Читать книгу Witness Pursuit - Hope White - Страница 11
ОглавлениеCassie was alone with the killer.
A ball of fear rose in her chest.
No, she wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
She had nothing with which to defend herself, nor did she have her phone to call for help. But she was a smart woman and would use her best weapons: her wits and her words.
She took a quick breath for strength. Wait, she remembered she had her emergency house keys in her side pocket. Locking herself out last month had become a blessing after all. She launched into chatter mode to distract him.
“I can’t believe they want a CT scan,” she started. “I told them I didn’t hit my head. I can see just fine and I know my own name.”
“So what happened?”
“I’m a klutz. I fell off a trail. Can you believe that?” She deftly reached into her jacket to palm the keys. “I mean, I’ve lived here forever and Dad used to take us hiking, and you’d think I’d be an expert with all my experience, but I wasn’t paying attention and went over the side of the mountain. Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?”
“Why weren’t you paying attention?” he asked.
She slipped the keys between her fingers, thinking she could jab him in the eye if necessary. “I was scared,” she said.
“Of what?”
“I’d found an unconscious woman at a rental house and there was all this blood.” She shuddered.
“Was she dead?”
“I have no idea, but me and blood? Not a good mix. Last year my brother was attacked by a guy with a knife and there was blood everywhere, all over the kitchen, and I completely freaked out. I guess that’s what happened today. I took off and lost my footing and fell off the trail. Quite embarrassing if you think about it.”
She hoped she could convince him she hadn’t seen his face at the cabin. She certainly didn’t want to get into hand-to-key combat.
She clutched the keys tighter. “Have you ever done anything dumb? It would make me feel a whole lot better if you had.”
“Nothing comes to mind.”
The doors opened and he wheeled her out of the elevator. Jumping off and running didn’t seem like the best plan, since he was much taller than Cassie and therefore a lot faster. She strategized her next move as she chatted away.
“I’m going to get a huge lecture from my family, but what else is new?” she said, laying it on thick. “I’m the flaky one. This won’t surprise them one bit. The woman probably fell and hit her head, yet I freaked and tore off like a scared cat. Oh well, at least I wasn’t totally irresponsible, because I called 911 for help.”
She pretended to be relaxed, not easy considering Shovel Man’s hands were pushing her from behind—hands of a killer hovering dangerously close to her throat.
Dear Lord, give me wisdom and courage to know how to convince this man he does not have to take another life.
My life.
That’s when she spotted a fire alarm on the wall. Perfect.
She suddenly sat up and sniffed. “Wait, do you smell that?”
“What?”
“I smell smoke!” She hopped off the bed and yanked the alarm.
She took off running and glanced over her shoulder. Shovel Man stood there with a quizzical frown.
“Hurry!” she shouted. She had to keep up the pretense that she thought he was an orderly, not a killer.
Staff rushed out of rooms and flooded the hallway, puzzling over the alarm. Shovel Man was no doubt puzzled, as well. But at least she was away from him.
She shot another quick glance behind her.
He’d disappeared.
Relief settled in her chest, but only for a second. If he could disappear that quickly, he could reappear just as fast. Or worse, what if he was working with a partner who was waiting outside in a car to whisk Cassie away? Shovel Man could have given his partner Cassie’s description: short with blond hair, wearing a bright blue jacket.
As she marched toward the exit, she shucked her jacket, wincing in pain from her injured arm.
Once outside, she tossed the jacket onto a bench and practically sprinted into the parking lot.
But where should she go? She didn’t know which of these strangers she could trust, and didn’t have her phone to call for help.
Across the parking lot she spotted the one place she knew she’d be safe, Nate’s truck. Which meant he had to be close. Scanning the parking lot, she didn’t see Nate, only frantic employees and patients being herded out of the north side of the building.
Feeling badly about causing the commotion, she waved down an orderly who was arriving for work. “It’s a false alarm. I pulled it because someone’s after me. Tell them they don’t have to evacuate the building!”
She ran off, hoping he’d relay the message before too many patients were inconvenienced. Head down, she motored toward Nate’s truck and tried the door, but it was locked. She climbed into the flatbed. It seemed like the best place to hide.
Truth was, she felt safe because it was Nate’s truck. Eventually he’d have to return to it, and he’d find her.
The reality of what just happened shot a chill down her spine: Cassie had faced off with a suspected killer. Her hands started trembling, then her arms and legs. She gasped for breath, determined to stay conscious.
* * *
Nate shoved down the panic threatening to pull him off course.
Cassie was missing.
He clenched his jaw and retraced her steps through the hospital, hoping to find a clue as to where she’d gone.
Hoping to find her safe and sound in a hospital room.
Instead, it was like she’d vanished in the mist.
The hospital alarm suddenly clicked off. Through the ominous silence, his fear grew louder, more insistent: She’s been taken against her will. She’s been killed and her body will be found in a laundry bin.
He had to stop these torturous thoughts and think like a detective–turned–chief of police.
“Why’d the alarm go off?” he asked into his radio.
“I’m checking, sir.”
Nate had locked down the cabin crime scene, called the lab tech and brought Officer Ryan McBride to the hospital to get checked out. He’d been assaulted and suffered a head wound. Nate assumed from the guy who shoved him off the trail.
Anyone could have driven McBride into town, but Nate wanted to check on Cassie.
“Apparently it was a false alarm, over,” Red called through the radio.
“How do you know that?” Nate asked.
“A staff member encountered the woman who pulled the alarm.”
“Why would she—” Instinct struck him square in the chest. “What did this woman look like?”
“Blond, short, twenties.”
“Where did he see her?”
“Back entrance, heading into the parking lot.”
Nate rushed to the exit, wondering if Cassie had pulled the alarm because she’d been in trouble.
“Should we continue checking the lower level?” Red asked.
“No, meet me in the back parking lot. And bring the employee who spoke with her.”
“Copy that.”
Nate jogged outside, navigating the sea of staff members headed back into the hospital. What made Cassie pull the alarm?
He scanned the parking lot for her wavy blond hair. Had she changed into a hospital gown, or was she still wearing her electric blue jacket? That would make her easy to spot.
Out of the corner of his eye, a pop of blue caught his attention. He went to a nearby bench and picked up Cassie’s jacket.
“Chief?”
Nate glanced to his left. Red and an orderly approached.
“This is Kevin Wright, the man who spoke with the woman who pulled the alarm,” Red introduced.
Nate pulled out his phone and found a picture of Cassie and Aiden taken at the Christmas Lights Festival last year. He flashed the image at the orderly. “Is this the woman you spoke with?”
“Yes sir.”
“When did you see her?” Nate asked.
“About ten minutes ago.”
“What did she say to you, exactly?”
“That she pulled the alarm because someone was after her.”
Nate’s fingers dug into the down-filled jacket. “Who was after her?”
“She didn’t say.”
“Where was she going?”
“She took off into the parking lot.” He pointed. “That way.”
“Thank you.” Nate dismissed the orderly and pulled Red aside. “Put out a BOLO on Cassie McBride. See how fast a few of the guys can get here to help search the woods bordering the parking lot.”
“You think he dumped her body—”
“Call Spike and Harvey,” Nate cut him off.
“What about SAR?”
“Too many personal connections.”
“You mean Aiden and Bree?”
“Let’s leave them out of this for now.”
“I think it’s too late for that.” Red nodded at Aiden, who sprinted toward them.
“What happened?” Aiden demanded.
“Cassie is missing,” Nate said.
“Wait, what? How is that possible?”
“Officer Carrington, continue the search.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nate turned back to Aiden. “She hasn’t been gone that long. It appears that she felt threatened, pulled the fire alarm and ran.”
“She ran?” Aiden’s voice pitched.
With a firm hand on his friend’s shoulder, Nate said, “We’ll start by searching the woods bordering the hospital. Knowing Cassie, if she was in danger she would have taken off, but perhaps didn’t think it through to the end.”
“She never does. She’s so impulsive sometimes.” Aiden’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Mom.”
“We don’t need more frantic people down here, Aiden. Let’s focus on finding Cassie and then you’ll call her back with good news, okay?”
Aiden nodded and paced a few steps away. “Hey, Mom. I have to call you back...in the middle of something. Soon, love you, bye.” Aiden turned to Nate. “She knows something’s up.”
“Let’s get to work. I’ve got a flashlight in my truck.”
“Yeah, okay,” Aiden said, dazed with worry about his sister. “I’ll get mine, too.”
Nate walked away, proud of himself for holding it together in front of his friend. He had no choice. As police chief, folks depended on him to be the grounding force in a crisis, and usually he excelled in that role.
Today was different. Someone was after Cassie. He never should have let her go to the hospital alone. He should have stayed with her, protected her. Right, and how ridiculous was that considering he had a potential murder on his hands?
He struggled to bury his concern and not let anyone see the utter panic tearing at his insides. But as he approached his truck, the bottled-up frustration got the better of him. He slammed his palm against the quarter panel.
A woman’s cry echoed back at him.
Nate froze, his heart pounding.
Leaning forward, he peered into the flatbed. Cassie blinked her bloodshot, terrified eyes.
“You’re in my truck,” he said.
“D-d-disappointed?” She broke into a round of shivers.
He grabbed a blanket from the backseat and climbed into the flatbed beside her. As he gently covered her body, a wave of calm washed over him. She was okay. For now.
“Aiden!” He motioned to his friend who’d gone to get a flashlight. “Over here!”
“I knew you’d come.”
Nate snapped his attention to Cassie. “What happened? Why did you run?”
“A guy...in the hospital...the guy with the shovel...from the cabin.”
“Is it...?” Aiden stopped short and looked at her. “What are you doing in there?”
“Aiden,” Nate warned, wanting him to soften his tone. “She’s trembling.”
“Let’s take her inside,” Aiden said.
“Nooooo.” She clamped her hand around Nate’s forearm. “Not back in there.”
“Cassie, you need medical attention,” Aiden argued.
“That man got to me in there. I can’t go back.” Her pleading blue eyes tugged at Nate’s heart.
“She’s delirious. She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Aiden said.
“I am n-n-not!” she protested.
“Come on, I’ll help you out.” Aiden reached for her.
“Wait,” Nate said. “I’ve got another idea.”
* * *
Cassie couldn’t believe it. Nate had listened to her. He’d respected her fear of going back into the hospital and found an alternative.
Nate drove her to the urgent care, where Dr. Spencer was on duty. He was a good friend to both Nate and Aiden, and he’d done his share of triage with search and rescue. Cassie knew she wasn’t suffering from anything serious, but she did need medical attention for the gash in her arm.
Closing her eyes, she relaxed under the heated blanket in the examining room. She appreciated the warmth that finally drove the chill from her bones.
“Cassie?”
She blinked her eyes open. A frown creased Nate’s forehead.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“I thought you passed out.”
“Why, because I stopped talking?” she joked.
Instead of smiling, he glanced down at his hands, holding his Echo Mountain PD cap. He seemed regretful, and she couldn’t understand why.
“Thanks,” she offered.
He looked at her. “For what?”
“Bringing me here. Listening to me, I guess. Not many people do that, especially not my brother.”
“I almost forgot.” He pulled her cell phone out of his jacket pocket. “Your cousin found it in the ambulance.”
“Awesome, thanks. Where is my bossy brother, anyway?”
“He went outside to call your mom.”
“Oh boy, now the whole town is going to know.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” Nate said.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“People will be on the lookout. They’ll keep an eye on you.”
“Right, because I’m so fragile and incapable of taking care of myself. They should consider the fact that I escaped this guy—” she hesitated “—twice, and the first time with a dog in my arms.” She sat up. “Speaking of which, what happened to Dasher?”
“Relax, your sister and my sister are fighting over custody.”
She sighed and lay back down. “Thanks, I’ll pick him up after I get out of here.”
“You should worry more about yourself than some scruffy dog.”
“I have lots of people to support me, but Dasher? He’s got no one. And besides, he’s not scruffy, he’s got character.”
She thought Nate smiled but couldn’t be sure.
The door slid open and Dr. Spencer poked his head into the room. “Sorry, had an emergency. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Thanks,” Cassie said.
Dr. Spencer smiled and shut the door. Cassie glanced at Nate. “When my brother comes back, you can go. I know you should be figuring out what happened to the dead woman, instead of hanging around here.”
“Detective Vaughn is leading the investigation.”
“Why?”
“I delegate in order to keep a broader perspective on things. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but—” he pulled his stool close to Cassie’s bedside “—do you think you can identify the man carrying the shovel?”
“Absolutely, and I wanted to call you with that information, but I’d lost my phone.”
“I’ll try to get a forensic artist to come by tomorrow. Where will you be staying?”
“You know where my apartment is, over the tea shop.”
He straightened. “It would be wiser if you didn’t go back to your place for a few days. The perpetrator knows who you are.”
“I still don’t understand how.”
“Where’s your wallet?”
“Back at the cabin. Oh...so you think he went through my things?”
“It’s likely, yes.”
“But I did a good job of playing a daft property manager who runs from the sight of blood. I was pretty convincing that I didn’t see him at the cabin.”
“Cassie, he came after you in the hospital and knocked out the orderly who was supposed to take you to imaging.”
“Wait, what? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. That’s not the point.”
“I feel so bad since it’s my fault that—”
“Cassie, stop talking, just for one minute.”
She bit back more questions she wanted to ask about the injured orderly. At least she’d like his name so she could add him to her prayer list.
“We can’t take chances with your safety,” Nate said. “You need to be in the most protected environment possible until we solve this case.”
“Well, I could always leave the country. I have enough money saved to travel for a while, not as long as I’d originally intended, but a few months should work, right?”
Nate didn’t answer at first. He clenched his jaw and his green eyes darkened. “I’d rather you not.”
“You said I’m in danger here, so the most logical choice is to—”
He stood abruptly. “You’re a witness. I need you to stay in town.”
“Oh, okay.” She glanced at her fingers in her lap. Arguing with Nate was pointless. He was the police chief, after all, and his primary concern was the murder case, nothing more, nothing like...
He actually cared about Cassie.
Nope, Nathaniel Walsh was all business. He wanted to get his man, and Cassie was a means to that end.
“You’re upset with me,” he stated, studying her.
“I want to go home.”
“To your mother’s farm. Good idea.”
She cocked her chin. “When did I say that? I never said that.”
“But you agree that it’s a good idea?” He sat back down beside her.
“No, I don’t want to stay at the farm. Mom will hover and forbid me from leaving the house.”
“It’s probably a good idea to lie low for a while, stay at your mom’s and do your blogging stuff.”
“Hey, my blogging stuff doesn’t pay the bills. I’ve made a commitment to Echo Mountain Rentals and it’s good money.”
“Right, it’s about padding your getaway fund.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. You know what? Let’s not talk about this. What do you need?”
“Excuse me?”
“What can your primary witness do to help you solve this case?”
“You’re injured. I can conduct an interview tomorrow.”
She continued anyway. “He was about six feet tall, with thin lips and bushy eyebrows. Oh, and a bump on his nose, here.” She reached out to illustrate on Nate’s nose, but he jerked away, like she was contagious.
“Wow, okay.” She swallowed the hurt burning her throat and pointed to her own nose. “A bump right here. He’s got dark brown eyes and he smelled of something... I can’t put my finger on it, something pungent.”
“What did he say to you?” Nate pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket.
“I did most of the talking. Especially after I figured out who he was. I did my best flaky girl impression, and told him I ran away from the cabin because of the blood, then tripped and fell down a mountain.”
“You think he bought it?”
“He seemed to. I’m not dead.” The inappropriate comment awkwardly slipped out.
Nate’s fingers froze as he gripped the pen.
“Sorry, that was morbid,” she said.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?”
“No, sorry.”
He glanced up. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”
In that moment she felt caught by something in his green eyes, something intense and sad. She struggled to form words.
“I... You... Thanks,” she uttered.
She didn’t like this feeling, a feeling of being derailed, yanked off course. It seemed to happen only when Chief Walsh was looking straight at her.
The door swung open. “How’s the patient?” Dr. Spencer asked, approaching her.
His presence ripped Cassie out of the intense moment with the chief. She smiled at the doctor and said, “Pretty good, considering.”
“Attitude is everything,” the cheerful doctor said. “Let’s stitch you up and send you home.”
Nate stood. “I’ll get her brother.”
“Wait,” she said. “Would you mind staying?” For some reason she didn’t feel overly judged by Nate, whereas every word that came out of Aiden’s mouth felt like a criticism.
“Are you sure?” Nate said.
“Yes, but you probably have to get back.”
“I’ve got a few minutes.” Nate offered to hold her hand for support.
She accepted the gesture, appreciating the warmth. As she focused on a spot across the room, the doctor raised the sleeve of her hospital gown and explained how he was numbing her arm in preparation for sutures.
A few minutes later she felt a tugging sensation, but no pain.
“Not so bad, right?” Dr. Spencer said.
She glanced at him. “That’s it?”
“Only needed ten stitches. A little more paperwork and you’re good to go.” He smiled.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the door.
