AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Carson nodded. He was already calling it in. “On the way,” he said, completing the request. “What happened?”
“Sniper on the post office roof. I opened the blinds and Bart went down.”
Carson made a mental note. He’d been up here enough to know Eva kept the blinds open all the time. So Bart had closed them. Had the man known there was a threat?
“I fired back. No luck.”
“We’ll find him.” Someone had to see something. Carson had dozens of questions, but he kept them to himself as paramedics arrived.
“I’ll ride with him,” Eva announced as they rolled the stretcher bearing Bart out of the office.
“No.” He signaled the ambulance crew away. “You’ll ride with me.” He’d had no word from Carpenter and he wanted to get some answers out of Eva without an audience. Based on the crisis, he didn’t think staying in the building was the best move, but he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. “They have him stabilized.”
“Right.”
Her pale face and shaking hands made him want to hold her. A gesture he was sure she’d reject. “Security will guard the scene until the crime lab techs get here.”
“Right.” She closed her laptop and gathered the components.
“Leave it here.”
“Absolutely not.” Ignoring him, she tucked the various tech gear into a well-worn Army issue messenger-style bag. “I understand chain of evidence and I promise to cooperate.”
“Eva—” Words failed him at the sudden, cold fury sparking in her deep brown eyes.
“This office was attacked.” She drilled her finger into the desktop. “Until I know why, my work goes where I go. Cypress Security protocol.”
He studied her. “You’re making that up. Sheriff Cochran can release your things to your boss later.”
“No.” She shook her head. “A new protocol is still a valid protocol. Ross would kill me himself if I let our work sit out for anyone to stumble over or steal.”
Carson had a mother and sisters. He recognized an immovable force when he saw one. “Come on then.”
She stayed quiet until they reached his car, the only official car left in the lot. “Why didn’t you answer the school emergency?”
“Wasn’t my turn.”
“What about the car accident?”
“I’m not a paramedic.” He could hardly tell her the sheriff had worked it out so he was almost always in her vicinity. “And the person injured is a friend of Sheriff Cochran.”
“He must be worried.”
“We’ll probably see him at the hospital.”
“Of course.”
He opened the passenger side door for her and she slid in without any remarks on his manners or her capabilities. He took it as a fair indicator of her high stress level. When he was in the driver’s seat, he paused to think about what information he needed first. “Why was Bart in your office?”
He’d seen her lock it, why didn’t it bother her that he’d broken in?
“He was worried about an odd email he’d received. I was trying to convince him it was nothing.”
“You believe he was shot over this email?”
“It’s possible,” she admitted. “But it’s only one explanation. Bart earned a few enemies along the way.”
“And you?”
