Page 89 of Crosshairs

“I’d like to talk to Sarah before she leaves,” she said, then turned to Kanesha. “But would you first check out Gran, make sure all this excitement hasn’t raised her blood pressure?”

“You sure you’re ready to walk to the ambulance?”

“We’ll see.” She stood and steadied herself until her head stopped swimming, then took tentative steps. So far, so good. Her strength returned by the time she reached Sarah. An angry-looking bruise covered half the reporter’s forehead.

“I’m so sorry,” Sarah said, staring at Ainsley. “If I had just seen him earlier, I—”

“I’m sorry you got caught up in this,” she said. “Linc said the man might fit the sketch you saw earlier.”

“It was hard to tell. He had on some kind of goggles and a floppy black hat and a black plastic poncho.”

“Could you tell how tall he was?”

“No. It happened so fast ... the last thing I expected was a man to barrel into me.”

“What were you doing up there?” Linc asked.

“I was touring the house, and when I got to the second floor, I, uh, needed to use the restroom. When I came out of the bathroom, he was just there. I think I surprised him as much as he surprised me.”

Ainsley squeezed Sarah’s hand. “If I can help you in any way, let me know.”

“How about that interview?” she asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

The reporter never gave up. “I’m sorry, but the only thing I’d have to say is ‘No comment.’”

Sarah huffed, then lifted her gaze to Linc. “My equipment is still on the second floor. Would you mind getting my backpack for me?”

While they waited for Linc to retrieve Sarah’s belongings, the reporter tried again to lock Ainsley into an interview. And again, she refused. Ainsley froze as her dad approached the ambulance. He must not have seen her, because when their gazes met, he faltered, then recovered.

“I hope you’re better,” he said, his voice flat.

She nodded and he turned to Sarah, taking her hand. “I’m so sorry this happened. Please get checked out at the hospital. I’ll cover the cost.”

Ainsley backed away from the ambulance. The seed of doubt sprouted in her mind again. What if he had tried to get rid of her? The question was, did she want to mention her suspicions to Pete Nelson, who was walking toward her?

“You okay?” Pete asked when they met. The resignation in his face and slumped shoulders indicated he was taking today’s crimes personally.

“Headache, but it could have been worse.” Much worse. Like Drew Kingston. “How is Drew?”

His lips pressed together briefly in a thin line before he answered. “The doctors are keeping him sedated to allow his body time to heal.”

“Prognosis?”

He rested his hand on his gun. “Barring complications, he should recover, but it’ll be a few days before I can interview him,” he said. “Think back over your phone conversation with him this morning. Is there anything new surfacing from your memory?”

If only she’d had the presence of mind to record the call, but she remembered it almost word for word. “No. Wish there was something new.”

“He was there last night to see Hannah’s mother. Do you know why?”

“Drew didn’t get that far. He’d just told us he saw who shot Connie Hanover when his assailant shot him.”

Ainsley twisted the wet cloth she still held. Hannah, Connie Hanover, Drew Kingston, now Sarah. How many more people were going to be hurt because she hadn’t caught the person responsible? Maybe her supervisor needed to call in someone who was more capable.

46

Linc grabbed Sarah’s backpack from the floor near the bedroom door on the second floor of the house. He looked around for a purse but didn’t see one. Maybe like Ainsley, the reporter used the backpack for one. He walked out on the veranda, where a deputy was snapping photos of a black AR-15 type rifle. When he looked up, Linc nodded.

“Don’t suppose there were any prints,” he said.

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