Chapter Four
That scream got Ethan moving fast. Livvy, too. She was right behind him when they hurried out of the house and to the side yard.
Considering there was a killer at large, Ethan kept watch around them, but he didn’t spot any threat. Only the two pregnant women whom he’d seen earlier from the window. They were now huddled together, crouching behind a bench, and one of them screamed again.
“Stop him!” the other woman shouted. She was pointing toward the backyard. “He killed Sunny.”
That got Ethan moving even faster, and he resisted the urge to order Livvy to get down, to take cover. He had to trust her on this. Livvy wouldn’t intentionally do anything to harm their baby, and if she saw a threat, then she would take measures to protect herself.
She peeled off from him, going to the pregnant women, and Ethan kept running. His gaze fired all around, and he certainly didn’t see a man, but there were plenty of places for someone to hide. However, his attention soon landed on Sunny. She was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground.
“Call an ambulance,” Ethan yelled to Livvy, and he raced toward the woman while continuing to keep watch for her attacker.
And she had indeed been attacked.
There was blood on the side and back of her head, and while she was breathing, she wasn’t conscious.
“Oh my God,” he heard Chloe blurt on a gasp.
Moments later, she and her brother came rushing toward Sunny, both of them dropping down next to the woman. Franklin practically shoved his sister aside though and began checking Sunny’s injuries.
“Ambulance and backup are on the way,” Livvy let them know.
Good. Now Ethan had to hope that Sunny’s injuries weren’t life-threatening and that she could soon tell them who’d attacked her. For now, though, he might be able to get that information from the two pregnant women, Hannah Brooks and Leah Parker.
Ethan didn’t have to tell Franklin and Chloe to stay with Sunny. Both obviously intended to do just that, and they’d do a better job tending to her than he would since they both had medical training. Still, he’d keep an eye on them.
Because one or both of them could be connected to Zadie’s murder.
While there was no evidence to indicate that at the moment, the investigation was in its early stages, and either one of them could have had means and opportunity to kill her. As for motive—well, that might come to light, too.
Ethan went to Livvy, and while continuing to keep watch, he stooped down next to the three women. “Are either of you hurt?” he asked Hannah and Leah, and they both shook their heads.
“Hannah saw a man wearing a ski mask come out from those trees,” Livvy explained, pointing to the area dead center of the backyard, where there were more of those pecan and oak trees.
“He ran straight toward Sunny and clubbed her on the head with something,” Hannah said, picking up the explanation.
She was crying and her breath was gusting, but she seemed determined to get out the account.
“I think it was a crowbar. God, he hit her right on the head, and when she fell, he started dragging her toward the trees.”
That was awfully bold, or desperate, considering there were two cops inside the house and two potential witnesses on the grounds. But why had this guy taken that kind of risk to get to Sunny?
“Leah started screaming,” Hannah went on, “and that must have spooked him because he dropped Sunny and ran away.”
So, desperate but not stupid. It would have been next to impossible to drag Sunny into the woods once he’d realized that someone was aware of what he was doing.
“Did you recognize anything about the man?” Livvy asked.
Both women shook their heads, and it was Hannah who added, “He was wearing jeans and black T-shirt.”
“What about his build?” Ethan pressed.
More headshakes. “I didn’t get a good look at him. Average, I guess,” Leah said. “It happened so fast. Seconds. And he kept the mask on. I couldn’t even see the color of his hair.”
Ethan wanted to ask if it could have possibly been Anthony, but he didn’t want to plant that possibility in their heads. It could taint their account of the incident and end up pointing the finger at an innocent man while the real attacker went free.
“Are there security cameras on the exterior of the building?” Ethan called out to Chloe and Franklin.
“No,” they answered in unison, and neither took their attention off Sunny.
Too bad about no cameras, and Ethan didn’t want to go sprinting into the woods, looking for Sunny’s attacker. The guy could double back and come after her again. Livvy would no doubt be able to defend herself and the others, but it was a risk to take. Best to wait for that backup.
And to keep an eye on Chloe and Franklin.
He debated having Livvy go inside with the surrogates, but Ethan couldn’t be sure that the attacker hadn’t slipped inside. It made more sense to keep everyone where they were.
“Wait here,” he muttered to Livvy. “I’m going to keep an eye on Sunny.”
Their gazes met, and he thought she might’ve been surprised that he’d want to do that. But he saw the suspicion in her eyes when she glanced at Chloe and Franklin. So, Livvy had picked up on a bad vibe with them, too.
Ethan rushed back over to Sunny, and he watched as the siblings were having some kind of power battle. Chloe tried to take Sunny’s hand, but Franklin shoved her away.
“Go inside and get my medical bag,” he snapped to Chloe.
“The attacker could have gone inside,” Ethan pointed out. “What’s in the bag that would help with this?”
Franklin shot him a glare that practically shouted Don’t you dare question my authority.
But the doctor didn’t spell out what medical equipment he had that could indeed help.
Sunny was breathing on her own, and the bleeding had slowed considerably.
She still wasn’t conscious, and that was a huge concern, but Franklin likely wouldn’t be able to perform needed tests here.
That would have to be done at the hospital.
“Who did this to her?” Chloe asked, her voice and hand trembling.
“Hannah and Leah saw a man in a ski mask,” Ethan let them know, and he carefully watched their reactions. “Any idea who that could have been?”
“No,” Franklin was quick to snap, but Chloe hesitated.
“Did they get a good look at him?” the woman asked.
Ethan shook his head, not only because it was the truth but also because he didn’t want the surrogates to become targets if a killer thought they could ID him.
In the distance, Ethan heard the welcome sound of sirens for both the ambulance and backup. He stayed put, right next to Sunny, until the ambulance came to a stop in front of the house and EMTs barreled out. Right behind them, he saw his fellow deputies Bennie Whitt and Eden Gallagher.
Ethan backed away so the EMTs could get to work. So did Chloe, but Franklin looked ready to stand his ground before he finally stepped back.
Bennie and Eden went straight to Livvy and the surrogates, and Ethan joined them. Eden took one look at Livvy, and she obviously saw how shaken she was because Eden then turned to Ethan.
“Livvy and you should follow the ambulance to the hospital,” she insisted, giving an uneasy glance around the grounds. No doubt looking for a would-be killer. “Bennie and I can handle this. Should we be concerned about any of these people being in on the attack?” she added in a whisper.
“Those two,” Ethan replied, tipping his head to Chloe and Franklin. “No proof, just a bad gut feeling.”
Eden nodded. Like him, she’d been a cop long enough to trust those gut feelings.
Ethan took hold of Livvy’s arm to help her get to her feet, and he got her moving toward the cruiser.
He held his breath until they were inside.
The odds were Sunny’s attacker wouldn’t fire shots at them—if he’d had a gun, then he likely would have used it on Sunny—but it was best not to take the risk.
He watched as Eden led the surrogates into the house and Bennie talked with Chloe and Franklin. The EMTs did their thing and got Sunny stabilized and onto a stretcher before they started moving her toward the ambulance.
“There’s something familiar about Franklin,” Livvy muttered.
That got his attention.
“I’m not sure what,” she quickly added. She groaned and scrubbed her hand over her face.
“It feels as if a memory of him is right there, right on the fringes of my mind. But it could be nothing,” she conceded.
“I could have maybe seen his picture in the news or on social media. Heck, even if he came into town.”
All of that was possible, but Ethan heard the worry in Livvy’s voice. And it was for a good reason. Someone had lured them to the scene of Zadie’s death, someone who wanted to drag them into this investigation. Maybe to expose Livvy for something that’d happened when she was a kid.
Or to get revenge.
Before he could voice that possibility, his phone rang, and he saw Grace’s name pop up on the screen. “Eden just gave me an update,” the sheriff said the moment she was on speaker. “Is the injured woman on the way to the hospital yet?”
“The ambulance is about to leave,” Ethan let her know.
“Good. I’ll have Rory meet the ambulance and stay with her,” she explained, referring to Deputy Rory McClennan. “I’m setting up a search of New Hope, both the house and grounds, and working on a search warrant. I need Livvy and you back here to interview Anthony Carter.”
“He’s there?” Ethan asked.
“He’ll be here any minute,” Grace replied, “and he seems eager to cooperate.”
Good. Because Ethan was eager to ask the man some hard questions. “Livvy and I are on the way,” he assured the sheriff, and they ended the call.
And he glanced at Livvy.
“Don’t ask if I’m up to this,” she insisted as she drove away from New Hope. “I’m not going to bury my head in the sand. If I’m remembering, then I’ll deal with it.”