Shield Of Refuge. Carol Steward

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СКАЧАТЬ rattled off details he wasn’t going to be able to remember, let alone make any sense of.

      “A woman was forced into the backseat.”

      “A four-door sedan, then,” he said, stopping just inches from her.

      “Yeah,” she said. “I was trying to help, but…” She backed away from him and crossed her arms across her chest. “They’re still looking for the car, right?” Sirens came to a stop as more officers arrived, surrounding them.

      “Oh, no, I hit a cop,” she mumbled. She paced frantically, hugging her arms to her body.

      “That’s just dawning on you?” He could almost feel her pain. She stared at him, her blue eyes framed with long lashes.

      “Well, no…but…I think it’s just sinking in. Really sinking in, I mean.” She had a sick look on her face. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to find the car. It looked like he killed her.”

      “You didn’t tell that to dispatch.”

      She stopped pacing. “Didn’t I?” she asked, looking him in the eye. She sidestepped away from the two officers who were headed their way.

      “You okay?” each officer echoed as they approached.

      Amber didn’t respond.

      “Yeah, we’re doing okay,” Garrett answered. Despite his claim, the officers radioed for an ambulance and tow trucks, then dispersed to assess the damage.

      He turned back to Ms. Scott, staggering slightly. “So what makes you think he killed her?” he asked, trying to keep his balance. He couldn’t believe this had happened. What rotten timing. He had been in perfect health when he’d applied to the federal agencies. Becoming a fed had always been his dream. Now that he had a year of street patrol experience under his belt and his master’s degree, he’d been sure he’d get a call. Until now. Perfect health, perfect record—all gone in an instant.

      “The woman was fighting against him, then she just went limp. Like she’d just dropped dead. There was no noise, nothing.”

      Garrett studied the woman who’d run into him, trying to ignore her brilliant blue eyes—eyes that couldn’t tell a lie if she tried. He’d bet his life on it. “Did you see anything else? Blood? A knife? A gun?” He didn’t want to embarrass her by pointing out that a body went limp when someone fainted, too. Feeling a little light-headed himself, Garrett felt himself sway.

      Before the woman could answer, Lieutenant Chavez ordered him to sit down. “An ambulance is on the way, Matthews.” As Garrett looked for a place to collapse, the lieutenant addressed the woman who’d ruined his record. “Are you okay?”

      “Yes, I’m fine,” she insisted, pushing past the lieutenant and the other officer and closer to Garrett. “I didn’t see any blood. I was looking through the tinted glass, so it was too dark, and…” She paused. “I couldn’t see whether it was a knife, or gun, but I didn’t hear a gunshot.”

      “This is our RP, Lieutenant. Amber Scott. She was following the suspect…” The flashing lights of the squad cars were making him sick. “Could you ask them to turn off the flashers?”

      While another officer went to give the order, Amber started explaining why she’d been following.

      “Did you find the girl? The car?” she asked before she explained, again, what she had witnessed.

      Lieutenant Chavez brushed her concerns aside, suggesting she needed to calm down and wait for the ambulance to arrive. “We’ll handle…”

      She lifted her hand to her hip. “You’re not listening to me,” Amber insisted, clearly annoyed with technicalities of anything but the crime. “She was trying to scream and he covered her mouth with his hand, then suddenly she went limp.” Another officer approached and tried to lead her away. “But what about the girl? The car? Why are you all here, and not looking for her?”

      “Don’t worry, Ms….” Garrett said, trying to ignore the dizziness. He glanced at his fellow officer.

      Lieutenant Chavez shone his flashlight in Garrett’s face. “Garrett? You okay?”

      He didn’t answer.

      Amber turned and looked at him. She pressed her key fob, opening the sliding door of her van behind her. “Here,” she said. “Sit down while you wait for the ambulance. Just watch out for the cake box.” She rearranged things, then slid the box to the back of the van. “Oh, no, the shower. I’m going to be late. I need to make a phone call.”

      “I’m afraid you’re going to be more than late, Ms. Scott. Make your call,” Lieutenant Chavez said, then looked at him. “Sit down, Garrett.”

      He was in no condition to ignore an order. He sat in the doorway and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet, nauseating aroma of a bakery mixed with gas fumes.

      God, don’t let this be serious. He fought off the nausea, eyeing the interesting mess inside—plastic umbrellas, a gift bag with satin spaghetti straps dangling from the front seat, and a small box of what he hoped had nothing to do with the rest of her assortment. He had to be seeing things.

      She must have seen his reaction to the contents, as she reached past him and tucked the flimsy fabric into a gift bag and apologized for the mess. “I was making deliveries on the way to a friend’s wedding shower…when I saw the officer…”

      “Officer? What kind of officer?” Chavez asked as he approached.

      “Police,” she whispered, looking more terrified by the minute. “It was a police costume, I think. The more I’ve thought about it, I don’t think it was real. The fabric was too thin and blew when she ripped it from his pants. It wasn’t made as well as yours.” She stole a glance at Garrett’s shirt. “Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Well, I noticed that the policeman’s shirt, the impersonator policeman…” she stammered, “his was too baggy, but it didn’t register until now. It’s probably because you all wear bulletproof vests, right?”

      If Garrett hadn’t felt like throwing up, he’d have laughed.

      “Yeah, what else did you notice?” the lieutenant asked, skepticism dripping from each word.

      “He covered her mouth with his hand. I’ve never seen any real officer doing that….” She looked nervously from Chavez back to Garrett. “Especially with a bare hand. I mean, some drug addict could bite you, right?” Her fear-filled eyes met Garrett’s again as a state patrol officer arrived and introduced himself.

      Garrett wondered if she’d be half as gorgeous if he hadn’t hit his head. While a couple officers were cleaning up the gasoline with kitty litter, the others were simply staring at Amber Scott. Apparently her good looks weren’t his imagination. Her blond hair was pulled back into a clip and looked like she’d knocked the clip askew in the accident.

      He glanced back at the shower gift and cake as the state patrolman walked around the van, inspecting the scene with a raised eyebrow. “Interesting cargo, Ms. Scott,” the patrolman said, vocalizing Garrett’s thoughts. He pulled his ticket book from the metal clipboard. СКАЧАТЬ