Chapter Three. #2
“Because Charlotte only allowed us to play hopscotch or leapfrog.”
“Son!” Big Al exclaimed, rushing in and checking Campbell over before picking him up.
“Liv’s hurt!” Campbell said, and then broke into tears as he buried his head in Big Al’s throat.
“It’s okay, Liv will be fine,” Big Al soothed as he rubbed his son’s back. His gaze captured mine, and I nodded.
“Olivia’s got a bad break. They’re taking her for surgery, but I think she’ll be fine,” I replied and yawned.
“How much sleep did you get?” Big Al asked.
“About three hours.” My eyes stung, and I was sure they were red-rimmed. But that wasn’t what bothered me. No, that was the curvy nurse whose heart I’d smashed to smithereens years ago and who hated the very sight of me. What the fuck was April doing back in Spearfish?
April
Finally, I grabbed a few minutes and sucked air into my lungs.
Ever since I’d set eyes on Stone holding Olivia, I felt like I’d been suffocating.
Punches straight to my heart and gut had landed when I thought she was his daughter.
Then anger took over when he didn’t know her details.
What type of deadbeat Dad was he? Turned out Stone wasn’t her parent after all, and I’d jumped to conclusions. Who the hell cared? I didn’t.
The scene I’d been dreading had arrived—we’d set eyes on each other, and neither of us had keeled over. Although my murderous instinct was incredibly healthy right now, considering how enraged I was. Stone had looked just as stunned to see me, but had lacked the hate and rage I felt.
He also wore the same patch that Smokey had.
Had Stone known I was around and sent Smokey to intercept me?
No, that was stupid thinking. Smokey couldn’t have put the snake in my car, although I did wonder how it had got there.
Why would Stone want to track me down now?
That was my paranoia talking, nothing else.
Stone had made it clear when he dumped me in the dirt that he didn’t give a fuck about me.
Quickly, I shied away from the memory, not wanting to recall how I’d begged Stone not to break up.
That was old me, not new me. I took a few more deep breaths and headed back inside.
The ER was relatively calm today, so I checked over some paperwork and ignored the eyes burning into my back.
A clear bulletproof screen separated the nurse’s station and ER from the waiting room.
Stone was still there. I could sense him.
Every nerve in my body was standing on end and screaming that I was being watched.
However, I refused to turn around and face him.
Stone no longer had a place in my life, nor any right to a single moment of my time.
He’d made his choice, and now Stone could look upon what he’d missed out on.
“April. There are two cops here wanting to talk to you,” a nurse called out.
I turned in surprise. “What?”
“Police officers, they say they’re from the Colorado PD.”
“Okay,” I drawled as she pointed to a waiting room where two men stood. Yup, they screamed ‘cop.’ I headed over, knocked, and entered.
“I’m April Graham. You wanted me?”
“Hi, I’m Detective Jones, and this is Detective Ball. Are you the April Graham who used to live at…” Detective Jones rattled off my old address.
“Yeah. I left three weeks ago, though. Is there a problem?”
“Ma’am, a murder was committed in your old apartment…”
“What?!” I exclaimed, shocked.
“The lady who rented after you was murdered,” Ball announced.
“Sorry to hear that. However, how’s that concern me? I’ve been in Spearfish for nearly a month.”
“The victim was killed two days after you left. From what we’ve discovered, she had no enemies, and there was no reason for her murder,” Jones explained.
“Everyone has enemies, detective. But I still don’t understand why you’re here to see me.”
“We don’t believe she was the target based on our discoveries,” Ball said abruptly.
I quickly did the math. “You think I was? Wow, what a nightmare day this is becoming!” I exclaimed and sat down heavily.
“Sorry for my partner; he has an unfortunate habit of being blunt,” Jones stated.
“Good cop, bad cop, please spare me the routine. Why do you believe it’s aimed at me?” I asked as my mind raced.
“Graffiti had been left. Would you mind looking at it?” Jones inquired. I shook my head and took the pictures he handed me. In a vile shade of purple, one I was sure I’d seen before, words were painted upon the wall. ‘She didn’t belong here. Where are you? Run, but you can’t hide.’
“This means nothing. I’m sorry.”
“Have you had any death threats, Miss Graham?”
“No.”
“Any feelings of being watched or noticing a vehicle following you?” Jones asked.
I’d been shaking my head until he mentioned the car. Oh.
“What is it?” Ball pressed.
“A rattlesnake was in my car. Fuck knows how it happened, but it appeared while I was driving. It could have caused a bad accident, but I managed to pull over safely. The little bastard did strike, but it bit the leather of my boots, luckily,” I said.
“That’s a highly unusual happening,” Jones stated.
“Yeah, no shit. People don’t often find a rattlesnake inside a secured vehicle,” I replied and offered a weak chuckle.
“Did you report it?” Ball asked.
“No. It was just one of those things. The car had been locked. How could anyone have placed a rattlesnake in it!” I retorted.
“There are ways of breaking in,” Jones said, and I grimaced.
“Sure, but this feels unreal. You’ve no real evidence linking that poor woman’s murder to me,” I replied.
“Miss Graham, you’re not a suspect—”
“I hope not!” I exclaimed.
Jones frowned. “Please let me finish. We think the target victim was you. Not the new tenant. Our concern is that someone is looking to harm or kill you. We will be conferring with the locals here and keeping them updated on any developments. May I recommend that you have your home security system overhauled? And I strongly suggest reporting the rattlesnake incident. It creates a paper chain of evidence.”
“Okay. Thank you. I’ll look into it, but I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“Does anyone spring to mind who’d like to harm you? You work in the ER, maybe the parent of a child who died or an ex-boyfriend,” Ball asked.
“No exes. I don’t date, and the one I do have isn’t interested in me whatsoever. Trust me on that. But there’ve been a few threats, and I can give you their names. But you’d have to contact my former employer for further details, and they’ve gone bankrupt,” I replied.
“Anyone stand out?” Jones pressed.
“No. Sorry. Death threats are rare, which makes them all memorable, but any I’d have worried about or taken seriously?
No, most were from grieving parents. To be honest, threats are more likely to be levelled against doctors than against nurses.
And the few I received were generic, aimed at the whole team. ”
“No signs of a stalker?” Ball asked.
“No. I wasn’t even aware I was coming here until a few days before I did. Honestly, I didn’t give anyone my new address as I wasn’t close to anybody there. The post office was the only place I gave a forwarding address to; not even my old landlord had it.”
“Okay, Miss Graham. May I strongly suggest keeping your eyes open and, if you see or hear anything suspicious, call nine-one-one. We’ll speak to the local PD and have them put your address on an alert list,” Jones said.
“What’s that?”
“If a call comes in from your residence, you’ll take priority over every other call,” Ball explained.
“Right, thanks.”
They stood and shook my hand. I noted the time as they left, and my shift was over.
Confused and worried, I headed back out and finished a few records before heading towards the staff room.
Stone and his friends could stay in the waiting room for all I cared; I’d slip out through the staff entrance.
Harlequin
They were police. The two men whom April had gone to meet were police; their clothing screamed it.
Interested, I wondered why they wanted to speak to her.
Whatever it was, it was a shock, judging by April’s body language.
Both cops looked worried as they questioned April, and I sensed this was serious.
April kept shaking her head, so I didn’t think they were accusing her of a crime.
“Hey, that’s Medusa,” Big Al said as he followed my gaze.
“Huh?”
“The woman Smokey saved from a rattler. Bet he’d like to know Medusa’s here.”
I barely held back a glower. “Smokey went on a date with April?” I ground out.
Big Al looked at me in surprise. “Oh, ho! You know her.”
“Yeah.”
“Better inform Smokey that you had a prior stake because the brother’s interested.”
“Ain’t got no claim, Big Al, apart from the fact that I broke April’s heart years ago.”
Big Al’s hand hit me mid-back. The slap stung. “Son, you aren’t over Medusa by a long shot. Be fair and make Smokey aware you’ve a history. We don’t poach at this club.”
“There’s no poaching…”
“Bullshit yourself, boy, not me. You still feel big for her,” Big Al snapped and walked over to where Chance had appeared.
Damn, could I still have feelings for April? Of course I did. I’d once loved her with every cell in my body. Breaking up with April had been the worst moment of my life, but I’d had to do it—for her sake.