Page 100 of Deathmarch
“They’re about to discharge him. We’re supposed to keep an eye on him overnight. Possible concussion, same deal as with Allie. Did you pick up Poole?”
“He’s not our guy. He just came out of surgery. Heart attack.” Harper explained what the doctor told him.
“You still want me to bring Zane back to Broslin?”
“Leave him at the county jail here. They can keep an eye on him. They have more staff. I’d have to bring him back here tomorrow anyway for his bail hearing. Did he get a lawyer yet?”
“Some guy’s driving down from Harrisburg in the morning.”
And if Zane didn’t have a prior record, he’d probably make bail. He’d claim that he just wanted to talk to his girlfriend, that she got hurt because she’d slipped on ice, that the whole thing was a misunderstanding instead of an attempted kidnapping.
Harper called Joe next.
The search of Poole’s house hadn’t turned up a single shred of evidence that could have tied him to the murder case.
Harper swore all the way home.
He wasn’t in the best of moods when he strode into his apartment at the top of the stairs.
“Allie?”
She didn’t respond. The door to the guest bedroom was closed. Maybe she was napping.
God, he was ready to see her, talk to her, have dinner with her.Kiss her.
He thought some more about that and smiled at last. He could get used to coming home to Allie instead of an empty apartment.
A piece of paper on the table caught his attention. He picked it up.
I’m sorry, Harper, but…
He read it to the end before crumpling it, then went back down the stairs and over to the B and B. If she was leaving, she could have told him in person. He would have liked there to have been a discussion.
So he went to see her, because, at the very least, he wanted to make sure she reached the B and B safely and didn’t hurt her ankle. Then, if she told him to leave her alone, he would. Her choice. She didn’t need another stalker. Harper’s feelings were his problem. If she broke his damn heart, he’d do his best to take it like a man.
“Hi, Mrs. O’Brian. Is Allie in her room?” he asked Shannon as he sailed in.
“Oh, Harper.” She tightened her robe. “I think Allie went to bed early. I called up to her when I got home from the grocery store, but she didn’t respond, so I let her be. Sleep is important for recovery. What’s wrong?”
Harper took the stairs two at a time. Knocked while Shannon waited at the foot of the stairs.
No response.
“Allie?”
She ignored him.
“Talk to me.” He rested his head against the door.
It drifted open.
She wasn’t in the room. The bathroom door was ajar, so he could see in. She wasn’t in there either.
Then he saw another note, on the floor this time.
A freaking treasure hunt. Christ, Allie. Not now.
He didn’t have time for this. He needed to talk to her, then get back to the station, go over every scrap of evidence again, crime scene photos, interview transcripts. He was in the middle of a murder investigation with no suspect.
