“He certainly did,” David said.
“Do you know what the craziest part of all of this is?” Steven asked.
David’s nose scrunched. “Is that a trick question?”
“No. It’s more that I was just thinking about how surreal life is. I mean, I always figured that if I got shot, it would be in the line of duty. But for this to happen in my home, long after my shift had ended, it’s just unbelievable.”
“It is certainly a nightmare scenario. I can’t pretend that I haven’t worried about something like this happening to me,” David said.
“Which is all the more reason to pray that something this outrageous never happens again,” Steven said. He wiped his forehead. “What a crazy night.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not even over yet,” David said.
Steven clutched his chest. “Why would you say that? Are you trying to spook me?”
David shook his head. “No. Sorry if that made your blood pressure spike. I was just thinking of what happened from an investigative standpoint.”
Steven exhaled and then replied, “Right. Of course. Your night is just beginning.”
David groaned. “Unfortunately. Although, I’m hoping that you might be able to help me out in that regard.”
“Are you asking me if I can give you details about who shot me?” Steven said.
David nodded. “I’ll take all the specifics I can get. Do you know who did this?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
David’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Uh-huh,” Steven said.
David remained quiet for a moment as he processed Steven’s answer. My husband realized what an important moment this was. As a matter of fact, it had the potential to become a turning point. Especially if the Wilson case and the Peterson case were connected. After all, what if the same person was responsible for both incidents?
If that was true, one arrest could lead to the solving to two different cases. But that was a big if. And at the moment, it was only speculation.
I listened intently as David asked his next question. “Who shot you?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but it was April Howard,” Steven said.
Just when I thought life couldn’t get any nuttier, it found a way. So much for the theory about the Wilson and Peterson incidents being connected. Instead, the universe found a new way to surprise me.
April Howard was no stranger to me. While I wasn’t friends with her, I had met her a few times. She had always been nice to me. So, hearing her name was pretty shocking.
I wasn’t the only one who was slack-jawed. David was also having some trouble wrestling with Steven’s statement.
“Wait a minute,” David said. “Are you telling me that your girlfriend shot you?”
Steven waggled his pointer finger. “Ex-girlfriend.”
“Since when is she your ex?” David asked.
“Since I broke up with her last night,” Steven replied. “Suffice it to say, she didn’t take things very well.”
“Talk about an understatement,” David deadpanned.
“I can think of a few more colorful ways to describe April right now,” Steven said.
“I’ll bet.”
“I will just keep them to myself, though.”
“While I respect your restraint, now is not the time to hold back.”
“Are you sure you want to hear all the crazy details?” Steven asked.
“I don’t need to hear all of them. Just enough to be able to put her behind bars,” David said.
“I understand.” Steven took a deep breath and then laid out the situation, “Things just weren’t working out for us. She was having all kinds of wild mood swings. Not to mention the fact that she was really possessive and would get jealous anytime I spoke with any of my female friends. Including the ones I had known for years. If that wasn’t enough, there always seemed to be drama swirling around her.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of red flags,” David said.
Steven nodded. “It sure is. So, I went over to her place last night to tell her that I thought we should see other people.”
“How did she react to that?”
“Poorly. But she didn’t get violent with me or throw anything across the room. She just broke into tears and begged me to give her one more shot.”
“What did you do then?”
“I told her that I wasn’t going to change my mind. That it was the end of the road. I then got up and left,” Steven said. “I figured that would be the last I would see of her.”
“I wish you were right,” David said.
“So do I. But as you know, things turned out much differently.”
“What exactly happened earlier this evening?”
“I finished up my work shift, left the police station, and headed home. But when I arrived back at my place, I wasn’t alone. As I entered my living room, I saw April sitting on my couch.”
David squinted. “Wait a minute. She broke into your house?”
Steven nodded.
“But how? The forensics team didn’t find any signs of forced entry.”
“That’s because she didn’t have to force her way in. She knew where I hid my spare key. So, she just grabbed the key and let herself in,” Steven said.
“That clears up my confusion.”
“In retrospect, I probably should have moved the key after I broke up with her. But I never thought she’d do something as crazy as sneak into my place and wait for me to come home.”
“Or to shoot you,” David said.
“Exactly,” Steven said. “That thought never entered my mind until I saw her pointing a gun at me.”
“Did she say anything to you before she fired the shot?”
Steven nodded. “She told me that I had ruined her life. And that this was her way of getting revenge.”
“What happened after that?”
“She gave me an icy glare, pulled the trigger, and then walked away.”
“Wow.”
“I know. Talk about crazy.”
“And this night isn’t even over yet,” David said. “Which leads me to my next question. Do you have any theories about where April might be right now?”
“The obvious choice would be her house. But as nutty as she is, I don’t think she’d be foolish enough to go back home,” Steven said.
“I agree. At the same time, I’m going to send a patrol car over there to check. Does she happen to own a second property? Or a cabin?”
Steven shook his head.
“How about friends and family?” David asked. “If you can give me a list of anyone close to her that she might turn to for help, that would be great.”
“Of course. I’ll tell you all the names I can think of. Although, I have a feeling that April probably just bolted out of town,” Steven said.
David’s nose scrunched. “What makes you say that?”
“After what she just did, she has to know that every police officer in town is going to want to track her down. It would be foolish of her to stay in Treasure Cove.”
“I agree. But she was also crazy enough to shoot you in the first place, so there’s no telling what she’ll do.”
“True.” Steven took a deep breath. “I’m just glad she’s a lousy shot.”
“I agree.”
I could see that both Steven and David were on the verge of getting lost in thought.
Before David’s head disappeared too far into the clouds, Steven brought him back down to Earth.
“If I were you, I would put out an all-points-bulletin immediately,” Steven said.
David nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“Here’s hoping that you track her down.”
“I promise you this,” David said. “I’m not going to rest until she’s in custody.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” Steven said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Before David left Steven’s hospital roo
m, he wrote down a list of friends and family members that April might turn to for help. Once he was done scribbling down names, David radioed dispatch. It was essential that a patrol car be sent over to April’s house immediately.
Unfortunately, when the officer arrived at April’s beige Spanish-style home on Buchanan Road, he discovered that she was not there.
While David was disappointed to hear that news, it didn’t surprise him. After all, April was crazy. But she wasn’t a fool. She knew better than to return to her house after shooting Steven. In all likelihood, she had left town.
If that was true, David didn’t have any time to waste. Putting out an all-points-bulletin on April was a necessity. Within the hour, her photo would be plastered all across the news and the internet. At that point, it would be difficult for her to hide from prying eyes.
My husband wasn’t content to just wait and see if he got a hit on that bulletin, however. He wanted to be proactive. After all, there was still a possibility that April was hiding out with one of her friends or family members. In an effort to cover all bases, a patrol car was sent to each of those locations.
Unfortunately, once those deputy’s made the rounds, they did not have any good news to report. According to the officer’s that David spoke with, none of April’s friends or family members had heard from her that evening.
***
After getting such a discouraging update, it was difficult for David not to be frustrated. He let out a groan and then turned to me in the waiting room.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” David asked.
I reluctantly nodded. “April probably booked it out of town.”
David exhaled. “Exactly.”
I gritted my teeth. “Just what we didn’t need. A maniac on the loose.”
“I know what you mean. As if we’re not under enough stress already.”
“Unfortunately, things look like they are going to get worse before they get better.”
David’s nose crinkled. “How do you figure?”
“Considering the head start that April got on us, there is no telling where she is right now.”
He scratched his chin. “True. There are a lot of places she could be.”
“Too many places. There’s a lot of open space outside Treasure Cove city limits.”
“I know,” he said. “Which means we’re going to need to get lucky.”
I gritted my teeth. “I hate relying on luck.”
“So do I.” He threw out his arms. “But what other choice do we have?”
“Prayer.”
“Well, of course I’m going to pray for the best,” he said. “At the same time, it would be nice to have a lead pointing to her whereabouts.”
“It sure would. Unfortunately, we don’t have a single lead.”
“Which is why I hope we get a hit on that all-points-bulletin,” David said. “The sooner, the better.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
On a night as crazy as that, it was hard not to be reminded how unpredictable investigations truly were. Sometimes, they were long and arduous. The kind of drawn-out affairs that required an insane amount of legwork.
Other times, luck played a pivotal role. That particular evening, apparently the universe was feeling generous.
About an hour after the bulletin had gone out, I grew tired of sitting in the waiting room. I got up from my seat and moved toward a vending machine that was at the end of the hallway. Much to my surprise, I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking over my various snack options. I just couldn’t seem to make up my mind.
With the level of stress I had experienced that evening, anything with chocolate in it looked good. So, naturally, every item in the vending machine happened to contain chocolate. Finally, after about five minutes of indecisiveness, I decided to buy a treat that was a mix of chocolate and peanut butter.
Before I had a chance to complete my purchase, however, I heard footsteps coming toward me. When I turned around, I saw David running my way.
His eyes were wide as he spoke up, “You won’t believe the call I just got.”
“Why? Has there been an April sighting?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Where?” I asked.
“A clerk at a gas station just outside of Emerald Grove spotted a woman matching April’s description filing up her tank a few minutes ago.”
“Emerald Grove?” I said. “That’s an hour and a half from here.”
“I know. Which means that April has been making some tracks.”
The distance she had covered wasn’t the only concerning detail. Emerald Grove also happened to be south of Treasure Cove. That led me to believe that she was making a break for the border. If she reached Mexico without being apprehended, it would be nearly impossible to catch her.
“Is she still at the gas station?” I asked.
David shook his head. “No. According to the clerk, she just left. But the Emerald Grove Police Department are in hot pursuit of her.”
“Good. Hopefully, they can apprehend her without incident.”
“That would be ideal. Then again, when was the last time things went even vaguely according to plan?”
“It has been a while,” David said. “But that just means we’re long overdue.”
“I agree. Instead of speculating any further, though, we need to take a trip to Emerald Grove,” David said.
***
David’s plans quickly changed when he got another call on his radio. This one was from the Emerald Grove Police Department. They had caught up with April and arrested her.
What a huge relief.
That wasn’t all. The arresting officer had more good news to share with us. Instead of David and I having to drive all the way down to April’s location, the Emerald Grove Police Department was going to transport her back to Treasure Cove.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A few hours later, when April was dragged into Treasure Cove police headquarters, David sat her down in an interrogation room. Even though David knew that April was responsible for the shooting, there was still a number of questions that he wanted answers to. Although, judging by the foul expression on April’s face, David had his work cut out for him if he was going to get her to talk.
David sat across from the voluptuous thirty-nine-year-old and stared into her wide-set blue eyes. The eye contact did not last long, however. April almost immediately looked down at the ground.
With the tension in the air as thick as could be, David began his interrogation. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
Apparently, April disagreed. She sat in her chair with her arms folded and didn’t say a word. She seemed more interested in avoiding eye contact than replying to David’s statement.
When a few seconds went by without a response from April, David threw a question her way.
“So, what do you have to say for yourself?” he asked.
Much to David’s surprise, April didn’t utter a single word.
“Fine. I’ll do the talking,” David said. “You’re seriously twisted. To shoot a police officer…my good friend…your ex-boyfriend…only a real sick puppy would do that.”
April continued to stare at the ground.
“Why won’t you look me in the eyes? Is it because you know I’m right?” David asked.
She fidgeted in her seat and continued to look down.
“You didn’t honestly think you’d get away with it, did you?” David asked.
Once more, April responded to one of David’s questions with complete silence.
“Or maybe you did think you’d be able to get away, which means you’re even more disturbed than I thought.” David took a deep breath and then continued, “So, what was the plan? Did you believe you could make it to the border? That once you were in Mexico, no one would be able to catch you? Because that’s just crazy.”
David gave April a chance to respond, assuming she’d want to say something by that point.
He wa
s wrong.
April kept her mouth shut.
David got up from his chair and began pacing as he spoke, “Then again, you probably believed that the bullet you fired had killed Steven. But it didn’t.”
April looked up at David.
“That’s right. The staff at Treasure Cove Medical Center were able to save Steven’s life.”
April shook her head in disbelief. Despite the emotions she was wrestling with, she continued to stay quiet.
“You, meanwhile, don’t have much to live for. You’re going to be spending many years behind bars. What a waste. You should have just left Steven alone. But no, you wanted to get your revenge on him for breaking up with you,” David said. “You’re a fool, you know that? A crazy fool.”
As David looked into April’s eyes, he could tell that she wanted to say something. Yet no words came out of her mouth.
“Don’t you have any remorse about what you did?” David asked. “Don’t you have anything to say at all?”
April shot daggers at David with her eyes and finally spoke up.
“I want to talk to a lawyer,” she said.
After everything David had said, that was her response? Talk about cold-hearted.
At the same time, David had no choice but to honor her request. The law dictated that April was entitled to consult with an attorney.
So, instead of getting answers from April, David was left with nothing but frustration.
“Fine,” David said. “Although, even the best lawyer in the world won’t be able to help you now.”
***
April was given a chance to call a lawyer. She was then brought to a jail cell for holding while that attorney made their way over to the station.
At that point, the case was out of David’s hands. The district attorney’s office would be taking things from there. And by all accounts, getting a conviction would be a slam dunk. After all, what jury wouldn’t find her guilty? Especially since Steven would be able to testify that April had been the one who shot him.
Instead of spending any additional time thinking about April, David’s focus turned to another matter. He decided to leave the police station and head outside. Not only did he need some fresh air, but there was also a phone call that he wanted to make.
Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 61