Play Fetch: An Avery Barks Dog Mystery (Avery Barks Dog Mysteries Book 3) by Mary Hiker Read Free Book Online

I grabbed my knife and cut the ball in half, and a computer USB Flash Drive tumbled out onto the tailgate.  Anna was smarter than the average second grader, and must have had hidden the USB drive at the bottom of Chevy’s ball box.  But why?
    I hurried back in the house, took a deep breath and put the USB drive in my laptop to see what was on it. There were a few files, and I clicked on the first one that caught my eye named ‘DNA test’.  A copy of a maternity test report popped up that showed a woman named Tina Leeder was not the mother of Austin Leeder.
    I closed that file and clicked on a document with the chilling title, ’Hit List’.  I held my breath and opened the file. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I saw that Bethany Biltmore, the woman found dead on the road the other day, was at the top of the list. What was gravely concerning was that there were a couple other names that I didn’t recognize.
    My hands were shaking when I opened the third file titled ‘Ambush’, and my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach when I looked at my computer screen.  It was a crude drawing of the layout of what was labeled Falls Gap High School.  There was a big X marked in what appeared to be the parking lot at the back of the school, and today’s date was written underneath the X.
    I sprinted out the door with Chevy right behind me.  I didn’t have time to stop him from jumping in the passenger seat when I pulled the door open.  I dropped my phone twice while trying to call Don on the way to my truck.  I finally made a connection as I raced out of my drive.
    “Hey Avery.” Don answered on the first ring.
    “The kid’s not backpacking.  He’s gonna kill kids at Falls Gap High. Send everyone you have.” I yelled.
    I threw the phone into the back seat and gripped the wheel tight as I sped down the road as fast as the truck would go.
    I had no plan what-so-ever, but everything in me knew I had to do whatever I could.  If all the deputies were out in the forest like Don had mentioned, it would take them a good twenty-five minutes to get back to town.  I could make it to the school in fifteen.
    I flew into the school entrance and drove around to the back of the school.  The parking lot was full of cars and the kids were already inside. I held onto Chevy as I took the speed bumps without slowing down. My truck ran up on a curb and skidded to a stop right next to the football field that bordered the parking area. 
    I opened the door and a couple tennis balls fell out at my feet as I struggled to get out.  I stopped short when I saw a brief flash of white clothing behind a dumpster in the distance.  He was here! 
    Chevy tried to force his head past me to get out and I reached for the balls and threw one out into the field, trying to make it look like we were just out there playing fetch.  I needed to give myself a minute to think.  I didn’t get the chance because a couple kids late for school pulled into the parking lot with their music blaring.  They ambled out and held hands as they slowly made their way to class.
    The young man stepped out from behind the dumpster and everything went into slow motion.  He wore an oversized white hoodie with a big black skull spray painted on the front and a dark pair of sunglasses.  He ignored Chevy and me and headed directly for the students at a rapid pace, lifting the rifle and aiming it at their backs. 
    I had no weapons, but somehow my body took over.  In an almost ridiculous fashion, I ran toward him and threw the remaining tennis ball in my hand as hard as I could. It missed his head by a good three inches, but was enough to distract his aim, causing the shot he fired to break out the back window of a parked car. 
    He swung his head toward me and all that registered in my mind was the orange design on the side of his black sunglasses and the white hoodie.  That is, until he aimed the gun at me.  It seemed like I was running in slow motion