Roughshod Justice. Delores Fossen
“I believe August did scam money from Hattie,” Boyer continued a moment later. “Maybe others, as well. But that’s not why I was investigating him. I believe August is involved in a money laundering scheme. I’d hoped there’d be something in your files that would help, something that hadn’t been in any of the police and FBI reports. But there wasn’t.”
Kelly whispered a single word of profanity under her breath. “So I stole that file for nothing?”
“I obviously didn’t know that at the time.” Boyer didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, either. “When I realized the file was useless, I pressed you to get more info from Jameson. You said you would, but then you disappeared.”
“Why did I do that?” she asked.
“I have no idea. I didn’t hear from you for two years, and then this morning, I got a frantic phone call from you. You said you were in Houston and that someone was trying to kill you.”
“Someone did try.” She touched her fingers to her head. “Who?”
“I don’t know that, and you didn’t know, either. You said someone tried to run you off the road, and you needed my help.”
Jameson considered maybe that was how she’d gotten the head injury, but he dismissed it. She’d been bleeding in the ambulance, and that didn’t look like a wound that’d happened hours earlier. It still looked fresh.
Kelly looked at Jameson. She opened her mouth, closed it, and it seemed as if she changed her mind about what she was going to say.
Had she remembered something?
Something that would incriminate her?
“I told you to go to a hotel,” Boyer continued, “and stay there until I could arrange security. I sent two men, both federal agents, and I believe those are the two men you killed tonight.”
Kelly fumbled around behind her, located the table and sank back down on it. “Why would I have done that?”
“You tell me.” Boyer glared at her. “That’s why you’re under arrest.”
“She’s not,” Jameson argued. “Remember that part about you not having a court order. Plus, we don’t even have ID’s on the dead guys so we don’t know if they’re agents or not. They could be the same men who were trying to kill Kelly in Houston. Once the doc has released her, we’ll all go to the sheriff’s office and get this straightened out.”
That didn’t please Boyer, and he gave Jameson more of that glare. “Why are you protecting her?” Boyer growled. “Are you sleeping with her again?”
Jameson hadn’t cared much for Boyer, and that question didn’t help. “Before tonight, I hadn’t seen her in two years, either.”
He considered telling Boyer about the note that Kelly had tucked inside her shirt. But decided against it. Best to keep that close to the vest until they could figure out what was going on. That started with identifying those two men. And making sure Kelly got the medical attention she needed.
“We also have a witness,” Jameson added just to test Boyer’s reaction. “Someone saw part of the altercation between Kelly and the two dead men.”
And it got a reaction all right. Boyer’s eyes widened. “Who is it? I want to see the person right now.”
“He’s in protective custody.”
Not exactly a lie. The guy was at the sheriff’s office and had hopefully stayed there. Just in case he was thinking about leaving, Jameson stepped to the side and sent a text to Gabriel to tell him to keep an eye on the man and to keep him away from Boyer. Until Jameson was certain he could trust this agent, he didn’t want him to be part of the investigation.
“Are you warning your brother that I’m on my way to the sheriff’s office?” Boyer snapped.
“I sure am,” Jameson admitted.
Boyer cursed and glanced around as if debating whether he should leave or stay there to watch the woman he intended to arrest. “Kelly’s not to leave here unless I say so,” Boyer said as if his order would be obeyed. “I’ll come back after I’ve spoken to this witness.”
“Good luck with that.” And Jameson didn’t bother to take the sarcasm out of his voice.
As much as Jameson hated to pawn Boyer off on Gabriel, he was relieved when the agent stormed out. But not nearly as relieved as Kelly was. She blew out a long breath, and while she didn’t exactly relax, her muscles seemed to loosen up a bit.
“Please don’t let him take me,” she whispered.
He couldn’t promise her that it wouldn’t happen. If Boyer did manage to get that court order, then Jameson would have no choice, and that’s why he needed to press the CSIs to get identities on those dead men. However, his phone rang before he could even start the call. Not Gabriel this time, but rather Cameron.
“Jameson, we got a problem,” Cameron said the moment he answered. “The security guard at the hospital just called 911. He said there’s a guy in the back parking lot, and that he’s got a rifle.”
Kelly’s breath froze. From the moment she’d been carried into the hospital, she’d had a bad feeling about this place. It just wasn’t safe. And the gunman that the security guard had spotted proved it.
The gunman was after her.
She didn’t need her memories to know that, but it certainly would have helped if she remembered why someone wanted her dead. Because if she knew the why, then maybe she could figure out who was behind this. And perhaps put an end to it. Of course, at the moment she wasn’t in shape to stop much of anything. But she did need to get the heck out of there.
Kelly stood to do just that, but Jameson immediately made sure that didn’t happen. “You’re not going anywhere,” he warned her. However, he did draw his gun from his holster and stepped in front of her.
Protecting her.
She figured that wasn’t something he especially wanted to do, but he was a lawman, and he probably considered this to be part of his job.
“Get me some backup now and patch me through to the security guard,” Jameson told Cameron. He now had the phone sandwiched between his shoulder and ear. It only took a few seconds for that to happen.
Seconds that the man in the parking lot could be using to make his way to the hospital. Kelly looked around for something, anything, she could use as a weapon, but other than some medical equipment, there wasn’t much. Plus, she definitely wouldn’t win a hand-to-hand fight with this guy. Not with the way her head was still spinning. She could barely stand up.
“Hank, do you still have eyes on the guy with the gun?” Jameson asked the security guard.
Jameson didn’t put the call on speaker, but since Kelly was right behind him, she heard the guard answer. “Yeah, but he’s on the move. He’s darting from one car to another, using them for cover, but he’s definitely heading this way.”
Jameson growled out some profanity under his breath. “Some deputies are on the way, but if you have to, shoot this idiot. Don’t go for a kill shot, though, because I’d like to take him alive.” He paused. “Did another man just leave the building? Bulky build and bald?”
“No. Haven’t seen anybody like that. Why? Is he dangerous, too?”
“Maybe,” Jameson answered. “Just watch your back around him if he shows up. And lock down the hospital. There could be other gunmen at the front or sides of the building.”
She hadn’t needed anything else to rev up her heartbeat, but that did it. There could be any number of hired