Page 152 of Seven Deadly Sins

Chapter Nine

Harper leaned asfar forward as her seatbelt would allow and peered through the front windshield. A woman, her hand cradled to her chest, stumbled toward them. “Is that Amber Barker?” Had they stumbled upon Robert’s hiding place with their first road search?

“Sure looks like her.” Liam pulled as far off the road as he could without scraping against the mountain. “I’ll have to climb out your side.”

Harper shoved open her door and rushed to the woman who had now fallen to her knees. “Mrs. Barker?”

She lifted her head. “Thank God.” Her eyes rolled back, and she went limp.

“I’ve got her.” Liam scooped her into his arms and darted for the car where he placed her gently into the backseat. “Further searching will have to wait. She needs a hospital.”

“Twenty minutes away.” Harper climbed into the backseat and lay the woman’s head in her lap. The horrors this poor woman had endured, the pain…unimaginable.

She gave Liam directions to the hospital and roamed her gaze over the woman’s tangled hair down to her dirty feet. “I think she’s been walking for a while by the looks of her feet.” While she couldn’t see the bottoms, the tops were scraped, and several toenails were broken.

Liam glanced in the rearview mirror. “Dumped here?”

“That’s a good assumption.” Which could mean this wasn’t the mountain Robert hid on. Hopefully, when Mrs. Barker woke, she could give them some useful information. She called the chief and let him know where they were headed and why.

Liam pulled the car close to the emergency entrance to the hospital and rushed inside to get a wheelchair. When he returned, he slowly helped the waking Amber onto the seat.

A nurse met them right inside the door. “This is the woman from the video.”

“Yes. Let’s get her out of sight before you start her paperwork.” The last thing Amber needed was a lot of attention. Harper glanced around the waiting room as cell phones took pictures. “No pictures. Do not let anyone know she’s here.” She narrowed her eyes and met as many gazes as she could before following the others through a set of doors.

Her words meant nothing. Before the doors closed behind her, word would be flying across the airwaves. Reporters would arrive. Mr. Barker was going to hear about his wife being freed from someone other than the authorities.

The nurse took over with Amber and slid the curtains to an examination alcove closed. “You may come in when the doctor has looked her over.”

Harper shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Going to be hard to ask questions once her husband arrives.”

“We’ll have to ask in front of him.” Liam shook his head. “At least she’s alive. I really didn’t think she’d make it.”

“I don’t think Robert Thompson likes to kill. He’d prefer to have someone else do his dirty work.” She met his gaze. “That doesn’t mean he won’t, but I believe that’s been his past.”

He nodded. “Without the large group he had to call on before, he’ll have to step out and do the unpleasant himself. That’s how we’ll catch him. He won’t send anyone for us. He’ll come himself.”

“Positively.”

A doctor slipped into the alcove.

Footsteps thundered toward them. “Where is my wife?” Mr. Barker glanced from them to the curtain.

“The doctor is with her, sir. They’ll let us know when we go in.”

“When I can go in.” He took on a belligerent look.

“We have questions we need to ask.” The man might intimate people, but not her. “If you won’t cooperate with our ongoing investigation, we’ll have to have you stay out here while we question your wife.”

He gaped like a fish, then his lip curled. “Have it your way, detective, but if she looks as if it’s too much, I will contact your chief.”

“That is your prerogative, sir.”

Liam took a step forward. “Let’s get you something to drink. The doctor might be a few minutes. You need to be calm when you see your wife. She’s been through a lot.”

The man huffed through his nose, then nodded. “You’re right. I need to gain my composure, so I don’t upset her. A coffee sounds great, Agent.”

How did Liam do it? With a few words, he could diffuse anything, she felt. Here she was, putting on her cop face, and not budging. She could definitely learn social skills from him.