Page 43 of One Night Years Ago

Natalie huffed impatiently. “Hunter Fowler is innocent, Mrs. Robinson. He’s not the one who hurt your niece. Do you need to grab anything from the house?”

“No, I was just on my way out. Let me just lock the door.”

Natalie looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was still only ten-thirty a.m. Lots of time for the day to go to hell.

Why is Felicia alive? The FBI expert thought he was escalating, but now we have another victim and she’s alive.

Natalie knew the only way to get her answers was to speak to Felicia.

“Tell me a bit about Felicia,” Natalie asked, hoping to distract the old woman.

Mrs. Robinson’s double chin shook. “She’s my only niece. She lives in Missouri. Her father passed away last spring, and my sister thought it would be good for her to get away for a bit. She’ll be a senior in high school in September, and we wanted her to start with a clear head. And now … oh God, I need to call my sister.”

“You can do that from the hospital, Mrs. Robinson, as soon as you speak to the doctor. But I saw Felicia myself this morning and her life is not in danger. When did you last see your niece?”

“Last night. We had dinner together in the kitchen. She wanted to eat with me, to keep me company, even if she was going out afterward.”

“Tell me everything you remember about that, Mrs. Robinson. Did Felicia tell you where she was going? Does she have any friends in Sharp’s Cove?”

Mrs. Robinson shook her head. “I’d introduced her to my friends’ grandchildren, of course, but I didn’t think they’d hit it off. I was surprised she was going out on a Thursday night, I have to admit. But she’s a good girl, not the type to drink or get in trouble, so I didn’t say anything.”

“Around what time did she go out?”

“It must have been close to nine p.m. I told her it was getting late, but she just laughed,” the lady said, sobbing.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Robinson. Tell me, do you remember what she was wearing?”

Mrs. Robinson nodded. “Oh yes. She was wearing blue jeans, tight around the ankles, the way young girls like to wear them now, and a peach pink blouse. She looked so lovely—”

Natalie made a note to look for those clothes.

When they got to the hospital, Susan and Dr. Ford were standing together outside Felicia’s room.

“Thank goodness you’re here, Sheriff. The girl woke up, she doesn’t remember anything about last night, and she’s getting agitated.”

“Dr. Ford, Susan, this is Mrs. Robinson. She’s Felicia’s aunt.”

“May I see my niece?”

Natalie looked at Dr. Ford for help. “You can see her in a few minutes, Mrs. Robinson. But keep in mind, she’s suffered a significant trauma.”

“Was she … raped?”

Dr. Ford didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Felicia was sexually assaulted last night. We don’t yet have the full results of the tests, but we’ve already called in an experienced counselor from the city, who will be here to speak with Felicia when she’s ready.”

“Oh God!”

“I need to ask Felicia some questions as well,” Natalie interjected. “The sooner we speak to her, the sooner we can get to work to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Chapter 18

Hunter

Hunter looked out at his pickup truck, resisting the temptation to get inside and drive to Natalie’s house. It scared him just how badly he wanted to see her, but he understood she had an important job to do. Another young woman was hurt.

Plus, she’d never said the night before was anything other than a one-night stand for her, even if it hadn’t felt like a one-night stand to him.

He wished he’d thought of taking down her number or even better given her his. A phone was the one thing he’d purchased when he’d first gotten out of prison, not that anybody had called him on that number yet, but he would have liked Natalie to have it. On his end, it wasn’t like he was going to walk into the sheriff’s station and ask for her.