Trail under FEMA, aimed binoculars toward the house.
Recently, Fletch had found evidence in a cave where the man had been hiding, then began a full-fledged hunt for Inman in the mountains. Two days ago, he’d stumbled on footprints near an AT shelter and he’d tracked him to this isolated cabin. As they’d discussed, Fletch was not to try to take down the man himself. So, he’d called Liam and their brother Jacob, Whistler’s sheriff, and given them the GPS coordinates, and here they were.
Fletch pointed toward the rickety porch, then mouthed confirmation that Inman was in the house. Liam gestured for Fletch to hold back. He and Jacob were armed and would approach.
About seventy feet ahead of him, Jacob had slipped past the fence and gestured to move ahead. Liam lifted himself off the ground, then crouched low as he and Jacob wove between thick trees and bushes. The weathered little house sat on top of a ridge, offering a view of anyone who might approach from the driveway and graveled road.
Not wanting to alert Inman, he and Jacob had parked a mile down the road, then hiked through the woods. Dusk was setting, and a gusty breeze picked up, rattling tree branches and tossing debris across the pine needles and withered grass in the backyard. An old tire swing swayed back and forth as the wind battered it, and a stray cat clawed at a trash bag that had been dumped at the side of the house.
Liam and Jacob crept closer, then divided. Jacob headed around front while Liam checked the back door, then eased around to the side porch. A noise sounded just as he neared the broken window, and he paused and stayed behind the corner of the house.
Seconds ticked by. The wind whistled. The stray screeched and chased a chipmunk into the woods. The door to the side porch squeaked open.
Liam inched around the corner, aimed his gun and waited. A minute passed. Two. Then Inman poked his head out and looked around. The man looked a decade older. His once short hair was now long and shaggy. A foot-long raggedy beard hung down his chest to a point. And his clothes were ratty and dirty, the jacket he wore oversize and baggy on his bony frame.
He peered toward the right, then glanced to where Liam was hiding. His father’s lifeless face as he’d said goodbye to him before the funeral flashed behind Liam’s eyes.
If this man was responsible, he had to pay. Suffer.
The need for revenge ate at him, and he moved his finger to the trigger.
But his father’s voice taunted him from the heavens. His father whose mantra had been Respect and Protect.
Liam gritted his teeth. He’d become an agent to honor his father.
He exhaled, then stepped from the shadows. “FBI. Hold it right there.”
Inman’s eyes looked glassy and wide with panic. A dilapidated pickup was parked beneath a makeshift carport. A heartbeat later, he took off running toward the truck.
“Stop or I’ll shoot!” Liam yelled.
But Inman didn’t halt. Instead he darted toward the truck. Liam broke into a run just as Jacob yelled out a warning.
Determined to stop Inman, Liam fired a shot into the ground, but Inman snatched a shovel from the carport and swung it up in defense.
“You’re not going to get away,” Liam said as he moved closer. “It’s over, Inman.”
“We just want to talk,” Jacob shouted.
Inman shook his head. “No, you don’t. You want to pin that fire on me. And I didn’t do it.”
All guilty men claimed they were innocent. “Put the shovel down,” Liam said as he inched closer.
“I’m not going to prison for something I didn’t do,” Inman bellowed.
“Then talk to us and help us find out who did set that fire,” Liam said.
Jacob crept toward them, his gun trained on Inman, but Liam was closer. “Just put down the shovel.”
Inman’s eyes were wild, sweat pouring down his face. Then he threw the shovel at Liam and yanked open the door of the truck. Liam dodged the shovel, then lunged toward Inman. Inman fumbled with the key and tried to start the engine. Liam reached for his arm, but Inman swung the door to close it and slammed Liam’s shoulder in the process.
Pain shot through Liam’s arm, but he jerked the door open again, dragged the man from the truck and threw him to the ground.
Furious, he jammed the barrel of his weapon in Inman’s face.
“Try that again and you’re dead,” Liam growled. He kept his