Debra Burroughs - Paradise Valley 06 - The Harbor of Lies (2 page)

No! Not again.

There, reflected in the glow of the dim light, Emily was slumped on the ground, motionless.

Colin’s heart skipped a beat.

Why didn’t she stay in the car?

He checked her pulse, then raised his eyes to the sky, thanking God she was alive. Colin glanced around for the perpetrator, but there was no sign of anyone. He whipped out his radio and called for an ambulance, a sick feeling swirling in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her.

The roar of a car engine at the curb told him backup had arrived. He hurried to the front of the house and waived his arm in a wide sweeping motion, gesturing to the officers.

They jumped from their cruiser and hustled over.

“I assume the suspect fled on foot. I didn’t hear any vehicles. He clocked my girlfriend before he got away.”

“She okay?” one of the officers asked.

“Unconscious. You two start scouring the neighborhood while I radio for more officers.” Colin reiterated the brief description of the man. “Get going and let’s find this SOB.”

As soon as the officers took off, Colin made the call as he raced back to Emily’s side.

Within minutes the ambulance arrived, and Colin waived the EMTs over. When the additional officers showed up, Colin gave them directions and sent them off, keeping a close eye on Emily.

“Her vitals appear normal,” one of the paramedics explained after he checked her out. “Hopefully she’s only temporarily knocked out, but let’s get her to the hospital ASAP. A possible concussion is nothing to take lightly.”

This was not the first time Colin had watched the woman he loved being loaded onto a gurney and put in the back of an ambulance. He wished he could say it would be the last time, but he knew his fiancée better than to think such a thing about this beautiful, sweet, fearless, stubborn, exasperating, yet totally lovable woman who had agreed to marry him…if only he could get her to the altar in one piece.

Another squad car pulled up and Officer Ernie Kaufmann climbed out. Ernie was not only Colin’s right-hand man, he was almost family. “What’s going on, Detective?”

Colin explained the situation. “Not again,” Ernie moaned.

The ambulance pulled away, lights flashing and sirens blaring, whisking Emily to the nearby hospital. Leaving Officer Kaufmann in charge of the crime scene, Colin followed the ambulance in his Jeep.

Was this the third thing Emily had been afraid was going to happen?

~*~

Emily smoothed the soft, sheer layers of her flowing white gown as she waited for the wedding to begin. The organ music started and the double doors to the chapel swept open for her grand entrance.

There was Colin, standing down front, beside the minister, wearing a black suit with a white rose boutonniere. Her gaze drifted over the small crowd of her friends and family, rising to their feet on both sides of the aisle, smiling at her.

She took her time floating through the white rose petals, which were strewn down the aisle. She wanted nothing more than to run to Colin before anything, or anyone, got between them, but her feet wouldn’t move any faster. An ominous feeling washed over her.

With an encouraging smile, Colin held his hand out to her. She was about to take it when a collective gasp rose from the crowd. In her peripheral vision she caught heads whipping back, toward the doors.

She glanced over her shoulder. What were they staring at? There stood Evan, her late husband—at least she thought he was dead—dressed in a black tuxedo. Her heart began to hammer. She glanced quickly at Colin, then her gaze flew back to Evan.

Evan held his hand out to her. “Come back to me, Emily.”

Her gaze fell to his hand, then rose to his face.
What do I do?

Her focus whipped back to Colin, his hand extended to her as well.

“Come back to me, Emily.”

Warm lips touched her forehead and she heard the words again. “Come back to me, Emily.”

She woke and her eyes fluttered open. Colin was leaning over her as she lay in a hospital bed. The corners of his mouth tugged upward and a spark of relief flashed in his eyes when she came awake.

Her gaze flitted around the room. “Where am I?”

“St. Luke’s Hospital.” Colin pulled up straight and lightly grasped her hand. “You took a nasty crack on the head tonight, and you’ve been out for a few hours. How are you feeling?”

She felt her head and winced. “No wonder it’s throbbing.” With her hand to her head, she noticed a monitor wire dangling from a device on her finger.

“You have a bit of a concussion, the doctor said. What’s the last thing you remember, Babe?”

Emily grabbed the control hanging on the side of her bed and raised the head so she could sit upright. “Well, I remember we went to dinner—which was wonderful, by the way,” she paused and flashed him a grin. “Then a call came over the radio for a B and E. We responded. You went around one side of the house—”

“And you took the other, even though I told you to stay in the car.”

“I tried, but I heard a noise on the other side of the home, so I snuck around to see what it was. That’s the last thing I remember.”

“That must’ve been when the perp got the jump on you and smacked you on the head with something.” Colin kissed her hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You really scared me. Again.”

“Sorry.” Emily pouted and attempted her best guilty-puppy-dog look. “Really, I am.”

“Next time I tell you to—”

“Oh, Emily!” Maggie gasped, running into the room, with Camille close on her heels. “Are you okay, girl?” Leaning down, she gave Emily a quick squeeze.

“Yes, Em, are you okay?” Camille repeated. “We heard you were attacked by some deranged maniac.”

Maggie Sullivan and Camille Hawthorne were part of Emily’s close circle of friends. Any time she needed them, they were there, no matter what.

“It’s not that bad,” Emily said.

“You poor thing.” Camille squeezed in and gave Emily a quick hug too.

Maggie turned to Colin. “Did y’all catch the criminal who did this horrible thing to our Emily?”

“Yes, my men found him outside a house, a couple of blocks away, hiding in some bushes.”

“Paradise Valley used to be such a safe place,” Camille lamented.

“This guy made a twenty-mile commute—he was from Caldwell,” Colin replied. “A meth addict looking for something he could sell to make another score.”

“How bad is it?” Maggie asked.

“I haven’t talked to the doctor yet, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m pretty hard headed.” Emily flashed a hopeful smile.

Colin chuckled. “I’m glad
I
didn’t say that.”

Camille frowned at him before returning her attention to Emily. “Anything you need, Em, we’re here for you.”

“Has Isabel been here?” Maggie asked.

Isabel was another girlfriend in their group and an FBI agent.

Colin cleared his throat. “She called, couldn’t make it for a while, working a big case out of town, she said. I filled her in on what the doctor had to say. She’ll check back in the morning.”

“How about filling me in?” Emily raised her brows slightly.

“Like I said, the doctor explained you had a mild concussion and they’re monitoring your condition through the night. She was in here checking on you right before you woke up, and she’ll be back in a couple of hours to check on you again.”

“What’s going on in here?” boomed a big burly voice. Officer Ernie Kaufmann filled the doorway, wearing a wide grin. He was like an uncle to Colin and had become a good friend to Emily. He stepped to the foot of the bed. “I got everything buttoned up down at the crime scene and the paperwork’s done, so I thought I’d check up on our girl.”

Emily smiled. “Hello, Ernie. You didn’t have to come and check on me.”

“Of course I did.”

“Excuse me, people.” A frumpy middle-aged nurse with a halo of gray curls bustled into the room. “There are far too many bodies in here and it’s way past visiting hours.” She flitted to the machines to check on Emily’s vitals. “I’ll have to ask you all to leave.”

A wave of protests arose from the visitors, but the nurse wouldn’t have any of it. “Now, now, I’m sorry, but this little gal needs to get some rest.”

“You heard the lady.” Ernie lumbered out, first to comply.

Maggie and Camille each snuck in a quick hug with Emily before making their exit. “We’ll get your house ready for when you get home.”

Colin bent down and planted a long, soft kiss on Emily’s lips. “I love you, Babe. I’ll be back later.”

She grabbed his hand as he stood up. “That’s it. That makes three.”

“Three what?”

“Three bad things happening in a row. Now we don’t have to worry. There shouldn’t be any more catastrophes to stand in the way of our wedding. Right?”

“Right.” Colin kissed the back of her hand and smiled. “Should be smooth sailing from here on out.”

~*~

The next morning Colin brought Emily home from the hospital. Maggie and Camille were already at Emily’s little bungalow, fluffing pillows and preparing snacks, getting ready to fuss and dote over their friend until she was back to normal.

Maggie, a fitness trainer, was also somewhat adept at massage and offered to give Emily a good neck and shoulder rub, while Camille, a caterer and event planner, whipped up Emily’s favorite foods.

“It looks like you ladies have things well in hand. I should head down to the station,” Colin said. “I’ve got a couple of cases to work on, including the guy who assaulted my fiancée.”

“You go on ahead,” Camille told him. “We’ll take good care of our girl.”

Emily reclined on the sofa with Camille stuffing a couple of pillows under her head. “Don’t worry about me, Colin. I’ll be fine. You go catch some bad guys.”

He chuckled as he bent down and kissed her good-bye.

As soon as Colin was out the door, Camille asked what really happened the night before. “Don’t spare any details.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Emily moaned. She explained how they went to dinner and talked about choosing a wedding date—well, argued about it really. Then he got the radio call of a burglary in progress. “When we got to the house, Colin went around to the left and I heard some noises to the right, so I went to check it out.”

“Colin had you checkin’ out a dark yard all alone?” Maggie drawled in her southern accent.

“You’re not a cop, Emily,” Camille pointed out, as if Emily didn’t already know that. “What was that man thinking?”

“I know I’m not a cop.” Emily rolled her eyes. “But as a private eye, I am not without skills.”

Maggie and Camille nodded.

“That’s true,” Maggie agreed.

She, along with Emily and Isabel, taught self-defense classes for women, not to mention their routine practice times at the firing range.

“Don’t be too hard on Colin,” Emily said. “He actually told me to stay in the car.”

Camille’s blue eyes rounded. “He did? So, then why—”

“When I heard something on the darkened side of the house, I couldn’t just let him walk into danger, not when I could help him.”

Maggie perched on the arm of the sofa. “Sounds like you were the one in danger, my friend.”

“Okay, so let’s get back to what you said earlier,” Camille cut in. “Did you two pick a wedding date? There are still so many details to pin down. You really need to reserve a venue soon.”

“We were thinking, maybe, about six weeks from now.”

Camille frowned. “That’s not long enough to make all the arrangements, Em.”

“Camille, Camille, Camille,” Emily moaned, laying her forearm dramatically over her eyes. “Colin and I have told you all along that we only want a small wedding. Just close friends and family, maybe in my backyard. You know I have a beautiful garden with the deck and the ga—”

On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t mention the gazebo Evan had built for her. Perhaps that was a bad idea. “Anyway,” Emily continued, “there’s more than enough room for a small wedding in the backyard.”

“And I’ve told you, Emily,” Camille countered, “a small wedding just won’t do. There are simply too many people in this town that will expect to be invited, and we’ll need a large enough venue for the reception to serve dinner, a place for the band and dancing, and—”

Emily’s cellphone rang. She shook her head at Camille as she snatched the phone off the coffee table. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was her sister in Maine.

“Hello, Susan.”

“Hello, Emily. How are you?”

Had Colin phoned her about Emily’s little mishap?

“I’m doing better,” Emily replied.

“Better?” Susan paused, clearing her throat. “I’m afraid I have some bad news about the wedding.

Chapter 2

Bad news about the wedding? They had already suffered through three bad things that could have derailed the ceremony. It should be smooth sailing from here on out, Colin had assured her. Now what?

“What are you talking about, Susan?”

Susan lived with her husband and children on the coast of Maine and was Emily’s only sibling. She was a take-charge, first-born child, and much older than Emily.

Their mother had passed away years ago, and, with the distance between her and Susan now, the sisters had rarely seen each other since Emily had married Evan and moved west to Paradise Valley, Idaho. With their father in an assisted living facility for patients with Alzheimer’s, Emily was grateful for phones and Skype—otherwise she would feel like she had no family.

“Well, Sis, I’m afraid we won’t be able to come for the wedding.”

“Why not?” Emily wondered, now, if her sister even knew she had been attacked and had spent the night in the hospital with a concussion.

“Brian’s been in a terrible car accident and he broke both of his legs when he flew off a mountain road.”

“Oh, Susan, I’m so sorry.” Emily’s concussion didn’t seem so important anymore. “What happened?”

“The details are kind of sketchy. Brian said someone was following him too closely and, next thing he knew, he was in the ravine.”

“You don’t sound convinced.” Emily’s suspicious senses tingled.

“It just seems like there’s more to the story. The doctor thinks he’ll likely remember other details as time goes on.”