The Defender. Cara Summers
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her when she saw that it was Roman.
“They’re taking special care of him,” Annie commented. “They’re using what looks like a back brace. And see how they’ve got his neck protected?”
Sadie did see and her stomach sank. “How do you know all this?”
“I watch a lot of TV and there’s all those crime shows. Beats watching that junk they call reality TV.”
As soon as they’d loaded Roman’s stretcher into the ambulance, a uniformed policeman climbed in behind him and another one climbed in the passenger seat.
“They’re sending cops with him,” Annie said. “They didn’t send any with Father Mike.”
No, they hadn’t, Sadie thought. The fact that two policemen were accompanying her brother wasn’t a good sign.
“He must have been involved in the shootings,” Annie echoed Sadie’s thoughts.
As Sadie reached to lift the tape again, she recalled Roman’s words—“…shot…Paulo.” If he had, he hadn’t killed him. The moment she closed her hand around the tape, Officer Carter said, “Ma’am, you have to step back.”
“But that’s my—”
Sadie found herself gripped firmly by the arms. “You have to stay here,” Carter said. “Otherwise, I’m going to have to take you into custody and put you in one of the patrol cars.”
Sadie could see in his eyes that he meant it. And beyond his shoulder, she could see the first ambulance pulling away from the curb.
“Jerry?” the older officer called.
Jerry turned his head. “Uh-oh.”
Sadie followed the direction of his gaze to where a truck with Channel Five painted on the side had pulled up to one of the patrol cars blocking the intersection. Both Carter and his partner moved quickly toward the truck as an attractive woman climbed out.
“Good heavens,” Annie said. “That’s Carla Mitchell from Channel Five News.”
As the elderly woman hurried toward the TV truck, Sadie moved through the crowd in the opposite direction. She’d just go down to the middle of the block, cross the street and circle back. She had to get to that ambulance.
She’d reached the edge of the crowd when Roman’s ambulance pulled away from the curb. Sadie broke into a run. If she could just beat it to the corner…
As she sprinted toward the intersection, she thanked her lucky stars for her practical shoes. Dowdy they might be, but at least she could run in them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ambulance increase speed. It was gaining on her as she reached the corner. Without stopping, without thinking, she careened into the intersection, waving her arms.
The siren sounded once, but when Sadie didn’t move, it pulled to a stop. The officer in the passenger seat rolled down the window. “Lady, get out of our way.”
Panting, she moved quickly to the side of the ambulance and placed her palms flat against the door. “You’ve got my brother in there. I want to ride along to the hospital.”
“That’s not possible,” the officer said. “He’s a suspect in a possible homicide.”
Homicide? Sadie’s heart lurched. “At least tell me where you’re taking him. He’s my brother.”
The officer hesitated, then said, “You got some ID?”
Realizing that she didn’t have her purse, Sadie shook her head. “No, I—”
“Then I can’t help you.” Even as he rolled up the window, the ambulance shot forward, its siren piercing the night air.
Time for plan B. Sadie spotted her car half a block away and ran toward it. Thank heavens she’d developed a habit of carrying her keys in her pocket because of all the time she’d wasted plowing through her purse for them.
Her purse. She thought briefly about it as she slipped behind the wheel. She’d dropped it when she’d raced up those stairs to look for Juliana. There was no time to go back and get it now, not if she wanted to keep that ambulance in sight. The police probably had it tucked away all nice and safe in an evidence bag.
As she shot away from the curb, she recalled the policeman’s words. “He’s a suspect in a homicide.” She had to find out exactly what had gone on in that church.
IT WAS NEARLY TEN O’CLOCK when Theo slipped out of the cabin and nearly stumbled over Bob.
The dog rose and wagged its tail.
“Ari’s still not here.”
Bob merely looked hopeful.
“Okay.” Theo opened the door. “You can go in, but no more treats until I get back from my swim.”
Sleep had been eluding him. At the end of the dock, Theo paused. The moon was bright and full, the water black and fairly calm. His grandfather’s cabin had been built in the center of a little inlet. A half mile to his right, he could see the clear outline of a row of rocks that jutted out into the ocean. When they were younger, he and his brothers had frequently raced to it and back. If he managed a couple of laps, he ought to be able to catch a good five hours of sleep before sunup. There was nothing he knew of that could drain away his tension more easily than a swim.
Theo stretched his arms skyward, tucking his head between them. Then, bending his knees, he bowed his body slightly forward and shot cleanly into the water. The shock of cold sang through his body. He swam underwater for as long as he could hold his breath, then surfaced and struck out for the rocks. Within minutes, he sank into the rhythm of it, keeping his kick steady and strong, pulling with his arm, turning, breathing and pulling again.
He wondered if Sadie Oliver was a swimmer. She had the sleek, lean body for it. He could almost picture her swimming beside him, matching the rhythm of her strokes to his, kicking those long legs as they sliced through the water together. He imagined their legs scissoring, their bodies stretching, flexing almost as if they were making love.
The water no longer felt cold, Theo noticed. He wasn’t sure whether it was the exercise that had raised his temperature or the thoughts of swimming with Sadie Oliver.
He picked up his pace. It wasn’t just his career path that he was going to have to make a decision about. He was going to have to make a decision about Sadie Oliver, too. And he was beginning to think that the two choices were related.
4
IT WAS CLOSE TO ELEVEN when Sadie parked her car next to a silver SUV that was a couple of shades darker than her Miata. The small parking area was exactly where Kit Angelis’s Aunt Cass had said it would be, a little ways in from the road. But she’d expected three cars.
When she’d tried to reach Kit from the pay phone at the hospital, she’d gotten his office answering machine again. Then when she’d called his house, his aunt had picked up and told her that Kit was joining his brothers for a weekend of fishing at their grandfather’s cabin.
That meant that Theo would be here, too.
The fact that she’d thought of that more than once on the drive annoyed her. She was twenty-six years old—way beyond the age of silly crushes. And she had far more pressing concerns. Her brother was injured and a suspect in a homicide and she didn’t know where her sister was. When she reached to open the glove compartment, Sadie saw that her hands were shaking. Reaction was setting in. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, fall apart yet. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and willed the shaking to stop. This time her hand was steady as she pulled the flashlight out and climbed from the car.
According to the directions she’d received from Cass Angelis, the last half mile to the Angelis family’s fishing cabin had to be traveled by foot. She located a path on the far side of the SUV. It was narrow, but appeared to be well used when she shone the light over it. The full moon was bright overhead and there were all those