Elizabeth Goddard - Deadly Evidence

Ryan studied her. Scrutinizing her again?

“Would you please stop?” She rearranged the condiments.

Frowning, he shook his head. “Stop what?”

“Please stop looking at me like you’re dissecting me. I’m not a frog. This isn’t Biology 101.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No? I see you making mental notes that Tori Peterson doesn’t like to be studied. I’m not a suspect, so you can quit with your intimidation tactics.”

He shrugged. Then he shifted forward in the booth, a frank expression on his rugged face. “I’m worried about you.”

“This is just a gash in my arm.” He had no idea yet of the real reason why he should be worried. She vaguely remembered the pain of that rocky outcropping gouging her, but at least she wasn’t dealing with a bullet wound to her head or her chest.

“What were you thinking, going over those falls?” He’d asked the question before and wanted an answer.

She kept her voice low and said, “It was not exactly my choice.”

The waitress brought their coffee. Tori poured half-and-half in hers. Ryan sugared his up too much for her taste.

“What are you saying, Tori? That you weren’t kayaking alone? That you didn’t go over the falls?”

“See, this is what I wanted to talk about.” She took a sip of coffee and let it warm her belly, then leaned back. She shut her eyes and calmed her breathing. Let herself remember.

Tori opened her eyes. “I thought I was going to die when I went over the falls. I fought to survive and somehow...somehow I did survive. I woke up and coughed up water. Maybe the couple who pulled me from the river revived me. I don’t know. But I do remember now that I said your name, Ryan.”

Deep lines carved into his forehead and around his mouth. “Tori, I—”

“I went to the river today to travel in Sarah’s path.” That, and she’d needed to remember what it was like to be on the river at the base of Mount Shasta. She’d needed to remember Sarah. “I’m staying in her house. I’m on bereavement leave now.” She held back the furious tears that surged unexpectedly. “So I went kayaking along the river. That’s what the four of them were doing that day, wasn’t it? They were camping and had their kayaks, so we know they had planned to go down the river.”

“Why would you torture yourself like that?” His expression twisted into one of severe pain. “Is that why you went over the falls?”

Her heart felt like it might just rip open at the realization that he really seemed to believe it had been a suicide attempt. She’d thought he knew her better than that. “How could you even think that? I planned to turn back. But someone shot at me and hit the kayak. I tried to get away and in the end, I had nowhere else to go but into the water. I thought I could get to shore once I put some distance between me and the shooter, but the falls grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. You know how strong the current is the closer you get to Graveyard Falls.”

Ryan’s mouth hung open as if he couldn’t quite absorb the full meaning of her words, and he appeared to search for an adequate response but came up empty. Tori decided to fill the silence herself.

“Someone tried to kill me.”

* * *

Stunned at her claim, Ryan somehow found the strength to close his mouth. Then to form words. “Are you sure?” Entirely lame and inadequate words. He knew as soon as they escaped his lips, but especially after the glare she gave him. She didn’t like that he’d questioned her.

As an FBI agent, she thought herself superior to him. He knew that with certainty because that was why she’d wanted to join the feds to begin with. And suddenly he was thrown back in time. He’d never been good enough for Tori Peterson. Nor would he ever be good enough.

But he didn’t care to be good enough for her now. Finally, he could let go.

Keep telling yourself that.

“Of course I’m sure. Why would you doubt me?” She narrowed her eyes and studied him. Must be her turn to analyze him.

He wasn’t intimidated by her FBI-schooled expression. Instead, he was terrified that her words could be true. “I didn’t say I doubted you. You’ve been through a lot. You’ve suffered a great loss. I’m concerned, that’s all.” He wanted to believe that her memories of what happened were false memories brought on by the trauma and her injury. Ryan didn’t want to even entertain the possibility that someone had actually tried to kill Tori.

“You don’t believe me? I can prove it to you, Ryan. Let’s go find the kayak. You can look at the bullet holes yourself. We can gather evidence together.”

“You’re not part of my investigative team.”

She pursed her lips. “But I am going to investigate, whether you want me to or not, so wouldn’t it make more sense to work together? Especially if the attack on me is in any way tied to Sarah’s murder. What do you think, Detective Bradley? That Sarah’s death was a random act of violence—four kids killed by someone out on a shooting spree while camping? Or that maybe they stumbled upon something they shouldn’t have seen? Or did someone kill four kids to cover up one murder? On any of those possibilities, do you think the murders are drug-related?”

Okay. Well, sure, that it was drug-related was his working theory for now. Wasn’t it almost always drug-related no matter the crime? He said nothing, wondering what she’d say next—what she’d reveal. She’d called the victims kids, but they had been in their twenties. Still, Tori considered Sarah her kid sister growing up and that obviously hadn’t changed. He understood because he had three siblings himself.

Katelyn was his twin sister, then there was his brother Reece, who was two years older, and Benjamin—Ben—who was three years younger. He couldn’t imagine losing any of them.

How was Tori even holding it together?

“Fine. You don’t want to answer now. We can talk on the way to the river. Are we going or not?” Her determined tone and severe frown left no doubt as to her resolve.

Of all the times for him to crack a smile—but he couldn’t control himself. He’d always loved it when she got fired up over something she believed in. So feisty and determined. Did she realize how much Sarah had idolized her? Sarah had wanted to be just like her sister, and had found her own passionate way to serve people by involving herself in social justice issues. Tori had taken a different route but fought for justice all the same. And when she was on the hunt for answers, nothing and no one could make her stop. He knew she was right that he wouldn’t be able to stop her from investigating, but he’d torture her a few moments longer with a wry grin before he’d announce his decision.

Meanwhile, he took his time admiring her new look. She’d cut her long brown hair shorter so that it hung to her shoulders, and she’d dyed the silky tendrils a soft golden blond that was growing out and revealed hints of brown. Ryan remembered her smile—she’d always had the most amazing dimples that drove him wild and made him want to kiss her.

Even now, with the mere thought of it.

He cleared his throat and forced his impartial face in place. He was such a liar. “Let’s go.”

* * *

In his unmarked utility vehicle belonging to the Maynor County Sheriff’s Department, he drove toward the river. He would radio for assistance once he got a look at the kayak himself to confirm Tori’s claims. He wanted to see the bullet holes first. Ryan held on to the small hope that her memory of today’s earlier events was off. If Tori really was being targeted for some reason, that would terrify him but also change the investigation.

As if sensing his need to contemplate what she’d told him, she kept quiet and left him to his own thoughts. He gripped the steering wheel too tightly as he steered the SUV through the small town of Rainey, the town where he’d chosen to live. Rainey had proven to be peaceful and quiet—a place he could go home to at the end of a long day of facing crime puzzles and criminals and simply relax and breathe in the fresh air.