Chapter 3 - The Ravine at Old Mill
Natalie slammed her cruiser into a halt thirty yards behind Denise's vehicle. She unclipped her holster, drew her sidearm, and stepped into the raging tempest. "Denise Carter! Step out of the vehicle with your hands up!" she commanded through her bullhorn.
Instead of complying, the driver's side door flew open, and a figure draped in a heavy yellow raincoat rushed straight toward the edge of the dark ravine, carrying a flash of metal in her hand—a crowbar. Denise was slipping down the muddy embankment, disappearing into the pitch-black shadows below.
"Stay where you are!" Natalie yelled, clicking on her heavy-duty tactical flashlight and plunging down the steep slope behind her. The mud was slick, causing Natalie to slide several feet before regaining her footing against an old oak tree root.
Down at the bottom of the sixty-foot ravine, buried under crushed branches and mud, sat the overturned frame of Andrew's blue pickup truck. The roof was collapsed, and the cabin was nearly crushed flat against a mass of boulders. Rain pooled into a rushing creek right beside the wreck.
By the bright beam of her flashlight, Natalie saw Denise standing near the driver's side door, raising the crowbar high, intending to smash it through the cracked glass where a bloodied hand was feebly reaching out from the wreckage.
"Drop the weapon! Police!" Natalie shouted, pointing her firearm directly at Denise.
Denise froze, her eyes wild under the yellow hood, illuminated by the harsh light. Rain poured down her face as she let out a hysterical laugh. "You don't understand, Officer! He was going to ruin everything! That money belonged to my family! His wife was my sister, and he stole that insurance settlement from us!"
"Drop the bar, Denise! It's over!"
"He let Ashley starve!" Denise shrieked, backing toward the rushing creek waters. "I just pushed his truck off the road... he was supposed to die four days ago! How is he still breathing?!"
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"Because he loves his daughter," Natalie said firmly, inching closer. "And he survived four days in cold mud just to make sure she was safe."
Realizing she had no escape, Denise dropped the heavy crowbar into the mud with a splash and raised her hands, sobbing uncontrollably as panic took over. Natalie moved in quickly, forcing Denise to her knees and snapping the steel handcuffs onto her wrists just as siren lights began flashing along the ridge above. Backup had arrived.
