The Color of the Season Read Free

the silver minivan in front of us, weaving back and forth over the center line.
    Scott called in the license plate number to the dispatcher while I activated the siren and flashing blues.

Chapter Five

    “I’ll get this,” Scott said, raising the hood of his slicker and opening the car door at the shoulder of the road. “But you could order the rain to stop, if you get a minute.”
    “Sure thing.” I leaned forward slightly to squint up at the dark, overcast sky while water sluiced down over the windshield.
    While I kept the wipers moving at full speed and let the car idle to prevent the windows from fogging up, Scott got out and approached the vehicle.
    Attentively, I watched him tap a knuckle on the window of the van and begin to converse with the driver. I noted another passenger in front—a woman leaning across the console to speak to Scott, though it was difficult to make her out through the blinking rear tail lights and heavy rain.
    Scott eventually moved a few feet back and gestured for the driver to step out of the vehicle.
    Must be a DUI, I thought. Not surprising, given how the van was weaving about.
    Just as I reached to unfasten my seatbelt, however, I heard a gunshot. I looked up to see Scott stumbling backwards onto the road.
    Shit !
    Within seconds, I had radioed for backup and was out of the squad car, going for my gun.
    “ Freeze! Drop your weapon !” I shouted, darting a quick glance at Scott. He was conscious and clutching his shoulder.
    By now the perp had scrambled back into the minivan. The passenger door opened and the woman fell onto the road, screaming hysterically. “Help me!”
    “Stay down!” I shouted at her.
    Just as I reached the driver’s side door, the tires skidded over the wet pavement, spitting up loose gravel. The van fishtailed out of there.
    The next thing I knew, I was aiming my .38 and considering firing off a couple of rounds at the left rear tire, but I didn’t have to. The driver hit the brakes for some reason and the minivan did a 180 on the slick pavement. It skidded into the guard rail about a hundred yards away.
    “You okay?” I asked Scott, who was rising unsteadily to his feet. I reached out to give him a hand.
    “Yeah. The little bastard got me in the arm. I think it just grazed me.”
    “Get the woman,” I said, hearing the sound of the minivan engine sputter. The suspect was attempting to make another escape. “Backup is on the way.”
    Sirens wailed in the distance. The front door of the van swung open. The suspect hopped out and sprinted down the off-ramp.
    “I’m going after him,” I said to Scott, and broke into a run.

Chapter Six

    I barely registered Scott’s voice calling after me, telling me to wait for backup. I probably should have listened to him, but I couldn’t let the suspect get away. Not after he’d shot my partner at close range.
    Running at a fast clip down the off ramp, I radioed in my location and followed the perp into an auto body repair shop parking lot.
    I was breathing heavily by then, aware of the sound of my rapid footfalls across the pavement, splashing through puddles.
    The suspect disappeared around the back of the building. I followed briskly, pausing at the corner to check my weapon and peer out to make sure he wasn’t positioned there, waiting for me.
    He had gained some distance and was scrambling up and over a chain-link fence. I immediately resumed my pursuit and climbed the fence to propel myself over.
    Inside the repair shop, a dog barked viciously. An outdoor light flicked on, illuminating the rear lot. I was almost over the fence when a door opened and a large German shepherd was released from within. He came bounding toward me, barking and growling.
    I dropped to the ground on the other side of the fence.
    “Police officer in pursuit of a suspect!” I shouted at the man who followed his dog across the lot.
    “He’s heading that way!” the man helpfully replied, pointing, but I didn’t stop to