For the second time in one night, Lindsey grabbed her dog, hauling him down and trying to block him with her body from a gunshot. It never came. Instead, there was a sickening crunch, a thump, a groan, and then nothing.
The door on the driver’s side was jerked open, and there was Sully. Lindsey raised her head and blinked at him. Then she whipped around and looked at Larry. He was shaking out his fist while Sarah was slumped against the passenger door, unconscious.
“I’ve never hit a woman in my life,” he said.
The door on the other side of Sarah was jerked open, and she slid out, her body limp. Emma was there and grabbed her before she hit the pavement. Larry climbed out after her, retrieving the gun that Sarah had dropped on the truck floor when he hit her.
Lindsey let Heathcliff jump out and then followed him. She hugged Sully tight, absorbing his strength and his warmth for a moment before walking around the front of the truck to join the others.
“Theresa? Is she okay?” Larry asked Emma. He sounded as if he was afraid of the answer, and given how ruthless Sarah had been, Lindsey didn’t blame him. She clenched her muscles, anticipating news she did not want to hear.
“She’s fine,” Emma said. “She’s upstairs with Officer Kirkland, who was shot.”
Lindsey gasped, and Emma shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s not life threatening. When I couldn’t find Sarah in the building, I came down to meet the ambulance. I didn’t realize she was in the truck with you until I saw Sully creeping up on the vehicle.”
“I heard her force her way into the truck,” Sully said. “But I saw she had a gun, and I didn’t want to scare her into shooting anyone.”
“Good call,” Emma said. She glanced at Lindsey and Larry. “What did she say to you?”
“She said she was going to kill Larry and me,” Lindsey said. “Then Heathcliff jumped at her, and she turned the gun on him and Larry knocked her out.”
“She saw you come into the shop, and she sneaked out,” Larry said. “She wants revenge on me for putting her away. This is all my fault.”
“No, it isn’t.” Lindsey grabbed his arm and squeezed it. “You may have made some poor choices, but you did the best you could at the time and you saved my dog.”
The corner of Larry’s mouth turned up just a little. He nodded and then turned to Emma. “Can I go see Theresa?”
Emma glanced from him to the building. “All right, but we have to remain vigilant. Whoever Sarah hired to kill Chad Bauman and take over his hit man duties is still out there.”
“No, she isn’t,” Sully said. He gestured at Sarah. “That’s your shooter. She killed Bauman, and then she went gunning for Theresa herself.”
Both Lindsey and Emma gave him wide-eyed looks.
“How’d you figure that?” Emma asked.
“We saw the yellow sweatshirt that she’s wearing in the back of the muscle car that was parked in the woods,” he said. “She’s the one who drove through town at top speed, chasing Theresa and the twins. The shooter is her. I’m betting ballistics will prove it.”
“He’s right,” Lindsey said. “I remember the sweatshirt, too. It has to be her.”
“Oh God, she was the one shooting at Theresa? I have to go see her now,” Larry said. He ran into the shop, banging the door behind him.
Sarah groaned. Emma knelt down beside her and rolled her so that she could fasten handcuffs on her wrists behind her back. Sarah’s eyes blinked open, but then she shut them and began to moan.
“You can’t arrest me,” she said. “You have to send me back to Serenity Springs, where I can get treatment.”
“You shot one of my officers,” Emma said. “You’re not going anywhere until you answer for that and the murder of Chad Bauman.”
Sarah opened one eye and stared at her. “You can’t prove anything. Liza was the one who paid Chad Bauman out of her trust fund, she was the one who got me out of the nuthouse, and she was the one who wanted to kill Theresa so she could cash in on the life insurance policy that Larry took out on Theresa for Liza.”
“That’s a lie,” Lindsey said. Whether Sarah was crazy or not, the fact that this woman would let her daughter take the fall for her own reprehensible behavior made Lindsey furious. “Liza didn’t know about the policy, but I’m betting you did, because Larry likely had one on you, too, for his daughter, am I right?”
“Shut up!” Sarah snapped.
“You lied to Liza, too, telling her you were going to kill yourself, convincing her you were just trying to run Theresa off when you really planned to kill her so that Liza would inherit and you could help yourself to Liza’s inheritance.”
“I said shut up!” Sarah bellowed. Her face was bright red, and her breath was heaving in and out as if she’d run a long distance. “He owes it to me—hell, the kid owes it to me. If I’d never had that lousy brat, I could have murdered Larry in his sleep, inherited a fortune and disappeared, but no, I had to get knocked up, and then when I couldn’t take it anymore, he sent me away.”
Emma stared at Sarah with contemptuous disdain, while Lindsey found herself leaning closer to Sully, as if his goodness was a buffer from the horror that was this woman.
“Why did you threaten to take her, then?” Lindsey asked. “Why did you want custody?”
“Because she was my cash cow for life,” Sarah said. “As long as I had her, I was set. I could milk Larry for anything I wanted.”
Disgust left a bad taste in Lindsey’s mouth. Perhaps Sarah was mentally ill, as Larry had said, but she was also evil personified.
“That’s what you thought of me? As a meal ticket?” Liza stepped out of the shadows, flanked by Stieg and Stefan. “You lied to me. You told me my father had put you away because he was tired of being a husband. You threatened to kill yourself. And . . . and you said you had nothing to do with shooting Chad. But it was you, wasn’t it?”
Sarah rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t abide Liza’s drama. “Chad was a total disappointment. I mean, how hard is it to hit someone with a car or hold a pillow over their face? Honestly, I should have known when I offered him money to break me out of Serenity Springs and he couldn’t figure out how to do it that he wasn’t too bright. Still, he took the money to do the hit on Theresa without fussing. I should have hired a professional.”
“You told me he was just going to scare her off so that you’d have a chance to win Dad back.” Liza wobbled on her feet, and both Stieg and Stefan steadied her. “All of it, every word you uttered, was a lie.”
Sarah looked at her daughter and couldn’t even hide the malice she felt. “Look at you, all grown up and still a pain in my ass. Why? Why would I ever want you or your father? You’re pathetic.”
With that, she slumped to the ground as if she’d fainted. Emma wasn’t having it, and she dragged the woman up to her feet. Sarah’s head lolled as if she was unconscious, but Emma refused to play.
“Stop it!” she snapped.
She forced Sarah to stand, held her arm in a firm grip, and half dragged, half pushed her toward her squad car. She put her hand on Sarah’s head and folded her into the back seat, then she slammed the door.
“Sully? Keep an eye?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said.
Emma hurried off to meet the ambulance that had just pulled up behind them. Lindsey knew she was worried about Officer Kirkland and wouldn’t rest until she knew he was going to be okay.
The EMTs and Emma hurried into the shop while Lindsey and Sully kept watch over Emma’s squad car. Sarah booted the door, demanding that they release her. She threatened to kick the window out, she swore she would harm herself, and when they ignored her, she threatened their lives.
Sully took his phone out and began to record her. She immediately stopped. Instead, she curled up into a ball and began to rock back and forth. Lindsey got the feeling she was plotting something. The conniving look in her eyes was unnerving, and Lindsey shivered. Sully put his arm around her and pulled her close as if he thought she was cold. She was grateful for both his strength and his warmth.
A quick glance into the back of the car, and she saw Sarah watching them. She knew that Sarah suffered from a mental illness, but there was no changing the fact that she’d taken a life, and given the chance, she would have taken another. When Lindsey glanced over at Liza, she was sitting on the curb with her head down on her folded arms. She looked as if she was sobbing while Stieg and Stefan stood beside her, clearly not knowing what to do.
“Thanks, Sully.” Emma reappeared with the EMTs behind her.
Officer Kirkland was on a stretcher. As they passed by Lindsey to get him loaded into the ambulance, she reached out and grabbed Kirkland’s hand.
“Hey, I’m really glad you’re all right,” she said. It was hard to talk around the lump in her throat, but she swallowed hard and managed it.
“Me, too,” he said. His freckles stood out against the pallor of his skin. He squeezed her fingers and said, “Got a hell of a story out of it though, didn’t I?”
“And probably a scar.” Lindsey laughed.
She leaned over the side of the stretcher and kissed him on the head. Kirkland flushed pink and grinned. The EMTs loaded him into the back of the ambulance and closed the doors.
Just then Larry emerged from the shop with Theresa in his arms. His eyes were damp, and it was clear to Lindsey he was overcome with relief that the woman he loved was safe. Theresa rested her head on his shoulder, obviously relieved to be alive and well.
She lifted her head and searched the area. Lindsey wondered whether she was looking for Sarah, afraid she’d be attacked again, but she wasn’t. Instead, her gaze settled on Liza. The compassion in her eyes made Lindsey blink. She wasn’t angry at her future stepdaughter; rather, she was worried.
“Liza, are you all right?” Theresa asked. She flailed in Larry’s arms as if she’d run to Liza if she could.
Liza lifted her head from her arms, saw Theresa trying to get to her, and promptly burst into big, gut-wrenching sobs. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
The Norrgard brothers stepped back, making room for Larry and Theresa. Larry lowered Theresa until she was on the ground beside Liza.
Theresa opened her arms, and Liza fell against her. “Shh. Hush now,” Theresa said as she stroked Liza’s hair. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
Liza leaned back and looked at her. “How can you forgive me? I could have gotten you killed. I probably did get Chad killed by signing her out of that facility. Mom—Sarah—told me he was robbed and that the shooting had nothing to do with us, but it was her. She killed him, and she tried to kill you when she told me she was only going to scare you off. And then she wanted me to kill Ms. Norris, because she said she knew too much and I was going to be sent to jail, but I couldn’t do it.”
“I know, baby. I know.” Theresa pulled her back into her arms and let her continue to cry. She rocked Liza gently back and forth and then kissed the top of her head.
“When you and Dad got engaged, I just . . . I lost my place,” Liza sobbed. “And then Sarah found me and convinced me that we could be a family again—oh God, I was so dumb. I thought I’d finally have my mom, but she isn’t, she wasn’t, she never could be—”
“You have a mom. You’ll always have a mom, assuming you still want me, that is,” Theresa said. Her voice was thick, and Larry, who knelt behind her, propping her up, was openly crying.
“Yes, oh please, if you can forgive me, I’d love for you to be my mom,” Liza said. “For real.”
The rest of them watched as the small family took the first steps toward mending. Emma locked the door to the variety store and strode toward her car. She punched Sully on the shoulder as she passed.
“Thanks for keeping watch,” she said. “I’m taking Sarah into the station. Can I count on you two to come and give your statements?”
Lindsey felt her lips twitch. Only Emma could ask a question that wasn’t a question at all.
“We’re right behind you,” Sully said.
Emma nodded. She said the same thing to the Milsteins and the Norrgard brothers. Then she climbed into her car and drove off.
Stieg and Stefan helped Larry load Theresa and Liza into the oversize SUV and followed Emma. In moments, it was just Sully, Lindsey and Heathcliff standing on the sidewalk, catching their breath and regrouping. At least, Lindsey thought that’s what they were doing.
“Come on, let’s get some air,” Sully said. He took her hand in his and started to walk toward the center of town.
“Where are we going?” Lindsey asked.
“To the pier.”
Lindsey patted her thigh, signaling to Heathcliff to follow. He bounded alongside them, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He looked happy, and Lindsey envied him for his doggy resiliency and the fact that he had no idea what could have happened back there.
She let go of Sully’s hand and slid her arm around his waist. The night air was cool, and she wanted to absorb his warmth and at the same time feel sure of him, of them, of the life they were going to carve out together.
They passed the Blue Anchor and the sound of Charlie Peyton’s band, rising and falling as the doors opened and closed as people came and went. Down the pier they strolled, all the way to the end, and stood beneath one of the overhead lights. The few islands out in the bay that had power had their lights on, which were reflected in the gentle waves that lapped their way toward shore.
Sully turned to face her. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a ring. It sparkled in the lamplight, and Lindsey glanced from it to him.
“I had a whole speech prepared,” he said. “It was a sales pitch, really, on why you should say yes and become my wife, but after the events of the evening, I can’t remember a word of it, except this.” He paused and lowered himself to one knee. Heathcliff, as if suspecting something big was happening and wanting to be a part of it, sat beside him, swishing his tail across the rough wooden planks.
“Lindsey Norris, I love you with all that I am and all that I will ever be. I want to ask you officially this time, with a ring to seal the deal, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
She dropped to her knees and threw herself into his arms, kissing him as a tear coursed down her cheek. Sully returned her kiss and then pulled back so he could take her hand and put the ring on her finger. It was an emerald-cut diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds, and it was a perfect fit.
“It was my grandmother’s,” Sully said. “She was a well-read, sassy woman, so I know she’d be thrilled with my choice of bride.”
Lindsey laughed and wiped the tears off her face. She stared into Sully’s bright blue eyes and considered herself the luckiest woman in the world, predawn whistling and all.