Page 20 of Close Quarters

“I figured. Now, what can you tell us about what happened?”

“I think it was Dr. Pressley,” Katie said.

“You mentioned this morning you thought she was up to something,” Seb said. “Did she do something else?”

“She’s been very focused on the female victims, one in particular, for some reason. And this evening, she didn’t want to leave, even though it was going on nine o’clock. She pressed us to stay, and Alex asked her why she was so obsessed with the case. She said she wasn’t, but we both knew it was a lie, and he called her on it.”

“I told her if she didn’t come clean about why she was acting so out of character, I was going to call in a different forensic anthropologist. She got pissed and stormed out,” Alex finished.

“Do you think she would shoot at you?” Jace asked.

Alex shrugged. “The Mandy I know wouldn’t. But she’s also not herself. I don’t know what’s going on with her.”

The conference room door opened, and Deputy Reeves walked in, carrying a laptop.

“Here’s the security footage, Sheriff.” He handed Seb the computer and left.

Seb set the laptop on the table so they could all see it, then pressed play. The camera was mounted above the hospital’s lobby doors and looked out over the parking lot. Katie watched as she and Alex exited the hospital. As they entered the lot, she tripped over the curb and the window of the car in front of her exploded.

Katie’s head swam and her breathing kicked up as she realized if she hadn’t tripped, that bullet would have hit her square in the back.

Seb paused the video as she pushed away from the table to hang her head between her knees. Alex’s hand landed in the middle of her back.

“Hey, you okay?”

She made a noise in the back of her throat that wasn’t really an answer, focusing instead on her breathing and the feel of his hand running along her spine so she didn’t pass out. Seb and Jace stood, and she heard the door open. Seb’s boots came into view, then his hands and chest as he crouched in front of her.

“Katie? Hey, you’re okay.” His voice was low and soft. “Just breathe. Look up at me and breathe.”

She pushed up to rest her elbows on her knees and looked at him. He took her hands and held her gaze, breathing with her. Alex continued to run his hand up and down her back. It created a warm buzz that helped bring her out of her panicked state.

Inhaling a deeper breath, she blew it out and pulled her hands from Seb’s. “I’m okay now.”

He gave her a long look, then a brief nod before he stood. Jace came back into the room with a bottle of water. She took it from him, twisting off the top and taking a deep gulp.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alex asked. He’d stopped rubbing her spine, but his hand remained on her back.

She turned to him and nodded. “Yeah. Seeing the footage—I didn’t realize how close I came to being shot. If I hadn’t tripped—” She broke off again, swallowing around the lump in her throat.

His hand curled over her shoulder, and he squeezed. She reached up and covered it with her free hand, offering him a tremulous smile before looking at Seb and Jace.

“I’m better now. You can continue with the video.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded.

“Okay.” Seb pressed play.

Katie stared at the screen and tried to watch it with the same detached eye she used when she watched footage from other crime scenes. Now, they were behind a parked car. At the edge of the screen, she saw a muzzle flash from the driver’s side window of a dark-colored SUV.

“Either of you recognize the car?” Seb asked.

“It kind of looks like the one Amanda drove,” she remarked. “Although, I can’t tell if there’s a university logo on it. It’s angled wrong.”

Alex dropped his head into his hands. “She’s right. It does. I just can’t believe she’d do such a thing.” He looked up at Seb. “Can you call London and find out if she’s back at the inn? That might answer our question about whether she was involved.”

“Sure.” Seb took out his phone and called his wife. They quickly learned Amanda had not returned. London promised to call if she did.

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