“This was too easy,” he said again, already starting to turn around. “I think he’s at the party.” Richard didn’t question him as the detective backtracked, running harder than before. He followed with surprising speed.
The crowd hadn’t moved, thanks to Jordan spouting some nonsense on the microphone, but when they saw Braydon run out with his gun raised and their host right behind everything got loud. He didn’t care—his focus had narrowed as it swept across the clumps of people.
Sophia and Cara were nowhere to be seen.
“Jordan!” Richard yelled after they fought their way to the stage. “Have you seen Sophia and Officer Whitfield?”
Jordan’s mouth was slightly agape as he looked between his rumpled boss and the gun-wielding detective. He pointed to the back door without a word.
“Stay behind me,” Braydon growled out of professional reflex. He didn’t care about anyone other than Sophia right now. He threw open the door and for the second time in a handful of minutes, felt the sharp stab of dread. Cara and Lynda were laid out on the floor, unconscious, and Sophia was nowhere in sight.
“Call this in,” Braydon snapped, not bothering to look back at Richard as he stepped over the two women. His gun remained raised and he quickly searched the bottom floor. He entered each room with his heart in his throat and white-hot anger in his eyes.
“Braydon,” Richard called out after his first-floor search ended. He ran back to meet the man at the stairs. “Something fell upstairs.” From somewhere Richard had produced his own handgun and started to lead the way. When they reached the top they paused, listening. A second later there was a loud thud at the end of the hall. Braydon rushed forward, waiting only until Richard got on the other side of the door, and flung it open.
On the floor next to the bed was Lisa Hardwick. As Richard cried out and ran over to her, Braydon knew he should be happy that they had finally found her, but he couldn’t, knowing what the cost had been. Richard removed the cloth from her mouth. That’s when Braydon noticed a dark red stain against the hardwood.
“He’ll take her to the dock!” she rasped out as soon as her mouth was free.
“She’s alive?” he had to ask once he realized what he was looking at was blood.
“Yes, he drugged her and took off after she shot him.”
“She shot him?” Richard asked, working on the ties around Lisa’s legs.
Braydon heard her say yes but was already out of the room and running down the stairs. This is it, he thought, this is where it ends.
* * *
SOPHIA COULD HEAR the soft lull of water nearby. It pushed against the hard surface beneath her, causing a swaying rhythm. Unlike the last time she had been injected with Nathanial’s homemade drug, she wasn’t lost in a haze when she came to. It was easier this time around, she thought.
“I’m glad you could join me,” said a voice to her side. Everything that had happened came back in a rush. She sat up straight and flinched away from him. Before she could move an inch, Nathanial pulled her toward him and looped his arm around her shoulder. His grip was firm. His eyes were crazed.
“What’s happening?” she asked, disoriented by the change in her surroundings.
“What’s happening?” he repeated. An eruption of laughter escaped his throat as he turned to look her in the eyes. In the moonlight his face looked more twisted than it had in the basement of the hospital. Darker shadows played across his features while his skin had a pale sheen of sweat covering it, plastering his hair and clothes to his body. His jacket was missing and there was a dark red stain growing on his side. It seeped through the light red of his shirt.
“I shot you,” she said with a start, remembering pulling the trigger. She hadn’t realized it actually hit him.
“You sure did.” He brought his other hand up and wagged his finger at her. She didn’t mind the gesture but she did mind the gun in his grip. “It wasn’t very nice, you know? I had to speed up my entire plan.”
“Speed up?”
He skimmed over that question and motioned around them.
“This is where it all started, Sophia Hardwick.”
They were sitting on the edge of the dock, water slapping against the wood. In front of them was an expansive body of water closed in by a line of trees in the distance. Sophia craned her head around to see a house a hundred or so yards behind them. She turned back to face the water.
Nathanial’s words sunk in.
“This is where Amelia was killed.”
“Bingo!” Nathanial said. “Though technically they found her body over there off to the side.” He pointed back to the beginning of the dock. She spotted a car parked in front of the house. She bet that it was his.
“You want to kill me where she was killed.”
He nodded. “Was there really any other place to do it?”
Sophia’s stomach turned to ice. “Will my death really help you move on?”
Nathanial laughed again before stopping to wince. “I don’t expect it will. Then again, I don’t expect to live much longer, either. Your lack of aim managed to do more damage than I would have liked.” He looked down at the bullet wound. “It’s almost poetic that Braydon won’t have the satisfaction of killing me, just like he didn’t have the satisfaction of killing my brother.” He moved his wrist to check his watch. “He should be here soon.”
“How do you know?”
He shrugged, all nonchalant. “I imagine your sister has told him by now. That is, if they even found her.” He cursed beneath his breath, wincing again. “I may have been too clever about all of this.”
“Why do any of it?” she asked. “Why go through all of this?”
“Because Braydon has to pay for Terrance’s death,” he growled, his composure slipping. “He has to pay for what he did to my family. After my folks left town, they were never the same. Dad took to drinking and dropped dead and Mom...she held on as long as she could. I tried to help her, but—” He paused before lowering his voice. “But I wasn’t enough for her.” He hung his head like a disappointed child. Sophia dared not move. The man had clearly lost what little sanity he once had.
“Is that when you decided to come back to Culpepper?” If she was going to die, she at least wanted to know.
“Yes...and no. A part of me always thought about coming back.”
“Is that why you changed your name?”
He tensed. “Mother told me the name change would make her happy.” His head drooped lower. She thought he was going to pass out but he straightened up after a moment. “It didn’t. So, I went back to school.” It sounded like Nathanial wasn’t the only unstable member of his family. To ask a child to rename himself after his deceased sibling was just not right. The air grew thick with silence. Sophia hoped to every god out there that Nathanial would either fall unconscious from blood loss or just outright die. His story may have been sad but that was no excuse for all he had done. However, she had to ask at least one more question.
“Were you the one who got Lisa to go to the Dolphin Lot?” Sophia could tell the pain he was feeling had worsened. His face was pinched when he answered.
“Guilty.” He smiled again, as if he was proud of what he’d done.
“What did you say to get her to meet you?”
“I told a few fibs. I said I was about to purchase the lot and was interested in selling some of it to her for her planning business, but first I wanted her to come check out the area to see if she’d even be interested.”
“And she just agreed, without telling anyone?”
He shrugged. “I asked her to keep it a secret because all the paperwork wasn’t done yet. She agreed because she was excited. When we met, I told her I planned on killing her. She tried to run, I grabbed her, then took her. It was easy as pie.” Sophia felt nauseous. Nathanial spoke
as though Lisa was just a pawn in a horrible and twisted game of chess. He may have been brilliant at his job but he was so far off base when it came to basic humanity.
“And what about Trixie? Amanda? Why did you pick them? What was the point?”
“Trixie was a happy accident. I was setting up my spot to view Braydon discovering Lisa’s body in the car, that is before I was ready to stage her, when she came jogging by. She saw the car and I had no choice but to keep her quiet. Plus, it worked out wonderfully. I was able to see Braydon’s feelings for you.” At this he grinned. “Amanda would have been fine had she not followed my car out here when I came to check on everything. I only started talking to her to get information about the land. I took her to Lynda’s so she could serve as your message later.” He turned and winked. “It’s amazing how easy it was to sway that woman to help me. It started as a joke over some drinks at the bar then all it took to make it a reality was the promise of money.”
Sophia was about to ask how much money Lynda had been promised when Nathanial let go of her shoulders. He put his hand to his wound, then held it up to the moonlight. Dark red dripped from his fingers.
“Maybe Braydon isn’t as fast as I need him to be right now. I guess it’s time for you to die, Miss Hardwick. I truly am sorry that he won’t be able to see you take your last breath.” He struggled to stand and Sophia went with the only option she had left. She lifted up into a crouch and threw all her weight into the man. Startled, Nathanial pulled the trigger before the two of them toppled over the edge of the dock and into the water.
Sophia’s adrenaline surged as they hit the cold water, going under in a tangle of limbs. For a man who was so keen on dying, Nathanial thrashed around, fighting to break away from her grip. Though, Sophia wasn’t budging. She wasn’t sure but she thought she had heard the thunk of the gun hitting the dock. Nathanial had already made it crystal clear that he wanted Sophia dead. If he got to the gun, he would kill her.
Sophia’s plan quickly backfired. Nathanial grabbed a fistful of her hair as his feet found the bottom of the bay. He pushed her farther underwater, using his other hand to press her back down. He didn’t need the gun to kill her now. He was going to drown her. She thrashed around, heart slamming against her rib cage. She used her nails to claw at his hands and, when he didn’t let up, she remembered the bullet wound. With the last of her energy, she threw her hand out and jabbed her fingers into the wound. Even underwater she heard him yell. He let go and she scrambled to the surface.
“You little bitch!” he howled, the water coming up to his chin. Sophia didn’t wait to hear what he said next. She swam around the dock until her feet hit the muddy ground. The air should have chilled her wet body but she was still in the throes of an adrenaline high. She ran out of the water as fast as she could.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot!” Nathanial yelled. She whipped around to see him standing on the dock. He picked up the gun and held it firm in his hand. Sophia’s shoulder burned, her throat ached, and more than anything she wanted to kiss Braydon Thatcher goodbye. “Before you die, I want you to know that I may have killed you but it’s still his fault.” He sneered as he said it.
“It’s not Braydon’s fault!” she snapped. “It wasn’t his fault eleven years ago and it isn’t his fault now!” She stumbled to the side, suddenly feeling faint. Her adrenaline must have run out. “When you kill me, Nathanial Williams, I want you to remember that it was your fault.”
Sophia fell to her knees just as the gunshot rang through the night. She waited for the lights to turn off—to be the victim of darkness that would never let up. She waited for death but it didn’t come. Instead Nathanial fell backward into the water, a bullet piercing his forehead. She turned around, confused, to see Braydon lower his gun. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
“Good shot,” she greeted, but he didn’t smile back at her. The detective grabbed his phone and dialed a number—his brow creased, his lips downturned in a frown. What a weird time to make a phone call, she thought fleetingly.
“What’s the status on the ambulance?” he barked into his phone, dropping down beside her. He still wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“He doesn’t need an ambulance, Braydon,” she said, looking toward the dock. “Nathanial’s dead.” Braydon ignored what she said as if he couldn’t hear her. Instead he yelled more into the phone before flinging it into the dirt.
“Sophia, I need you to stay awake, okay?” he said. It sounded farther away than it should have with him being so close. She was confused but nodded all the same. She trusted Braydon. She felt safe with him. He put his hand above her chest. It brought on an unexpected, terrible pain. She looked down to see what he had done, ready to fuss at him.
“Oh,” she managed.
Apparently, Sophia hadn’t been the only one to get a lucky shot in. It looked like Nathanial might have got his wish after all.
Chapter Twenty
The world was bright, warm and horizontal. Sophia opened her eyes to the buzz of fluorescent lights and the face of a woman with identical green eyes.
Lisa was perched on the side of the bed, smiling down at her little sister. There were dark purple bruises that lined the left side of her face and a scab across her bottom lip. Even though her face was devoid of makeup, Sophia couldn’t help but be proud of how beautiful Lisa was.
“Your eye,” Sophia said, jumping to the most relevant thing. She smacked her lips together—her mouth was unbearably dry. Lisa read her mind and produced a cup of water with a straw.
“Don’t worry about this,” Lisa said. “Out of everyone Nathanial hurt, I’m the one with the least damage.” Sophia was glad to hear that. She pulled on the straw until her cracked lips felt smooth. Lisa took the cup when she was done.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” Sophia said. Her throat felt better, but her head felt sluggish. “I can’t count how many times I almost lost hope that I’d ever see you again.”
“I knew you wouldn’t give up. You’re too darn stubborn.” She laughed but then all humor disappeared.
“I was afraid I’d never see you again.” Lisa’s brow furrowed and her eyes began to water. “Sugar, you were shot. If Braydon hadn’t gotten to you in time...”
Sophia reached up and grabbed her hand, squeezed it and smiled.
“But he did and I’m okay.” She paused. Maybe she couldn’t claim that, considering she’d woken up in the hospital. “I am okay, right?” Lisa’s seriousness lessened. She nodded and smiled. Sophia realized how much she had missed the image.
“Yes, you are. Apparently you’re so stubborn that you won’t let things like bullets in the shoulder stop you.” She sobered. “You’ve only been here for a few hours. They had trouble getting all of the bullet bits out, and they were nervous about how much of Nathanial’s drug you had been given in such a short amount of time, but in the end the doctor gave you the okay.” She reached forward and lightly touched the large bandage that was over the front of her shoulder. “It’ll scar, though.” Sophia frowned, thinking of Amanda’s stomach. Nathanial had branded her without a care in the world.
“Nathanial is dead,” she stated with some venom. Again Lisa nodded, her long hair slipping from her ponytail at the movement.
“Yes, he is.”
Sophia also liked the sound of that.
“Braydon had to go back to the police station to talk with the captain and deal with paperwork because of it.”
Sophia’s heart did a little flutter at the mention of the detective. She didn’t want to admit it, but when she found that Braydon hadn’t been in the room, her stomach had dropped. Nathanial’s reign of terror was over. Lisa had been found. The case of the missing Culpepper women was solved. Their romance had started in the heat of extreme circumstances and now that the danger had passed, Sophia wondered where that left them.
Lisa
put her thumb between Sophia’s eyebrows and pushed down.
“Stop your worrying,” she ordered. “You’ve had enough troubles this past week to deal with. Try to relax, okay?” She moved her hand away and her brilliant smile returned. “And just to let you know, I basically had to kick Braydon out after the captain called him.”
“Why?” Sophia tried to keep her voice from showing how much she cared about the man’s presence. Although, she was sure Lisa had already picked up on the fact that her little sister was pining for him.
“He wanted to make sure you were okay. He didn’t even leave the hospital until you were out of surgery.” She winked. “He was stuck to your side like glue.” Sophia couldn’t stop the smile that crept across her lips. Lisa’s grew, too. “I thought there might be something there.”
They stayed in a giddy bubble of happiness for a moment before Sophia had to start asking questions about what had happened. Lisa must have realized it was coming. Her smile faded and she pushed her shoulders back, readying for the inquiries.
“What happened?” Sophia started. It was an umbrella question that would lead to all of the answers she wanted.
The Saturday night before Sophia’s birthday party, Lisa had received a call from a man she now knew was Nathanial, claiming he was about to purchase Dolphin Lot. Lisa hadn’t known the history behind the Alcaster property but she did know that it was a beautiful space and that it was undeveloped. The man went on to say that after he purchased it, he wanted Details to be able to use one of the acres as an event space, but he wanted Lisa to see the lot with him first.
“I jumped at that,” Lisa said. “An entire acre of Dolphin Lot could be used for great outdoor parties and weddings. It would double my client base alone. When he asked me to keep it a secret until everything was finalized, I thought it was a small price to pay for such an amazing opportunity. He wanted to meet that Monday but I told him I had my sister’s birthday to attend. So, I offered to meet him Sunday morning before I left instead.” Lisa grabbed her hand. “If I hadn’t done that...” She became quiet. Sophia waited, not wanting to push the woman. “I met him on the road. He grabbed me, threw me into his car and then drugged me. I woke up in Lynda Meyer’s enclosed garage.”
Manhunt Page 18
