Page 48

Noelle’s home was a crime scene.

The ambulance had just left with Savannah, its lights filling Noelle’s dark street.

Her best friend had fallen unconscious right before the EMTs arrived, and they’d had grim expressions as they worked on her.

Savannah was loaded up and taken out the door, leaving Noelle sitting on the dining room floor, where she’d tried to stay out of the EMTs’ way.

She’d never seen anyone whisked away so rapidly.

Three deputies had arrived before the ambulance.

Jeff, the deputy who’d earlier cleared the home, had pulled Noelle away from Savannah to allow the other deputies to take over the lifesaving attempt.

“Are you hit?” he’d asked Noelle, quickly checking her torso and arms, which were covered with blood.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She’d batted his hands away. “It’s not my blood.”

“Did I miss him when I went through the house? Where was he?” Jeff’s tone had teetered on the edge of despair as he watched the others work on Savannah. “I’m so sorry, Detective.”

“No one was inside. You didn’t miss anyone,” Noelle had said quickly, in a rush to reassure him. “He came in after. He knew the alarm code.”

Relief had filled Jeff’s face, immediately replaced with concern for Savannah. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated.

Now that the ambulance had left, he and the other deputies finished securing the scene and Noelle tried to calm her racing heart.

Three times she’d automatically walked toward the sink to wash her bloody hands.

“Not yet,” she muttered, knowing forensics would want to photograph her, swab the blood on her arms, and take her clothes as evidence.

She could wait.

This could be a murder investigation.

She wouldn’t do anything to possibly mess it up. She wanted Adam to pay for what he’d done.

My brother-in-law.

Oh my God. I need to call Eve!

Her cell phone was near the stove, where she’d started to cook. She didn’t want to touch it much, but she opened it up and called Eve, leaving the phone in its place on the counter and putting the call on speaker.

“Noelle?” Eve’s voice shook, and Noelle could tell she’d been crying.

She knows.

“I’m so sorry, Eve,” she managed to get out.

“I don’t understand,” Eve said through her tears. “The police said Adam has Lucia as a hostage and ... and that he shot Savannah ?”

“I’m sorry, Eve,” Noelle repeated. “But they’re telling you the truth.”

Eve started to loudly sob. “Did she die?”

“I don’t know yet. She was still alive when the ambulance left,” whispered Noelle. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

What do you say to your sister when her husband tries to kill someone?

“But Lucia’s okay?” Eve’s voice was high.

“Physically she was okay while she was here,” Noelle said slowly, thinking of how she’d recalled seeing Adam with the crowbar.

I can’t tell her about that yet.

“He won’t return my calls,” cried Eve. “I don’t understand what he’s doing.”

“You never had any idea something was going on with him?”

“No! How could he do this?”

Noelle cried too. Adam had fooled them all. “I’m sorry, Eve. There’s got to be a reason. Something must have happened to him,” she added, knowing her words were lame.

“What?” Eve spoke to someone in the background. “I’ve got to go, Noelle. They want to talk to me. What am I going to tell them? ”

“Just tell them the truth. Tell them everything you know, Eve. It will be okay.”

“I love you,” said Eve through her tears.

“I love you too.” She ended the call and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

I don’t understand what’s happened.

Voices came from outside, and a moment later Evan Bolton stepped through the open front door, bootied and gloved, his eyes wide and worried. “Fuck! Noelle, are you hurt?” He rushed forward, and she held up her hands to stop him.

“I’m fine. Not my blood. Don’t touch me.” Her voice cracked.

He slammed to a halt, horror and understanding in his eyes. He turned and yelled out the open door. “Get forensics in here now !” He looked back at Noelle. “They’re out front. We’ll get you cleaned up as soon as possible.”

“I can wait.” She held Bolton’s gaze. “I want this done right, Evan. No room for error.”

“Of course.” He paused and appeared to be searching for the way to ask a question.

“She was conscious when they left,” Noelle told him. “But there was so much blood, Evan.” Her voice cracked on his name. She turned away, her eyes filling.

“ Where is she? ” came a male voice from outside.

Noelle looked back toward the door as Agent Rhodes strode in. He was bootied, but his gloves were still in his hands. His gaze slammed into hers, and it flashed the same horror and relief that Bolton’s had.

“Oh, thank God,” he muttered as he moved toward her with intent in his eyes.

Noelle weakly held out her hands. “Don’t.” Her voice shook as she was abruptly overcome with the need for human touch. A hug. Anything physical to reassure her that everything would be all right. Although her voice and hands said no, she suspected her eyes begged the opposite.

That was confirmed when Rhodes said, “Fuck that,” and wrapped his arms around her. “I know Savannah’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

Noelle leaned into him, pressing her cheek against his shoulder, and felt something inside her crack and quietly crumble. But Rhodes’s arms held the pieces of her together.

“We don’t know that,” she said, letting the tears stream onto his jacket.

“She will,” he said firmly as he held her tighter.

Noelle shuddered, and they silently stood that way for a long moment until she pulled back and met his brown gaze. “Thank you.” She took a step back to assess how much blood she’d transferred to his clothing. None. Savannah’s blood had already dried.

“Anytime,” he said gruffly.

She noticed Bolton standing two yards away, watching them. He nodded to himself, as if confirming something.

“I’ll light a fire under forensics,” Bolton said, and walked out the door.

“You okay?” asked Rhodes.

“I will be.”

“The BOLO went wide. We’ll find him.”

A forensic tech with a camera entered. “Detective Marshall? I need to get some photos and then take your clothes.”

“Yes, you do.” She lifted her chin. Right now, this was the best way to help Savannah. Gather the evidence to nail her shooter.

Two hours later she sat on a couch in one of the sheriff’s department conference rooms, waiting to speak with detectives and the FBI.

At home she’d changed and given her bloody clothing to the evidence tech, but she’d come downtown to use the department locker room to shower as quickly as possible and put on another set of fresh clothes.

Savannah was still alive but in surgery. The doctors were cautiously optimistic.

That wasn’t good enough for Noelle.

If she dies . . .

Noelle didn’t know what she’d do. The only reason Savannah had been shot was that she had been in town for Noelle.

Now it’s my turn to be there for her.

Please give me that chance.

Adam and the 4Runner had not been located. Neither Toyota nor her auto insurer had a way to track the vehicle. Noelle had refused when her insurance provider suggested a device and now regretted that decision.

Adam would have ripped it out anyway.

It was nearly 10:00 p.m., and Noelle suspected they’d hear nothing about Adam overnight. Most likely he’d hole up somewhere and be on the move again tomorrow.

He and Eve seemed so perfect.

It’s like I don’t know him at all.

She sent up another prayer for Lucia.

Eve’s home was still being searched for evidence, so the police had taken her to Daisy’s little house, where Daisy had stepped up and given Eve the support she’d needed. They’d offered to take Noelle there too, but she’d declined.

She needed to be where she could keep a finger in the investigation.

The assigned detectives might not agree, but she didn’t care.

Right now, she was their best source of information about Adam and Lucia.

She’d made herself as quiet as possible on the couch, watching the expansion of the investigation room’s equipment.

It’d been organized after Noelle’s vehicle blew up, but now Adam was their number one suspect.

More computers. Phones. Whiteboards. People went in and out.

Even though the hour was late, there was a fervency in the air.

Everyone wanted Adam caught. He’d messed with one of their own.

Evan finally came in, with Rhodes right behind him with Agent Keaton.

Joining them was Detective Lori Shults, whom Noelle was pleased to have on the investigation.

The women had worked together for a few years.

She was petite, smart, and tough. Lori nodded solemnly at Noelle and sat beside her. “We’ll find the asshole.”

“That asshole is my brother-in-law,” muttered Noelle, her mind still reeling from the knowledge that someone she’d loved had done this. “But I don’t disagree with calling him that.”

Evan and Rhodes each rolled a chair away from the conference table and parked it in front of Noelle’s place on the couch. “Tell us again what happened,” said Rhodes.

Noelle had already gone through it once at her home, but she had known they would want to hear it all again. And again.

Standard procedure.

She’d been thinking through her previous story and realized she’d left out one huge element. “First you need to know that tonight I remembered that Adam was there the day Derrick was murdered,” she told them.

Surprise lit up their faces. “Are you certain?” asked Rhodes. “He had an alibi.”

“Adam confirmed it when I accused him,” said Noelle. “I told you how he made Savannah and me turn away. When we did, I watched him in the mirror and was suddenly hit with the memory of seeing him in a different mirror holding a crowbar.”

“Your husband was beaten with a crowbar, correct?” asked Lori.

“Yes.” The vision of Adam back then rose in her mind. “And when I accused him of killing Derrick, he denied it. But he admitted he was there. He seemed to think it was funny that I was accusing him,” she said slowly. “He said I was completely wrong about that.”

“And Lucia?” asked Evan.

“I brought up the 911 call. She didn’t deny it. Her whole demeanor sagged when I asked her,” said Noelle. “But she didn’t admit it either.”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Keaton. “The evidence confirmed it was her.”

“It had to be Adam who killed Derrick,” said Noelle, thinking hard. “He had the crowbar.”

“You said he was behind you in your memory?” asked Lori.

“Yes.” Noelle could easily picture it now. “I can see him start to swing the crowbar at me.”

But is it real?

“When you saw Adam, can you recall where Derrick was at that moment?” asked Keaton.

Noelle closed her eyes. The memory—was it really a memory?—of Adam was growing clearer each time she thought about it. But she couldn’t see Derrick. She shook her head, her eyes still closed.

“Can you say how you felt at that exact moment?” asked Rhodes. “You’re obviously feeling shocked to see Adam—what else are you feeling?”

“Confused,” murmured Noelle. “Scared.”

“Is Derrick already on the floor?”

Noelle opened her eyes. “I want to say yes, but I don’t have a reason to say it. It just feels like it—which means nothing.”

“Can you recall anything else in the room?” asked Rhodes. “Are you sure the memory is from your Sacramento home?”

“I know that mirror. It was a wedding gift,” said Noelle. “And besides seeing Adam in the mirror, I recall the flash of an elephant print on the wall. And I can see the iron elephant. The one that was smashed into Derrick’s face. It’s definitely my house.”

“Is Adam holding that too?”

“No. It’s on the floor.” She frowned. “I don’t trust anything I can recall. But Adam confirmed he was there, so at least part of my memories are accurate. The rest may be bullshit.”

“Did he say anything about yesterday’s explosion?” asked Evan.

“No.” Noelle briefly kicked herself for not bringing it up, but she’d had a damn gun pointing at her. Her brain had been focused on other things. “Did Eve have an idea of where he would take Lucia?”

Because I sure don’t.

“She didn’t. Eve’s struggling to think clearly,” said Evan. “Like you, she’s also had a major shock tonight—on top of the explosion yesterday.”

“It’s been a fucked-up few days.” Noelle saw guilt flash in Rhodes’s eyes. “Not your fault, Agent Rhodes. You were doing your job, but somehow you hit a hornet’s nest during the interviews.”

“I think by now you can call me Max,” he said. “We didn’t even get to interview Adam. He and Eve were our only interviews left to do, and then we were headed back to Sacramento.”

“Did he feel the need to act before the FBI questioned him?” asked Lori.

“Possibly.” Max turned a thoughtful gaze on Noelle. “Or maybe he thought this latest investigation would prod your memory and you’d recall he was there.”

“He’s been within arm’s reach for years,” said Noelle. “I didn’t think anything of him and Eve moving up here after I did. But now I wonder if he did it because he wanted to keep close tabs on me. Maybe he thought he’d hear quickly if I started to remember that day.”

“I still don’t understand why Lucia didn’t admit she made that phone call,” said Evan. “That call most likely saved your life, Noelle. Why would she hide that?”

“Don’t know.” Both Lucia’s and Adam’s betrayals cut deep. Tears threatened and she fought them down, not knowing if she would ever comprehend the why of what they had done.

Should I forgive?

She couldn’t forgive Adam; Savannah might die.

Lucia? Most likely Noelle could forgive her for keeping a secret. Lucia had only been eighteen and—

I know why. “Adam made Lucia keep the secret,” she said, looking at Evan.

“It has to be the reason, but I don’t know how he did it or why.

Maybe he threatened her?” She thought about how Lucia acted when Adam was around.

“She always kept her distance from him unless she had no choice,” said Noelle.

“Looking back I can see it. I always chalked it up to her being a bit shy around men.”

“You told me she’s struggled with anxiety for most of her life,” said Max. “Do you think Adam added to that?”

Nausea suddenly made Noelle lightheaded. “Oh my God.”

How many years has Lucia feared him?

And we didn’t see it.