The Next Generation: The Legacy (Book 3)

Chapter 11 - Cat is out!

Chante

I returned after four long days. I thought working would be hard, but just hanging around doing nothing was far worse. Okay, my mom kept me fairly busy. She finally agreed to sell the house on the last day, and I wasn’t going to waste any time. I didn’t want to give her more time to think about it. We saw agents in the morning to list the house and in the afternoon, I helped her to pack up all of my dad’s stuff and put it away in storage.

He could find it there if he ever came out of prison. I didn’t want her looking at it each day like she’d been doing. I didn’t want her sniffing his clothes and hoping he would come home soon. I knew the reality of his current position. His lawyers had spoken to my mom, and she relayed what they said. She still believed there was hope even after they told her he would be doing a long time, no matter which way they turned.

All she heard was that he would get out. All I could hope for now was that she didn’t go back on her word and that I could actually start looking at places with her. I made it to work just in time with barely a moment to spare and sat down just as our captain walked into the briefing room. It was a huge relief to just focus on catching criminals and not to have to think about the one in my family.

“Good morning, everyone.” Her entire demeanour captured my attention. “I’m afraid I received some bad news this morning. Cat has escaped from prison, and it is suspected that she will resurface somewhere in our district. I want all teams on high alert and on the look out, but don’t approach her on your own. Make sure you have backup. We can’t afford for her to be out. Be safe out there.” The Captain handed over to the officer in charge of the man hunt and I tried to take in all the information.

I read about her on the news, but it didn’t hit home as much before as it did at that very moment. She was the one who got my dad into trouble. If he never met her, then he would have never been locked up. Okay, she probably didn’t hold a gun to his head, but she must have had something on him! We adjourned, and I grabbed our gear before meeting officer Campbell in the car.

Freddie

“Freddie!” Christa called me aside after our meeting and she sighed deeply. “Please be careful out there. This HAS to be by the book if we bring her in.” She didn’t have to say more. I knew what she was getting at and I nodded. “Promise me, Freddie, please.” She frowned.

“Okay, okay. I promise. Besides, I have the rookie with me. I am not in the mood to explain if anything happened to her. Have you seen the mountain of paperwork you have to do when you misplace a rookie?” I tried to lighten the mood, but it wasn’t working.

“Just be careful. Don’t go after her. Especially not by yourself.” She frowned, and I nodded, touching her arm for reassurance.

“I promise. We will be safe.” I never thought of how much Miller’s death must have affected her. I was just in so much pain that I couldn’t even think. I sighed deeply as I walked up to the car and the rookie wasn’t there yet. I threw my bag in the back just as she arrived, and we got underway. As we pulled out of the station parking lot, I thought it would be best if I gave her some background on Cat.

It didn’t matter if my partner might be working with her father. Having Cat as their enemy would not be good for either of them. Cat probably already thought that Simmons’s father betrayed her. She would be out for blood and her easiest target would be Rookie Simmons who was sitting beside me. Christa promised to send a car to their home to make sure Simmons’s mom was protected.

All over our area, officers were dispatched to look after witnesses who testified against Cat. We were spread pretty thin, and it was a relief that the task team was involved, but it also put all of us right in the line of fire at all times. Not that we normally weren’t. I guess I was just on edge. I took a deep breath as a call came through. The rookie answered that we were on our way.

“Listen, we have to be more alert than normal. Each call could be Cat. She could have a number of traps for all of us out there, okay? I need you to focus.” I frowned and felt just a little bit of relief when she nodded. We pulled up outside a shop that had reported a shoplifter and found them outside. The shop owner was on the verge of smacking the young guy around when I pulled him away and Simmons put cuffs on the suspect.

We took all the necessary statements and the video evidence and an hour later drove the suspect to the station. I felt the tension in my shoulders when we got back into the car after booking the suspect. Until Cat was caught, all of us were going to be on edge every moment of every day. By lunchtime, we had four calls and thankfully none of them were to do with Cat.

As we were walking out of the station, I noted that the news was reporting on her escape and my heart went out to the guards who had to die, so she could be free. That woman had no respect for life! She killed three on her way out, and they were investigating how she did it. The task team caught my eye as they worked in our briefing room and I resisted the urge to walk in and find out where they were on the investigation.

Simmons and I made our way to the car and I felt the strain of the day pushing up my back. We worked day shift for two days. I just had to push through. I couldn’t give in at the moment. I had to remain strong. I just had to push through. Anger started to flare as I thought about Miller, and it was the energy boost I needed to just get back out there.