Edge of Truth

by Kimberly Rose Johnson

  Jeff reached up and brushed something from her hair. “Yeah well, you’re covered in a bit of dust and stuff. I’m so sorry, Kara.”

  “Forget it. You saved our hides—again. I should be thanking you.”

  Jeff chuckled.

  “What?”

  “When I’m with you I tend to get into the strangest situations.”

  “Hmm. Now that I think about it the same could be said of you.” They continued the rest of the way back to the ranch at a slow pace. Kara grasped Jeff’s hand as they came into a clearing. Jake was already busy at work training a horse, and the other man was nowhere in sight. “How long do you think it will take for him to realize we’re onto him? It’s not like he had a viable reason for being out in the woods.”

  “You mean like we did?” His eyebrows raised, and his mouth quirked up.

  She playfully punched him in the arm. “Don’t you dare repeat that part to anyone.”

  He laughed out loud. “I won’t.” Jake had a keen eye, and Jeff knew good and well he watched their every move. He pulled Kara into a hug and rested his chin on her head. “Give Tad a call and have him meet us at your place. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Kara made a quick call to Tad. It was time to tell Jeff the real reason she didn’t want to get involved with him. Her stomach churned much like it had every year on the first day of school. Only this time, she didn’t have friends and a smiling teacher waiting to greet her.

  Kara opened the door to her apartment, allowing Jeff to enter.

  “Where’s Tad? I thought he’d beat me here.” Jeff sat on a cushy chair and propped his ankle on his knee.

  Kara squeezed her hands together and sat across from him. “He’s coming in a little while. I need to tell you something.”

  Jeff seemed to understand the serious implication, and his face grew pensive. “Okay.”

  “When I was a rookie cop, I fell hard for my partner. I was young and inexperienced. He was older and very smart. At least that’s what I thought.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

  “Because it’s important. Please just listen. This is hard enough without you interrupting. One night, we answered a domestic violence call. Tony took the lead and walked up to the front door. There was shouting, and we could hear glass breaking. It sounded pretty bad. He told me to call for backup. I had only walked a few feet away when I heard a shot. I whirled around, and Tony lay on the ground bleeding from his gut.” She blinked rapidly as if to block the image from her mind. She’d played that moment over in her head so many times. “Tony hated wearing his vest, and the night he needed it most, it hung in his closet at home.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Jeff said.

  “Tony died a few hours later. The guy in the house was high on meth. He didn’t even remember firing the gun that killed the man I loved.”

  Jeff stood and knelt in front of her. “Kara, I’m not Tony, and you’re not a young rookie. We both know the stakes of what we do, and we prepare for the unexpected. On a personal level, I don’t know where we’re heading. But I do know that I care a lot about you, and I’d like to pursue a relationship with you. If you need to wait until this case is over and we aren’t partners anymore, then I’m willing to wait. I don’t want to lose what we have.”

  Kara’s insides turned to mush. When had she fallen for him? She knew they’d grown close, but now she ached for him to hold her.

  Jeff took her hands in his. “What do you say?”

  She nodded, fighting back threatening tears. No way would she cry. A firm knock at the door startled them both. Jeff pulled away and answered, allowing Tad in.

  Tad looked from one to the other. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “No,” they both said at once.

  Tad narrowed his eyes, but let it drop.

  The three sat around the kitchen table, and Tad listened while Kara and Jeff filled him in on what they knew. Tad’s eyes gleamed. “This is exactly the break we’ve been waiting for.” He turned to Jeff. “Do you think you can flip Eric? We could use an inside man.”

  “It’s possible.”

  Kara wanted to hug Tad for the compassion he’d shown Jeff. If they were able to get Eric’s cooperation, there was a chance he’d never serve a day in prison.

  “Okay. Let me know how it goes, and we’ll meet at the field office tonight.” Tad stood and let himself out.

  Kara grasped Jeff’s arm as he was about to leave. “Do you want backup?”

  “With Eric?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s my brother. I don’t think he’ll hurt me.”

  “He better not, or I’ll have to add him to my list,” Kara said.

  “What list?”

  “Just a bad joke. Go.”

  Chapter 31

  Kara raced blindly through the woods on the back of Blaze. Her captors followed close behind shouting her name. Searing heat radiated from the tree trunks. Branches dropped around her, splintering as they struck the rock-hard earth. She urged Blaze forward, desperate to escape. The horse shied at a fallen burning branch and stumbled, throwing Kara from his back. She struck her head on a rock and lay motionless.

  Kara’s eyes shot open as she awoke with a jerk from her nightmare. Acrid smoke filled her lungs. Through watery eyes, she saw her apartment glowing a hazy orange. She sat up and bumped a heavy object with her shoulder and forehead. Bright orange flames covered one wall like a waterfall.

  She kicked the covers off and slid from the bed and crawled on all fours toward the sound of pounding. Coughing racked her body as she struggled to catch her breath. She crept closer to the door. Several cinders landed on her bare arms, and she slapped them away. Tears streamed down her face. She had to escape. Her fingers bumped into the contoured wall. She slid her hand up, hoping she’d found the door. Where is it? She crawled a little further, her hand feeling for the knob. Lord, help me! She yanked her hand back as it brushed up against the hot doorknob—finally. Grasping the edge of her nightshirt to protect her hand, she rose and unlocked the door then yanked it open. She ran from the building, coughing and gasping, and fell into Tad’s arms.

  “Kara, thank God, I was about ready to break down the door.”

  “Glad I saved you the trouble.” Coughing continued to rack her body.

  Tad grasped her arm and guided her away from the building. “The fire department will be here any minute.”

  “Why don’t I hear any sirens?”

  Tad pointed across the street and down about a block to a fire truck turning the corner. “The station’s only a block away. There’s no need to wake the entire town.”

  Kara nodded as she went into a fit of coughing. The fire truck pulled up in front of the building, and the firefighters got to work.

  Tad guided her to a bench across the street away from all the action. “Any idea how this happened?”

  “No.”

  An ambulance pulled up along the curb. Tad waved the medics over. “This is Kara. She was in the building and got out under her own power.” He turned back to Kara. “Peggy will take care of you. I have to go.” He made his way to the small crowd that had gathered during the past several minutes.

  The woman smiled and studied Kara’s eyes. “Nice to meet you, Kara, although I wish it were under better circumstances.”

  “Same here.” She nodded to Peggy’s partner, a twenty-something guy who was all business and pushing a gurney toward her along the sidewalk. “I suppose you want me to get on that thing.”

  Peggy chuckled. “That would be helpful.”

  Kara moved to the gurney situated outside the ambulance and slowly eased down onto it.

  “That’s right. Now just lay back and relax.”

  How was she supposed to relax when whoever was trying to kill her had nearly succeeded? And on top of that, everything she had left in the world, which wasn’t much, was probably burned to a crisp?

  Peggy slipped gloves onto her hand and app
lied pressure to Kara’s forehead.

  “Ouch.”

  “Sorry. You have a gash, and I need to stop the bleeding.” What seemed like forever, but was probably only a couple of minutes later, Peggy finally released the pressure on her head. “Open your mouth, please.” After inspecting Kara’s throat, Peggy shone a light up her nose. “You are one lucky lady. There are no signs of burning. You must have escaped the fire right after it started.” She strapped an oxygen mask around her face. “How’s that feel?”

  Kara gave the thumbs up sign. There were too many flames for that. Maybe, like Jeff had suggested, God really was watching out for her.

  “Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?”

  Kara slowly moved her head from side to side. If Peggy told the hospital of her recent trip to the ER in Miami, and they requested Kara’s records, her past could blow up in her face. It would look awfully suspicious to have a dead person in their ER.

  “Then you’re in for a treat. My partner is a great driver. He misses all the potholes. You’ll think you’re riding on air.”

  Kara pulled the mask away from her face. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine.”

  “That’s your call, but I really think you should get checked out. The cut on your head looks like it might need stitches. They’re going to want to take a few X-rays as well.”

  “Fine. I’ll go.”

  She took Kara’s wrist in her hand as she looked at her watch. “Once we get you into the ambulance, we’ll hook you up to a couple machines so we can better monitor you.”

  Gail’s and Kurt’s familiar voices hovered nearby.

  “Kara, are you okay? Tad called us.” Gail stepped close to her and took her hand.

  Her friend’s panicked voice shot like a bullet to Kara’s heart. She turned her head toward Gail’s voice. Kurt stood beside his wife holding her other hand.

  The medic spoke in a reassuring tone, “I think it’s safe to say Kara’s going to be okay. She kept her wits about her and got out fast. We’re taking her to St. Charles in Bend. You can meet us there if you’d like.”

  Kara closed her eyes as a young woman wheeled her into X-ray. These people sure did make a big deal about a little smoke inhalation and a cut on her forehead. You’d think she was a trauma case or something. “What are they going to X-ray?”

  The attendant looked down at the papers in her hand. “Looks like they’ll be taking pictures of your head, neck, and chest.”

  “Thanks.” Kara took a deep breath and willed herself to relax. She hated hospitals and detested the fact that she needed to be in one. The female technician entered the room and got right down to business. About thirty minutes later, Kara settled back in her room and waited for the doctor.

  The door opened as Gail and Kurt entered. “How’re you doing?” Gail sat in the seat next to the bed. “I’m so thankful you’re okay. You could’ve been killed. God was sure watching out for you.”

  It’d been a while since Kara had felt like God cared about what happened to her, but today she must have had her very own angel. The wall clock read five o’clock. That meant the fire started sometime between midnight and three or so this morning. She’d gotten home late after her meeting at the field office in Bend. She should call Jeff before he found out about the fire from someone else.

  “I appreciate you both waiting around to see me, but I think I should make a couple calls.”

  “Are you going to phone your parents?”

  “Why ruin their European tour? I sure wish I had my phone.” She looked around the room for a landline and found none. They must not expect patients to make calls from the ER.

  Gail reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. “Use mine. Any idea how long they’re going to keep you?”

  “No. I’m waiting to see the doctor.”

  Gail looked to Kurt. “Do you want to go home or wait? It could be hours before they release her.”

  Kara tugged at the neck of her hospital gown. “I hate to ask, but I’m going to need clothes to wear out of this place when they do let me go. The nightshirt I was wearing when they brought me in isn’t going to cut it. If you go home, would you bring me back something?”

  “That settles it.” Gail said. “We’ll be back in an hour or so. You’re planning on staying with us when you’re released, aren’t you?”

  “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me at least until I find somewhere else to live.”

  Gail stood. “Good. We’ll hurry and be back before you know it.” They moved toward the door.

  For the first time, Kara noticed Gail wore a coat over her PJs, and Kurt had on sweats and a loud T-shirt. Good thing they were going home. “Wait!”

  Gail turned around.

  “Thanks for coming here to be with me.”

  She came back and gave Kara a gentle hug. “We love you. We’ll be back before you have time to miss us.”

  “One more thing. I was wondering how you know for certain that God was watching out for me?”

  A gentle look crossed Gail’s face. She reached into her purse then pulled out a New Testament. “Faith. I’ve sensed that you’ve been struggling with that lately. If you feel up to it, read Hebrews chapter eleven. The Bible explains it so much better than I ever could.”

  “How’d you know I was struggling?”

  “I’ve known you too long not to know.” She folded Kara’s hands around the tiny New Testament and walked out of the room with Kurt.

  Kara watched her friends leave, took a deep breath, and tapped in Jeff’s number on Gail’s phone. She’d think about what Gail said after she called him. He answered after the third ring. “It’s Kara.”

  “What’s wrong?” His voice sounded groggy.

  “There was a fire in my apartment, and I’m at St. Charles Hospital in Bend.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  The line went dead. Kara stared at the phone for a second before disconnecting.

  Jeff’s feet hit the floor with a thud. He yanked on his clothes, pocketed his phone, and ran out of the house nearly taking down Jake as he crossed his path at the bottom of the porch stairs.

  “What’s your hurry?” Jake asked.

  His heart nearly stopped when Kara said she’d been in a fire. “Kara’s in the hospital. There was a fire at her apartment this morning.”

  Jake frowned. “Is she okay?”

  “Don’t know. I hung up too fast. I need to get to the hospital.” He turned and jogged to his rig and yelled over his shoulder. “When Eric gets up, will you let him know what happened?”

  “Sure.”

  The SUV’s tires kicked up gravel as Jeff roared down the driveway. He entered the hospital parking lot twenty minutes later, thankful for the early hour. The lot had plenty of parking spaces and traffic had been light.

  After speaking with the woman at the front desk, Jeff hustled through the hall until he found Kara’s room. He knocked then opened the door. Kara lay in the hospital bed, motionless with her eyes closed. He walked to her bedside. Her skin shone pink, apparently from the fire, and she had stitches in her forehead. But other than that, she looked fine. He took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh, thankful to see she really was okay. Her eyes opened slightly.

  He smiled and reached for her hand. “Hey there. How’re you feeling?”

  “Alive.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve always had a way with words. Do you hurt anywhere? Are you burned?”

  “I’m fine. A little smoke inhalation, some minor burns, and this crack on my head. No biggie.”

  Relief coursed through him, and he sank into the chair near her bed. “I’m glad. Is your place a complete loss?”

  Kara shrugged. “Don’t know for sure, but based on what I saw before they brought me here, I’d say yes. I woke up and got out of there as fast as I could. The fire department was on site a few minutes later.” She tried to sit up a bit more in the bed.

  Jeff jumped up and adjusted her pillows. He gently fingered he
r hair away from her face and studied her stitches. The cut would probably only make a small scar. He wanted to do something else for her, anything, but he felt helpless. She had the staff to take care of her. He sat on her bedside and sighed. “I shouldn’t have hung up so fast when you called. I imagined you were lying half dead here in the hospital, especially after our conversation about your first partner.”

  Kara coughed and then winced. “You should have phoned me back.”

  “I didn’t think of that.” He leaned in a little closer, not minding the smoky smell. Oh, how he wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go. He’d come too close to losing her. When had she become so dear to him?

  “What is it?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m glad you’re okay. You want me to go see what I can find out about the fire and your apartment?”

  “Yes. That would be wonderful. I hate not knowing.”

  And I hate to leave you so soon after getting here. Me and my big mouth. “You going to be okay?”

  “Aren’t I always?”

  His mouth spread into a wide grin.

  Kara giggled and then coughed. “Go—and hurry. I want to know what happened.”

  He rose slowly, reluctant to leave her side. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “You’d better call first. I’m using Gail’s phone until I can get a new one. I hope to be released as soon as Gail and Kurt get back.”

  “Okay.”

  The area surrounding Kara’s burned-out apartment and office smelled like a campfire. A single fire engine still sat out in front of the building and several firefighters roamed around. He walked to the side and spotted her car in the alley unscathed.

  One of the firemen explained that the exterior walls of the building were extra thick as a precaution since the businesses were connected to one another. The fire investigator was inside. With little else to do, Jeff walked to the diner for a cup of coffee.

  Thirty minutes later, he returned to Kara’s place. A short man holding a clipboard stood outside her apartment studying the utility box. “Excuse me.”