Hope White - Witness Pursuit

“Oh yeah?” Maddie said with a raised eyebrow.

“Stop fooling around. It’s important.”

“I think he’s at the cabin managing the investigation into the woman’s death.”

“Oh, right.” Cassie wanted to call and give him a description of Shovel Man. She reached into her pocket. “Where’s my phone? Can you check the ambulance?”

“Sure, if you promise to stay here and wait for the doctor.”

“As opposed to going dancing?”

“See? Sarcastic. That’s not like you, which is why I suspect a head injury. So relax. I’ll be right back.”

Cassie laid her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. She knew she didn’t have a serious head injury, and was upset that her cousin wasn’t listening to her. Cassie needed to call Chief Walsh and describe the man who’d stalked her. She could still picture those heavy eyebrows and thin lips. He reminded her of Mr. Gruner, a curmudgeon who used to yell at Cassie and her friends whenever they’d pass by his boat at the Emerald Lake Pier. They were terrified of him, until the day he saved Izzy Bingham. No one knew Izzy couldn’t swim. After the save, the kids had changed their opinions of Mr. Gruner. He was just lonely, not mean.

She had a feeling Shovel Man didn’t fall into that same category.

A shiver snaked down her arms. She slipped into her jacket to get warm. The more agitated she appeared, the more her family would close ranks and suffocate her. She had to show them she was strong, healthy and capable, that she wasn’t that sick little girl anymore.

The curtain slid open.

“Did you find it?” she said, assuming it was Madeline.

“I’m here to take you for a CT scan,” a male voice said.

“Oh, okay.”

She opened her eyes, but he stood behind her as he pushed her bed out of the examining area.

“I was hoping you were my cousin with my phone,” she said.

“Nope, sorry.”

“How long does a CT scan take?”

“Not long.”

She knew they wouldn’t find anything, but she couldn’t fault the doctor for being cautious. They entered the elevator, and he pressed the button for the bottom floor.

“How did you get injured?” he said.

She glanced at the orderly, who wore a surgical mask. A surgical mask?

“I’ve got a cold,” he said in explanation.

Yet even behind the mask she recognized the thick eyebrows of the man who’d been carrying the shovel.

The elevator doors closed.

THREE

Cassie was alone with the killer.

A ball of fear rose in her chest.

No, she wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

She had nothing with which to defend herself, nor did she have her phone to call for help. But she was a smart woman and would use her best weapons: her wits and her words.

She took a quick breath for strength. Wait, she remembered she had her emergency house keys in her side pocket. Locking herself out last month had become a blessing after all. She launched into chatter mode to distract him.

“I can’t believe they want a CT scan,” she started. “I told them I didn’t hit my head. I can see just fine and I know my own name.”

“So what happened?”

“I’m a klutz. I fell off a trail. Can you believe that?” She deftly reached into her jacket to palm the keys. “I mean, I’ve lived here forever and Dad used to take us hiking, and you’d think I’d be an expert with all my experience, but I wasn’t paying attention and went over the side of the mountain. Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?”

“Why weren’t you paying attention?” he asked.

She slipped the keys between her fingers, thinking she could jab him in the eye if necessary. “I was scared,” she said.

“Of what?”

“I’d found an unconscious woman at a rental house and there was all this blood.” She shuddered.

“Was she dead?”

“I have no idea, but me and blood? Not a good mix. Last year my brother was attacked by a guy with a knife and there was blood everywhere, all over the kitchen, and I completely freaked out. I guess that’s what happened today. I took off and lost my footing and fell off the trail. Quite embarrassing if you think about it.”

She hoped she could convince him she hadn’t seen his face at the cabin. She certainly didn’t want to get into hand-to-key combat.

She clutched the keys tighter. “Have you ever done anything dumb? It would make me feel a whole lot better if you had.”

“Nothing comes to mind.”

The doors opened and he wheeled her out of the elevator. Jumping off and running didn’t seem like the best plan, since he was much taller than Cassie and therefore a lot faster. She strategized her next move as she chatted away.

“I’m going to get a huge lecture from my family, but what else is new?” she said, laying it on thick. “I’m the flaky one. This won’t surprise them one bit. The woman probably fell and hit her head, yet I freaked and tore off like a scared cat. Oh well, at least I wasn’t totally irresponsible, because I called 911 for help.”

She pretended to be relaxed, not easy considering Shovel Man’s hands were pushing her from behind—hands of a killer hovering dangerously close to her throat.

Dear Lord, give me wisdom and courage to know how to convince this man he does not have to take another life.

My life.

That’s when she spotted a fire alarm on the wall. Perfect.

She suddenly sat up and sniffed. “Wait, do you smell that?”

“What?”

“I smell smoke!” She hopped off the bed and yanked the alarm.

She took off running and glanced over her shoulder. Shovel Man stood there with a quizzical frown.

“Hurry!” she shouted. She had to keep up the pretense that she thought he was an orderly, not a killer.

Staff rushed out of rooms and flooded the hallway, puzzling over the alarm. Shovel Man was no doubt puzzled, as well. But at least she was away from him.

She shot another quick glance behind her.

He’d disappeared.

Relief settled in her chest, but only for a second. If he could disappear that quickly, he could reappear just as fast. Or worse, what if he was working with a partner who was waiting outside in a car to whisk Cassie away? Shovel Man could have given his partner Cassie’s description: short with blond hair, wearing a bright blue jacket.

As she marched toward the exit, she shucked her jacket, wincing in pain from her injured arm.

Once outside, she tossed the jacket onto a bench and practically sprinted into the parking lot.

But where should she go? She didn’t know which of these strangers she could trust, and didn’t have her phone to call for help.

Across the parking lot she spotted the one place she knew she’d be safe, Nate’s truck. Which meant he had to be close. Scanning the parking lot, she didn’t see Nate, only frantic employees and patients being herded out of the north side of the building.

Feeling badly about causing the commotion, she waved down an orderly who was arriving for work. “It’s a false alarm. I pulled it because someone’s after me. Tell them they don’t have to evacuate the building!”

She ran off, hoping he’d relay the message before too many patients were inconvenienced. Head down, she motored toward Nate’s truck and tried the door, but it was locked. She climbed into the flatbed. It seemed like the best place to hide.

Truth was, she felt safe because it was Nate’s truck. Eventually he’d have to return to it, and he’d find her.

The reality of what just happened shot a chill down her spine: Cassie had faced off with a suspected killer. Her hands started trembling, then her arms and legs. She gasped for breath, determined to stay conscious.

* * *