A hospital. He hated the hospital; the acrid cleaner scent reminded him of the day his mother died. Squinting, he tried to search the faces looming over him for Evie but didn’t see her. Because it was easier, he allowed his eyes to drift closed.
The next time he awoke, he was alone in a small, mostly bare room. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of Evie curled up in a chair beside his bed, her eyes closed as if sleeping. Bruno dozed at her feet.
Relief that she was unharmed hit hard. He shifted in the bed and winced as pain shot through his chest. He gingerly touched the dressing on the upper left side of his chest, belatedly remembering Kyle had shot him. Right before Evie ran over him with the SUV.
His mouth was dry as chalk, but he was loath to disturb Evie. Being on this side of the hospital bed wasn’t any fun. Visiting his mother as she’d lain dying hadn’t been great either.
His door opened, and Doc walked into the room, flanked by Detective Rueger. Cam grimaced, realizing rest time was over.
“Hey, Cam,” Doc greeted him. “Hi, Evie.”
“Hi, Doc.” Evie unfurled herself from the chair. Bruno shifted but didn’t get up to greet the newcomers. Apparently, he was tuckered out. Evie frowned, then added, “Detective.”
“I need Walker’s statement.” Rueger’s tone was curt.
Cam reached for the cup of water on the bedside table. Evie quickly grabbed it. “You can only have ice chips,” she said, offering a spoon filled with ice chips. “You can’t eat or drink until your gut is working normally again.”
He gratefully accepted the ice chips, reveling in how they soothed his throat, then turned toward Rueger. “Last night, while we were waiting for Doc to arrive, I noticed a light bobbing in the woods. I thought it was a flashlight being carried by the killer, so I went out to investigate.”
Evie frowned but didn’t say anything. He owed her an apology for leaving her and Bruno alone.
“Why did you immediately think the light was the killer?” Rueger asked.
“Because Bruno had alerted near a fallen log in the woods earlier.” Cam lifted a hand. “I know you’re going to say he’s not a police dog, but I’m telling you, Bruno knew the scent of the killer. It doesn’t matter, though, because once I was deep in the woods, the light disappeared.”
“And went where?” Rueger’s expression was skeptical.
He shifted, swallowing against another flash of pain. He was tired of defending himself to this guy but needed to get his side of the story on record. “Looking back, I think it was a ruse to draw me away from the house. I was returning to the rental house through the woods when I heard Bruno barking and growling. Then Evie screamed.”
Evie put a hand on his arm. “Do you need something for pain?”
He shook his head, feeling guilty about how he’d fallen for Kyle’s trap. Keeping his gaze on Rueger, he continued. “As I cleared the woods, I heard Kyle telling Evie to get in the squad or he’d shoot and kill Bruno. I couldn’t believe it when Evie yanked the car door open and got inside with Bruno. Kyle fired at her through the windshield, but she started the car and put it in gear. He fired again as she hit the gas. He fired two more times, then jumped out of the way, rolling along the ground. I returned fire, but he managed to get off another shot striking me in the upper chest. That’s when Evie ran him over with the car.”
“I wondered which of you shot Kyle.” Rueger glanced at Evie. “That was smart thinking on your part.”
“Kyle was shot?” Evie echoed in shock. “I didn’t realize that.”
“Yeah, he took a slug to his upper thigh, deep enough to clip his femoral artery.” Rueger shrugged. “He’d have eventually bled out, but the way you ran him over finished him off.”
Evie’s hand tightened on Cam’s arm, and he realized she’d thought she’d killed him. If he could have spared her that, he would have. The way the scene outside the rental house had spiraled out of control was his fault.
Regret burned more than the pain of his recent surgery. He tried to remind himself that in the end, Evie had survived. So had Bruno. His wound was nothing in the big picture.
There was a long silence before Cam spoke. “I don’t suppose you have any other evidence against Kyle related to Skye’s or Jasmine’s murders? Have you tried to match the tuft of fabric we found or the slug in Evie’s mother’s house to one of his weapons?”
At first, he thought Rueger wasn’t going to answer. Then the detective sighed. “I executed a search warrant for Kyle and Beverly’s home while you were in surgery. The house was clean, but the pole barn was another story. I found a stash of jewelry in a box hidden beneath a loose floorboard.”
Evie gasped. “Jewelry belonging to Skye and Jasmine?”
Rueger nodded. “I was able to identify Skye’s necklace and Jasmine’s ring.” His lips thinned. “There are fifteen other items of jewelry that I have yet to match with a victim.”
“Fifteen!” Evie’s voice rose. “How is it possible Kyle killed so many people without anyone realizing it?”
Rueger grimaced and averted his gaze. After a long moment, he said quietly, “I failed, that’s how.”
Cam almost felt sorry for the detective. Almost. In his opinion, the guy should have paid more attention to his and Evie’s concerns about Skye’s disappearance fourteen years ago. “Kyle must have killed more than one victim per year.”
Rueger nodded. “I think Skye was his first. We’ll never know exactly how she died, but we do know Jasmine was raped and strangled to death.” The detective sighed. “I think he laid low for a long time after killing Skye, but then over time, he grew bolder in stalking and identifying his victims. I learned from Dan Johnson that Kyle had stopped to get food in the hospital cafeteria a few days before Jasmine disappeared. Dan thought it was strange and went over to talk to Kyle who gave him some song and dance about liking the hospital food.”
