Page 86 of A Vineyard for Two

Harper switched on the laptop once again. The connection was immediate. With David standing right behind her, there was no way that she could somehow alert the authorities. He would shoot her without a second thought, then do the same to Brookes. She had no choice but to give him what he wanted. Months of work to collect the evidence would be all for nothing. Guilty people getting away with crimes, while the innocent paid the price.

When she got through her security walls and landed on the files pertaining to the investigation, she immediately noticed the change in the air. David still had the upper hand with the gun, but now he seemed distracted focusing on the laptop screen in front of him rather than paying close attention to them.

Brookes’ gaze fell hard upon her. She looked back at him, and it was as if they shared a moment of mutual understanding. If they didn’t do something now, they might not get another chance.

Harper shifted in her seat, moving her hand as if to type, but instead she jumped up, shifting her body backwards and up, pushing David aside, then elbowing him in the chest. A bullet ricocheted off the wall. Her ears throbbed, the buzzing growing with each passing second. David was fast. He moved towards her, striking her in the face. She fell to the floor, hitting her head against the chair. Her vision blurred as she tried to gain her composure. The sound of furniture breaking, fighting, punches being thrown, Rover barking desperately from the closed bedroom. Her head hurt as it spun. She wanted to throw up, but then her eyes drooped, and she stopped fighting. A door opened and closed, more voices, unfamiliar. Then it was as if someone had turned out the lights.

FORTY-ONE

Wet, sloppy kisses, a moist flick against her cheek, followed by the scent of dog breath. Voices came from somewhere nearby, others were fainter. Her head ached, and she felt heavy. Something was pinning into her side, and when she shifted, pain shot through her arm. Fear gripped her as she remembered what happened.

The voices grew louder and as she tried to open her eyes; she recognised a familiar voice. Brookes. Relief ran through her. He was okay. Thank God, he was okay.

There was a shuffling of feet around her. Someone said her name. A dog growled.

‘It’s okay, Rover.’

Brookes again. He was close by now.

Harper tried to open her eyes again. Light penetrated through. Waiting a moment to adjust to the brightness, she tried again. Someone gripped her hand. She looked up and saw the faint outline of Brookes looking down at her, then leaning in and kissing her on the forehead.

‘Can you sit up?’

Harper nodded, shifting her body and allowing him to help her to a seated position. Her head spun. She closed her eyes to make it stop.

When she opened them again, she noticed flashing lights outside, people talking loudly from the kitchen, and Rover sitting beside her, his chin against the couch as he watched her. She reached to him and scratched behind his ears as she looked at Brookes. ‘We’re okay.’

He nodded. ‘We’re okay.’

It took a few more minutes to get her vision to return to normal, although the pain continued, as did the buzzing in her ears. Brookes handed her a cup of water and two pills.

‘Constable Graves has some questions,’ Brookes said. ‘But first, the paramedics want to check you out. They wanted to take you to the hospital, but through semi consciousness you resisted heavily.’

‘What about David?’

‘Arrested. The police got here in time. Constable Graves and Sergeant Norris were going to pop by today, anyway. Apparently, they listened to my doubts about Lisa and went to question her. She broke down and told them everything. David had pursued her in the short time that he was here to spy for him. He’s been here since you got here. He must have followed you the same day you came up.’

‘That makes sense. I never told him where we lived.’ It also explained why Lisa had made such an effort to catch up with her. They were alive, and David was arrested. That was all that mattered. Her findings from the investigation were not going to go waste. She needed to get to her computer. But when she tried to stand up, her knees buckled, and she had to sit back down.

‘Laptop?’ Brookes asked.

‘Please.’

‘Just wait here,’ he said, shaking his head.

He came back moments later and handed her the laptop.

She opened it up, logged in again, and checked the files that had her investigation. Everything was where it was supposed to be. Nothing deleted, nothing wasted. She sighed with relief. The evidence, in addition to what he did here, David was going away for a long time.

Leaning back on the couch she closed her eyes. It was over. As was her job. This was going to be her last investigation, and that was it. She could start fresh. There were still loose ends to tie up back in the city, but she was done, that she was certain of.

After the paramedics assessed her out and finally gave her the all-clear, the police questioned her thoroughly. By the time they left, it was almost midnight and Harper needed a shower and a fresh change of clothes. When she finished in the bathroom, Brookes had food waiting on the table. She wasn’t hungry. The adrenaline had killed any appetite she might have had, but she gladly took the glass of wine he offered and nibbled on a piece of cheese.

‘What are you going to do now?’ Brookes asked.

She sensed the hesitation in his question. She wanted to answer him honestly, but she didn’t know. Right now, anything she told him would be emotionally charged. She needed time to think, time to reassess. ‘I’ll see how Georgia is doing, but I’m going to have to go back to the city,’ she said. ‘All this with David, I have to tie up the loose ends.’

‘And then?’