Gridlock: A Ryan Lock Novel by Sean Black Page A

he said, leaping to his feet and taking off after the fleeing figure.
    He took the corner wide at the side of the house, the gun punched out ahead of him. All he caught was the man’s heels as he fled towards the driveway.
    He heard the clatter of metal on stone, then a muffled curse, more footsteps and the sound of a car door slamming. An engine fired and tires squealed as the vehicle took off at speed.
    Ty stood in the driveway, breathing hard. There was a solitary flash of brake lights at the end of the street and then the car was gone.
    He walked back to Wendy. She was rooted to where he had left her. He ran the beam of the torch across the area where the intruder had been. On the fifth or sixth pass, he caught a glint of metal on the deck near the rear doors.
    He walked over and bent down to retrieve a brass house key. He turned it over in his hand, then tried it in the new lock. It didn’t fit. But he’d bet any money in the world that it fitted the old one.

18
     
    Kevin and Wendy sat sheepishly on the couch. He had put one arm around her protectively, but removed it as soon as he saw Raven heading towards them. Lock hung back as she threw her arms around her brother, almost squeezing the life out of him. Then she hugged Wendy. ‘You know you’re both going to be grounded for this, right?’
    Both Kevin and Wendy nodded, their eyes wide and troubled.
    An LAPD patrol officer motioned Lock and Ty towards him. He was a Hispanic guy in his mid-forties with an easy smile that was more social worker than cop. ‘She can’t stay here. You realize that, right?’ he said.
    ‘I know,’ Ty said, ‘but let’s just give ’em a minute or two. I’ll make sure they behave themselves.’
    The cop shrugged and went to talk to his partner.
    Lock pulled Ty towards the window. ‘You get a look at the guy outside?’ he asked.
    Ty shook his head. ‘White, I think, but could have been light-skinned Hispanic. Big. Like over six feet. Beyond that I got nothing, really. I’m just happy no one’s hurt.’ He scratched his chin. ‘She was hiding under the deck. I almost lit her up.’
    ‘Cops take the key that was dropped?’
    ‘First thing they did was bag it.’
    ‘Maybe they’ll get something from it.’
    ‘I hope so, brother,’ Ty sighed, ‘because this shit feels real messed up to me.’
    ‘Everyone’s safe. You did your job. That’s all that matters.’ Lock clamped a hand on his partner’s shoulder. ‘I’m going to go take a look outside.’
    Out front a red sedan pulled up and Stanner got out, his frizzy mop of hair making him instantly recognizable. He waved and headed towards Lock. His shoulders were slumped and Lock had a feeling that he wasn’t there to tell them they had Cindy Canyon’s killer in custody.
    ‘How’s the brother’s girlfriend?’ Stanner said, glancing behind Lock to the house.
    ‘Shook up but fine.’
    Stanner chewed his bottom lip. ‘Young love. Think I just about remember what that feels like. Been married twenty-plus years.’
    ‘You got any news?’ Lock prompted.
    Stanner studied his shoes. ‘Nothing on the prowler but we think we’re getting closer to the guy in Arizona – the one who threatened Raven in the parking lot last night.’
    ‘Assuming he’s still in Arizona.’
    ‘Even if he’s gone, he might have left enough behind to give us something more to work on. We have someone from the FBI on board out there to check it out and feed back any extra intel.’
    ‘How come?’ Lock asked. He wasn’t an expert in the finer points of law-enforcement procedure and who took the lead, but with only one body and a case of ongoing aggravated stalking on the table it seemed a little early for the Feebs to be beating the bushes on behalf of the LAPD or the cops in Arizona. If it was, say, a serial killer they were looking for, the body count usually had to hit four before a federal investigation was triggered.
    ‘There’s an unsolved case going back a few years that we