Where Love Once Lived has a chase scene. Brian and Liz stop to help a carjack victim and chase the crook in the big, bulky bookmobile. The goal of the scene is to provide a reason for some books to fall on the floor and provide Liz with a clue to a different crime. Here's the first half of the chase. Check in tomorrow for the rest.
Later that day, Brian met Liz at the library, and they headed out in the bookmobile for the Hill Country Retirement Village, Varner’s favorite stop.
“Look at that.” Liz hollered.
Brian hit the brakes. “What's wrong?” he asked, struggling to maintain control of the swerving vehicle.
She pointed to the right side of the road ahead of them. “There’s a man on the ground. Some punk shoved him down then drove away. Didn’t you see it?”
Brian’s mind had been on Karen. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual as they drove, but he saw a man on the ground, sitting up, but looking stunned. Brian pulled the bookmobile next to the man and opened the door. The man jumped up and rubbed his head.
“Are you okay?” Brian asked.
“Okay?” The man stared at him in disbelief. “No. Some guy took my car. I’d stopped for a red light and he just opened the door as if he knew me and then cut off my seat belt with a big knife and jerked me out of the car.” He pointed. “It’s that one. Can you help me?”
“Sure. Hop in,” Brian said. “We can give you a lift.”
“Lift? No. I mean, let’s catch that thief.”
“Catch him? Are you sure you didn’t bump your head when you hit the ground?”
“I’m okay. Are you going to help me or not?”
The determination on the man’s face touched Brian, and he knew they were about to see how fast the bookmobile would move.
“Let’s roll.” Brian said loudly, causing Liz’s eyebrows to arch surprisingly high.
The man grinned from ear to ear as he climbed in.
“Liz, call the police and tell them what happened. You can also tell them we’re in pursuit, and we’ll keep them posted on our progress.” There wasn’t much chance they’d catch up to that stolen car, but Brian wanted to help the man feel like he was doing something.
Liz grabbed the phone then looked at him as if he were crazy. “In pursuit? Shouldn’t we wait here for the police?”
“What? And let that punk get away with this good man’s car?”
Liz grinned. “Yes, sir.” When she’d finished the phone call, she gripped the dashboard with both hands. “Have you thought about what you’ll do if we catch that thug?”
The man who had lost his car sat on the floor with his feet in the stairwell, looking out the front windshield. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do when we catch him.” He punched his right fist into his left hand.
“Oh dear,” Liz said.
“Don’t worry,” Brian said. “If we find him, we’ll call the police and follow him until they get there.” More softly, he said to her, “We’ll never see that car again.”
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