Credo's Hope - Excerpt

The call police officers dread the most is the one where they have to deal with a fellow officer being shot. In this excerpt from the first Alex Wolfe Mystery, Credo’s Hope. Alex is called out to find the suspect who shot one of her good friends, Sgt. Jack Dougherty.

My pager buzzed just as I was giving Tessa her evening meal. I

found my cell phone and called Kate. Her voice shook with emotion

when she first spoke; then she made a conscious effort to steady

herself. "Alex, Jack Dougherty was shot about a half-hour ago. He's

in surgery at UMC. He checked out on traffic and said he thought

Rafael Rodriguez was in the vehicle. A citizen called in and said we

had an officer down in the street. That's all we know."

A burning sensation started in my chest and raced down into the

pit of my stomach. "Where do you need me?"

"They're calling in the K9 units. I need you with one and Casey

with the other since both of you can identify Rafael." She was on her

way and said she still needed to call Casey. I made sure Tessa was

settled, then jumped into my car and broke every traffic law to get to

the scene on time.

As I approached the area, I wound my way through marked

police cars and other detective vehicles parked haphazardly in the

streets. I badged the young officer controlling foot traffic into and out

of the area. He tucked his flashlight under his arm, held my I.D. under

the light, and compared my face to the picture on the card. "I hope

you catch the bastard, Detective Wolfe." He handed the card back and

pointed to his right. "You can park behind that red Nissan. You'll

have to walk the rest of the way to the scene."

I pulled my car into the spot he indicated and got out. My

bulletproof vest was in my trunk, and I took a minute to get it out and

strap it on. The scene was about two blocks away so I grabbed my

flashlight and started hiking.

Crime scene tape surrounded Jack's patrol car. A black SUV, the

driver's door standing open, was parked in front of Jack's cruiser. Two

K9 handlers stood off to the side talking to a uniform sergeant and a

lieutenant. I walked over next to them and adjusted one of the straps

on my vest.

The sergeant finished what he was saying to the handlers and

turned to me. "Hey, Alex. We're waiting for Casey to get here; then

we'll give all four of you a full briefing. We don't know if he's still in

the neighborhood, but it's worth a try.

"Any news on Jack?"

The sergeant crossed his arms. "He's still in surgery.” He held

my eyes for a second. “I heard the bullet missed his vest and went