drove away.â She sighed. âThe FBI sends the chief an update every so often, but I think theyâve probably given up on ever recovering the moneyâor the third person if there ever was one.â She shrugged. âWho knows? Maybe with the glove, theyâll get a fresh trail to follow.â She drew in a deep breath. âNow, Lee, what can you tell me about the shootout that just occurred?â
Lee shifted. âI think I have something that will help.â
âWhatâs that?â
âI have a dash cam on my truck. We just need to watch the video.â He held up his phone and pressed the screen to pull up the app.
He shook his head at the irony. After everything this department had put him through, he had something that could possibly help them. And he was going to push aside his initial reaction of âlet them fend for themselvesâ and do it.
This time theyâd better not mess up.
