For his part, Roscoe was happy at this turn of events, getting to see all new plants and grass, although he was always more than happy to go back inside to the warm interior when the time came. Despite her worry, nothing happened throughout the day, though Claire kept feeling like there was an oppressive…something…hovering over her.
By the end of the workday, Claire had grown more and more nervous, jumping whenever a customer came into the bakery. She kept expecting Captain Karl to come busting in. Seeing what was happening with her jumpy employee, Mrs. Applegate finally sent her to work in the back room.
Sandy poked her head into the back kitchen, smiling cheerfully at Claire, though there was a clear note of concern in her voice. “Closing time. Do you want me to walk out to your car with you, Claire?”
Claire wrinkled her nose and nodded. She was parked just next to the door in the back, but that would be the perfect place for someone to jump her. “Yes, I’d love that. Just a second. Let me grab Roscoe and my jacket.”
She quickly grabbed her things and followed Sandy out of the door, giving Mrs. Applegate a hug before both women left for the back door. She peeked out of the door, looking around to make sure she didn’t see anyone outside. Movement caught her eye, but she sighed softly, seeing three of the housekeepers emptying trash into the large green metal bin. The thing was situated within a concrete enclosure set away from the building, but all they had to do was open a chain gate to access it. She was pretty sure no one would try anything with so many people out where they could see.
“Looks clear,” Sandy said, trying to appear as chipper as possible, though there was a slight waver in her voice when she spoke.
It endeared Sandy even more to Claire, and she smiled, giving the younger girl a hug. “Thank you, Sandy. I don’t think even Captain Karl would try to hurt me with other people in the parking lot. Besides, it’s still light out and I can’t see him crouching down behind a car.”
“Wave to me when you get in your car. I’ll stay here until you do.”
“Okay.”
It was every bit as anticlimactic as Claire hoped it would be. She even checked in the back seat, making sure the sea captain wasn’t somehow hiding under a bulky blanket or something. Climbing quickly into the driver’s seat, she slammed and locked the doors, then grinned out of the front windshield and waved at Sandy. The pretty young woman waved back, before her face disappeared from the window.
“Safe!” Claire said, looking over to Roscoe, who was panting patiently in the seat next to her. The little dog looked up before he pawed her thigh, making her snap her fingers. “Sorry, buddy. I almost forgot your treat,” she said, pulling a little plastic bag out of the glove compartment. Roscoe danced and bounced in anticipation, eagerly snapping up the fake bacon that Claire gave him. She shook her head, remembering the one time she’d decided to taste them to see what they were like. Despite how they smelled and how they were advertised, they’d tasted bland and grainy and she’d spit out the bit she’d nibbled on. However, Roscoe was a big fan, and she spoke to him as she fed the treats to her little black and white dog.
“Don’t you worry, Roscoe. We’ll get everything taken care of and no mean old ship captain is going to use you for bait. Besides, I’m pretty sure he’s scared of you!” She chuckled softly as Roscoe looked up, barking in his little dog voice at her as if confirming his fierceness. She grabbed his cheeks, shaking them like an aunt would do with a nephew, before buckling up.
She started her car without issue, backing out of her parking lot and waving at the three housekeepers that were just finishing with the trash. Curving around the less ostentatious back of the buildings, she admired the building in the rearview mirror as she always did when exiting the stone and iron gate. Then she was on her way into town.
The drive was pleasant if overcast, and her eyes gazed out over the ocean as she drove. There was a small strip of grassy dunes that thrust up, blocking some of her view, but more often than not letting her look down on the wide sandy beach and the rolling waves. Occasionally a swarm of seagulls would coast by, either rising or falling in their windy dance. It was beautiful, and for a moment Claire’s troubles were forgotten.
It didn’t last. A loud crunch from behind and a jarring crash smashed her teeth together, and she grabbed the steering wheel with every ounce of strength in her, trying to control the car. The wheel jerked in her hands as the tires skidded first one way, then another. Roscoe was baying and whimpering, having fallen down to the floorboard on the passenger side. A high, piercing sound, almost like a child screaming, just added to her panic.
She could hear another, more powerful engine roaring and revving behind her and she frantically jammed on the brakes, just as the back end of her car was ferociously slammed into once again. Her heartbeat was banging in her ears, her eyes wide as she tried to keep on the road, but the impact slammed her forehead into the steering wheel. Suddenly, everything in the world seemed to move in slow motion. There was a cacophony of crunching and squealing tires, a spray of sand in front of her, and the sudden greenness of grass rushing toward the car. With a last, horrible jerk, the car stopped and the engine coughed and died.
Gasping, Claire pulled her head back. She felt her hands shaking wildly with adrenaline and sheer terror, and she looked around wildly. She couldn’t make sense of anything. Despite the engine being off, she heard a panting whimper accompanied by what sounded like a dog crying. Then it hit her.
Roscoe!
She looked down, spotting her little black and white dog slowly turning and getting to his feet. He practically leaped toward Claire, digging into her side in fear before Claire realized that the contact of his little body hurt her. Though the dog wasn’t putting much pressure, her chest and side felt raw and bruised.
Right along the line where the seatbelt had protected her.
What had happened? Had she blown a tire? As she cuddled her dog, her muddled mind tried to sort through it all. She remembered the rev of the engine and looked up at her rearview mirror, just in time to see the top of a truck speed out of sight and behind a hill. It looked black, but there was something odd about the paint but she couldn’t quite remember.
She sat, hugging a whimpering Roscoe for several minutes just staring at the spot where the truck had disappeared. Someone had tried to kill her. There’s no way someone would have done that and not stopped. She began to shiver, looking around with uncertainty until she realized the car was no longer on and therefore the heater was not pumping heat at her.
Reaching over, she turned the key. Despite the knocking sound, the car started and warm air blasted in at her, though she still felt cold and her mind felt like it was in a fog. Was it shock? She didn’t know, but she began to get scared. Gasping with pain, she finally remembered her phone and quickly called 911.
“Hello?” the voice said.
“Hi, uh, I crashed about ten minutes outside from the Brightwater Bay resort. Can someone help me?” Claire was irate at the sound of crying she heard. Why was the dispatch officer crying? Then she realized it was her own sobbing. She could barely understand what she was saying and cursed herself but she just couldn’t stop. Despite the babbling talk, the dispatch officer finally got the important information out of Claire and told her that someone was on their way and to just hold tight.
Once she heard those words, she just sobbed, no longer caring how she sounded. Someone was on their way. That’s all she needed to hear.
Chapter 18
Claire screamed when the door was suddenly yanked open, followed by Roscoe barking like mad at the figure that stood in the suddenly cold air.
“Claire? Claire!”
It was a voice she recognized, even if it took a few moments for her to recognize it. When she finally did she blinked owlishly at Darryl Portman’s panicked face. “Just stay there,” he commanded. “Don’t move. We don’t know if you’ve been hurt.”
Claire shook her head. She wanted to get out of the car right away.
The truck might be back any minute. “No, they might be back. Get me out of here!” She began to pull on her seatbelt but stopped, whimpering at the pain it caused.
Darryl put his hands on her shoulders, holding her still. “Claire, listen to me. No one is coming back. The ambulance will be here in a minute. Just stay calm.” Darryl’s eyes were raking over her, trying to see if she were injured and ignoring the incessant barking from Roscoe. He lifted one of her arms, noticing she winced at the pain. “Where does it hurt, Claire?”
She heard him through the haze, pointing at where the seatbelt was along her body and sobbing. Darryl nodded but instead of helping her out of the constraining belt, he stood up. “Okay, Claire I’m going to go get a blanket. You’re probably going into shock so just stay here. Don’t try to get out of the seatbelt. The paramedic needs to make sure you haven’t hurt your spine or neck. I’ll be right back.”
She reached out with her left arm, trying to grab him before he could leave. “No, please! Please don’t leave me!”
“It’s okay, Claire. My car is right behind you. I’m not leaving. I will be back in a second.”
Then he was gone. Claire tried to calm her breathing and stop the tears rolling down her cheeks, though she wasn’t entirely sure she’d ever stopped. Thankfully a moment later Darryl returned with a big, wool blanket which he quickly laid over Claire. Roscoe climbed onto her lap, growling protectively at anything that moved too close to Claire, though Darryl continued to ignore the pint-sized dog.
Within minutes, more flashing lights appeared, whipping by her rearview mirror. She heard a radio, then voices from someone else as Darryl was pushed out of the way. He stepped back, speaking to one of the men in a thick brown coat while another, dark-skinned man with kind eyes leaned down and began inspecting her, asking many of the same questions Darryl had.
He began looking at her pupils, holding a light up while he worked and peeling her shirt back. It startled her, feeling the bite of the cold air but the man kept working at whatever he was doing. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the two men determined that Claire was able to be moved and lifted her onto a gurney, strapping her down and taking her toward the ambulance.
Before they could load her, Scott came running up with Darryl right next to him. Whereas Darryl looked concerned, Scott was almost in a panic as he skidded to a halt next to the gurney. “Claire! What happened? Are you okay?” The EMT’s pushed him out of the way so he turned to Darryl, looking for answers.
“Come on, the best we can do is follow her to the hospital. Do you want to drive or ride with me?” Darryl asked.
“I’ll follow the ambulance,” Scott said, watching as the ambulance was closed up and it turned on its lights. “What happened, Darryl?”
“Don’t know,” the man said, staring at the white and orange vehicle. “The dispatch gal said she was screaming about some black truck, but she was kind of hysterical when I got here.”
“Was she hurt?” Scott asked, and Darryl could hear the was a note of panic in his voice.
“I think the seatbelt did a number on her, but the EMTs felt okay enough to move her. It looked like the car was rammed from behind and not just once,” Darryl said, giving Scott an appraising look. “If I didn’t know any better, it would look like someone did this on purpose. Does it have anything to do with the article in the paper this morning?”
Scott’s face went pale. A fact that was not lost on the police officer who grunted and narrowed his eyes at Scott who stood frozen, even as the ambulance roared off. “Dammit,” he said, looking down at his feet before looking back up at Darryl. “I’ll tell you what I know, but after we get to the hospital.”
“Yep, that might be a good idea,” Darryl said, turning toward his police cruiser. Before he got in, he called over to Scott. “I’m not going to have to look for you like I did Ben, am I?
Scott shook his head. “No, I’m going to the hospital. I’ll see you there but Darryl, you’re not going to like some of what we found out.”
Darryl pursed his lips but nodded. “So be it.” Then he got in and roared off after the ambulance. Scott followed a moment later, heading for the Brightwater Bay hospital which stood on one of the rolling hills near the town.
Brightwater Bay wasn’t a big town, but it was one of the larger towns along this part of the coast and as such, it was graced with a better hospital than its size would normally allow, a fact for which Scott was thankful. His mind raced. Someone had tried to kill Claire and it had to be Captain Karl. For a few heartbeats, he thought about driving down to the berth of the Sea Havoc, but quickly dismissed it. The last thing he needed to do was go storming onto the ship of a killer. Besides, it was unlikely Darryl wouldn’t follow him, considering the conversation they’d just had.
His hands were gripped tightly on the steering wheel as he raced after Officer Portman.
Chapter 19
The ride in the ambulance was helpful to calm Claire down, but what helped even more was being in the company of other people. The paramedic sitting next to her chatted with her while he kept running tests, making sure she stayed focused and made sense. It was obvious, but Claire didn’t mind since it proved to herself that her thought process was still working.
By the time they reached the hospital, she was feeling much better except for the bruising along her chest. The EMT patted her on the arm, smiling before rolling her out on the gurney with his partner. “Hang tight. So far, nothing seems to be the matter except for the bruising, but we’ll want the doctors to confirm everything before we let you move around too much.”
Claire nodded, smiling at the younger man. “Thank you.”
They rolled her into the hospital and helped transfer her to one of the beds where a doctor and nurse were waiting. They patiently worked through much of the same things the EMT’s had, including several more tests. Thankfully, at the end, the doctor seemed to be satisfied that Claire wasn’t injured beyond bruising, though he did warn Claire she might have bruises or muscle strain appear in the next few days. With a flourish of his pen, he prescribed some pain medication.
After she was released with instructions to take it easy, she saw Scott and Officer Portman waiting for her in the lobby. Both of the men moved towards her, concern etched on their faces. Scott reached her first and reached out but stopped himself, and took a step back instead. “Claire, are you all right? What happened?”
“That’s my line, Scott,” Darryl said, giving Scott a level look as he walked up and pulled out a small notepad. “We don’t want to badger her with questions. I’ll let you sit in, but let me handle it please.”
Scott nodded and Claire smiled at the handsome man. She was happy he was here, and even more that he had obviously been so worried. Still, she knew Darryl was going to have some questions and even more so, she might be telling him some things that would be uncomfortable. Talking in the middle of the hospital lobby was probably not a good idea. “Actually, can we go someplace more private? There are some things I think we need to talk to you about.”
“We?” Darryl said, raising his eyebrow and glancing at Scott before frowning. When he received no answer, he nodded, gesturing for the two to follow with a defeated sigh. “This isn’t something we can just go talk over at the coffee shop, is it?”
Scott had been watching Claire carefully but at the question, he shook his head. “No, if it’s what I think it’s about, we don’t want to talk about this in a coffee shop. Also, I don’t know if you want this to be an official meeting, either,” he said, giving Darryl a sad look.
Darryl narrowed his eyes, giving Scott and then Claire a long look before he turned away from them both, staring out the windows of the hospital lobby while putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head. “Is this about Dexter?” he asked, sounding very unhappy.
“Yes,” Claire said softly, watching the man’s profile. She owed Darryl a lot. He was the first person she’d met in the town, and he’d taken care of her when he didn�
�t have to. Now, she was about to destroy his life and she couldn’t have felt more guilty. Scott stepped up beside her, taking her hand in his but saying nothing. Claire squeezed it, feeling his strong, rough hand and taking strength from it.
“Fine,” Darryl said, turning his head and eying them both. “Let’s go to your place, Scott. I’ll reserve judgment on keeping this unofficial until after I hear what you have to say, though.”
“Sounds good. We’ll meet you there.” Scott said.
“Wait!” Claire said, eyes suddenly wide. “Has anyone seen Roscoe? He was in the car with me!”
Darryl snorted. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have left your dog out there. He’s in my car and not happy about being separated from you, but he’s okay.
Claire sighed, following the slightly disgruntled police officer to his car and retrieving her dog. Roscoe started whining and clawing at the window as soon as he saw her. She picked him up, suffering through numerous kisses while she held the little animal close. They’d been through a lot together.
After giving him sufficient hugs, she carried him to Scott’s jeep and got in. As Scott started up the car and began moving out of the parking lot, she couldn’t help but look around for a black truck. She didn’t think that someone would make another attempt at her with a police car right behind them, but she couldn’t help herself.
That thought made her stop and think as Scott slowly wove through the streets, presumably heading toward where he lived. Was it an attempt on her life? It had seemed that way, especially when she’d heard the terrifying crunch and her car started going all over the road, but could it have been anything else? What if it had been a simple matter of some drunk guy accidentally hitting her, and then just taking off rather than sticking around?
A Tiny Dash of Death Page 8