Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Paramedics tended to Joel Blackburn. One handed Amanda a wet wipe to clean her bloody hand. She took it with a “Thanks” and set off into the house in search of Dominique.
“Amanda.” Trent’s voice had her stopping in her steps and turning around. He was walking through the rear sliding doors, making his way past the paramedics, who were now loading Blackburn onto a stretcher.
She bridged the distance to Trent. “Tell me you caught them.”
He shook his head and filled her in. “Her. It was a woman. But, no.”
“You’re sure it was a woman though?”
“Uh-huh, and she was wearing the same apparel from that eyewitness account. The shorts, the shirt, the backpack…”
“And the gun used to fire on us had a silencer on it.”
“Just like the weapon that fired the bullets at Christine,” Trent finished her thought.
A heavy weight sank in Amanda’s gut. “She’s our killer.”
“I’d say that’s a safe assumption.”
“Tell me you got a good look at her.”
“Not really. Just that she’s about five-five and slim. She can also move. She’s fast,” he added, as if his statement required further clarity. “What happened here? Dominique okay?”
“Joel Blackburn was shot in the chest. It’s not looking good. I was just going to check on Dominique. I think she’s upstairs.” Amanda turned and went up to the second story, with Trent following. “Dominique? It’s Detective Steele. You’re safe now. Come out.”
There was a thump from down the hall. Amanda pointed in that direction and set out with Trent.
“Dominique?” Amanda said ahead of them.
A door flung open, bouncing off the wall behind it. Dominique filled the opening, holding a raised gun.
Amanda held up her hands. “Dominique, it’s us. You’re safe.”
No movement, no noise except for the sound of Amanda’s pounding heart in her ears. Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.
Seconds later, Dominique lowered her hand, letting the gun lie against the side of her thigh.
“Let me take that from you.” Trent moved in and relieved her of her weapon.
Dominique blinked slowly. “Where’s Joel? Is he…?”
“He was shot—” Amanda stopped speaking when Dominique gasped. After allowing her a few seconds to absorb the blow, Amanda added, “But paramedics have seen to him, and he’s likely on his way to the hospital now.”
“Well, I need to go check on him.” Dominique stepped toward the staircase.
“We can take you there, but first you need to tell us if you know of anyone who might want to kill you,” Trent told her.
“Like I said before I wouldn’t even know where to start.” Dominique put a hand on her forehead. “Please, just take me to the hospital. I want to be there for him.”
Amanda glanced at Trent and nodded. “We’ll take you, but you’ll need to talk to us while you wait to hear from the doctors.”
“Okay, fine, whatever it takes.”
Amanda pulled out her phone to call for CSIs, not even thinking about the lack of bars from before until she had it out. Now she had them. “Okay, this is strange.” She turned to Trent.
“Hello?” Dominique snapped. “Please take me to the hospital.”
“One minute. If you could just stay right there this time.” Amanda walked down the hall, putting several feet between herself and the lawyer. When Trent joined her, she said, “I tried calling nine-one-one when you were in pursuit of the suspect, and my phone had no bars. Now, they’re back.”
“So what are we looking at then? This person comes equipped with a signal jammer?”
“If you can think of another explanation, I’m all ears.”
“If you’re right about this, then I’m going to say this only gives more credit to our growing suspicions.”
“Yep. We’re looking at a professional.”