Page 9 of The Sheriff's Baby

That wasn’t a surprise to either Duncan or her, and that led them to more questions. Who’d drugged her and why? Hopefully, they’d know the answers to that soon.

“Her blood pressure is high as well,” the doctor continued. “And that means when you question her, you can’t push too hard. I can’t give her anything right now for the blood pressure until I find out what other drugs are in her system.”

Duncan groaned. “I have to push,” he insisted. “Molly Radel and her baby’s life could depend on it.”

Dr. Benton’s eyes widened. “You believe the patient had something to do with that?”

“I think the likelihood is high that there’s a connection. It’s possible the woman can tell us who took Molly.”

Despite Duncan’s use oflikelihoodandpossible, the doctor nodded and stepped to the side. “All right, you can question her, but I have to be there. And trust me, I will pull the plug on the interview if I feel she can’t handle it.”

Duncan nodded, too, while he was already on the move. With Dr. Benton and Joelle right behind him, Duncan stepped into the ER room where the woman was lying on the bed. She was hooked up to a monitor and had an IV in the back of her hand. Joelle also spotted some injuries. There was a gash on the side of her head, some bruising as well and her feet were covered with cuts and scrapes.

“She obviously walked barefoot through some rough terrain,” the doctor pointed out. “There was also powder on her clothes. The kind of powder you’d get from a deployed airbag.”

So maybe she’d been involved in a car accident. However, that didn’t explain what had happened to her shoes or why she’d ended up walking to Molly’s. Or the ominous message she’d delivered.

The woman’s eyes were open, and when she lifted her head, her attention went straight to them. Joelle didn’t see any recognition in her expression, only wariness and confusion. Added to that, her gaze still had that dazed look she’d had when she arrived at Molly’s.

“I’m Sheriff Duncan Holder,” he said, stepping closer to her. He tipped his head to Joelle. “And this is Deputy Joelle McCullough. Could you tell us your name?”

The woman looked at the doctor and then shifted her attention to Joelle. “I came to see you,” she muttered, her voice a ragged whisper.

That gave Joelle some hope. If the woman remembered that, then she might recall other things, too.

“You did,” Joelle verified. She started to remind her of what she’d said before she collapsed but decided to press for an ID instead. “Who are you?”

She shook her head as if trying to figure that out, and then murmured. “Kate Moreland.”

Duncan got out his phone as she spoke the last syllable, and he fired off a quick text, no doubt to get someone at the sheriff’s office to run a background check on her.

“Kate Moreland,” Joelle repeated, mentally testing out the name, but it didn’t ring any bells. “You know me?”

Kate shook her head. “I know of you.” Her voice broke into a hoarse groan. She eased back onto the bed and closed her eyes. “I had to warn you.”

Another positive sign that she’d remembered that. Of course, the warning she’d delivered hadn’t been positive at all.

“You said someone wanted me dead,” Joelle reminded her. “Who?”

She didn’t open her eyes, and it was at least fifteen seconds before she answered. “My son,” she finally said, and she broke down into a heaving sob. A reaction that caused the numbers on the monitor to spike.

“You need to leave,” Dr. Benton insisted. “Her blood pressure’s too high. Step out while I try to get her stabilized.” It wasn’t a request, and the doctor practically muscled them out of the room.

Duncan cursed and took out his phone. “Slater’s running the background check on her. I’ll see if he’s got anything yet.” However, Duncan’s phone rang before he could call her brother.

“It’s Ronnie,” he relayed to her, and he put the deputy’s call on speaker.

“We found a car, a dark blue Audi,” Ronnie said right off. “It looks as if the driver hit the east side of the bridge and lost control. It was off the road and all the way down on the banks of the creek.”

The creek was only about a half mile from Molly’s, and if it did, indeed, belong to Kate, then the woman had likely been traveling from the interstate. If she’d been coming from town, then the collision would have probably happened on the west side of the bridge. Also, if she’d been coming from town, Duncan or one of the responding deputies would have spotted her on the road before she’d made it to Molly’s.

“I’m running the plates now,” Ronnie continued. “But there was a purse and a phone in the vehicle. According to the driver’s license, the purse’s owner is Kate Moreland. She has a San Antonio address.”

San Antonio was a half hour away, which meant Ruston could no doubt help with getting them any info they needed on her. And her son. Joelle wanted to know his name and why Kate had believed he might want to kill her.

“When you do a thorough search of the car,” Duncan said, “check her GPS to confirm if she was heading to Molly’s or Joelle’s. And let me know if you find anything we can use.”

Ronnie assured him that he would, and Duncan ended the call to make one to Slater. Her brother answered on the first ring.

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