I might’ve sat there for hours if not for Watson. His panicked barking was louder than it had ever been before, and though it was right in my ears, I barely noticed. It was him licking my cheek that brought me back to the moment and assured me that I was alive. I turned to find he’d propped himself on the console and was peering over from the backseat. His eyes were wide and wild, and he interspersed barks with whimpers and licking my face.
“I’m okay, boy. I’m okay.” I wondered if that was true, but didn’t dwell on it. I didn’t feel broken. I ran my hands over his body, a thousand times more panicked for him than myself. “Are you hurt?”
At my ministrations, Watson threw himself fully into the front seat and onto my lap. Everything I touched on him felt normal, and though he continued to lick and whimper, he didn’t seem in pain.
A cold breeze brought a smattering of snow against my cheek, and I looked over to see the passenger side window completely gone.
And Katie.
Oh my God. Watson had been my only thought.
Katie.
“Katie!” I reached over Watson for her and screamed. At least it felt like I screamed, though I couldn’t hear it over my pulse raging in my ears.
Katie’s head lulled lifelessly to the side, her chin resting on her shoulder. Blood trickled over her forehead and down her cheek.
I grabbed her shoulder and started to shake. She didn’t respond. I realized what I was doing and stopped abruptly, then used my other hand to feel for a heartbeat under her jaw.
I found it so fast and it was so strong that I barely dared trust what I felt. With Watson still doing his own inspection of me, I kept my hand to her throat, trying to determine if it was her pulse or my own surging blood.
Then I felt her breath against my wrist and let out a sigh of relief.
She was hurt, but she was alive.
Leaning down, I looked through the shattered window and up the slope. In the bright evening moonlight, our path down the mountainside was obvious, and somehow even more terrifying. How we hadn’t rolled and been smashed against boulders during the process was nothing short of a miracle. However, I couldn’t see the other car. Maybe they were still up on the road, maybe they’d slid the other way. If so, I couldn’t make out anyone’s form looking down at us from the curve, and no one was rushing down the mountain to our aid.
Refocusing on Katie, a huge wave of relief washed over me as she groaned. The corner of her lips tightened in a grimace. I hoped that was a good sign.
“Hold on. Just hold on.” I reached for my cell, which had been plugged into the charging cable of the car, but it wasn’t there any longer, of course. I inspected the top of the dash. It wasn’t there either, but I realized the windshield was nothing more than a mess of spiderweb fractures, though it held in place.
Feeling along the floor mat, I found the phone by my feet.
I called Branson.
It went to voicemail.
I pulled the phone back and glared at it as though it had betrayed me and hit End. Then dialed 911.
Watching the medics carry Katie, who was strapped to a gurney, up the steep slope was nearly as terrifying as the car wreck itself. She was awake. Confused, but awake. They didn’t think her neck or spine was injured, but they weren’t taking any chances.
In the few minutes it’d taken them to arrive, I’d managed to get out of the car and was trying to get the passenger door open. It had been pointless, but at least it convinced them my spine was intact, and I didn’t need to be strapped to anything.
I hadn’t managed to get Katie’s door open, but between Officer Jackson and the ambulance driver, it finally opened enough to get Katie out.
From looking at my poor Mini Cooper, it seemed the impact had been more to the passenger front tire well. The seam of the door had been smashed in, but nothing more. A foot or so farther back, and Katie probably wouldn’t have survived.
Susan held my attention as they got Katie situated into the back of the ambulance. “You’re saying you didn’t see the other car that hit you?”
“No. I didn’t. I don’t even know if it was a car or truck. I didn’t see the color, nothing.” I glanced down. We were standing on the edge of the road, the tire burns made swirling patterns under Watson’s and my feet. He was pressed against my leg, acting like a lap dog for once. “We were driving, just talking, and then we were going over the edge. That’s all I remember.” I thought back, closing my eyes and trying to envision the scene, possibly pick up something in memory I had noticed. But there was nothing. “I didn’t even notice headlights. There was no warning.”
I hadn’t seen anyone looking down at us from the top of the slope because no one had. Whoever hit us had left without stopping to check.
“Susan.” She flinched slightly at my use of her name, but she didn’t correct my lack of formality. “This was intentional. Whoever hit us, did so on purpose. This wasn’t just some accident.”
She didn’t look at me, but instead she glanced back at Katie, to my busted car halfway down the slope, and then to the tire tracks at our feet. I could feel her building her argument, about to tell me I was overreacting. Finally, she met my gaze, her face awash in the flashing red-and-white from the ambulance. “You do get yourself into some situations.”
“I’m not being dramatic or making it up.” I couldn’t deal with her hatred of me impacting on what had just happened. “I guarantee this was no accident.”
“I’m not an idiot, Fred. Sammy was murdered in your shop. Katie was shot at. Whoever hit you didn’t hang around to help check to see if you were okay. Of course I don’t think this was an accident.”
I flinched. “You don’t?”
She rolled her eyes in way of response.
“Okay, then.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I wasn’t used to Susan agreeing with anything I’d ever said.
“Whoever this is, they must really have it in for Katie.” She glanced at the ambulance. It looked like they were getting ready to leave. “Granted, she’s annoying, but they’re going to a lot of effort trying to get rid of her simply because of that.”
I nearly smarted off a sarcastic retort but realized the implication of what she’d just said. “Branson didn’t pass on what I texted him a little while ago?”
“Thankfully, Fred, your boyfriend doesn’t feel the need to share your communications with me. Which is surprising, come to think of it, as he wastes no other opportunity to drive me insane.”
I supposed I hadn’t texted him that long ago. Probably less than forty-five minutes. Maybe he hadn’t even seen the messages yet. “Where is he?”
A bit of her old annoyed cadence returned. “You would know more than I. You tell me. Where does he go when he disappears suddenly? He left this afternoon, saying he’d be back tomorrow. That’s all I know.”
Branson left. And he didn’t mention it. Though, I supposed he didn’t need to. He’d already arranged for us to be looked after whenever we were at home. And he and I weren’t dating. Why would he tell me?
The ambulance driver came over and spoke to Susan, then faced me. “We’re taking your friend in. We’d like you to come with us if you’re not still refusing treatment.” He nodded toward Susan. “Officer Green can watch your dog and make sure he’s safe. He can’t come in the ambulance.”
There was an offer I never thought I’d hear. The thought of Katie going alone in the ambulance was almost more than I could handle, but so was leaving Watson alone with someone he didn’t care for after such an experience. “Is Katie awake?”
“She is, but she’s not overly aware yet.”
I made my decision quickly, fast enough so I couldn’t second-guess it. “No, take Katie on ahead. I’ll call our friend, and he’ll come be with her. I’ll be there shortly. I’ll let you all look at me then, but I’m sure I’m fine.”
He seemed about to argue, as he had every other time I’d refused their inspection. I hadn’t wanted to take their attention away from Katie
for even a second, and I truly did feel okay, but I knew that was probably just adrenaline. To my surprise, he gave a sharp nod and thrust a clipboard toward me I hadn’t noticed he’d been holding. “Fine. Sign that you’re refusing service, and we’ll be on our way.”
With the ambulance speeding off toward the hospital, I turned back to Susan and gestured toward my car. “You think your other officers can handle this while you help me with something?”
She glanced down at Watson. “Why do I have a feeling this request will end with my patrol car being covered in dog hair?”
She wasn’t my favorite person in the world, but she was quick, I’d give her that. “If you’ll drive Watson and me to the vet, I’ll fill you in on why we think someone’s trying to kill Katie.”
She continued to stare down at Watson with a scowl.
“It involves serial killers.”
“Serial killers?” Susan looked up, dog hair forgotten. “Are you serious?”
Watson sat on my lap in the front of Susan’s patrol car, and before I launched into Katie’s story, I called Dr. Sallee. Thankfully, he answered and agreed to meet us at the veterinary clinic. Then I called Leo, filled him in hurriedly, and asked him to wait with Katie and to alert my family so they could set off their text message chain.
Just when I was certain Susan was about to lose patience with me, I turned toward her. “So, do you remember the Mercy Killers case about twenty years ago?”
For the first time ever, Watson didn’t act like he was meeting the Queen when he saw Barry. I lifted him into the back of Barry’s 1967 Volkswagen van and stepped in behind him. Watson wagged his tail manically but didn’t leave my side, instead pressing close against my thigh and resting his head in my lap.
Apparently, it took a near-death experience to find out that he actually did love me more.
“Thanks for coming, guys.”
Mom twisted her tiny body around from the front seat and wedged herself into the back, catching her foot and nearly tripping in the process. “I suppose I should’ve gotten out and used the door, but that seemed like it would take too long.” She took a spot on my free side and threw her arms around me. “Don’t thank us, silly girl. We’re just so glad you’re okay. I can’t lose you.” She reached over and patted Watson on the head affectionately. “Neither of you.”
Barry reached back and squeezed my knee and then petted Watson as well. “I can’t let you have all the fun.” He followed Mom’s example, although he managed to pass through the space without a near accident and plopped down on the other side of Watson on the cracked vinyl bench. “What did Dr. Sallee say?”
Susan had dropped Watson and me off at the veterinary clinic, and Mom and Barry picked us up. “Watson’s fine. Completely. Just shaken. Quite literally not a scratch on him.” I’m not ashamed to say I cried a little when Dr. Sallee gave the all clear. Some part of me had feared Watson might’ve had some internal bleeding or some other horrible thing that I couldn’t see. The relief at the good news had been overwhelming. “He’s going to be just fine. He is just fine.”
“Can’t say the same for you. You have a lot more than a scratch.” Mom reached up and lightly brushed her fingertips across my cheek. “I don’t think there’s any glass in the cuts.”
I’d been a little surprised when I saw my reflection in the veterinary bathroom. Nothing deep, but my face was full of countless little scratches. “Dr. Sallee offered to take a look, but since I’m going back to the hospital anyway, I’ll just have them check me out. Do it all at once.”
“We’re glad you’re okay, kid.” Barry smiled over at me sweetly, then winked. “If you wanted a new car, all you had to do was ask.”
“New car?” I flinched at the thought.
Barry blinked. “Leo said you and Katie went halfway down the hillside and hit a big rock or something. Was he wrong?”
I shook my head and pictured my poor little smashed-up Mini Cooper. How had I not even thought of it? “I suppose there’s no coming back from that. No telling what damages are underneath, too.”
Mom patted my leg. “It’s just a car, dear. You, Katie, and Watson are okay. That’s all that matters.”
“Of course it is.” I pushed the car from my thoughts. I loved that little thing, and somehow, it had kept the three of us alive.
As we sat there, I spent the next few minutes telling them what happened. I’d barely started before tears coursed down Mom’s cheeks.
Though he didn’t cry, Barry was visibly rattled. “Whoever this is must be crazy, Fred.” He stared hard at me. I wasn’t used to Barry being serious. That unsettled me nearly as much as anything else.
“Well, of course they are.” Mom was slowly running her hand up and down my arms, I wasn’t sure she was even aware of the motion. Probably subconsciously checking for more injuries. “They already killed Sammy, and they were shooting at Katie out in the open. I didn’t know there was any doubt about them being a little off their rocker.”
Barry didn’t look away. “You might be a little out of your league here, darling. Not that I doubt your abilities, but these people mean business.”
“We have a place to start now. That will help.” I gave them the quick version of Katie’s story. Neither needed much detail. Mom remembered the case vividly from conversations with Dad, and Barry, like the rest of the country, had followed as the details unfolded on the nightly news two decades before.
Mom and Barry exchanged glances, and then Mom looked back at me. “This is even worse than I imagined. They really must be crazy. Who would be out to get Katie? I get that the victims had families, but Katie was just a little girl. Why are they after her? She didn’t do anything. And why now?”
“I have no idea. But at least we know mostly why it’s happening. That should help. To think I wasted any time looking at Carla or Mark Green as possible suspects. I was so far off.”
“Well, who could have imagined this?” Mom sighed. “I almost wish it was Carla or Mark. Neither of them is scary in the slightest.”
I almost agreed, but then remembered Carla’s tirade at the Cozy Corgi. Suddenly I realized how long we’d been sitting in the parking lot. It was nearly eight in the evening. “I should get back to the hospital. That way they can check me out, and I don’t want Katie to be alone for too long. I know Leo’s with her, but I should be there.”
Barry gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, careful to find an unblemished patch, which was easier on the side he was near, and then climbed back behind the steering wheel. As he put the van in reverse, the Volkswagen backfired, and the engine stalled. It was almost an eyesore, pea-green and white on the outside, with a mural of flowers in psychedelic colors painted on the side, and in desperate need of a touchup. He and Mom also had a pickup truck, but they both had a sentimental attachment to the van. Barry worked his magic, and less than a minute later, we were headed toward the hospital.
I verbalized something that had started eating at me in the veterinary clinic. Though it was quite literally too crazy to make any sense. Too insane to even verbalize. “You don’t think Regina and Penelope Garble are connected to this somehow, do you?”
Mom stiffened beside me. “You mean, you think they might be after you and not Katie? That you’ve been the real target this whole time?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t suppose so; that doesn’t make any sense. It’s just strange that they show up at the exact same time as all this goes down. Trying to take my store away while Katie’s life is in danger. It seems like a weird coincidence. Maybe they had some connection to one of the victims of the Mercy Killers.”
“Have you raided my candy jar when I wasn’t looking, Winifred?” Barry winked at me in the rearview mirror, some of his humor returning. Despite Mom not approving of his enjoyment of edibles, he had a cookie jar full of them in the garage.
“Not hardly.” I chuckled, then winced.
Mom gasped and her grip tightened on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.
I think my ribs are a little sore, that’s all. Probably from the seatbelt.” It seemed some of the adrenaline was wearing off. Maybe it was a good thing we were headed back to the hospital, and not just for Katie. I refocused on Barry. “You’re right. That’s an insane idea.”
“Don’t you worry about the Garble sisters. They’re not getting your store, and I’m willing to bet you’re not going to have to deal with them as neighbors either. The twins and Noah and Jonah both have their hopes set on them. And I kinda like the idea of all my kids having three cute little shops in a row.”
My heart warmed at Barry referring to me as one of his children, and it caused a spike of longing for my dad. “I wouldn’t be so sure. They were pretty adamant at the funeral today that they’re not going to be dissuaded.”
Barry made a dismissive noise and flicked his hand as he drove. “Don’t give them a second thought. I don’t think I have to go too much further, but I’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse. I wanted those shops back when Opal and Lois owned them, but I couldn’t talk Opal into anything.”
Again, I was reminded of Susan’s hatred of my family. Her accusations of Barry’s wealth and how he used it to keep other people down. I didn’t believe he would ever do that intentionally, but it was easy to assume—especially in his tie-dye T-shirts and yoga pants and riding along in the nearly broken down van which was over forty years old—that the man didn’t have a penny to his name.
Even so, my feelings for Susan had started to change over the past day or so. “What do you think about selling Mark the building his magic shop is in? That would make him really happy.”
“Darlin’, if I sold Mark that building, the bank would own it within a year.” He dared a look back at me. “I take it you’ve been listening to that sister of his?”
I didn’t answer his question. “What do you mean the bank would own it?”
He and Mom exchanged glances once more, and Barry nodded before turning back to face the road.
Mom patted my knee. “Sweetie, Mark Green is about four and a half years behind on his rent payments. That shop of his barely makes a dime.”
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