Puppy Love and Panic, page 2
The room began to spin. I grabbed the wall to steady myself.
“Jacob wouldn’t do anything like that,” Daisy said. I glanced down to find her at my feet. “Jacob is a good dog, like me.”
“What… what does that mean?” I asked, meeting Trevor’s gaze.
He shrugged and ran a hand through his blond hair. “It means that Sheriff Mallory thinks she’s got the killer.”
Chapter 2
Rage exploded within me with such force, I saw stars before my eyes while I continued to grip the wall. “Jacob had nothing to do with this,” I hissed.
“I’m sure he didn’t,” Trevor said evenly. “But Mallory thinks he did and I wanted to be the one to tell you what was going on.”
“Gina, you have to help Jacob,” Daisy said.
“I want to see my son,” I growled.
“You can see him when he wakes up.”
“No. Now.”
I marched down the hallway and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, then grabbed my sneakers and returned to Trevor.
“I want to see Jacob and then I’m going to find out who’s responsible for this tragedy, because it isn’t my son. Aren’t there cameras at the house? Everyone has their homes wired up to the hilt these days!”
“No cameras that we could find,” Trevor said calmly. “It’s probably best if you stay out of it.”
“No! Mallory will happily railroad him and I’m not going to allow that to happen! Now, you either take me to the emergency clinic or I’m driving myself!”
My voice had taken on a high-pitched tone of complete panic and my hands began to shake. If I was going to help Jacob, I needed to rein in my anxiety. The tears I held back wouldn’t do him any good. To save him, I needed to take action.
“Jacob took your car, Gina,” Daisy said quietly. “You’ll have to walk there.”
Excellent point.
“Gina, you need to let me do my job,” he said softly.
“Listen up, Trevor.” I pointed a shaky finger at him. “You’re either going to help me, or you’re going to get out of my way. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, that I won’t do to clear my son. Do you understand me?”
“Gina, are you okay?” Daisy asked, then she began to whine. “I’ve never seen you this upset.”
“Here’s the deal,” Trevor said. “I think it’s best that—”
“I don’t care what you think,” I hissed. “I’m going to the emergency care clinic right now.”
“Trevor, I don’t think you should argue with her,” Daisy said. “She’s so upset, she may kill you and stuff your body in a closet.”
She wasn’t wrong. I was very close to spinning out of control and felt such an urgency to get to my son, my insides vibrated. “Now, are you driving me, or are you getting out of my way?”
Trevor sighed heavily. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Bye, Gina,” Daisy said. “I’ll miss you and I promise to be a good dog.”
I bent over and gave her a quick kiss on the nose, then Trevor and I hurried out the door. Part of me was relieved he’d acquiesced to my demands. I was so upset, I didn’t think I could drive, even if I had a car.
Heywood didn’t have a proper hospital. All the severe cases were taken to the hospital in Sedona. The fact that Jacob was at the emergency clinic let me know there was nothing seriously wrong with him. But dang it. What had he gotten himself into?
When we pulled up in front of the clinic, I jumped out of Trevor’s truck before it came to a complete halt and ran inside. The smell of antiseptic assaulted me, but I grimaced and brushed it away.
“Where’s Jacob Dunner?” I asked the receptionist, a young, blonde woman who had a love for houseplants. They sat on the counter around her, some of them so big, I wouldn’t be able to see her if I moved to the right angle.
“You’ll have to take a seat,” she said, not looking up from her computer. She tapped a large stack of manila folders to her left. “We’re very busy right now.”
I turned to find six people in the waiting room, most of them staring at me. “I want to see my son.”
“You’ll have to wait.”
“I have to wait to see my son, who is a patient here?”
She didn’t bother answering. Instead, she pointed to the chairs. An argument hung on the tip of my tongue, but I held it. Every now and then I remembered speaking my mind wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
With a curse, I pulled out my phone and began to pace. I knew one of the nurses at the emergency clinic, so I texted her.
* * *
Hi, Jillian. Jacob is here as a patient. This kid at the reception desk won’t allow me to see him. Can you pull some strings?
* * *
As I stared at the screen and waited for a reply, Trevor came in.
“Thanks for waiting,” he muttered.
“Sorry. I have to see Jacob. I have to make sure he’s okay.”
“They won’t let you back?” he asked.
I shook my head and pointed to the receptionist. “She says I have to wait.”
“We brought in four other kids in the same condition as Jacob,” Trevor replied. “They may be a bit overwhelmed.”
A moment later, the doors leading to the back swung open and Jillian appeared. In her late forties, I’d never seen her without her brown hair in the long ponytail down her back. Today she wore blue scrubs that strained over her hips. She met my gaze and waved me forward.
“We’re really busy,” she said as I brushed past her with Trevor in tow. “These stupid kids and their drugs.” She shook her head. “After they all come to, I’m going to beat them unconscious.”
“They’re on drugs?” I clarified.
“We don’t know which ones, but all the evidence points to it. We’re waiting for toxicology reports on all of them.”
As we hurried down the short hallway, I glanced in the rooms. Most had families gathered around the bed, but I couldn’t see the patients.
“Jacob’s in here,” she said, pointing to a room to the left.
I stared at the door for a long moment, suddenly deathly afraid of what I was going to find, despite Trevor’s assurances Jacob was okay.
“He’s resting right now, Gina,” Jillian said, placing her hand on my shoulder. “I promise you, he’s going to be fine.”
With a nod, I pushed the door open. Swiping away tears, I hurried over to my son. Lying in the hospital bed with closed eyes, he looked dead. His cheeks were a little pale, but when I grabbed his hand, I found it warm.
“Jacob?” I whispered. “Jacob, honey? Can you hear me?”
I noted he was hooked up to an IV and I glanced over at Jillian, who stood in the doorway. “It’s saline,” she said. “Just to help get whatever he ingested flushed from his system.”
Jacob groaned and I squeezed his hand. He clenched my fingers lightly in return. The tears fell as relief washed through me. He was going to be fine.
“Let me get you a chair,” Trevor said softly.
I shook my head. “I’ll just sit on the edge of the bed.”
As I settled in, I studied Jacob’s face. Now that I knew he was going to be okay, I considered the circumstances. Why in the world had he taken drugs? How long had he been doing so? Was it an everyday thing for him? Did he need rehab?
We’d always been close. I hoped that when he woke, he’d be honest with me and I’d do whatever I could to help him. Maybe I needed to put in a call to Annabelle. She’d helped her now boyfriend, Doug, get off drugs, and he’d literally been living under the local bridge shooting up on a daily basis.
“I’ll be back soon,” Jillian said. “If anyone gives you any flack about being back here, just tell them to come see me.”
Turning to her, I nodded. “Thank you. I really appreciate your help. I owe you big time.”
She smiled and hurried away. I had no doubt she’d collect.
“Are you feeling a bit better?” Trevor asked.
“Yes.” I sighed and shut my eyes. I didn’t pray much, but I did send up a quick word of thanks. “I can’t believe he took drugs. All those lectures that I gave, all those documentaries I made him watch… and he goes and overdoses.”
Trevor placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’m surprised as well. However, one thing I’ve learned through all these years of police work is that kids are different when their parents aren’t around.”
“He’s never been in trouble, though.” I shook my head. “Something doesn’t seem right.”
I squeezed Jacob’s hand again as silence fell around the room. In the hall, people were hustling and bustling about. I had a hard time believing Jacob did drugs, but what was even more unbelievable was the notion that he killed that girl.
“Who died?” I asked.
“Ava Willard.”
I furrowed my brow and glanced over my shoulder at him. “Didn’t you say the party was at the Willard place?”
“Yes.”
“So she threw a party and someone killed her?”
“That’s right.”
“Where were her parents?” I asked.
“They weren’t home. One of the kids I interviewed said they’d gone to Phoenix for the night and would be back some time today.”
I lowered my head, the gravity of the situation causing my shoulders to slump. “Have you been in contact with them?”
“They’re on their way back now.” He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. “They’re supposed to go directly to the sheriff’s department so I can interview them. They should be arriving anytime.”
“Who killed that poor girl?” I asked. “It wasn’t Jacob. I don’t even recall him mentioning her. I don’t think he knew her.”
“We’ll ask him about it when he wakes,” Trevor replied.
Voices in the hallway seemed to be coming closer. I expected their owners to walk by the room as they’d done previously. To my surprise, our door opened.
I turned to find Sheriff Mallory Richards, and my spine stiffened. Slowly, I stood and walked around the bed, placing myself between her and my son. The hair on the back of my neck bristled as I clenched my fists at my sides.
“Ah, Gina,” she said, smiling. The woman was my height, but muscular. In her fifties with short black hair, there probably wasn’t a person on this earth that I detested more.
“Hello, Sheriff,” Trevor said, standing next to me. “Gina was just checking in on her son.”
“Oh, you mean my killer?” she asked. Glancing around me, she stared at Jacob a moment. “I shouldn’t be surprised he’s a drug abuser considering he’s a Dunner.”
Of course she’d bring up my family history. It wasn’t too long ago that I discovered my father and brother had once been neck deep in the drug trade in Arizona. Thankfully, both were now out.
Instead of attempting to scratch her eyes out, I smiled. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m here to cuff him.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Yes. Once he’s awake, we’ll take him to the station and book him for the murder of Ava Willard. Her parents will be pleased by how efficiently the Sheriff’s Department has solved the murder of their little girl.”
She attempted to step around me, but I moved to my left, blocking her. “My son had nothing to do with that horrible killing,” I said between clenched teeth. “Do your job, and you’ll find that out.”
Mallory threw her head back and laughed. “He was found passed out next to the girl with a rope in his hand. Guess what, Gina? The girl was strangled with a rope.” She shook her head as her smile faded. “I have done my job, and your son is going down.”
Chapter 3
Trevor held my elbow as she moved past me. I shook so badly, I was sure everyone in the room could hear my bones rattling. When the click of the cuffs sounded, I shut my eyes.
Don’t kill her. Don’t kill her.
“I’ve instructed the nurses to call me when he wakes,” Mallory said, once again coming into my line of vision. “I’ll be back for him then.”
As she swooped out the door, I released a long, slow breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Gina, I need you to keep your head,” Trevor said. “I thought you were going to attack her.”
“I was.”
“That’s not going to do Jacob any good.”
I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “And that’s the only reason why I didn’t rip out her heart and use it for soccer practice.” Returning to the side of the bed, I took a couple of deep breaths. What should be my first step? My mind was such a jumbled mess. My motherly instincts told me to stay put with Jacob, but the urge to find the killer and get my son out of trouble overwhelmed me. I had to discover who killed Ava before Mallory began railroading Jacob.
To do that, I needed information. I stared at Jacob and willed him to wake up while also realizing that me staying with him accomplished my first steps. I was with him and once he came to, I’d have a chance to find out exactly what happened the prior night. I’d gather my information, which would send me on my hunt for the killer.
I concentrated on him so hard, I almost forgot Trevor was still in the room.
“Do you want some coffee?” he asked.
I nodded. “That would be great. Thanks.”
He left silently, the sound of the door clicking the only indication that he was gone.
“Please wake up,” I whispered, grabbing Jacob’s hand in mine again, still shocked at the thought that my son would take drugs.
Trevor returned a few moments later and Jacob groaned again just as I took my coffee cup. “Jacob?” I whispered.
His eyelids fluttered, and a moment later, his gaze met mine. “Mom?” He looked around, his brow furrowing. “What… where am I?”
“The emergency clinic,” I said. My heart soared as the tears once again started to fall. Dang it. I hated crying.
He attempted to sit up, then winced. As he tried to bring his hand to his head, the handcuffs clinked against the metal bed railing. My rage returned as his eyes widened.
“What the heck?” he whispered.
“Jacob, I need to know what happened last night,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Why am I in handcuffs?” he asked. “Why am I here? And why does my dang head hurt so bad?”
“Lay down,” Trevor said. He came to my side and pushed a button on the bed. The back rose to support Jacobs’ upper body. “Get comfortable, and let’s talk, okay?”
Once the bed was in the proper position, Trevor moved his pillow upward and Jacob settled in against it. “What is going on?” he asked. “Someone please clue me in!”
Trevor pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. “Jacob, there was a murder at that party you went to last night.”
His gaze darted from the handcuffs back to Trevor. “Who… who was killed?”
“Ava Willard,” I said. I laid my hand on his calf and gave it a squeeze. “We need you to tell us everything that happened last night. We also need to discuss why you took drugs, but that can wait.”
“Drugs?” he asked incredulously. “I didn’t take drugs!” With his free hand, he rubbed his forehead. “I feel like I’ve woken up in another dimension.”
“You’ve been passed out for hours,” I said. “You definitely took drugs, Jacob. They’re running toxicology reports to figure out which ones, so you can quit the innocent act.”
“Can we get back to the murder?” Trevor asked.
Jacob stared at me for a long moment, then pursed his lips. When he spoke, his tone was low and more serious than I’d ever heard it. “I swear to you on my life that I didn’t take any drugs.”
His sincerity caught me off guard. Serenity blanketed me when I realized he was absolutely telling the truth. I glanced over at Trevor, who didn’t meet my gaze.
“You were pretty out of it, dude,” he said. “Are you sure you didn’t indulge a bit?”
“Trevor, I didn’t.” His head flopped back against the bed while he fisted the blanket with his free hand. “What can I say to make you guys believe me?”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning, honey?” I said gently. “Tell us about the party and everything that happened.”
“I need to read you your rights,” Trevor said.
My hackles bristled once again. “Why?” I asked.
“Because I’m here not only as Jacob’s friend, but as a cop.” Trevor sighed, obviously irritated with the situation. “I’m gathering information on the investigation.”
I shot to my feet. “No. Absolutely not. Get out, Trevor.”
“Gina, I—”
“I told you before that you are either going to help me, or get out of my way. Jacob isn’t saying a word to you.”
“Mom, it’s okay,” Jacob said. “Really. I don’t have anything to hide. I didn’t do anything.”
My gut instinct screamed to kick Trevor out, but then again, if Jacob shared his story, perhaps it would clear him.
I slowly sat down on the bed again. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
After Trevor read him his rights, Jacob took a deep breath and began his tale.
“We arrived at the party about nine,” he said. “I went with Eric and Liam.”
“How many people were there?” Trevor asked.
“At that time, about thirty.”
“What was going on?” I asked.
Jacob shrugged. “There was disco music playing, some people were dancing, but most were out in back by the keg. The Willards have a big, grassy yard that slopes down into a creek. It’s really pretty. Lots of big trees… it’s nice.”
“Did you know anyone there besides Eric and Liam?” I asked.
“Yeah, most of the kids were from around this area. A few were from the college, and some I didn’t know.”
“Did you know Ava well?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not really. We’ve had a class or two together, but I haven’t spent a lot of time talking to her. She’s a little out of my league.”
