Chapter 15 #2
“Kyle Abernathy threatened to kill me if I didn’t get into his squad.” She lifted her chin, looking Rueger straight in the eye. “He’s the one who fired shots at us and stole the black truck. He’s the killer, Detective.”
“And you have proof of that?” Ruger asked.
“Bruno barked the minute he caught Kyle’s scent.
And there’s the fact that Kyle tried to kill me!
He fired at the SUV, and he shot Cam. He knew we were onto him and took action to eliminate us from the equation.
” She stepped closer, jabbing her index finger into Rueger’s chest. Her action caused Bruno to come stand protectively beside her, a low rumbly growl emerging from his throat.
“And he almost got away with it. If not for me fighting back and running him over, he could have killed us both and set up Cam to be the killer. And you would have believed him.”
Rueger narrowed his gaze, then stepped back to survey the scene. He looked from Kyle’s prone and somewhat mangled body to the bullet-ridden SUV. Finally, his gaze dropped to the paramedics working on Cam. “Is he going to survive?”
“I pray he will, yes.” She drew in a deep steadying breath.
“I know Kyle killed Skye and Jasmine. I wish I could say he confessed, but he just kept telling me he was going to shoot Bruno if I didn’t get in his car.
Unfortunately, we may never know how many others he may have killed and buried either in the nature preserve or here in Duncan Woods. ”
Rueger swore loudly, then stalked back to the responding officer on scene. She wasn’t sure Rueger had believed her, but at least he hadn’t arrested her. When she turned back to Cam, she saw the three men had placed him on the gurney and were strapping him in.
“I want to ride to the hospital with you.” She kept pace as they wheeled Cam toward the ambulance.
“We can’t, Evie.” Doc’s gaze was sympathetic. “His vitals are somewhat stable, but I suspect they’ll take him straight to surgery once he gets there.”
“Okay, but the rental car . . .” She didn’t finish. Not only was it full of bullet holes, but it was a key component to the crime scene.
“I’ll drive you and Bruno, okay?” Doc rested his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go inside to wash up first.”
She nodded, belatedly realizing their hands were stained with Cam’s blood. Turning away as Cam was loaded into the ambulance was difficult. She’d fallen in love with Cam over these past two days. Two days that had felt like a lifetime.
She wanted nothing more than to be there for him. To support him through this, the way he’d supported her. But that wasn’t her role now. She had to accept that Cam was in good hands.
Not just those of the skilled doctors and nurses within the Grand Haven Medical Center, but in God’s hands.
All she could do was to continue to pray for his total and complete recovery. Even if that meant he’d walk away from her once this was over.
Cam woke from his nightmare, one in which Evie had been shot and killed by Kyle Abernathy, to the bright lights overhead. A cacophony of voices rang in his ears, along with an incessant beeping sound.
A hospital. He hated the hospital; the acrid cleaner scent reminded him of the day his mother died. Squinting, he tried to search the faces looming over him for Evie but didn’t see her. Because it was easier, he allowed his eyes to drift closed.
The next time he awoke, he was alone in a small, mostly bare room. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of Evie curled up in a chair beside his bed, her eyes closed as if sleeping. Bruno dozed at her feet.
Relief that she was unharmed hit hard. He shifted in the bed and winced as pain shot through his chest. He gingerly touched the dressing on the upper left side of his chest, belatedly remembering Kyle had shot him. Right before Evie ran over him with the SUV.
His mouth was dry as chalk, but he was loath to disturb Evie. Being on this side of the hospital bed wasn’t any fun. Visiting his mother as she’d lain dying hadn’t been great either.
His door opened, and Doc walked into the room, flanked by Detective Rueger. Cam grimaced, realizing rest time was over.
“Hey, Cam,” Doc greeted him. “Hi, Evie.”
“Hi, Doc.” Evie unfurled herself from the chair. Bruno shifted but didn’t get up to greet the newcomers. Apparently, he was tuckered out. Evie frowned, then added, “Detective.”
“I need Walker’s statement.” Rueger’s tone was curt.
Cam reached for the cup of water on the bedside table. Evie quickly grabbed it. “You can only have ice chips,” she said, offering a spoon filled with ice chips. “You can’t eat or drink until your gut is working normally again.”
He gratefully accepted the ice chips, reveling in how they soothed his throat, then turned toward Rueger. “Last night, while we were waiting for Doc to arrive, I noticed a light bobbing in the woods. I thought it was a flashlight being carried by the killer, so I went out to investigate.”
Evie frowned but didn’t say anything. He owed her an apology for leaving her and Bruno alone.
“Why did you immediately think the light was the killer?” Rueger asked.
“Because Bruno had alerted near a fallen log in the woods earlier.” Cam lifted a hand. “I know you’re going to say he’s not a police dog, but I’m telling you, Bruno knew the scent of the killer. It doesn’t matter, though, because once I was deep in the woods, the light disappeared.”
“And went where?” Rueger’s expression was skeptical.
He shifted, swallowing against another flash of pain.
He was tired of defending himself to this guy but needed to get his side of the story on record.
“Looking back, I think it was a ruse to draw me away from the house. I was returning to the rental house through the woods when I heard Bruno barking and growling. Then Evie screamed.”
Evie put a hand on his arm. “Do you need something for pain?”
He shook his head, feeling guilty about how he’d fallen for Kyle’s trap.
Keeping his gaze on Rueger, he continued.
“As I cleared the woods, I heard Kyle telling Evie to get in the squad or he’d shoot and kill Bruno.
I couldn’t believe it when Evie yanked the car door open and got inside with Bruno.
Kyle fired at her through the windshield, but she started the car and put it in gear.
He fired again as she hit the gas. He fired two more times, then jumped out of the way, rolling along the ground.
I returned fire, but he managed to get off another shot striking me in the upper chest. That’s when Evie ran him over with the car. ”
“I wondered which of you shot Kyle.” Rueger glanced at Evie. “That was smart thinking on your part.”
“Kyle was shot?” Evie echoed in shock. “I didn’t realize that.”
“Yeah, he took a slug to his upper thigh, deep enough to clip his femoral artery.” Rueger shrugged. “He’d have eventually bled out, but the way you ran him over finished him off.”
Evie’s hand tightened on Cam’s arm, and he realized she’d thought she’d killed him. If he could have spared her that, he would have. The way the scene outside the rental house had spiraled out of control was his fault.
Regret burned more than the pain of his recent surgery. He tried to remind himself that in the end, Evie had survived. So had Bruno. His wound was nothing in the big picture.
There was a long silence before Cam spoke. “I don’t suppose you have any other evidence against Kyle related to Skye’s or Jasmine’s murders? Have you tried to match the tuft of fabric we found or the slug in Evie’s mother’s house to one of his weapons?”
At first, he thought Rueger wasn’t going to answer. Then the detective sighed. “I executed a search warrant for Kyle and Beverly’s home while you were in surgery. The house was clean, but the pole barn was another story. I found a stash of jewelry in a box hidden beneath a loose floorboard.”
Evie gasped. “Jewelry belonging to Skye and Jasmine?”
Rueger nodded. “I was able to identify Skye’s necklace and Jasmine’s ring.” His lips thinned. “There are fifteen other items of jewelry that I have yet to match with a victim.”