Page 31 of Two Favors Repaid

Rob wasn’t going to forget that for as long as she lived. Jessy could call him when he was ninety years old, and he’d run to her side as fast as his arthritic legs would let him.

Darryl scratched his closely shaved head thoughtfully.

Together the two men retraced Emma’s steps to the side entrance. The top section of the door was broken, shattered by a bullet.

“Did you find the casings?” Darryl said, kneeling by the door.

“Not yet.”

Darryl shrugged a massive shoulder. “Does Emma think he was actually shooting at her or just trying to scare her?”

“She doesn’t know, but his first shot hit her on the arm. It could have killed her just as easily.”

“How did he and Ford end up teaming together, if that’s what they’re doing? Where did they meet?”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering. We don’t know anything about this man. Lorraine’s hypothesis is he might have come across Ford during one of his murders and … just liked what he saw.” Rob swallowed his revulsion.

Darryl looked ready to commit murder himself. “This asshole could have killed Emma and Jessy.”

“Hold on.” Rob knelt down and picked up a spent casing, placing it in a small plastic bag. He was careful not to touch it with his hand. “Looks like a .22 caliber. The lab will confirm it.”

They finished the round of the school quietly and found another casing right inside one of the classrooms. The attacker had probably hidden here and waited for Emma to show.

“Thank God she didn’t come further inside. If she’d come any closer, there’s no way he would have missed.”

They walked slowly back out the other door until they found themselves at the front gate. Rob made a mental note to call the locksmith again. He was going to have a lot to explain to Natalie and to the mayor next time budget season came along.

“How can I help you?” Darryl asked. Rob looked gratefully at his friend. Darryl might be a man of few words, but he made them all count.

“I’m going to go find Emma at the hospital, and I’m going to stick to her like a limpet until the FBI gets here and catches this asshole.”

“What an attractive image, man. Thanks for that,” Darryl said, grinning. Then his expression went serious again. “I’ll update the men on what’s going on. We’ll coordinate with Susan and Alma and keep an eye out around town for anything suspicious. You can count on us if you need us.”

“Thanks, Darryl, I appreciate it.” Rob thought of Darryl’s crew. Adrian Walsh, the stubborn Irishman who managed the volunteer fire brigade, and Jack and Alex Miller, their two junior members, who were also brothers. “Please say thank you to the others as well.”

“Do you need an escort back to the hospital?”

“I think I’ll manage,” Rob said. He wanted nothing more than to see Emma again.

Chapter 9

Emma

If a day earlier somebody had told her she would be happy to set foot on a boat, she wouldn’t have believed them.

She walked past the spot where she’d left her drawing materials in her haste to get to Jonas. The painting of the sailboat was still there, but it was almost unrecognizable. At some point the breeze, or maybe a seagull, had overturned her small water cup onto the drying page and rivers of paint stained the drawing.

How appropriate.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the urge to cry to pass. It wasn’t about the painting. She knew she could easily redo that. And it wasn’t just about her arm either, though that definitely hurt. It was about having control taken from her so soon after she’d managed to reestablish it.

“It’s a beautiful painting,” Rob said behind her.

Emma jumped. She’d almost forgotten her was here as well. But of course he was here. He didn’t trust her to be alone anymore.

How could I have been so stupid?

They’d called Jonas’s parents and learned the whole family was in Florida visiting the boy’s grandparents. How somebody had found out Jonas’s name was beyond her.