“Unfortunately, things look like they are going to get worse before they get better.”
David’s nose crinkled. “How do you figure?”
“Considering the head start that April got on us, there is no telling where she is right now.”
He scratched his chin. “True. There are a lot of places she could be.”
“Too many places. There’s a lot of open space outside Treasure Cove city limits.”
“I know,” he said. “Which means we’re going to need to get lucky.”
I gritted my teeth. “I hate relying on luck.”
“So do I.” He threw out his arms. “But what other choice do we have?”
“Prayer.”
“Well, of course I’m going to pray for the best,” he said. “At the same time, it would be nice to have a lead pointing to her whereabouts.”
“It sure would. Unfortunately, we don’t have a single lead.”
“Which is why I hope we get a hit on that all-points-bulletin,” David said. “The sooner, the better.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
On a night as crazy as that, it was hard not to be reminded how unpredictable investigations truly were. Sometimes, they were long and arduous. The kind of drawn-out affairs that required an insane amount of legwork.
Other times, luck played a pivotal role. That particular evening, apparently the universe was feeling generous.
About an hour after the bulletin had gone out, I grew tired of sitting in the waiting room. I got up from my seat and moved toward a vending machine that was at the end of the hallway. Much to my surprise, I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking over my various snack options. I just couldn’t seem to make up my mind.
With the level of stress I had experienced that evening, anything with chocolate in it looked good. So, naturally, every item in the vending machine happened to contain chocolate. Finally, after about five minutes of indecisiveness, I decided to buy a treat that was a mix of chocolate and peanut butter.
Before I had a chance to complete my purchase, however, I heard footsteps coming toward me. When I turned around, I saw David running my way.
His eyes were wide as he spoke up, “You won’t believe the call I just got.”
“Why? Has there been an April sighting?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Where?” I asked.
“A clerk at a gas station just outside of Emerald Grove spotted a woman matching April’s description filing up her tank a few minutes ago.”
“Emerald Grove?” I said. “That’s an hour and a half from here.”
“I know. Which means that April has been making some tracks.”
The distance she had covered wasn’t the only concerning detail. Emerald Grove also happened to be south of Treasure Cove. That led me to believe that she was making a break for the border. If she reached Mexico without being apprehended, it would be nearly impossible to catch her.
“Is she still at the gas station?” I asked.
David shook his head. “No. According to the clerk, she just left. But the Emerald Grove Police Department are in hot pursuit of her.”
“Good. Hopefully, they can apprehend her without incident.”
“That would be ideal. Then again, when was the last time things went even vaguely according to plan?”
“It has been a while,” David said. “But that just means we’re long overdue.”
“I agree. Instead of speculating any further, though, we need to take a trip to Emerald Grove,” David said.
***
David’s plans quickly changed when he got another call on his radio. This one was from the Emerald Grove Police Department. They had caught up with April and arrested her.
What a huge relief.
That wasn’t all. The arresting officer had more good news to share with us. Instead of David and I having to drive all the way down to April’s location, the Emerald Grove Police Department was going to transport her back to Treasure Cove.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A few hours later, when April was dragged into Treasure Cove police headquarters, David sat her down in an interrogation room. Even though David knew that April was responsible for the shooting, there was still a number of questions that he wanted answers to. Although, judging by the foul expression on April’s face, David had his work cut out for him if he was going to get her to talk.
David sat across from the voluptuous thirty-nine-year-old and stared into her wide-set blue eyes. The eye contact did not last long, however. April almost immediately looked down at the ground.
With the tension in the air as thick as could be, David began his interrogation. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
Apparently, April disagreed. She sat in her chair with her arms folded and didn’t say a word. She seemed more interested in avoiding eye contact than replying to David’s statement.
When a few seconds went by without a response from April, David threw a question her way.
“So, what do you have to say for yourself?” he asked.
Much to David’s surprise, April didn’t utter a single word.
“Fine. I’ll do the talking,” David said. “You’re seriously twisted. To shoot a police officer…my good friend…your ex-boyfriend…only a real sick puppy would do that.”
April continued to stare at the ground.
“Why won’t you look me in the eyes? Is it because you know I’m right?” David asked.
She fidgeted in her seat and continued to look down.
“You didn’t honestly think you’d get away with it, did you?” David asked.
Once more, April responded to one of David’s questions with complete silence.
“Or maybe you did think you’d be able to get away, which means you’re even more disturbed than I thought.” David took a deep breath and then continued, “So, what was the plan? Did you believe you could make it to the border? That once you were in Mexico, no one would be able to catch you? Because that’s just crazy.”
David gave April a chance to respond, assuming she’d want to say something by that point.
He was wrong.
April kept her mouth shut.
David got up from his chair and began pacing as he spoke, “Then again, you probably believed that the bullet you fired had killed Steven. But it didn’t.”
April looked up at David.
“That’s right. The staff at Treasure Cove Medical Center were able to save Steven’s life.”
April shook her head in disbelief. Despite the emotions she was wrestling with, she continued to stay quiet.
“You, meanwhile, don’t have much to live for. You’re going to be spending many years behind bars. What a waste. You should have just left Steven alone. But no, you wanted to get your revenge on him for breaking up with you,” David said. “You’re a fool, you know that? A crazy fool.”
As David looked into April’s eyes, he could tell that she wanted to say something. Yet no words came out of her mouth.
“Don’t you have any remorse about what you did?” David asked. “Don’t you have anything to say at all?”
April shot daggers at David with her eyes and finally spoke up.
“I want to talk to a lawyer,” she said.
After everything David had said, that was her response? Talk about cold-hearted.
At the same time, David had no choice but to honor her request. The law dictated that April was entitled to consult with an attorney.
So, instead of getting answers from April, David was left with nothing but frustration.
“Fine,” David said. “Although, even the best lawyer in the world won’t be able to help you now.”
***
April was given a chance to call a lawyer. She was then brought to a jail cell for holding while that attorney made their way over to the station.
At that point, the case was out of David’s hands. The district attorney’s office would be taking things from there. And by all accounts, gett
ing a conviction would be a slam dunk. After all, what jury wouldn’t find her guilty? Especially since Steven would be able to testify that April had been the one who shot him.
Instead of spending any additional time thinking about April, David’s focus turned to another matter. He decided to leave the police station and head outside. Not only did he need some fresh air, but there was also a phone call that he wanted to make.
He dialed Steven’s number. After two rings, his co-worker picked up.
There was a groggy tone in Steven’s voice as he answered the phone. “What’s going on?”
David grimaced. “Were you asleep?”
“I sure was.”
“Sorry for waking you up.”
“That’s okay. I was having a crazy dream anyway.”
“Speaking of crazy, I have some news about April.”
“You do?” Steven asked. “What is it?”
“We have her in custody.”
Surprise was in Steven’s voice as he replied, “Already?”
“Not a moment too soon,” David said. “She was headed toward the border.”
“In that case, I’m glad you caught her when you did.”
“Anyway, I’ll let you get back to sleep. I just figured you’d want to know.”
“Thanks for giving me the update.”
“Hopefully now you’ll be able to rest easier.”
“I’m sure I will.”
“You take care of yourself, all right?” David said.
“I’ll do my best,” Steven said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Once David got off the phone with Steven, my husband stared off into the distance. I knew he needed a little time to decompress. I felt the same way. But when the silence stretched on for nearly a minute, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“Talk about a crazy night,” I said.
David took a deep breath before responding. “There’s an understatement for you.”
“To be fair, there are a lot of other statements I could make about this evening, but I’ll keep them to myself.”
“That’s probably for the best. Besides, I’m pretty sure we’re thinking of the same colorful phrases right now.”
“I’ll bet.”
“I’m just glad this night is over.”
“I agree. I mean, even by Treasure Cove’s standards, tonight was just insane.”
“Do you know what the nuttiest part is?”
I laughed, nervously. “Honestly, it’s hard to pick just one.”
“That’s so true,” he said. “And yet things could have turned out much worse.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Steven could have died.”
David nodded. “And April could have gotten away with murder.”
My eyebrows rose. “I’m so glad that didn’t happen.”
“So am I.” David wiped his eyes. “You know what else I’ll be glad about? Getting some sleep.”
I held my pointer finger up. “I second that.”
“If I wasn’t tired enough before, I’m running on fumes now.”
“Let’s head home. If we’re lucky, we’ll both crash out immediately.”
“That’s the plan.”
“We could certainly use the rest. After all, we both have a big day tomorrow.”
David grimaced. “We sure do.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that Steven’s case is closed. But Rick’s killer is still out there.”
David gritted his teeth. “I can’t even think about that tonight. I need a night of rest before I can think about the Peterson case again.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “Besides, maybe once we’ve both gotten some sleep, we’ll be able to make some headway in finding Rick’s killer.”
David crossed his fingers. “I pray that you’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
When we arrived home, I crashed out in a hurry and I didn’t wake up until seven the next morning. Even though I had gotten a full night of sleep, I wasn’t quite ready to dive back into the case again. At least, not without some caffeine in my system.
I wasn’t alone. David had woken up groggy. Which meant that he was even more desperate for a jolt of energy than I was.
Luckily, help was just a short drive away. David and I got changed, hopped into his car, and drove over to my family’s coffee shop. When we arrived in front of Daley Buzz, David elected to stay in the car. He was going to place a few calls as I went inside to order our drinks.
Unfortunately, the minute I entered the coffee shop, a wave of emotions washed over me. That wasn’t surprising, given everything that had taken place over the last few days. However, there was another reason I found myself getting worked up.
Typically, Rick Peterson and Stephen Wilson came into the shop at that hour to get a morning coffee. While those days were clearly in the past, the ghosts of their daily routine were haunting me right then.
If I wasn’t so desperate for coffee, I would have turned around and immediately bolted back to the car. Instead, I mustered all the resolve I could and placed my drink order.
A few minutes later, I returned to David’s sedan.
By then, David had radioed dispatch and had placed a few other quick calls. Much to his chagrin, he had nothing to show for his efforts. There had been no new developments in the Peterson case overnight.
I groaned as he shared the bad news with me.
“That’s exactly how I feel,” David said.
“So, where do we go from here?” I asked.
David bit the corner of his lip. “That’s a good question.”
“Do you have an answer?”
“I need a minute to let the caffeine kick in.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “Just so you know, I don’t have an answer either.”
David exhaled. “I suppose we can go over the case file again.”
I nodded. “And I can scour social media to see if any of the suspects posted something suspicious.”
“Who knows?” David said. “We might get lucky.”
I crossed my fingers.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
So much for getting lucky. It didn’t matter how many times David poured over the case file. There was no additional information to glean from it. The same went for my social media search. That ended up being one big waste of time.
In addition, by the time noon rolled around, I was hankering for more caffeine. My stomach was also rumbling.
David leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “I can’t look at this case file any longer.”
“I don’t blame you. I’m getting a headache from staring at this computer screen for so long,” I said.
“You might as well get off social media. I think that’s a dead end.”
“I could say the same thing about that case file. At this point, you’ve probably read it so many times that you have the thing memorized.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Let’s not argue then,” I said. “This case is frustrating enough as it is.”
“It sure is. At the same time, did you really expect that one of the suspects would post something incriminating on social media?”
I shook my head. “No. But I didn’t want to outright dismiss the possibility without checking their newsfeeds first. After all, it only takes one foolish mistake to blow this case wide open.”
“True. Although, since none of the suspects have slipped up, I think it’s time that we try something else.”
“Such as?”
David stood up. “Why don’t we get some fresh air?”
“I suppose we could do that.”
My unenthusiastic reply surprised David.
“Do you have a better suggestion?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not when it comes to this investigation.”
He stared deep into my eyes. “You say that, yet there’s clearly something on your mind. What is it?”
“Forget about it,” I said.
“Why? What are you thinking about right now?”
I lowered my voice as I replied, “A sandwich.”
“I’m sorry. Did you just say, a sandwich?” he asked.
I nodded.
David chuckled.
“That wasn’t a joke. I’m seriously hungry here,” I said.
“You must be if you’re thinking about food rather than this case.”
“I’m sorry. It’s my stomach’s fault. I can’t stop it from rumbling.”
David rubbed his belly. “Actually, now that you mention it, I’m pretty hungry myself.”
“Who is laughing now?” I joked.
“I’ll tell you what? Why don’t we head over to Zelda’s Diner and grab some food? I’ll bet we’ll both start thinking clearer once we eat lunch.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We drove over to Zelda’s Diner, but in a weird twist of fate, we ended up having to take our food to-go. Just as the kitchen finished preparing our order, David got a call over his police radio. Apparently, the 9-1-1 operator had just got off the phone with one of Vikki Delaney’s neighbors. According to the caller, an angry man was pounding and screaming on Vikki’s front door.
Upon hearing that news, David and I left the diner, got into David’s car, and sped over to Locust Street. We arrived at Vikki’s beige Spanish-style house about six minutes later.
As David’s car pulled into the driveway, I couldn’t quite believe what I saw at Vikki’s front door. More specifically, who was standing there? It was Rick’s grieving brother, Justin Peterson.
How peculiar. What was Justin doing there? And why was he so angry?
David parked his sedan in hopes of getting answers. When David and I got out of the car and approached the house, Justin turned around and gave us a shocked look.
“What are you doing here?” Justin asked.
“The 9-1-1 operator got a call about an unruly man causing a scene,” David said. “So, imagine my surprise to discover you at Vikki’s door. The real question is, what are you doing here?”
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