Page 79 of Final Escape
WHEN SHERIFF TYLERand Deputy Rick Peterson arrived at Wolf River Rafting Company at noon the next day, Logan looked up at the cruiser and felt an automatic sinking sensation in his gut.
Vance Munson was a smooth talker. Convincing. A longtime member of the Lawler County Sheriff’s Department. And he certainly had a lot to lose. During the night, Logan had mulled over a hundred ways that Munson might have twisted the facts somehow, to slither out of the murder and attempted murder charges he deserved.
The presence of local law enforcement hadn’t meant justice over the past few years, and Logan expected nothing better now.
He braced himself as the two men climbed out of the patrol car and walked up to the raft Logan was working on.
The sheriff glanced around. “Where’s your sister?”
“Float trip.” Logan looked at his watch. “She started upriver and ought to be landing here in an hour.”
“And the Randall woman?”
That didn’t sound good. “She just got back from some errands. I believe she’s up in her apartment, packing.”
“We don’t want her to leave town.”
I don’t, either.Since she’d announced her plans, he’d felt as if a cold, heavy boulder had landed on his heart.
“Is this related to some sort of trumped-up charges against her? Because if it is, you have no idea how wrong you are. She—”
“It’s not anything of the sort. We thought you deserved an update in person. You’ve been through a lot of trouble lately, and the department owes you both gratitude for all you did, as well as an apology.”
Logan caught a flash of movement at the corner of his eye and turned to find Carrie walking toward him, smiling.
She drew close, slipped her hand into Logan’s and gave it a quick squeeze before letting go. “Linda had surgery last night, and is doing well. Noah and his dad are visiting her right now.”
“She wouldn’t have survived if you hadn’t called 911 and helped her before the EMTs got there. She said she was afraid to call 911 before you arrived and could go after Noah, in case her call alerted Vance to go back to finish her off.” The sheriff studied Carrie for a long moment, then he smiled. “You’re one brave woman, ma’am, going out in the dark like that. Not many full-grown men would try to take on Vance Munson.”
Carrie wrapped her arms around her middle. “I wouldn’t, either. But I had no choice.”
“Fast thinking,” Rick added, his voice laced with admiration. “That bear spray just about stopped him in his tracks.”
She shivered. “Not quite.”
The sheriff nodded. “Adrenaline and fear can overcome just about anything, and I’m sure Munson was seeing his life fall apart in front of his eyes. I think he would’ve killed you and the boy without a second thought. Luckily your friend here led us up there in time.”
“I know.” Carrie angled a grateful smile up at Logan. “Vance was just getting his second wind, and I don’t know if Noah and I could’ve outrun him.”
It all sounded too good to be true, the congratulations and the acknowledgments. There had to be a catch. Logan cleared his throat. “So what happens now?”
“We called in the BCI again last night. Interrogating a suspect can be difficult. But a cop who’s done it himself for a few decades...well, it ain’t easy. But we do have a confession and he’s still back there, admitting to certain details. We’ll be filing charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping...the list is a long one. But after we build this case, I have no doubt that he’ll never see the light of day as a free man again. With Linda Bates and Noah on the stand, he doesn’t have a chance.”
Carrie frowned. “You think that poor boy will have to testify? How could he—he barely speaks as it is. And the emotional trauma of reliving his mother’s death would be too cruel.”
“His relatives say he’ll be receiving all the counseling he needs, for as long as he needs it.” Rick looked at a sheaf of papers on a clipboard cradled in his arm. “The courts won’t request his testimony except as a last resort, and then only if he’s emotionally able. Specially trained youth officers will obtain a statement from him now.”
The sheriff glanced between Logan and Carrie. “We need statements from both of you, as well. We’d like you to come down to the office so we can do it right and proper, with a stenographer and video. We don’t want to take any chances with this case.” His mouth curled in distaste. “I support my officers one hundred percent. But when one goes bad, I want to take him down.”
Carrie bit her lower lip. “What about Billy?”
“What we’ve got so far is that Vance Munson was stalking the Bradleys—wanting to cause enough trouble to drive them away.”
“But why?”
“Vance had an affair with Sheryl and killed her when she started threatening to tell his wife. I guess she wanted to run off with him, but he refused. Vance has been in a perfect position to doctor or eliminate evidence, and planned for Logan to take the rap for her death, but the jury let him go. Vance was afraid that people would start wondering who really did do it, and ask too many questions that might lead straight to him. He wanted Logan either jailed or dead—just to put all of that to rest for good.”
“So he encouraged all the rumors against Logan?”
