Page 119 of Proof of Guilt

“She texted Jameson back and told him she’d be careful. She has a son now, so I’m sure she will do anything to protect him.”

Theo glanced at Cameron, and even though neither man said anything, everyone knew that Lauren was still a raw nerve for Cameron. It probably hadn’t helped that she’d gotten married and become a mom. A single mom, though, since her husband had died a little over a year ago. Or so Ivy had heard. Lauren hadn’t exactly stayed in touch with her, either.

“So many lives got messed up that night the Becketts died,” Cameron mumbled. “Lauren blamed me for a lot of that.”

She had. And the blame was partially warranted. Cameron had been a rookie deputy at the time, along with being friends with Theo’s family. Just a couple of hours before the murders, Cameron had run into Travis drunk outside the town’s bar. He’d taken Travis’s keys, but he hadn’t arrested him for public intoxication. If Cameron had, then Travis would have been locked up, and he couldn’t have committed two murders. She doubted Cameron would ever forgive himself for that.

And neither would Lauren.

“What the hell?” Cameron said, getting Ivy’s attention. Theo, too.

She followed the deputy’s gaze to the road ahead and spotted a blond-haired woman. Ivy didn’t recognize her, but she was on the gravel shoulder, her hands in the air as if she were surrendering.

“You know her?” Theo immediately asked Cameron.

“No. She’s not local. I have no idea why she’s in the road, but I don’t think she’s carrying a gun.”

Ivy agreed, and since the woman was wearing a body-clinging cotton dress, it would have been hard for her to conceal a weapon. Not impossible, though, and that’s probably why Theo moti

oned for Ivy to get down on the seat. She did, but not before trying to get a better glimpse of whatever the heck was going on.

“You see anyone else?” Theo again, and the question was directed at Cameron.

“No,” the deputy repeated, and he slowed the cruiser to a crawl. “Keep the windows up,” he instructed—probably because they were bullet-resistant. “She doesn’t have on any shoes, and her feet are bleeding. It’s possible she got stranded by the river or something.”

It was the possibility of that “or something” that troubled Ivy, and when Cameron brought the cruiser to a stop, Ivy could see the woman. She still had her hands in the air. And looked dazed. Her hair was a tangled mess, and while Ivy didn’t have a view of her feet, there was also blood and what appeared to be a bruise on the right side of her face. What she didn’t do was rush forward.

Strange.

After all, they were in a Blue River Sheriff’s Department cruiser that was clearly marked, and both Cameron and Theo were wearing their badges.

Cameron called for an ambulance for backup. He did that because he probably wanted a cop to go with her to the hospital. Then he lowered his window just a fraction.

“Are you all right?” he asked her, sounding very much like the lawman that he was.

She shook her head. “I think I was kidnapped.”

Yes, definitely strange. A person should know for certain if they were kidnapped or not, but maybe someone had drugged her. Whoever had done that perhaps caused that injury to her face.

“What’s your name?” Cameron pressed. “And who kidnapped you?”

Another shake of her head, and a hoarse sob tore from her mouth. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

Cameron huffed. “Then where are you supposed to be, and who brought you here?”

Several moments crawled by, and while Theo was watching her, he continued to glance around. Ivy wanted to help him do that, but she knew it would only make him more on edge if she did.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said.

“For what?” Cameron snapped.

But she didn’t get a chance to answer. That’s because a shot cracked through the air and the bullet slammed right into the woman’s chest.

* * *

THEO DIDN’T SEE the shooter, but he certainly heard the bullet. And he had no trouble seeing the damage it did.

The blonde made a sharp sound of pain, clutched her chest and dropped to the ground. Theo didn’t think she was dead, but she soon would be. The blood was already spreading across the front of her dress.

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