Page 121 of Double Take
Time did that thing again where it slowed. She registered the crazed hate in Michael’s eyes, the horde of officers outside, and blue lights bouncing off the walls and inventory.
One pop sounded. A bloom of red erupted from Michael’s temple,then his eyes went wide, the gun dropped from his hand, and he went to the floor.
Then time sped up once more. Officers rushed in and Lainie rolled to her feet. Hands reached for her and Señor G.
“Lainie!”
James’ voice came from behind her and she whirled. “James?”
“Lainie!”
She scanned the sea of law enforcement faces and found the one she wanted. For now and for all time. “James.” She rushed to him and he enveloped her in a crushing hug. “James, it’s over. It’s over, right?”
“It’s over. Mostly. We have a few unanswered questions, but yeah, it’s over.”
“How did you know?”
“Cole figured it out for the most part. Thanks to you. Adam wasn’t the one in the picture, it was Michael.”
“I should have known. I should have guessed.”
“How could you?”
“I guess I couldn’t have, but he got all the hospital records erased and made everyone believe that Adam was still alive, and he probably killed Bart Sheffield who did Adam’s autopsy and—”
James settled a finger on her lips. “Sheffield’s death was ruled an accident. He had a heart attack behind the wheel of his car and crashed. That’s it. But Michael had a friend at the hospital who helped him. We think it was Bridgette McPherson.”
She nodded. “I guessed it was her. He said he had friends in high places.”
“Bridgette’s sister dated Adam for a while. I can explain the details later, but yeah.”
“I got some of the details. Maybe you can fill in any blanks,” she muttered. She rubbed the wrist she’d bruised getting out of the zip tie. She hurt, but she’d done it. “I didn’t give up, James,” she said, her voice low. “I didn’t give up.”
“I never thought you would.” He squeezed her tight. “You ready to get out of here?”
“You mean after I give my statement and check on Señor G and Mama Maria?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“More than ready.”
WEDNESDAY NIGHT, A FIRECRACKLEDin Jesslyn’s fireplace, and James sat on the end of the couch with Lainie’s bare feet in his lap. She lay sleeping, her breathing deep and even. He waited for it to change, for the nightmares to surface, but for the past hour, she’d been peaceful.
His phone buzzed with a text from his captain.
Found the body and it’s been identified as Adam Williams. Tell your girl she can rest easy.
He glanced at Lainie and smiled. She was definitely resting easy. He had something he wanted to talk to her about but didn’t want to disturb her. Not yet. There’d be plenty of time for that after she recovered from her ordeal with a killer. Frankly, he could use a little recovering himself.
The front door opened and Cole stepped inside, followed by Kenzie, Stephanie, Allison, and Kristine. Each person held a food item of some sort. They all headed for the kitchen, except his sister, who passed her bag to Kristine.
“Well, this is rather cozy,” Steph said, stepping into the room, a small smile playing on her lips.
“Shut up.” His mild tone made her laugh, but she didn’t say anything else, just dropped into the chair next to the fireplace.
Lainie sat up with a gasp and James frowned. “What is it?”
“Did they find the woman driving the van?”