A Cold Day In Hell. Stella Cameron

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      Finn got on to the dispatcher at the station house and spoke to Officer Carley, whom they all knew well. “We need to find Mitch Halpern,” he said. “You know, Dr. Mitch?” Carley kept it short and efficient and assured him she’d get the local doctor over there fast.

      Waves of tremors shook Emma. She heard the sound of many approaching feet and voices, breathless, high voices. And Lobelia Forestier’s rose above them all.

      “Is she dead? Has Emma been murdered? Was she raped? If Matt Boudreaux had done his job properly in the past, this wouldn’t be happening now.”

      “Can it, Lobelia,” Sabine Webb said. “You’re embarrassin’ all of us.”

      “You doin’ okay, Emma?” Ona asked.

      “I am,” Emma said.

      She saw a pair of extremely high, gray ankle boots, gorgeous legs and a deep green swishing skirt. Delia Board was there, of course. Ignoring her knees and her hose, she got down beside Finn.

      A police car, lights flashing, rolled in, passed Finn’s car and stopped. Chief Matt Boudreaux got out, leaving the door open, and Officer Clemens came at a trot.

      “No,” Emma said. “Not the police, please. He told me not to tell anyone. He said he’d make sure our baby died, if I did. And me.”

      “Who told you not to tell anyone?” Lobelia said. “What did he do to you?”

      Cold, the sweat on his body abruptly icy, Finn looked into Emma’s face and said quietly, “He won’t get near you again.”

      “What happened here?” Matt Boudreaux asked.

      “I think some guy was drunk,” Emma said, keeping her voice strong. “He threatened me. I’m moving out from the truck now.”

      “Don’t,” Finn said. “Please, cher, just stay where you are.”

      “Take it easy,” Matt said. “Tell me what went on. Take it slowly.”

      “This is what happens when the police chief is too young,” Lobelia said. “We need someone with experience in the job. Every woman in this town is in danger of being raped in her bed. We’d better all make sure we lock our doors.”

      “Can it, Lobelia,” Sabine Webb said again.

      “I’ll have to ask you ladies to move along,” Matt said. “The aid car’s comin’ and you’re in the way.”

      “The idea!” Lobelia said. “Don’t you forget who pays your wages, young man. If you don’t want to lose that cushy job of yours, you’ll watch your tongue.”

      Finn glanced at Delia who shook her head slightly. “Emma, how are you feeling? What hurts, darling?”

      “I’m going to be fine,” Emma said. She planted an elbow and pushed herself out from beneath the pickup. She smiled at Delia and whispered, “See if you can get Lobelia out of here. Sabine will help.”

      “Consider it done,” Delia said and stood up. She flapped her arms at Lobelia. “This is too much for you. Much too much. I insist we go back inside and have some coffee. With a little something stronger in it.”

      “I’ve got just the thing,” Ona said. “It’s my own special recipe for shock.”

      Lobelia tutted.

      “I insist,” Delia said, and the four women headed back toward Out Back.

      “Where the hell’s the aid car?” Matt asked, and more flashing lights appeared as if he’d summoned them. “Well…well, we’ve got a good portion of the police force. But I want medics.” Another cop car pulled in, followed by a dark-colored Prius.

      “The aid car could have been called to an emergency,” Emma said.

      Matt opened his mouth and Finn as good as heard that the other man intended to say that this was an emergency. “Good thing everything’s under control here,” Finn said quickly. “Rusty’s arrived. I don’t think we want a whole lot written about this in the papers, at least not yet. Whoever did this needs to be caught, not scared off.”

      Rusty Barnes ran the local newspaper and he was also a close friend of Finn and Emma.

      The arms that closed around Emma were the only ones she wanted to feel. She looked up at Finn, into his dark, troubled eyes, and he managed a half-hearted grin. “Sit still,” he said. “When I get you home I’m keeping you there. You’re too dangerous to be out. What have you got on your feet? You’ve got to wear sensible shoes.”

      Emma just listened to him and kept her head on his shoulder.

      Rusty arrived. He had a camera slung over one shoulder. Like most very-small-town newspapers, The Pointe Judah News didn’t run to many employees. In fact, Rusty and two production people were it.

      “Emma?” he said, dropping down beside her. “What’s happened? You okay? Finn?” Anxiety tightened his voice.

      “Can we talk about it when we get back home?” Finn said, looking straight into Rusty’s eyes. “I’m going to ask you for a favor. Please don’t write about this.”

      Rusty nodded, showing immediate understanding, then backed off to give them room. “You bet.”

      “Emma,” Matt said. “Do you feel up to telling me what happened to you?”

      “Yes.” She suddenly wanted to. She wanted that man arrested. “A man waited for me out here—in that line of trees. He said horrible things about my baby getting killed. And me. He talked about…he talked about something that happened before and he was angry because he said I’d forgotten it, only I haven’t.”

      “What was he talking about?”

      She sucked in a deep breath. “Denise Steen and how she died such a horrible death. He said everyone’s forgotten her and I’m just getting on with my life like she never lived. I didn’t expect that to be brought up again.”

      Finn’s arms tightened around her but he didn’t interrupt. Denise Steen had been murdered in Pointe Judah two years ago. He and Emma had found the body.

      Clemens was taking notes.

      “So he threatened you and took off?” Matt said.

      “He chased me,” Emma said in a small voice. “I was almost to my car but I knew I shouldn’t try to get in with him so close. I think he would have driven away with me.”

      “He chased you,” Matt said. “But he didn’t catch you.”

      “I dropped my purse. It’s black leather so you’ll have to use a flashlight to find it. And the pages from my notebook went everywhere. I couldn’t hold on. I just ran and I thought I was going to get back to Ona’s, but he used a whip around my ankle and I tripped up.”

      Finn took her by the arms and looked into her face. “He what?”

      “He СКАЧАТЬ