pistol at me, and that's when I thought for certain that I would soon be dead. I threw myself to the floor, trying to take cover behind the railing. He pulled the trigger until the pistol was empty.'
Her mother placed her hand over her mouth to contain a small, distressed sound.
'Miraculously, his shots missed,' Berry continued. 'When he realized he had no more bullets, he struggled to stand up. He was yelling, 'I'll kill you. You must die.' Things like that over and over again. Then he turned and staggered through the front door.'
After a short silence, Nyland asked, 'He didn't reload?'
'No.'
'He just ran away, vowing to kill you.'
'That's right.'
'Which is consistent with what she told you last night, Ski,' the lawyer reminded him.
'Yeah, I know.' He held Berry's gaze, and she could see wheels spinning behind the gray eyes. 'Lofland was down. You were otherwise alone and defenseless.'
'Yes.'
'Starks had you in the bathtub, where he could have shot you at point-blank range. Instead, he made out like he was going to flee. Then you went after him, still defenseless, right?'
'Right.'
'You didn't have your pistol yet?'
'No.'
'Starks emptied his pistol from a dicey angle and at a distance of ... what? Thirty feet?'
'I suppose. I don't know.'
The sheriff leaned forward. 'What are you driving at, Ski?'
He looked at his boss. 'If Starks was that intent on killing her, saying he must, saying she had to die and so on, why didn't he shoot her in the bathtub? Why sputter threats against her life, then turn and run, when he could have popped her right then? Doesn't make sense to me.'
'People do crazy things,' the sheriff said. 'He chickened out. He saw God. Who knows? When push came to shove, the best he could do was threaten her life, not actually take it.'
'I guess,' the deputy said, sounding unconvinced.
'I can only recount what happened, Deputy Nyland,' Berry said. 'I can't explain Oren's behavior. I don't know why he didn't seize his opportunity and shoot me dead. But I'm glad he didn't.'
'Goes without saying,' he mumbled.
'Please go on, Berry,' the sheriff urged. 'What happened next?'
'Once Oren was out of sight, I ran back into the bedroom and called 911 on Mother's landline. I hadn't heard a car engine, so I wasn't absolutely certain that Oren had left the premises. Because I was afraid he would come back, I took a pistol from the drawer of the nightstand. I had put it there the day I moved into the lake house.'
'Even after leaving Houston, she feared for her safety against this guy,' the lawyer said. 'She bought the pistol as a precaution, Tom. It's registered to her, and she has a license to carry.'
'I believe you, Harry,' the sheriff said around an impatient sigh. 'My wife keeps a twenty-two in her nightstand drawer except when the grandkids are visiting.' He turned back to Berry.
'There's really nothing more,' she said. 'I stayed there in the bedroom with Ben until the paramedics arrived.'
The sheriff expelled a long breath. 'We're lucky you're with us today.'
Caroline solemnly agreed.
'What's the latest on Ben Lofland's condition?' the sheriff asked.
'Fair,' Nyland reported. 'He's in surgical recovery. His wife's with him.'
Berry knew he'd thrown in that last part just to embarrass her. She shot him a dirty look, but he was addressing the sheriff and didn't see it. 'Houston PD and Harris County S.O. are assisting us in trying to run down Starks.'
'You got the arrest warrant?'
'Right here,' he said, patting his breast pocket. 'I stopped at the DA's office on my way here.' He glanced at Berry. 'That's why I was late.'
'Does Starks have any prior arrests?'
Nyland looked back at the sheriff and shook his head. 'No criminal record. Clean as a whistle. Not even an outstanding parking ticket. He's not at his house, although the car registered to him is in his garage.'
'He would have rented a car,' Berry said.
'No record of that.'
'Okay then, he'd've stolen one,' she said, testily. 'Or borrowed one. Or roller- skated. I don't know how he got here. I just know he's too smart to have used his own car if he came here with the intention of killing me.'
Caroline intervened. 'Deputy Nyland, we might feel better about the situation if you outlined for us the efforts being made to capture him.'
His flinty eyes shifted to Caroline. 'Yes, ma'am. While I was interviewing Ms. Malone last night, other deputies were notifying the sheriffs of surrounding counties. They dispatched their deputies immediately.
'But Merritt County alone has more than nine hundred square miles, and a lot of it is virgin territory. There are only twelve of us in this department, and that includes the court bailiff, a jailer, and a retired schoolteacher who comes in three days a week to help out with paperwork.'
'He's right,' the sheriff said. 'And neighboring counties are of similar size and makeup and have even fewer personnel in their departments than we do.'
Nyland said, 'What we're saying is, there are a lot of good hiding places in this part of the state, and peace officers are spread thin.'
Berry was certain her mother's intention hadn't been to question Deputy Nyland's competency, even by implication, but apparently Nyland was sensitive to criticism.
No one said anything for a moment, then Berry said, 'I'm almost positive that Oren's leg was injured in his fall down the stairs. He was practically hopping on one foot when he left.'
'I'm sure you've canvassed medical facilities in the area.' Sheriff Drummond looked to his deputy for confirmation.
'Last night, sir, and it continues farther afield as we speak.'
'DPS?'
'Last night I sent out a blanket e-mail. DPS, Texas Rangers, municipal police departments. I provided a description of Starks, but, unfortunately, we don't know what he's driving.'
'I'm sorry,' Berry said. 'Maybe I should have followed Oren when he left the house. But at that point I didn't know if Ben was dead or alive. My first priority was to get medical attention for him.'
'Understandably,' the sheriff said.
Nyland turned to Berry. 'Do you have any photos of him?'
'Of Oren? No.'
'None were found at his house when it was searched.'
'Not a single photograph? That's odd, don't you think?' Caroline asked them collectively.
'This whole thing is odd,' the deputy said, almost under his breath. Then, 'I'll ask Houston PD to go to that marketing outfit, see if they have a photo of Starks in their employee files. It would help to circulate one.' He came to his feet. 'Sorry, but I need to excuse myself and get back out there. Sir, you know how
