Not Now, page 16
"Grace!"
The cry came out of the woods, Palmer's voice. He sounded like he was in pain and worried about something.
"Yeah, I'm good," she called back. "I'm here."
She made it to the bank with Reed Harlan just in time to see Palmer come out of the trees. He was pushing a stumbling Kyle Harlan with him, giving the young man a final shove that sent him down to the ground. He was cuffed and had a good amount of blood spilling from his mouth.
"Bastard cut me," Palmer said. His left arm was held close to his chest. Even in the darkness, Camille could see the gash on the underside of his forearm. It looked to be dumping blood out onto the bank.
"I'll make a call to Humphrey," she said.
"You good?" Palmer asked. "I hear shots."
"I'm f—"
"This crazy bitch stuck her arm down a gator's throat," Reed Harlan said, still in shock.
Palmer's laughter was both eerie but also fitting, Camille thought. "Of course she did," he said.
And then he stumbled backwards, fell against an old cypress, and continued to laugh.
It was just the distraction Kyle Harlan needed. He got to his feet and started to run. He ran back toward where Palmer had parked, where the faint glow of headlights could be seen.
Camille went for her gun again but moving so quickly, she grew slightly dizzy from the motion and the darkness. Somewhere ahead of her, she heard Kyle fall. Running, after all, wasn't as easy as people often thought it was while handcuffed.
There was the smacking noise of him hitting the ground and then the splashing noise of his rebound into the water.
"You're going to regret making me come back down into the water," Camille said. Hissing at the pain in her right shoulder, she took a single step forward.
The large shape of the gator came out of the water.
It came just barely up on the muddy shore, its jaws snapping down on Kyle's legs. The gator then gave a vicious pull backwards, retreating back into the water. Kyle screamed out but was unable to attempt to save himself with his arms cuffed behind his back. The scream was soon distorted by the swamp water, making a terrifying gurgling noise.
"Kyle!" Reed screamed. He ran forward but the wound to his stomach prevented him for moving very far. He screamed out in pain and anguish all at once, nearly falling to the ground.
"Jesus," Camille said. She rushed forward, Glock in hand.
But the gator was gone. She could barely see its shape underwater as it pulled its dinner away. She waded out into the water a bit, hoping for a better shot, but it was just too dark. Firing on a good guess would only mean there was also a good chance she'd hit Kyle.
In other words, there was nothing she could do.
Trembling, she holstered her Glock and pulled out her phone. She called Humphrey down at the station as the woods of Hen Creek were filled with Reed Harlan's screams of pain and loss.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Aside from the killer getting hauled off by an alligator, Camille considered the case a sweeping success. She'd come face to face with two alligators in the course of two days and had somehow only come away with twelve stitches in her shoulder.
This was why, at 11:40 on the night they'd rescued Reed Harlan, she was able to walk into Palmer's hospital room under her own power, of her own accord.
She found Palmer sitting up in bed, watching something on the History Channel on the mounted TV. He shrugged at her and showed her his left arm. It was wrapped tightly in a bandage from elbow to wrist.
"Yeah, I heard they wanted to keep you a bit longer," Camille said. "How bad was it?"
"I lost a good amount of blood," he said. "Took thirty-two stitches to close it up. He got me pretty good. I take it you're good to go?"
"Yeah. I'm going to head to call McCutcheon to give her an update. Then I'm going to get some sleep and see what I can do to help locate Kyle Harlan's body."
"Have you heard anything about Reed's condition?"
"He's in surgery right now," Camille said. "Based on what the doctors told me, he should come out of it fine. The stab was deep, but didn't seem to puncture anything."
"And you...you're good?" Palmer asked. "I mean, I know the wound is closed up and all, but you literally fought off two alligators in the last few days. That's got to screw a person up pretty good, right?"
She grinned and said, "Maybe. Probably, even. If we end up working together more in the future, maybe you can point out some of the deep, psychological traumas for me."
"Gladly. It was...well, it was interesting working with you again."
"Likewise. I'll check in with you tomorrow. Take it easy, Palmer."
She closed the door as she left and walked down the quiet hallway. A few nurses were scattered here and there but it had the silence and calm of a midnight-hour hospital wing.
She went to the elevator, took it down, and headed out to the parking lot. As she walked through the doors, angling over to the lot where Humphrey and Bradford had worked in tandem to make sure she had a car waiting for her, a slight motion to the right caught her eye. And then, her name came from the same direction.
"Agent Grace?"
She turned and saw a man standing up from a bench off to the side of the hospital entrance. It was Zack Hayes, the part-time zoologist she'd met with the day before.
"Zack? Hey. How are you?"
"I'm good. Better than you from what I hear."
"Are you visiting someone?" she asked.
"Um, technically, yes. I was here to visit you. But the folks at the front desk wouldn't give me the information. Apparently, it's hard to get the room information for an FBI agent that has just wrapped a case."
"How did you know I'd be here?"
He signed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's embarrassing. But I couldn't get the idea of a murder case involving alligators out of my mind. So I downloaded this police scanner app. I've sort of been following the case as well as I could since last night. I heard that there were two federal agents being rushed to the hospital from a location out by the swamps. And then when I got here, I asked about an Agent Camille Grace and the stubborn lady at the desk all but confirmed that you were here."
"Oh. well, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm actually fine. Just a few stitches."
"Gator bite?"
She chuckled. "Yeah, sort of."
"Can I ask how much longer you'll be in town?"
She considered it, not wanting to give out any details about why she may stay in the Hen Creek area. The fact that Kyle's body still needed to be found complicated things.
"At least another day or so."
"I see. Well, I may as well take the chance, then."
"What chance?" she asked.
"I'd like to take you out to dinner." He smiled nervously and added: "I wasn't only following the case on the app because of the gators."
"You know," she said, returning his smile. "So long as I don't end up in front of another gator tomorrow, dinner would be nice."
"Awesome...wait. In front of another gator? What on earth happened today?"
She gave him the best flirtatious smile she could manage given how tired she was and said: "Maybe we leave that for dinner conversation."
***
Her father seemed glad to see her. The tension and awkwardness of their first visit was no longer there. In fact, when she told him about the unique case she'd just finished up, he'd listened with rapt attention. He even asked to see her stitches, if she didn't find it too weird.
She did find it weird, but she showed him anyway. It was the most interest he'd ever showed in her. And grown-up or not, she craved his attention. She'd tried to deny it for her entire life, but there was the truth of it, plain and simple.
As evening settled in, Carl Grace insisted on grilling burgers. So they sat on his rickety back porch in plastic chairs while he cooked on his small charcoal grill. In the awkward silence, Camille let the haze of the last few days settle in.
In the end, she stayed in Hen Creek for two more days. Kyle Harlan’s body was found at seven in the morning the following day, but she was asked to stay behind to help with a deep dive into whether or not there might potentially be more victims that had simply not yet been found.
When there was no evidence of more victims after thirty-six hours, she left Hen Creek behind. Before leaving, she nearly had dinner with Zack Hayes but ended up only calling, in order to postpone it. She had a feeling that Hayes was the persistent type and figured that if he was really interested, he’d call again.
After leaving Hen Creek, she did not head directly back to New Orleans. Instead, she drove a good distance out of her way to make a stop in Upping.
"You think this might work?" he asked her out of nowhere.
Swatting at a fly as they started to gather around the grill, Camille was pretty sure she knew what he meant but she wanted to be absolutely sure.
"Do I think what will work?"
"This," he said. "Me and you."
"I don't know. If I say it could, would you finally go see a specialist about your cancer?"
His shoulders sagged at the mention of it. She knew that even if they did continue to try to work on their relationship, his pancreatic cancer would be in the background, wailing like a ghost. Then again, if he kept avoiding treatment, this little relationship they were trying to salvage would be a very brief one.
"I don't know. It's a lot of trouble, Camille. A lot of money."
"I can help pay it."
"I'm not going to borrow money from my own child."
"And why not?"
Carl flipped the burgers one at a time, big, chunky ones that were starting to smell amazing over the coals.
"You sound just like Deanna, you know?" he said.
"I take that as a compliment."
"You should. You know she thinks the world of you, right?"
Camille said nothing to this. She thought she might go visit Deanna after burgers with her father. Maybe they could drink some wine and talk about completely nonsensical things.
"She thought a lot of Nanette, too. When Nanette visited her all those years ago, Deanna was on cloud nine for weeks."
The comment almost went unnoticed. But Camille grabbed hold of it and studied it, not liking the implications.
"Visited? When?"
Carl Grace's face went pale as he realized he'd misspoken. He looked away from her and muttered a curse under his breath.
"When, Dad? What...what aren't you telling me?"
"It was about eleven years ago. Maybe twelve. She just showed up and stopped by Deanna's. Didn't bother coming to see me, of course, but..."
"Twelve years ago? Dad...she disappeared fifteen years ago."
He only nodded. And it was all he needed to say.
"Is she...Jesus, Dad. Do you know she's alive?"
When he looked back to her, there were tears in his eyes. "Well, she was twelve years ago. Neither me or Deanna have seen her since."
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't Deanna tell me?"
"Because we both knew how much you loved her. If we gave you that hope and Nanette never stuck around...we didn't want to put you through that."
Camille wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. In the end, she did neither.
In the end, she simply said "Bye, Dad."
As she walked down the back porch steps, Carl called out to her. "We were just thinking about your best interests. And hell...I don't even know where she is now. Or if she's even still alive."
Each word was like a nail into her heart and by the time Camille returned to the front yard, she was weeping. When she got into her car, she wasn't all that surprised to find that her father hadn't bothered chasing her down to explain.
Backing out of his driveway, she couldn't help but think that she'd been right all along. She'd been better off to leave him in the past—to leave her entire miserable family in the past.
With tears still in her eyes and the hope of finding her sister now more realistic than ever, Camille sped away from the rural scar of her past and toward the city where her future was still waiting.
Her sister could be out there somewhere. And starting now, Camille was done waiting.
She’d find Nannette and, with her, maybe some more answers about a past that continued to haunt her.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
NOT WELL
(A Camille Grace FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 3)
In this new series by #1 bestselling—and critically-acclaimed—mystery and suspense author Kate Bold, Camille Grace, a rising star in the FBI’s BAU unit, is dispatched to the one place she vowed to never return: the deep South. When bodies turn up on steamboats on the Mississippi River, Camille realizes she is up against a diabolical serial killer—one who will not stop until she finds him.
“Phenomenal debut with a huge creep factor… So many twists and turns, you’ll have no idea who the next victim will be. If you love a thriller that will keep you awake well into the night, this book is for you.”
—Reader review for Let Me Go
Camille must come to terms with her partner, and with her own local roots, as she plunges headlong into the investigation. It will require every ounce of attention she has to enter this killer’s mind and crack the code.
But a new lead into her own sister’s disappearance may just upend everything.
A riveting psychological crime thriller full of mystery and suspense, the CAMILLE GRACE mystery series will make you fall in love with a brilliant new female protagonist. Packed with twists and turns, her story will keep you flipping pages late into the night.
The series begins with NOT ME (book #1), and future books in the series will soon be available.
“This is an excellent book… When you start reading, be sure you don’t have to wake up early!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
“I really enjoyed this book… It draws you in right away and keeps you turning the pages right up to the end. I am really anticipating the next book.”
—Reader review for Let Me Go
“WOW what a great read! Talk about a diabolical killer! Really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading others by this author as well.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
“Excellent start to a new series… Get this book and read it, you will love it!”
—Reader review for Let Me Go
“Captivating and riveting serial murder with a twist of the macabre… Very well done.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
“Good read with good plot, plenty of action, and great character development. A thriller that will keep you awake into the night.”
—Reader review for Let Me Go
NOT WELL
(A Camille Grace FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 3)
Kate Bold
Bestselling author Kate Bold is author of the ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising three books (and counting).
THE KILLING GAME (an Alexa Chase Suspense Thriller—Book #1), LET ME GO (an Ashley Hope Suspense Thriller—Book #1), and NOT ME (a Camille Grace FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1) are available as free downloads on Google Play!
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Kate loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.kateboldauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY KATE BOLD
ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER
THE KILLING GAME (Book #1)
THE KILLING TIDE (Book #2)
THE KILLING HOUR (Book #3)
THE KILLING POINT (Book #4)
THE KILLING FOG (Book #5)
THE KILLING PLACE (Book #6)
ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER
LET ME GO (Book #1)
LET ME OUT (Book #2)
LET ME LIVE (Book #3)
LET ME BREATHE (Book #4)
LET ME FORGET (Book #5)
LET ME ESCAPE (Book #6)
CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
NOT ME (Book #1)
NOT NOW (Book #2)
NOT WELL (Book #3)
NOT HER (Book #4)
NOT NORMAL (Book #5)
HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
NOWHERE SAFE (Book #1)
NOWHERE LEFT (Book #2)
NOWHERE TO RUN (Book #3)
Kate Bold, Not Now
