Page 152 of Forever Dead
“You’re still using it.”
“Apparently I’m obedient now.”
A faint smile formed and disappeared.
“Good.”
Selena set the cane against the chair.
Neither spoke for a moment.
She wanted to touch him but was suddenly afraid of doing the wrong thing. The IV line, the monitor, the knowledge of the wound beneath the blanket made Connor seem temporarily untouchable.
“What happened?” she asked.
Connor swallowed before answering.
“Got a call about the Ellison place.”
“Nora Ellison?”
“Yeah.”
Selena’s stomach tightened.
“What happened to her?”
Connor closed his eyes briefly, gathering strength.
“Found her on the kitchen table. Killer staged her there.”
“How?”
“Blood everywhere. Corn cob forced down her throat.”
Selena lowered her gaze to the blanket.
Nora had stopped beside her in the motel parking lot only days earlier, teasing her about the cane. She had said she planned to get home before dark until Halloween was over.
“She told me she was staying in because of the traffic from Meekie’s,” Selena said.
Connor watched her.
“I spoke to her outside the motel.”
Selena rubbed a crease from the blanket, then made herself stop.
“Jesus, Connor.”
“I heard someone upstairs,” Connor said. “Broad shoulders. Dark clothes, hood pulled low. He came out of a bedroom with a knife.”
“You saw his face?”
“No. He lunged before I got a proper look.”
“You fired?”
“Twice. He ducked under the first shot. I hit my elbow on the doorframe trying to get clear of the knife, and the second went wide.”
