Free Cold Case at Cobra Creek by Rita Herron

his old girlfriend Carol Sue found out our plans and did something crazy.”
    “What do you mean, crazy?”
    Beverly’s voice choked. “I mean, like kill him. She was always jealous of me.”
    “Did Carol Sue own a gun?”
    Beverly nodded. “A .38. She was good at shooting, too. Mike said her daddy took her to the shooting range every week when she was a kid. That she won the skeet-shooting contest at the county fair three years in a row.”
    Sage dug her nails into the palms of her hands. They had to find Carol Sue. If she’d shot Lewis, maybe she knew where Benji was.
    * * *
    D UGAN SAW THE FRUSTRATION on Sage’s face as they left Big Beautiful Hair and drove toward Cobra Creek. Beverly had been completely in love with Mike Martin, aka Ron Lewis.
    Dammit, he needed the man’s real name. Learning the truth about his upbringing might explain what had shaped him into a con artist. A man who not only swindled people out of their money, but charmed women into believing and trusting him when he told them nothing but lies.
    Sage lapsed into silence until they neared the outskirts of Cobra Creek.
    “I almost feel sorry for Beverly,” Sage said. “She really thought he was coming back to her.”
    Dugan winced. “He fooled her like he did everyone else.”
    “Like he did me.” Sage’s tone reeked of self-disgust. “The minute I realized he took Benji with him, without asking me, I was done with the man. He knew how protective I was of my son. Even if he had simply gone shopping, like I thought at first, I would have been furious.” Her voice gained momentum. “You just don’t do that to a mother.”
    Dugan agreed.
    “If Beverly was right about Carol Sue, and she shot Ron, what did she do with Benji?”
    “I’m going to call Jaxon and ask him to search hospital and church records nationwide for any child who might have been abandoned or dropped off around that time.”
    “That should have been done two years ago.”
    “I agree,” Dugan said, his opinion of the sheriff growing lower by the minute. Gandt should have explored every avenue to find Benji.
    “But if Carol Sue dropped him off, surely Benji would have told someone his name.”
    A dozen different scenarios ran through Dugan’s mind. Not if he was injured, confused, or traumatized. Or if she’d threatened him.
    But he tempered his response so as not to panic Sage. “If Carol Sue did leave him, she might have given false information, signed him in using a different name.”
    “You’re right,” Sage said. “The woman could have claimed he was her child, given a fake name and said she was coming back for him.”
    Dugan nodded. “I’ll call Jaxon now.”
    His phone buzzed just as he reached for it, but suddenly a car raced up behind them and a gunshot blasted the air, shattering the back window.
    Sage screamed, and he swerved and pushed her head down, then checked his rearview mirror as the car sped up and slammed into their side.

Chapter Eight
    Sage screamed as a bullet pinged off the back of the SUV. Dugan swerved sideways and sped up, but the car behind them roared up on their tail.
    “Stay down!” Dugan shouted.
    Sage ducked, clutching the seat edge as Dugan veered to the right on a side road. The SUV bounced over ruts in the asphalt, swaying as he accelerated. Suddenly he spun the car around in the opposite direction, tires squealing as he raced back onto the main road.
    “What’s happening?” Sage cried.
    “I’m chasing the bastard now.”
    Sage lifted her head and spotted a black sedan peeling off and getting farther and farther way. “Who is it?”
    “I didn’t see his face.” He pressed the gas to the floor and tried to catch the car, but they rounded a curve and the driver began to weave.
    Dugan closed the distance, pulled his gun and shot at the sedan’s tires. The car screeched to the right, skidded and spun, then flipped over and rolled. Metal scrunched and glass shattered as it skated into a boulder.
    A second later, the