Page 50 of The Girl from Devil’s Lake (Joanna Brady Mysteries #21)

Naco, Arizona

As Garth and Deb pulled up to Stephen Roper’s residence, they donned their vests and activated their body cams. Garth was the one who did “the knock,” while shouting, “Open up! Police! We have a search warrant!” They waited a beat. When nothing happened, he shouted again.

Then he turned to his partner. “Break it down?” he asked.

“Be my guest,” Deb said.

It took three solid hits from Garth’s shoulder before the door gave way. They entered with weapons drawn and cleared the house. It was empty.

“So where did she go?” Deb asked. “The garage maybe?”

“No,” Garth said. “She’s got to be here inside someplace. I wonder if there’s a crawl space.”

It took several minutes but finally he located the trapdoor hidden under the mat on the bathroom floor.

From above he could see a ladder leading down into the darkness.

As he began to climb down, his hand touched a chain that, when pulled, illuminated the space’s only overhead light bulb.

That’s when he saw her. Marliss lay sprawled on the concrete floor with her bound lower legs still entangled in the ladder.

“I found her,” he shouted back up to Deb. “It looks like she’s badly hurt. Call EMS. And once you call for an ambulance, call Sheriff Brady, too. She’s going to want to be here.”

Kneeling on the floor beside the injured woman, Garth sliced through the zip tie binding her hands in order to check for a pulse. “She’s still alive,” he called back up to Deb. “I’ve got a pulse.”

Next he cut through the zip tie on her feet. Afraid to move them, he left her lower legs in the same ungainly position before removing the gag covering her mouth. As he did so, her eyes fluttered open.

“Where am I?” she asked faintly. “What happened?”

“You’ve had a bad fall,” Garth told her. “We’ve called for an ambulance.” Even as he said the words, he wondered if, with all the traffic disruptions happening in town, an ambulance would make it there in time.

“Why can’t I feel my hands and feet?” Marliss asked.

Garth didn’t want to say what was likely the ugly truth. “Help is coming,” he assured her. “Hang in there. I’m going to go upstairs for a second.”

Deb was sitting on the edge of the bathtub waiting when Garth’s head popped back up through the trapdoor. “How bad is it?”

“Bad,” Garth replied. “She can’t feel her hands or legs.”

Deb put her hand over her mouth and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll go down and talk to her. You get on the horn to Sheriff Brady and let her know what’s going on. No telling how long before an ambulance can get here. Be there to flag them in.”

“Will do,” Garth said. “On my way.”

Detective Howell took a deep, steadying breath.

Ernie Carpenter, the long-retired cop who had been her mentor, had taken a mere deputy and turned her into a capable homicide investigator.

This was a crime scene—either murder or attempted murder—and this was possibly the last chance anyone would have to question the only eyewitness—the victim.

Steeling herself for the task ahead, and with her body camera running, Deb lowered herself through the trapdoor and climbed down the ladder.

Marliss lay supine on the floor, her eyes open and blinking. She was still alive.

“Hey, Marliss,” Deb said. “Remember me? Detective Howell. My partner’s outside waiting to flag down the ambulance. Can you tell me what happened?”

“We were talking,” Marliss said.

“Who’s we?” Deb asked.

“Stephen Roper and I. He went to the kitchen to get a soda. When he came back, he walked up behind me and put a wet, evil-smelling cloth over my mouth. I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up just now. How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad,” Deb replied. “We don’t dare try to move you until EMS gets here.”

“It’s my back, isn’t it,” Marliss said. “That’s why I can’t feel my arms or legs.”

Neck most likely , Deb thought but didn’t say.

“And I’m cold,” Marliss went on. “Terribly cold. Can you find a blanket?”

Deb started up the ladder. Her head emerged through the trapdoor just as Garth reentered the bathroom.

“She’s cold,” Deb said. “Find some blankets. I’ll wait here.”

Garth darted out of the bathroom and returned a moment later with a duvet and several blankets. “I called Sheriff Brady. She’s on her way, and she’s talking with the hospital.”

“And Roper?”

“He’s stuck at the Traffic Circle just the way he’s supposed to be, but it’s turned into a standoff. He’s armed with a weapon and threatening to shoot himself.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” Deb muttered under her breath as she grabbed the armload of bedding and clambered back down the ladder.

After covering Marliss with a layer of blankets, Deb settled down on the floor next to the injured woman and took her hand.

“Is the ambulance coming?” Marliss asked.

“On its way,” Deb answered. “It’ll be here soon. Why did you come here today?”

“I heard a rumor that they were looking into Stephen Roper. I wanted to check it out.”

“A rumor?” Deb asked. “Who told you?”

“My cleaning lady. Her sister’s husband is a border guard in Naco, Sonora. She said he told her that people were asking questions about Senor Santa Claus, and I just couldn’t believe it.”

Marliss’s eyes closed. For a moment Deb thought she was gone, but then they fluttered open again.

“I’m really cold,” Marliss murmured. “Could you please bring me a blanket.”

“Of course,” Deb said, wiping a tear from her eye because the blankets were already there.

Marliss turned her head slightly to the left. “I know you,” she said. “You’re Detective Howell.”

Deb nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Have you been here long?”

“For a while,” Deb answered. “Are you in any pain?”

Marliss frowned. “No,” she said. “Nothing hurts, but I’m scared. Would you mind holding my hand?”

“Of course,” Deb said, squeezing the hand she was already holding and biting back the sob that was rising in her throat.

“Please don’t leave me,” Marliss added.

“Don’t worry,” Deb whispered. “I won’t.”