Chapter Fifteen
When Max checked his phone, he saw that he’d missed two phone calls. One from Clancy. He listened to it first. Thankfully, she was all right. He called back, but there was no answer. He didn’t leave a message. His second missed call was from Dr. Frazer, who hadn’t left a message.
He quickly called, anxious to hear how the blood type testing was going. But when the doctor answered, Max could hear what sounded like a disturbance in the background. “Is everything all right over there?”
The doctor growled in answer. “I just had a patient faint at the sight of blood, knocking everything on the floor. Once we get it all cleaned up, I’ll finish this.
And then, Sheriff, I hope we are done. To answer your question, yes, I had a local nurse take my sample with witnesses in the room.
I am O positive, always have been, always will be. ”
Max could hear the frustration in the man’s voice. He knew he’d offended the doctor. “Thank you for doing this.” Doc growled in answer. “Can you tell me anything yet?”
“No. We have taken all the blood samples. Now it just has to be typed. When I know, you’ll know.” Dr. Frazer hung up.
He was counting on someone connected to the rest home having O negative blood, pointing to the person who’d killed Jane. And with Hazel’s scarf, he was convinced he could tie the two murders to one killer. At this point, he yearned to get this case solved so he could go home to his pregnant wife.
Goldie had been calling him every evening hoping for news on her cousin.
He was relieved that Clancy had called and that she was with Dub Crawford.
She wasn’t alone and lost or already dead as he’d feared.
But she was on the run from the killer, a faceless person Max believed was connected to the rest home.
Clancy wouldn’t be safe until the killer was caught.
His phone rang. He thought it might be Clancy. Seeing it was Dr. Frazer calling, he thought this could be the call he was waiting on. Hopefully, the doctor had information that would finally break this case wide open.
“Doc,” the sheriff said, unable to hide how hopeful he was.
“I finished running the blood types. I even ran one of them twice to make sure.”
“Who has O negative?” Max asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.
“The cook at Shady Rest, Diana Turner, has O negative,” the doctor answered.
Max found himself on his feet and checking the time. Just about now, Diana would be finishing up in the kitchen. He wanted to catch her before she left for the night. “You’re sure?”
“Like I said, I ran the test twice.”
“Thanks for letting me know so quickly,” Max said and disconnected on his way out the door. The drive to Shady Rest only took a few stressful minutes. He didn’t want to miss her. But he was only going on the blood type from the pen that Jane had stabbed her killer with.
He had heard the doctor’s disbelief that the killer was Diana.
Until Max talked to her… He checked the time again.
She would have just finished her shift. Had she heard that the killer had O negative blood?
Had she worried about getting her blood tested knowing he would be coming for her?
Maybe her plan was to finish her shift and then make a run for it.
Or maybe she would be caught unaware that he was onto her.
As he pulled into the small parking lot at the rear, his headlights caught Diana coming out of the rest home. She seemed to be in a hurry as she rushed toward her car, the one parked the farthest away in the lot.
Max roared up behind her car to block her from leaving. By the time he got out and around the front of his rig, Diana had already opened the driver’s-side door and was about to get in. “Diana, wait!”
She didn’t even bother to look in his direction. She threw herself into the driver’s seat, slammed her car door shut and locked it before he could reach her.
He tapped on the window as she started the vehicle. “Diana, don’t do this. I just want to talk to you.”
She shook her head. He saw that she was crying as she threw the car into Drive and hit the gas. All he could do was jump out of the way as her tires squealed and she slammed up over the curb and took off across the vacant lot next door.
By the time he was behind the wheel of his patrol SUV, she’d already reached the highway and was headed west. Lights flashing, siren blaring, he went after her.
There was no traffic on the highway to Lewistown, and he was grateful for that.
The way Diana was driving, he didn’t want her killing anyone else.
Her taillights were a red blur ahead of him as he began to close the distance between them. He couldn’t help thinking about Clancy. Once he had Diana in custody, his wife’s cousin would be safe. Goldie could quit worrying about Clancy and Max could quit worrying about his wife and baby.
One moment the red taillights were there. The next they’d completely disappeared.
Max hit his brakes, afraid he was going to come racing up on Diana’s car upside down and sideways in the highway. But the highway ahead appeared completely empty. He knew she couldn’t have turned off, not as fast as she was traveling. That left only one other option.
He caught the shine of a single light off to his right in the middle of a pasture. As he got the patrol SUV stopped and turned around, he went back to find a portion of a rancher’s fence busted through. Beyond it, Diana’s car lay on its top, only one headlight still shining.
Leaving his flashers on, he parked at the edge of the road and hurried out into the field, afraid she couldn’t have survived the crash.
If he needed more evidence that she’d killed those two women at the nursing home, he didn’t seem to now.
Why had she run like that if she was innocent?
As Larry had said, some ran because they were guilty, others because running from cops was ingrained.
Max realized he didn’t know anything about Diana Turner except she cooked at Shady Rest and had type O negative blood.
As he reached the car, he bent down to find Diana lying on the ceiling of her car. He checked for a pulse, glad to find she was still breathing, and quickly called for an ambulance and a wrecker.
* * *
DUB HAD WARNED himself to take it slow. But he hadn’t realized how hard that was going to be. He’d never wanted a woman the way he did Clancy right now. She wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms and make love to her out here under the stars.
He drew his hand back. “I suppose we should call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.” As he pushed himself up into a sitting position, he saw the disappointment in her expression.
It matched his own. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d stay out here all night with you.
” He met her gaze. “But we both know how that would end.”
“Would that be so terrible?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
He laughed. “No, that would be amazing.” His gaze locked with hers again. “It will be amazing. Just not tonight.”
She sat up. “You’re worried about tomorrow and what’s going to happen with me maybe going to jail or prison.”
“No, this has nothing to do with any of that. I just want to take it slow. It’s like gaining the trust of a horse that’s gun-shy. You have to go slow and easy, get to know each other, build that trust. I’ve learned that it’s well worth the wait.”
“You didn’t just compare me with a horse, did you?”
He smiled and reached for her hand as he got to his feet and helped her to hers. As he did, he pulled her to him. Since their earlier kisses, all he’d thought about was kissing her again. “Is it all right if I kiss you?”
She smiled and nodded. What he saw in her brown eyes was almost his undoing.
He teased the tip of her tongue with his own as he pulled her closer, loving the feel of her lush body pressed against his as he deepened the kiss.
His body’s reaction was instantaneous. He pulled back, breathless and aroused.
Desire burned in her eyes as he was sure it did in his.
He heard her rapid breath and realized how close they were to throwing caution to the wind. He figured they’d be naked before they even got to one of those many beds inside the guesthouse. More than likely they’d be making love on one of those plush rugs. He’d certainly considered it.
“Another time,” he said, his voice sounding rough even to him. Maybe his brother was right. This woman was going to be the death of him—just not the way Tanner thought. He picked up the quilt, then turned to open the door off the deck, and he and Clancy stepped through back into the guesthouse.
“See you in the morning at breakfast?” he asked.
She nodded and headed for the bedroom where she’d showered earlier.
He felt her disappointment. It matched his own.
Was he being a fool to deny them what they both wanted?
He knew what he wanted in the long run—Clancy for his wife.
He feared he could lose her in the short term if he didn’t take the time for the two of them to get to know each other better.
Stepping to the bar, he poured himself a little whiskey from one of the decanters. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but right now it was just what he needed.
The whiskey had barely cleared his throat when he heard a sound out on the deck.
Clancy? He opened the door. A dark hood dropped over his head as he was grabbed and dragged forward.
He fought even as strong hands and arms tried to pin his wrists behind him.
He felt the bite of the zip ties and kicked out, getting someone in the leg, gauging by his attacker’s reaction.
He could tell there was more than one of them. Still, he fought, kicking and dipping a shoulder into one’s chest. He heard a whoof, then swearing as he was dropped hard on the deck stairs. His head slammed into the edge of the top step. As they struggled to pick him up again, everything went black.