Page 114 of Target Acquired

“Nope, not here.”

“Should we head to the hospital to check on Butler?”

He cleared his throat and stepped back. “Good idea.”

Once they were in her car and headed down the road, Cole glanced at her. “So, what happened with the whole triathlon thing? You still planning on competing?”

She laughed. “No, I’m afraid that one’s on the back burner. All of my training has gone sideways.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. There’s always next year.”

“What about if we train together for next year?”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure. Why not? It’ll be fun.”

She raised a brow. “You hate running.”

“I do not. I mean, it’s not my favorite thing to do, but hate is such a strong word.” He sighed. “Okay, but I’ll make the sacrifice to be with you.”

“Hm. Well, that’s sweet, but I’m still not sure ‘fun’ is the right word.”

He grinned at her. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Twenty minutes later, they walked into the hospital and made their way to Butler’s room, only to pull up short when they found the door propped open and Oscar Woodruff at his friend’s side.

Oscar stood and sighed. “I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t leave on our account,” Kenzie said. Oscar hesitated and Kenzie looked at Butler, who was watching them with a frown. “How are you doing?”

“I hear I’m alive, thanks to you.” Red crept up into his neck. “I’m also aware I owe you multiple apologies.”

“Accepted. Can we let it go and work together in the future?”

He met her gaze and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good.” She smiled, then turned to Oscar. “Just to make it clear, I—” She glanced at Cole. “We don’t hold you responsible for anything your father did, so there’s no need to feel uncomfortable around us.”

Relief and gratitude flashed across his face. “Thank you for that. I truly had no idea—” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I knew he had his issues. He always has. Always wanted what others had and was bitter about it when he didn’t have it. But . . . I just . . . I don’t know. I never saw this coming, that’s for sure. He’s, uh . . . here at the hospital getting evaluated, then he’ll be transferred to the jail. I’m just so confused about all of this that I don’t even know what to think.”

“Do you know the story of our grandparents and their history with the mental hospital?”

Oscar frowned. “Not really. Dad used to mumble about what a raw deal his father got when he was let go as the director, but he never gave me details. I do know that your grandfather took over and was there until the place was closed. Grandpa Stephen married my grandmother, Hettie Smith, when they were older. I think she was like in her early forties when my dad was born, and she died shortly after, making him an only child. As am I.”

Kenzie nodded. “I’ve been reading Cole’s grandmother Eliza’s journal. Your grandfather, Stephen Woodruff, lost his position to my grandfather, Dr. George King. And then lost the woman he fell in love with—my grandmother Betsy—to my grandfather. Apparently, he never got over that. Then when my father beat your father out of the chief of police position, things really heated up, and your father, influenced by the bitterness of his father, found a way to get the position.”

She took a deep breath and wondered if she should stop, but Oscar, although white-faced and tight-jawed, waved for her to continue. “I might as well hear it all.”

“So,” she said, “when he learned that the SWAT position was between the two of us and I got it, well, it sent him over the edge.”

Oscar dropped his head into his hands. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled around his palms. “He’s the reason your mother is dead. He hired that guy, Talbot, to mess with the brakes on your dad’s car and then wait at the stop sign as backup.” Oscar swallowed. “When Talbot was out on bail, he went to collect what Dad owed him for doing all of that, and Dad killed him.”

Kenzie exchanged a startled glance with Cole. “He just told you that?”

“Yeah. They let me ride with him to the hospital since he was so agitated, and my presence seemed to calm him. And make him way too chatty. He confessed everything in spite of me trying to shut him up and get him to wait for his lawyer. He’s even the one who stole the evidence and set your dad up to take the fall so he could get the job.”

Kenzie nodded. “Yeah, I knew about all that. He mentioned it after he grabbed me.”

Sorrow and regret creased his features and he shook his head. “I’ll turn my resignation in first thing in the morning.”