DEATH IN PERSPECTIVE (23 page)

“Dr. Vail
.
” I nudged her shoulder, then felt for a pulse at her neck. Her throat felt cool,
but not cold.

I couldn’t find a pulse. My hand slid to the back of her neck. The side felt sticky,
and in the gloom, I realized the dark wood beneath her head was damp with blood.

A sobbing gasp left my lips and hearing a voice in my ear, I jerked upright, dropping
the phone on the floor. The acrid scent of blood and the more pungent odor of less
desirable aromas overwhelmed me. The rise of minestrone and beer burned in my chest
and little dots of light swam in my vision.

Outside, the dog howled and yapped.

Snap out of it, said the area of my brain which functioned under stress. Dr. Vail’s
hurt. She could still be alive. Find the wound.
Beneath me, I could hear a tiny voice from my phone asking me if I was still there.
“Dr. Camille Vail’s unconscious and bleeding,” I hollered at the phone, then announced
the address. “She may still be alive. Send an ambulance.”

“Dr. Vail, can you hear me?” I touched her face, examining the upturned ear and then
noticed half of a dark, oval burn behind her ear that extended into the short, salt
and pepper hair. “Lord have mercy, that’s a gun shot wound.”

I jerked back, my hands flying away from her body. The raised, black burn meant the
muzzle had touched her head. “Not another suicide. What do I do?”

I ripped off my sweater, held my breath, and inched the folded cloth under the side
of her head lying on the floor. Blood seeped into the orange cloth and darkened the
velcro leaves that had fallen around Vail’s head.

“
T
his is not good. Hang on, Camille. Someone’s coming.”

Bending over Vail, I laid my head against her chest, listening for a heartbeat. As
I contemplated the effectiveness of chest compressions, the room seemed to darken
further. I brought my head up only to have it slam against Camille’s chest.

“Tinsley?” I turned my head, seeking the intruder, and pushed up. A wallop against
my back splayed me across Camille’s legs.

“Holy hell,” I mumbled.

A sharp, blinding pain cracked across the back of my skull. I tried to lift my hand,
gave up, and sank into oblivion.

T
wenty-Seven

I recognized the Line Creek hospital ER room immediately, but not the man sitting
in the chair next to me. He wore blue with his worry, whereas brown seemed a more
familiar color match to that particular feeling. I blinked through my aching head,
and gradually placed Herrera’s name to his face.

“Oh shit
.
” I sat up, then dropped back as my vision swam.

Herrera leaned forward and patted my hand. “Just hold on there. Probably shouldn’t
move. You’ve got a big bump on the back of your head.”

“I can feel it
.
” I stared at the ceiling. The base of my skull throbbed and my reckoning processor
had siphoned to a trickle
rather
than my usual tsunami of thoughts. “What am I doing here?”

“You don’t remember calling emergency services?”

I blinked up at the ceiling tiles. “Was I in an accident?”

“Hon’, you called in a gun shot wound and we found you lying in the entryway of Camille
Vail’s foyer, knocked cold.”

“What in the hell? How did that happen?” I squeezed my eyes shut, but the last I could
recall was the look of distress crossing Tara’s face as she knocked back a glass of
Chianti.

Did someone slip a mickey in my minestrone? How did I end up in Camille Vail’s foyer?
Who was shot? I patted my head and felt gauze. Surely, a gunshot wound to the head
would hurt more than this. “Was I shot?”

“No, walloped from behind. But I hoped you could tell me what happened
.
” Herrera stood and stretched. “You’ve been talking gibberish for the past five hours
with that concussion. Lots of ‘I know you. Who are you?’”

“My head hurts like hell
.
” I crawled into a sitting position. The room spun and I breathed through my mouth
to make it stop. “What time is it?”

Herrera glanced at his watch. “Early.”

I rested my head in my hands and tried to sift through the cobwebs shrouding my memory.
“I went to Little Verona’s to talk to Coach Newcomb and Maranda’s friend, Olivia.”

“What happened at Little Verona’s?” Herrera flipped open a notebook.

“I shoved Shawna Branson into a palm,” I mumbled. “She broke her shoe. Which I think
is pretty expensive.”

“Who is Shawna Branson?”

“A two-faced snark who wields cleavage as a weapon. She’s not an artist, no matter
what she claims. And she thinks I’m not good enough for her cousin.”

“Step-cousin,” spoke a rich baritone.

I tore my hands off my face, resulting in a seismic rumble in the back of my head.

Luke stood in the doorway, pushing an empty wheelchair. “Don’t say anything more,
Cherry.”

Herrera glared at Luke. “This woman is a witness to a suspicious death. And overly
involved in another death.”

“I’m a witness to a suspicious death?” I sucked in a long breath. “Whose death?”

Luke moved the wheelchair next to the hospital bed and laid a hand on my shoulder.
“Cherry is also an assault victim. Sugar, don’t say anything just now.”

“I can’t remember what I’m not supposed to say.” I looked from one man to the next
and experienced a tilt-a-whirl without the carnival.

“I need to know why Cherry was in Camille Vail’s house,” said Herrera. “She’ll remember
soon. The effects of the concussion are wearing off.”

“I’m taking her home,” said Luke. “I already spoke to the hospital staff and got her
discharged. Cherry needs to rest.”

“She’s under my custody. And she’ll be more comfortable here than at the station.”

“Holy crap.” The men’s sharp barks drilled into the shifting plates of my head quake.
“Am I under arrest?”

“Cherry will make a report in the morning. You’re not getting anything out of her
now.” Luke squeezed my shoulder. “And tomorrow, she’s going to wait for a lawyer.”

“Lawyer?” My voice shook.

“Give me a break, deputy. There’s a woman dead with a potential witness.” Herrera
mopped his face, exposing his exhaustion. “Fine, take her home. But I’m coming to
get her if she doesn’t show at the Line Creek station tomorrow.”

A nurse bustled into the room. The men remained mute as she checked my head, handed
me a sheet of instructions, and helped me into the wheelchair. I looked at the hospital
gown I wore with my denim skirt and boots.

“Where’s my top?”

Luke looked at Herrera and back to me. “We’ll talk about that later. Come on, hon’.
Let’s get you home.”

Fearing more time spent with Herrera, I nodded, then regretted the action.

Luke wheeled me out of the small room, down a corridor, through a set of double doors,
and past the line at the reception booth. Across the hall in the glassed-in waiting
room, Todd, Casey, and Nik scooted off chairs and hurried to my side.

“I’m taking her home,” Luke announced.

Evidently, my concussion produced auditory hallucinations. Or maybe our relationship
had progressed beyond flirting and parking lot snogging during my blackout. I shifted
to catch Luke’s attention, but he was too busy freezing Casey with his don’t-try-me-I’m-the-law
stare.

Casey glared at him through raccoon eyes. “The hell you are. You’ve caused my sister
enough trouble. Cherry needs to be with family. Bad enough they wouldn’t let anyone
but cops back there with her.”

Todd’s hands tapped against his jeans. “How’re you feeling, baby?”

“My head hurts and I’m really confused. How long have y’all been here?”

“I contacted your sister after Sheriff Thompson called me,” Luke clipped his words.
“I wanted Casey to know what had happened, but told her it wasn’t necessary to come
to the hospital.”

“My sister’s been clubbed and possibly abducted, I have a right to be with her.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Abducted?”

“We don’t know you were abducted
.
” Luke laid a hand on my shoulder. “Casey’s speculating. When we need to keep Cherry
calm.”

I turned to look up at Luke. “You have got to tell me what you know. Right now.”

“You made an emergency services call from Camille Vail’s house, although the dispatcher
couldn’t hear you very well. Your phone was found under Vail’s body. And your, uh,
sweater. The police found you in another room, unconscious. Because of the position
of your body and some smearing on the floor, it looked like you’d been dragged.”

I felt the blood drain from my head and the pounding in my neck shot to the top of
my skull.

“Camille Vail’s body?”

“She died of a gunshot wound that appeared self-inflicted. The handgun was found next
to her hand.”

I pressed on my temples. “I don’t understand. What was I doing in her house?”

“We don’t know. But whoever knocked you out was interrupted from whatever they were
planning to do
.
” Luke squeezed my shoulder. “At least that’s my belief. Your emergency services call
brought the cruisers. It sounded like the perp left you and took off.”

I shifted in the wheelchair to study my family. Nik held Casey, whose store-bought
tan had turned a sickly shade of gray-green. Todd’s leg tapping had gone to rapid-fire
thrumming.

“Where’s Cody?” I said. “Did anyone find Cody?”

Nik kissed Casey on the cheek before fixing his attention on me. “I will find him.
You don’t need to worry about your brother at such a time.”

My thoughts traveled back to Little Verona’s, my last memory. I glanced back at Luke.
“Can you give us a minute? Let me speak to my family.”

His hand trailed from my shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Let me bring my truck around.”

Casey’s lips thinned, but waited to speak until Luke had passed through the sliding
outside doors. “What are you doing with Bad News Branson?”

“He’s not a Branson,” I said. “He’s Luke Harper and he’s been helping me on this case.”

“Looks to me like he’s helping himself to more than a case,” Casey spat. “But we’ll
deal with that later. Tell me what’s going on. Why were you under police custody?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Probably because they found me in Vail’s house. I
don’t think I’m under arrest, but Luke told me not to say anything unless I have a
lawyer.”

“Girl, how are you going to afford a lawyer? What were you thinking?” Casey dropped
to a squat and took my hands. “Little sister, what are we going to do with you? I
didn’t call Grandpa yet.”

“Thank you. I’d rather he not hear about this, although it’ll probably get out soon
enough
.
” I looked over Casey’s shoulder to Nik. “Cody?”

Nik shook his head.

“I saw Shawna tonight,” I said. “She’s been home sick. You better add her apartment
to your list of places to scout. I don’t think Cody would try to get in while Shawna’s
at home, but if he stole the photos from her, there’s a good chance he might try to
look through Shawna’s stuff again.”

“Did Shawna say anything to you about the photos?”

“Not this time, but she was eating dinner with Tara Mayfield. She wouldn’t want the
publicity.”

Casey nodded and flipped her hair over her shoulder to exchange a look with Nik.

I bit my lip. “But there was an altercation of sorts. I accidentally pushed Shawna
into a plant and she broke her shoe. She thinks I’m trying to get back with Luke.”

I heard Todd’s quick intake of breath, and I cast my eyes to my lap.

“But you’re not,” said Casey. “Harper’s just helping you on a case, right? Shawna’s
jumping to conclusions.”

I studied my lap. “That’s what it seems. I certainly don’t want anyone to think Luke
and I are together. It would break Tara Mayfield’s heart and make the town angry when
I’m already on the outs.”

Todd dropped next to my wheelchair, running a hand along my arm. “Baby, don’t worry
about any of this. You need to rest your head. Maybe I should take you home.”

“Todd, I am taking my wife to my boss’s house, then will go to this Shawna’s apartment
to look for my wife’s brother. Do you join me?” Nik jerked his head to the door. “The
policeman is back.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Luke strode through the ER doors, carrying a brown blanket.
I turned my attention back to Todd. Almost hating myself, I willed Todd to join Nik
and not make me choose between the two men. The wallop had knocked the fighting spirit
from me.

Todd kissed my cheek and rose. “Sure, Nik. I’d be glad to join y’all.”

“Thank you, hon’,” I said, squeezing Todd’s hand. “And thank you, Nik.”

Nik gave me a weary Eastern European smile. “The family sticks together, eh? Blood
matters. Remember this before you do the more stupid acts.”

“Just find Cody,” I muttered.

Casey rose, then bent toward my ear. “Nik’s right. This stays in the family. But I
say Todd McIntosh is as good as blood. You’ve always been able to count on him.”

I flashed a look at Todd, who rocked back on his heels with his hands in his pocket.

He caught my look and offered me his easy Labrador
r
etriever grin. “We’ll take care of everything, baby. I’ll check on you when I get
home.”

Luke wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. “Ready to go?”

I nodded, my head buzzing and banging with uncertainties. What was Cody doing and
where was he hiding out? Why was I in Vail’s house and what had happened to me? More
importantly, what had happened to Vail? For some reason, the gun bothered me.

All I could recall beyond Little Verona’s was something dark, flapping in a breeze.

Back at my house, Luke made me wait in the kitchen while he poked through the rooms,
assumedly checking for perps who knocked girls on the head and abandoned them in suicide
victims’ homes. Befuddled, I stood at my back door with Luke’s warm, brown blanket
wrapped around my shoulders. Upon his return, Luke read over my head wound instruction
sheet while I disappeared into the bathroom, shed the nasty hospital gown, and rewrapped
my bare essentials in the fuzzy blanket. I stumbled back into my bedroom, where my
quilt had been turned down and ibuprofen and water waited on my bed stand.

“This says you shouldn’t sleep more than a few hours at a time,” said Luke. His eyes
flicked from the blanket and back to the instruction sheet.

“So in exchange for a big goose-egg and limited memory, I get no sleep and OTC drugs.
Just great.” I sighed, hugging the blanket around me. “Fine, I’ll set the alarm. At
least my head isn’t hurting as much as it did.”

“I’ll set the timer on my watch,” said Luke. “I’m staying, then I’ll take you to the
station tomorrow. I can sleep on your couch.”

“So I am under police custody?”

“No
.
” Luke laid the sheet on my nightstand and jammed his hands in his pockets. “I just
want to take care of you. Is that all right?”

“Aren’t you mad at me after what happened with your cousin?”

“Of all the things to remember
.
”
H
e scrubbed his curls, sending them into a disheveled frenzy.

I noticed my hair did not take well to clouts on the head nor hospital conditions
whereas Luke’s silky hair appeared even sexier at three a.m.

“No, I’m not mad at you about that,” said Luke. “Bewildered would be a better word.
You ask me to prove that I mean what I say, I go to do it, and you stop me. Now Shawna’s
going to make Tara a hotter mess and you appear even crazier than before.”

I shifted the blanket and dropped onto the edge of the bed. “Sorry. I didn’t want
Tara to think I’m a home wrecker.”

“Sugar
.
” Luke dropped next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “You can’t wreck where
there’s no home.”

I leaned a head on his shoulder. “It’s the appearance that matters. You never did
understand that.”

“I understand something now
.
” Luke kissed the side of my head. “I am a miserable S.O.B. without you. And you scared
the shit out of me once again. You have to stop doing that.”

“How much trouble am I in?”

“They can get an approximate time of death from the body, but the police really need
to know when you arrived. They don’t know why you entered the house. Did you hear
something, like a gun shot, and then enter? Or did Vail invite you in and something
happened? Or were you planted there?”