by Laura Scott
She waited until the man and the truck had disappeared behind her before she pulled out her phone with trembling fingers. Caitlyn quickly dialed 911 but then disconnected before the operator had a chance to answer.
What was her emergency? The woman was dead. The man had killed her. Mesmerized by the man’s familiar features, she hadn’t even looked at the license plate of the truck.
She inwardly railed at herself for being so stupid. She’d done nothing to help that poor woman, couldn’t even find a way to track the man who’d hurt her.
Then again, she hadn’t expected the guy to kill the woman. Sure, he’d slapped her, but to kill her? Who did that?
She shivered again despite the heat blowing from the vents. A murder. She’d witnessed a terrible, brutal murder.
The whole thing seemed surreal. Like maybe she’d imagined the entire event. Only she knew she hadn’t.
The cat purred again, and she glanced down at the feline’s blue eyes. If not for going after this injured kitten, she wouldn’t have been there. She struggled to calm her racing heart and thumbed through her directory to find the only cop she knew by name. The man who’d kept her and her sister safe from harm two months ago.
Devon Rainer.
The ringing phone jarred him from sleep. Twelve forty-five in the morning? Who was calling him at this hour? Grabbing his phone, he blinked the sleep from his eyes to peer at the screen. He’d thought maybe his partner, Bruce Whitmore, was calling, the guy was always arguing with his wife about something, but it was a different name on the screen. He bolted upright in bed. “Hello? Caitlyn? Is something wrong?”
“I-I’m so sorry it’s so late, b-but I didn’t know who else to call.” Her voice was hoarse, as if she’d been crying.
“Are you hurt?” A myriad of possibilities of what may have happened flashed through his mind. “Tell me where you are, I’ll come meet you.”
“I’m not hurt.” She sniffled loudly. “But I saw something terrible. I’m heading toward my apartment, will you please meet me there?”
“Yes, how far away are you?” He pinched the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he pulled on his jeans. Then he reached for his navy blue Sevierville PD sweatshirt. “I can be there in five minutes.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there about that time too.”
He was relieved she wasn’t injured, but he was hesitant to disconnect from the call. “Do you want me to stay on the line with you?” Technically, she shouldn’t be talking on the phone while driving, but this sounded like an exception to the rule. What terrible thing had she seen?
Meow.
He frowned, still holding on to his sweatshirt. “Is that a cat?”
“Yes, she’s wounded. And no, you don’t have to stay on the line. I’m only two miles from my apartment building, so could you please hurry?”
“Sure, be there in five.” He disconnected from the call, shoved the phone into his pocket, then pulled on his sweatshirt. As Caitlyn was a veterinary technician, he hoped the terrible thing she’d seen wasn’t just that someone had hurt the cat.
Like most people, he abhorred animal abuse. There was no reason to hurt a pet. Yet being woken after midnight for such an event seemed a bit extreme. But maybe not to Caitlyn. He knew how much she cared about animals.
Devon pulled on his coat, grabbed his keys, and climbed into his SUV, which was parked in the attached garage. Thanks to the late hour, he made it to Caitlyn’s apartment in less than the promised five minutes.
She was waiting for him in her dark gray two-door Honda. When she saw him, she pushed open her door and stood, holding a balled-up red scarf to her chest.
No blood on her face and no evidence of a car crash, so that was good. He crossed over to her. Up close, he could see the small white face of a cat with piercing blue eyes, eerily similar to Caitlyn’s, peering out from beneath the red scarf. “What happened? Did someone hurt the cat?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, maybe. I haven’t had time to examine her injury.” Caitlyn shivered. “Can we go inside to talk? My roommate, Annette, is out of town for two weeks visiting her parents in Florida for the holiday.” She glanced around the desolate parking lot. “I’d rather not stay out here.”
“Of course.” Devon knew Caitlyn well enough to understand she wasn’t inviting him in for anything personal. Two months ago, Lincoln Quade had asked him to help protect Caitlyn and her sister, Jayme. At the time, Caitlyn had seemed interested in him. He’d kept his distance, first because he needed to be professional, but more so because despite being drop-dead gorgeous, with her long blond hair and big green eyes, she was too young.
Barely twenty-three to his twenty-eight.
Devon had been involved with Sabrina for three years before she’d left him for another man. One who wasn’t a cop because she’d suddenly decided police officers were terrible people riding some big power trip when it came to dealing with the public. Thanks, media, he thought sourly.
Since then, he’d kept his relationships light and fun. Easy peasy. No promises of forever.
He’d sensed Caitlyn was a bit naïve when it came to relationships with men. During the short time they’d spent together, he’d learned a little about her past. How she’d spent a couple of years in an abusive foster home before escaping with her older foster sister Jayme thirteen years ago. He’d understood Jayme had protected Caitlyn the best she could from the harsh realities of living on the streets. Admiring what Jayme and Caitlyn had done was easy.
They were both smart and beautiful. But they also were big believers in God, which wasn’t really his thing.
“Will you unlock the door for me?” Caitlyn’s voice cut into his thoughts.
He took the keys from her shaky hand and did as she’d asked. He held the door for her, then followed her up to her apartment where he unlocked that door too. There were Christmas decorations scattered around the room, including a large fake tree in one corner of the room. It appeared as if Caitlyn was already well into the holiday spirit.
“Thank you.” Caitlyn sank down on the sofa, letting out a long sigh. She shifted the scarf-wrapped cat onto the cushion next to her, then ran her finger through her hair. Her face was pale, her gaze cloudy with fear. “Snowball has a laceration that needs attention, but this is more important.”
Snowball? He was tempted to smile, but the devastated expression on her face held back the mirth. At least the horrible thing she’d seen didn’t involve the cat. He chose to sit on the chair closest to her, reaching out to take her cold hand in his. “What happened, Caitlyn? Why do you look as if you’ve seen a ghost?”
She stared at their entwined fingers for a moment before meeting his gaze. “It was worse than that. So much worse.”
The tiny hairs on the back of his neck rose in alarm. “Tell me.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I—uh, was driving along highway double G, when Snowball streaked across the road in front of me. I caught a glimpse of blood staining her white coat, so I pulled off the road and went looking for her.”
He nodded encouragingly. “Apparently, you found her.”
“I did. But then I heard arguing between a man and a woman.” Her fingers tightened around his. “She was pleading with him, then I heard a slap.”
He winced. “Where were they?”
“In the woods.” She shook her head. “I know this sounds crazy, but it gets worse.”
Worse? In the six years he’d been on the job, he’d seen a lot of bad stuff. People could be so cruel to each other. He forced himself not to overreact. “Go on.”
“I—uh, couldn’t see them. So I moved farther into the woods. I thought maybe I could interrupt their argument, give the woman time to get away.”
Dread coiled in his gut. “Did you find them?”
“Yes.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But it took me a while to get close enough to see them, and when I looked through the trees, he was—strangling her.”
“Strangling her?” He couldn’t help bu
t echo what she’d said. “Was she able to get away?”
“No. He must have been choking her for a while because her entire body was limp, but he didn’t stop. Not for what seemed like forever. When he finally let her go, she fell to the ground in a heap. Even from a distance, I could see that her eyes were open and staring blankly up at the sky.” She paused, gulped, then whispered, “He killed her.”
“Did you call 911?”
Caitlyn shook her head. “I was going to once I got back into my car. I started driving. When I came around a curve, I saw the man walking toward his pickup truck. And I recognized him.”
“You what?” He jumped to his feet. “Who is he? We need to issue a BOLO for him as soon as possible!”
“No, I don’t know his name. I recognized him from Flannery’s. He was there tonight, the same way I was.” She lifted her tortured gaze to his. “And I think he might have recognized me too.”
The chill hardened to ice. “He saw you?”
She gave a jerky nod. “I think so.”
He raked his hand through his dark hair and began to pace. “There must be a way to find out who he is. Did you get his license plate number?”
“No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I know I messed up. But it all happened so fast . . .”
“Shh, it’s okay.” He reached down to pull her up into his arms. “You didn’t mess up. I’m just glad you were able to get away without being hurt.” He didn’t even want to think about how close Caitlyn had come to being strangled the way the other woman had been.
She buried her face against his chest. After a few minutes, though, she pulled herself together. “I need to look at Snowball’s injury and give her food and water.”
He glanced down to where the cat was staring up at them. “Okay, but we need to go back to that spot in the woods. Do you think you can find it?”
She stiffened. “Go back? Tonight?”
“Yes.” He hated the stark fear in her gaze. “I need to get the local cops out there too. And a detective. But I think we should find this poor woman first. Keep her safe from predators.”
Caitlyn paled but reluctantly nodded. “I just need a few minutes.”
He wanted to tell her to leave the cat until they returned, but knowing Caitlyn, she’d refuse. And since he didn’t know how long they’d be gone, he let it go.
The dead woman couldn’t get any more dead.
True to her word, Caitlyn didn’t take long. She carried the cat into the kitchen, talking softly to the animal as she cleaned out her wound. Then she opened a can of tuna and emptied it into a shallow dish. Filling another shallow dish with water, she stood back, watching with satisfaction as the cat began to eat and drink.
“I still need a litter box,” she said. After a quick glance around the room, she went over and gathered several potted plants, including a few orchids. She yanked the plants out and tossed them into the garbage. She emptied the containers into a shallow rectangle-shaped pan. She dumped the dirt in first, then layered the bark chips along the top. “It’s not kitty litter, but it will have to do.”
He lifted a brow. “Won’t Annette be upset about the dead plants?”
Caitlyn shrugged. “I’ll buy new ones. Besides, if Annette was here, she’d care more about Snowball than a couple of stupid plants.”
He suspected she was right. Her roommate was also a veterinary tech at the local veterinary clinic. She was a sweet, attractive kid too. But for some reason, he’d been drawn to Caitlyn.
Too young, he reminded himself firmly. And far too innocent.
Caitlyn turned and crossed over to the apartment door. “Let’s go.”
He followed her out, waiting as she locked the door before they went outside. Cupping her elbow in his hand, he steered her toward his SUV. Glancing at her small Honda, he thought it was a minor miracle that she was able to stay on the twisty mountain highways in that tin can of a car.
“Head toward Knoxville on highway double G,” she said once they were settled inside. “This happened about five miles outside of Sevierville.”
Five miles might be outside their jurisdiction, but he didn’t know that for sure. He hoped the area didn’t belong to the park rangers. He cranked the heat and pulled out of the parking lot of her apartment building. A few turns later, they were headed out on highway double G.
He went slow, more so to give Caitlyn the opportunity to recognize the location where this had all taken place. With trees and brush lining both sides of the road, he was concerned that one section of the woods would look just like another.
Would she be able to pinpoint the spot? He hoped so, otherwise he’d be forced to bring half the police department out to search for the poor woman, or what might be left of her, in the morning.
“Slow down,” Caitlyn cautioned as she peered past him. He thought they may have to go a few miles out of their way and turn around so that she would be able to see more clearly. “Stop!”
He hit the brakes, harder than he intended, bringing the SUV to a rocking halt. “Where?”
“There, see that small patch of snow in front of that birch tree?” Caitlyn gestured impatiently. “That’s where I went into the woods to find Snowball.”
He tried not to let his doubt show on his features. There were many birch trees and several patches of snow. But he had little choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt. “Okay, let’s check it out.”
She readily jumped out of the car, heading toward the spot she’d indicated. He let her take the lead, hoping they wouldn’t get lost.
The path she took was a zigzag pattern. Several times he wanted to ask if she knew where she was going but managed to bite his tongue. She stopped and pointed to a spot near an evergreen tree.
“That’s where I found Snowball.” She glanced at him. “And where I first heard them arguing.”
He swept his gaze over the area. “She’s somewhere close by?”
“Not that close. This way.” Caitlyn turned and continued walking.
He noticed a few footprints in the snow, indicating she had indeed found the correct location. He wanted to ask how she knew, but she quickened her pace.
“Caitlyn?” He hurried to catch up. She stood in a small clearing, looking frantically around. “Here. She should be right here. Where is she?”
He reached out to grasp her arm. “Calm down, maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe she fell unconscious and managed to get out of the woods on her own.”
“No, I saw her eyes. He cut off her air for a long time. I’m telling you, she was dead.” Caitlyn waved her arm impatiently. “This is the place it happened, Devon. I know it is.”
“I believe you.” He blew out a breath. Caitlyn had found this location without any hesitation.
She also claimed she’d witnessed a murder. Yet without a suspect, or a body, there was no proof that a crime had been committed here at all.
Devon scowled. He’d still notify his boss and get a detective assigned to the case, but he had a bad feeling about this.
He was very much afraid this guy might come after Caitlyn next.
