Sealed with Justice, page 5
“I found where he stood and caught a glimpse of a black SUV as he drove off.” He scowled. “I didn’t get his license plate number, though.”
“I’m sure black SUVs are fairly common, everyone owns one to drive in the mountains.” The thought was depressing. “You’re not hurt?”
“No. But I really wanted to find him. He’s smart enough and cowardly enough to shoot at us from a distance. It lessens his chance of taking us out but improves his ability to get away without being caught.”
A shiver rippled over her. Never in her life had she been the target of someone who wanted to hurt or kill her. It seemed incomprehensible.
“You have the flashlight?”
She was gripping it so tightly her fingers hurt. After turning it on, she passed it over. “I’m hoping Echo will alert us to any animals hiding inside.”
“He will. He’s a good hunter.” Hudson played the beam over the interior of the cave. “So far I’m not seeing any places to hide a diary.”
“We’ll have to go in farther.” She rose. At five feet six inches tall, she was able to stand, but Hudson was bent over. His shoulders were so wide she wasn’t sure how far he’d make it into the cave. She moved forward, a bit surprised that even here the cave looked the same.
“No beer cans or other garbage,” Hudson said. “Guess the teenagers don’t hang out here the way you used to.”
“We didn’t have parties in the cave,” she protested. “Zoey was the one who never wanted to go home after school. Sometimes we’d hang out here and do homework by flashlight.”
He turned to look at her. “Why did she avoid going home?”
“She claimed her brother and father made her do all the work—laundry, cooking, cleaning—after her mother died. She hated being treated like the hired help.”
“Hmm.” Hudson’s gaze was thoughtful. “Makes you wonder if the real killer was much closer to home.”
“What?” She gaped at him. That possibility had never entered her mind. “You must be joking. I mean, why would her brother or father kill her? They wanted her to do all the work. Killing her meant they had to do it themselves or hire someone else to do it.”
“Maybe one of them found Zoey hiding out in here. They had a huge argument, she was killed, and they worked to cover it up.” Hudson played his light along the walls as Echo stayed close to his side. “It would explain why they haven’t been able to solve the murder over the years. The only way to truly solve it would have been to frame me for it.”
Another shiver rippled down her spine. The scenario he’d described was plausible. “If that’s the case, we’ll never find the evidence we need. They’ll have buried anything that might remotely incriminate them.”
Hudson continued to look around. “Maybe, maybe not. No one is immune to making a mistake. And the biggest mistake of all is coming after us now. Frankly, shooting at us and trying to run us off the road only draws more attention to the cold case.”
She nodded slowly. “You’re right. If the killer would have ignored us, we’d search, likely come up with nothing, then give up and go home.”
“Exactly.” The corner of his mouth tipped up in a lopsided smile. “Very logical conclusion, Kendra.”
His praise shouldn’t have made her blush. She hoped the dim interior of the cave hid her juvenile reaction. “On the other hand, the killer may think Zoey left some evidence behind to incriminate him.”
“True, but he’d be better off waiting for us to find it before taking us out of the picture, permanently.”
“Gee, thanks for that cheerful thought,” she said dryly.
Hudson shrugged, then handed her the flashlight. “Where do you think Zoey would have hidden her diary?”
Good question. Looking now, she couldn’t even find one possible hiding spot. She forced herself to go deeper into the cave, all the way back to where even she had to crouch to get through. She peered behind rocks and into crevasses, without success.
Frustrated, she pulled on several of the rocks, hoping to pry them up. But they didn’t budge.
“Let me try.” Hudson joined her, crawling on his hands and knees, with Echo beside him. The dog wagged his tail, nudging his owner as if this was playtime. Hudson managed to move two of the large rocks, but there was no diary hiding beneath.
“I guess I was wrong.” She sighed and moved back toward the larger area of the cave opening. Hudson and Echo quickly followed. “It seemed like the best place for her to use.”
“It was worth a try.” Hudson stretched his back. “I take it you and Zoey didn’t go any farther into the cave?”
“No, we did go back to that space we were just in, but no farther.” She swept one last gaze around. “I wonder where her body was found.”
“I’d assume in this main area, here. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been found so quickly.” Hudson turned to look at her. “Do you remember who found her?”
She frowned, thinking back. “I want to say it was one of the football players. Maybe Joe? When the word went out that Zoey was missing, everyone spread out to find her.”
“Hmm.” Hudson looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should talk to Joe.”
“Well, we know he’s a truck driver delivering soft drinks to various stores in the area. Which also means he likely has an alibi for this latest shooting incident.” She suddenly wasn’t as keen on getting to the bottom of this as she had been. The more she considered the possible identity of the killer, the more she believed Hudson was right when he’d mentioned the football players.
The group of guys had stuck together, something that she had been naive enough to admire. She remembered Corey talking about a party they’d attended the night of Zoey’s murder. They’d provided alibis for each other. The worst part of the story was that they’d all been drinking at the party that was held at Coach Donahue’s house
Yet no one had been arrested for underage drinking. Or suspended from the team as a result of breaking the rules.
Instead, the team had won the championship that year.
She was ashamed of herself for dating Corey Robinson and being a part of all that in the first place. Maybe if she’d been more supportive of Zoey, her friend would still be alive.
“Ready to head back?” Hudson’s deep voice pierced her troubled thoughts.
“Yeah.” She turned off the flashlight. “There’s nothing to find here.”
Hudson went to the cave opening and scanned the area outside. Then he gestured for her to follow him. Echo sniffed the air, then put his nose to the ground. He went over toward a tree near the side of the cave opening.
“Well, look at that.” Hudson followed Echo over and reached up to place his fingers near a hole in the rock. “The bullet is in there.”
“Can you get it out?”
He’d already pulled a large wicked-looking knife from his belt and was working the tip against the rock. Moments later, he had a metal fragment resting in the palm of his hand.
Seeing it made her feel sick to her stomach. She was no stranger to the damage a bullet could cause to flesh and bone.
This one had hit far too close.
It was pretty mangled, but Hudd estimated the bullet was from a .38-caliber gun. He placed the fragment in his pocket, then turned to Kendra. “We’re going to take the long way back.”
Her face was pale as she gave a jerky nod of agreement.
“When we get back to the shack, I want you to head to your dad’s place to pack your stuff. There’s no reason to stick around, Kendra. It’s obvious this guy is going to keep coming after you.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. He noticed she was absently massaging her injured shoulder again. Finally, she said, “He could just as easily find me in Portland.”
“Nah, he would have no reason to bother.” He was both elated and disappointed that it sounded as if she would be leaving town. Hudd reminded himself that her safety was all that mattered. “He’s either a really bad shot or he’s purposefully trying to scare us off. If you leave town, and I disappear from view, the killer will relax his guard.”
Again, she didn’t say anything. He gently guided her to his left as they made their way back to the shack, taking the opposite direction from earlier. Echo pried his way between them as if annoyed that Kendra had intruded on his normal spot.
“I’ll pack up my stuff,” Kendra said, breaking the silence. “But I’m not going to head back to Portland.”
He frowned. “Where are you planning to go?”
“A motel.” Her smile was wan. “It’s a good idea to make it look as if I’m leaving because that should help keep my dad safe, but I won’t leave the area. That way, we can still try to work the case.”
A dull ache began to throb in his temple. “Hasn’t the past twenty-four hours convinced you that the danger is real?”
“Very much so.” Her tone dropped. “It’s a sobering realization to know someone wants you dead.”
“Then why are you being so stubborn about this?” He couldn’t hide his frustration. “What good will it do to stay at a motel? It’s not like you can go around town in some sort of disguise pretending to be Ms. Sherlock Holmes.”
“I never intended to waltz around in some sort of cheesy disguise.” Her tone rose in anger. “Give me some credit, would you? Zoey was my best friend, I want to know what happened to her.” She hesitated, then added, “I feel responsible. Like I failed her twenty years ago.”
The throb in his temple grew worse. Hudson tried to ignore it, hoping it wouldn’t turn into a full-blown migraine. He so didn’t have time for that. “The only person at fault is the one who killed her. You sticking around town with a bright red target painted on your back isn’t going to help.”
“I let Zoey down,” she insisted.
“You didn’t. Zoey could have come to you with whatever was bothering her, right?” The pain was getting worse, and he could feel his temper start to slip. “Go home, Kendra. If you stay, you’ll only get in my way.”
“Get in your way?” Her voice rose incredulously. “You’re full of yourself, aren’t you? Seems to me, I’ve been helping since the moment we met at the creek. We only came to the cave in the first place because I suggested Zoey’s diary might be hidden in there.”
His vision began to blur, and he blinked to focus. Arguing with Kendra was only making his headache worse. The woman was more stubborn than any CO he’d ever encountered. And there had been many. Most of them useless.
Except for their senior chief, Mason Gray. Then again, Mason had been in the trenches with them every step of the way. Including their last op.
He tripped over a rock, barely managing to stay on his feet. The pounding in his head intensified. Nausea rolled in his belly, and it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself upright.
The shack. He needed to get them back to the shack.
The words echoed in his mind with every thudding beat of pain in his temple. He was so focused on the end goal he could barely manage to watch for threats. He knew there was the possibility of the gunman returning. Especially since they’d left both of their vehicles at the shack.
He stumbled again and felt Kendra wrap her arm around his waist. It bothered him that she had to help hold him upright; he was the one who should be keeping her safe. His role was to protect the innocent.
Like her.
The shack. Get. To. The. Shack.
It seemed to be taking forever to arrive at their destination.
Then suddenly they were there. The structure looked blurry, but there was no mistaking the ramshackle place he’d grown up in. The sagging building that didn’t hold any good memories, only bad ones. By some miracle, he managed to get inside before dropping to the floor. He couldn’t do or say anything else as the pain blocked everything out.
Hudd had no idea how long he remained on the floor, curled in a ball. Time had no meaning. All he could do was internally wrestle with the pain while trying not to moan out loud. Somewhere, deep down, the need to remain silent made him clench his teeth together, holding himself in check.
At some point, he prayed for the pain to stop. If Kaleb had been there, his swim buddy would have prayed for him. Over and over again, he prayed for the pain to go away. He was so far gone that he thought he heard Kaleb’s voice reciting a prayer.
But that was impossible as Kaleb was back in Los Angeles with his new fiancée.
Finally, the pain receded to a more tolerable level. His entire body felt as if he’d been run over by a semitruck. Hudd rolled over onto his back, blinking his good eye up at the ceiling. Echo licked his face, and he weakly reached out to stroke the dog.
“Good boy,” he croaked. His voice sounded weak, his throat dryer than dirt. He needed to move, to get up and care for Echo, but he didn’t want the pain to start up again.
“Easy now.” A cold cloth was draped over his forehead. “Don’t try to get up yet. Just rest and relax.”
It took him a moment to realize the voice was Kendra’s. That she hadn’t left the shack but had stayed to take care of him.
There was something soft beneath his head. Which was strange because he only had a blanket in the Jeep, one he mainly used for Echo. He blinked again, wondering if he was imagining things.
“What time is it?” He pushed the words through his dry throat.
“Two o’clock in the afternoon. You’ve been down for a little less than four hours.” Kendra slipped her arm beneath his head. “I have a water bottle here. Can you sit up high enough to take a sip?”
Four hours! He couldn’t believe he’d been lying there that long. Even more incredible was that Kendra had stayed too. It was the first time he’d had someone beside him during one of these events. Someone other than Echo.
He forced himself up onto his elbows, wincing as the pain started up again. He sipped the water, relaxing as the coolness soothed his raw throat.
He rested back down on the floor, learning more about his surroundings. He was still in the shack, that was no surprise. But he was covered with the blanket and had something soft beneath his head for a pillow. Kendra had gotten Echo’s water dish out of the Jeep and had filled it halfway. He hoped the dog had taken some of the water; he’d feel terrible if the animal grew dehydrated.
“Sorry.” He rested his good eye for a moment, then turned to look up at her. “The migraines come on without much warning. And even then, the signs are mostly too late to avoid the end result.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Her features were full of concern. “I was worried about you, Hudson. I can only imagine how much pain you must have been in.”
Her sweet caring was a balm to his ragged nerves. He despised feeling weak and helpless, yet somehow, Kendra made him feel as if he was neither of those things.
Even though he clearly was.
“I need a few more minutes.” Personal experience had taught him that trying to get up and move too quickly only caused a setback. If the pain came back, he’d never get her safely out of here.
“Take your time.” Kendra flashed a wan smile. “If you’re hungry, I saved a PowerBar for you. I had a box in my car for the trip between Portland and Boise. I ate one and tried to offer Echo a bite, but he wasn’t interested.”
“I trained him not to eat people food.” He closed his eye again, willing the pain to recede. She was more prepared than any Boy Scout, and he was proud of her for sticking around to watch over him.
Probably for the best that she didn’t realize how many nights he writhed on the floor of the shack with no one to help. Well, except for Echo.
“I have ibuprofen too. I know it won’t help much, but it can’t hurt.”
If he had the energy, he’d smile. “Thanks. That’s more than I usually take.”
“Why is that?” She sounded surprised as she once again slipped her arm beneath his shoulders to help him up.
Once again, he managed to prop himself up onto his elbows. She held out the pills, and he tossed them back. Then she offered another sip from the water bottle. “I just avoid meds in general. You’re an amazing nurse.”
“Thanks, but there wasn’t much I could do to help.” She frowned down at him. “How often do these headaches come?”
“Every few days, sometimes less.” He knew he needed to get up to make sure there was no danger nearby.
Hopefully a task he could manage without puking his guts out.
He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The room spun for a moment, then righted. A good sign. Then he frowned when he realized Kendra had removed her sweater. His gaze shot to her, and he had to smile at the way she had her jacket zipped up to her throat.
“You shouldn’t have taken off your sweater for me. I’m used to sleeping on the ground.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It was the least I could do.” She eyed him warily. “You look a little better, but you’re still too pale and shaky. I think you need to eat this PowerBar.”
He was about to argue, then realized his hand was trembling. He took the PowerBar she’d unwrapped and took a bite. “Your patients must love you.”
She flushed. “Is that sarcasm?”
“No!” He felt awful she’d thought that. “I meant it. You’re a great nurse, Kendra. Your patients are lucky to have you.”
“Well, some of them love me, until I force them to move after surgery.” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Then they often swear at me.”
“Idiots. You have to move after surgery, or you’ll suffer more complications.”
“Yes, but I can understand where they’re coming from now that I’ve had shoulder surgery. It’s not much fun.”
He resisted the urge to touch his damaged eye. It probably wasn’t nearly as painful as having shoulder surgery. Or knee surgery like Kaleb had.
The PowerBar settled his stomach. He finished it off, then slowly rose to his feet. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to drive to the hospital to get help.”
“I planned to, but that was impossible.”
He frowned. “Why?”
She sighed. “The wheels of my car and your Jeep were slashed with a knife. We’re not driving anywhere.”
