Page 47 of The Sheriff's Baby

It made Duncan wonder if Hamlin had done that with the hopes it would get Kate to say something to incriminate herself in the illegal baby sales. Or if Brad would be the one doing the self-incriminating. If so, Hamlin could have wanted that to cover up his own guilt. In fact, all the attacks and Molly’s kidnapping could be to set up either Brad or Kate so Hamlin would escape scrutiny for his pregnant sister’s disappearance.

“My lawyer is on his way to Saddle Ridge,” Brad muttered a moment later. “I’ll talk to him about suing Hamlin for slander.”

Duncan didn’t tell Brad that would be a long shot and turn into a “he said, she said.” Added to that, Kate probably wouldn’t want all of this to be rehashed in public, which it would be if there was a lawsuit.

Brad continued to stare at Kate while his jaw muscles tightened. “Look me in the eyes, Mother, and tell me you had nothing to do with Shanda being murdered.”

The anger on Kate’s face had cooled a bit, but that caused it to heat up again. “No, I did not, and I’m insulted you even asked.”

“I have to ask,” Brad fired back, “because you hated her.”

Kate opened her mouth, and must have rethought what she was about to say. “Yes, I hated her because of the person you became once you got involved with her,” she finally said, her voice surprisingly calm. “You changed after Shanda lost that baby. You became obsessed with payback.”

“Obsessed with getting my family back,” he quickly replied. “I wanted Shanda and a baby.”

“You wanted revenge,” Kate spelled out.

Brad glared at her. But he didn’t disagree. However, Brad did turn and head out the door. It was still open since Luca and Clyde had both been keeping a close eye on the situation.

Duncan went after Brad so he could remind the man about the interview, but when he went into the hall, he saw that Brad was practically charging toward someone.

Hamlin.

The PI was coming straight up the hall, and the men rammed into each other. That caused them to collide with a nurse carrying a tray of meds, all of which went flying.

So did the fists.

Brad managed to punch Hamlin in the face before Duncan could get to him. Hamlin retaliated, throwing his own punch, and the hall was suddenly filled with profanity-laced tirades and the sounds of the struggle. The nurse was trapped beneath the men.

Duncan reached into the heap and pulled out the nurse, sliding her toward Joelle who had moved closer to help. Once Joelle had the nurse out of the way, Duncan went after Brad next and hauled him out of the fray by the collar of his shirt. Clyde and Luca took hold of Hamlin, who came off the floor ready to run at Brad again.

“You lying SOB,” Brad yelled, and he added plenty more profanity to go along with that. Hamlin was doing the same.

Duncan glanced at Joelle who was moving the nurse back toward the nurses’ station. “Call for two deputies,” Duncan instructed Joelle. “I want both Brad and Hamlin taken to holding cells.”

That would keep both men off the streets at least until Duncan had a chance to interview them. It was possible, likely even, that Brad and Hamlin would be filing assault charges against each other. But he’d deal with all of that later. For now, Duncan needed to establish some calm and control since a crowd had gathered to see what the ruckus was all about. There were at least a dozen medical folks and patients gawking at the two men being restrained and the now-crying nurse.

“I can get this one to the cruiser now,” Luca offered, keeping a firm grip on Hamlin. “Once he’s in holding, I can come back for Joelle and you.”

“Do that,” Duncan agreed. As long as Brad and Hamlin were around each other, there’d be the possibility of another altercation.

Luca immediately got a still-cursing Hamlin moving toward the ER doors, and when Brad tried to go after the PI, Duncan had had enough. He pulled out some plastic cuffs from his pocket and restrained Brad.

“Go back and stay with Kate,” Duncan told Clyde. “I’ll look for a place to stash Brad until the other deputies arrive.” Duncan also wanted to check on the nurse. She didn’t appear to be injured, but she had taken a hard fall.

Duncan got Brad moving toward Joelle and the nurse, but he’d only made it a couple of steps before Clyde called out to him. Duncan turned to see Clyde standing in front of Kate’s still open door.

“The room’s empty, Sheriff,” Clyde said. “Kate’s gone.”

JOELLEREADTHEtext from Woodrow to let her know that Ronnie and he had Brad out of the hospital and in their cruiser. Thankfully, she’d already gotten a text from Luca to let them know he’d arrived safely with Hamlin, and that the PI was now in a holding cell where he’d wait until Duncan and she could get back to the sheriff’s office.

Whenever that would be.

There was a full-scale search going on for Kate not only in the hospital but also the grounds. Since Duncan hadn’t wanted Joelle out of his sight, they had taken the patients wing with the hopes that a frightened Kate had ducked into one of them to avoid another confrontation with her son.

So far, nothing.

And that’s what Clyde and some of the orderlies were reporting as they searched the grounds. Kate had seemingly vanished, and Joelle knew that couldn’t be a good thing.

---