AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After a quick scan of the ID, the man motioned him in.
As Jack opened the door and stepped inside, Lindsey’s head whipped his direction. She was seated on her couch. Same place she’d been sitting the day she’d told him about the South Carolina incident. Same pillow hugged against her chest.
And she was in worse shape than she’d been while fighting off an imminent panic attack. All of the color had leeched from her complexion, and despite the distance separating them, the tremors rippling through her body were obvious.
“Sorry for the delay. I was at the early church service, phone silent, when your message came in. I got here as fast as I could.” He closed the distance between them and sat beside her. “Are you okay?”
She tried to push up the corners of her lips. Failed. “I’ve had better days. In fact, I’ve had better months. But I p-probably shouldn’t have bothered you. There are plenty of people here.”
“It was no bother. Did anyone take a statement?”
“Yes, but no one’s come back to tell me if the woman is a-alive.”
“I’ll see what I can find out in a minute. First, walk me through what happened.” Details had been scant in her semi-hysterical message.
He listened as she described the horrifying scenario she’d stumbled into, resisting the urge to reach for her hand and enfold it in a comforting clasp—until she began taking in short, choppy puffs of air, her shaking intensified, and a film of moisture broke out on her forehead.
No way could he ignore such clear distress signals.
Disregarding professional protocol, he edged closer and tucked her ice-cold fingers in his.
She didn’t pull away.
“Do you want me to get your medicine?”
“No.” She swallowed, clinging to his hand. “Just give me a few minutes to concentrate on my breathing.”
He remained silent while she struggled to rein in the looming panic attack, waiting until her shaking subsided and her respiration normalized to speak. “I think you licked it.”
“Yes. Thanks for the loan of your hand.”
“Anytime.” He cleared the huskiness from his voice. “There’s an officer outside the door. You’re safe. If you’re comfortable staying here alone, I can try to get an update.”
She nodded. “Please. I want to know what happened to that poor woman.”
After giving her fingers a quick squeeze, he crossed the room and exited the condo.
Out in front, a number of officers were talking by one of the cruisers, a County park ranger among them.
He joined the group, introduced himself, explained the reason for his presence, and got straight to business. “What do we have?”
“I was first on the scene.” An older guy who came across as a seasoned veteran spoke up. “I knew Ms. Barnes was safe and locked in her condo, so I went directly to the park to investigate.” He hesitated.
Jack frowned when he stopped. “And?”
The man shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything.”
A faint alarm began to beep in Jack’s mind. “What do you mean?”
“There was no indication of any sort of altercation or injury in the area Ms. Barnes directed us to.”
“Are you certain you were in the right spot?”
“I verified it with dispatch, and Russo double-checked with Ms. Barnes after she arrived.” The man indicated a female officer in the group. “She was taking the statement.”
“We did spread out after more officers arrived, to cover a wider area.” This from the ranger. “No one spotted anything out of the ordinary. No blood. No tamped-down foliage. No other witnesses who’ve come forward. It’s weird.”
No weirder than the lake or car incidents.
