strong. Collapsing against him, she began to sob.
“He’ll be all right,” Rhonda said, coming forward to hold Casey in her arms. “You can see him later.”
Casey forced herself to calm down. She had to stay strong for Lou. After he was lifted into the ambulance, she glanced at Darcy’s belongings on the sidewalk.
“That’s Darcy’s stuff. Shouldn’t you be searching it?”
While Lalonde called to Krueger, Casey felt herself growing light-headed. Black dots blinked in front of her eyes. Lalonde mumbled something she couldn’t hear. He was escorting her toward the house when the strength left Casey’s legs and she stumbled. He and Rhonda helped her to the stairs. Casey glimpsed Summer in the doorway, wiping tears from her face. Once they’d sat her on the bottom step, Lalonde said, “Thank you, Mrs. Stubbs. Would you wait inside, please?”
She frowned and then sighed. “I’ll make some tea.”
“I have to call Lou’s mom.” Casey propped her elbows on her knees and let the tears spill.
“First, tell me what happened.”
She took long deep breaths and tried to concentrate. Slowly, she sat upright and described events, including how Lou and Theo had arrived together.
“How is Ziegler connected to Mr. Sheckter?”
“He isn’t.”
“Then why was Mr. Sheckter in Ziegler’s car?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to ask. I gather Theo took off?”
“Neither he nor the Saab were around when we arrived. I’m waiting for a report from the officer who was posted here.”
Rhonda reappeared and handed Casey a mug.
“Thanks.” She sipped the tea.
“Thank you, Mrs. Stubbs,” Lalonde said. “That’ll be all.”
“I doubt it.” She shut the door.
“Something’s been bothering me about Churcott’s relationship with Mrs. Stubbs,” Lalonde said.
Casey glared at him. “My best friend’s been shot and that’s what’s worrying you?”
“If Churcott thought you were the one with access to three million dollars, why did he spend so much time with her?”
“To see if Rhonda knew about the missing money. He knew I wouldn’t tell him much.” She sipped the tea. “Or maybe Mother put him up to it for her own amusement.”
“Why would she do that?”
Casey explained the relationship between Darcy and Mother, and Mother and Rhonda, and how hurtful Mother could be. She told Lalonde about Mother’s numerous affairs, and how Rhonda had covered for her until her own husband became one of Mother’s lovers. When Casey told him about Mother’s appeals to renew her friendship with Rhonda, Lalonde asked, “Why would your mother pursue a friendship with a woman engaged to her ex- husband?”
Hadn’t he been listening? “To intervene, manipulate, and destroy.” Casey slowly rose. “I need to call Lou’s mom.”
As she climbed the steps, Lalonde said, “Do you always run without thinking?”
Casey stopped. “What are you talking about?”
“The first time we met, you ran out of the morgue. The second time, you ran after Ziegler in the cemetery. Next was Europe, then you were running off to see Simone Archambault, and finally pursuing Churcott on your own.”
“Better than living with helplessness and self-pity for months on end.”
“There is a middle ground, you know.”
“When you’ve been raised by Lillian and Marcus Holland, there is no middle ground, Detective.”
“Or maybe you’ve simply inherited your parents’ knack for doing what you want without considering the consequences.”
She stepped inside and slammed the door.
In her apartment, Casey googled the name of the dental office where Lou’s mom, Barb, worked as a hygienist. A minute later, she learned that Barb had already left for the hospital. Casey was about to follow suit when she noticed Lou’s blood on her shirt. She yanked the shirt over her head, grabbed a clean one, and then headed for her car.
At the hospital, Lou’s siblings were crowded into a small, private waiting room designated for families. The door was open, a sign marked “Scheckter” and “Occupied” posted beside it. As Casey stood in the doorway, Lou’s mother rushed over and embraced her.
“The doctors are working on him,” Barb said. “His right lung collapsed.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“I don’t know if they’ve taken the bullet out yet.” Barb’s hand fluttered over her silver heart pendant. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
“I was the target, Barb. Lou was protecting me.” Casey tried to tell her why but, judging from the confusion on Barb’s face, she wasn’t making much sense.
“Go home and rest, Casey. We’re here, and Lou’s dad is flying in from Winnipeg.”
Leaving wasn’t an option. Casey walked past more waiting rooms until she came to an alcove containing half a dozen chairs. She plunked into the first one and looked at the dark carpet until her vision blurred. Lalonde might have had a point about running without thinking. Wasn’t she just as likely to run from relationships as she was to run into trouble? She’d run from Lou. She saw that now. And he knew it. But he’d waited . . . If he died . . . There was a special kind of hell for her type of cowardice. It consumed spirit the way quicksand consumed bodies. She could almost feel the suffocation starting.
Casey had no idea how long she’d been staring at the floor when she realized she wasn’t alone. She looked up and saw Theo. The guy might not be a killer, but Darcy sure in hell was and he might be on Theo’s payroll.
“Please tell me Darcy’s been caught,” she said.
Theo sat beside her. “I can’t.”
She leaned back in the chair and groaned. No surprise there.
“I followed the cop who went after him until Darcy jumped in his car and took off like a freakin’ maniac. I also went to Lillian’s place, but he didn’t show up.”
She opened her eyes. “Will Darcy go back to Rhonda’s house? He’s still expecting me to hand over that money, right?”
“Yes, but he knows it’s too risky to show up right now. How’s Lou?”
“His lung collapsed.” She shifted in her chair. “I hate hospitals.”
“Me, too.” Theo glanced at magazines on the round table in front of them. “My wife was in intensive care for two days before she passed away. Hit by a drunk driver with three prior convictions. Guy went to jail briefly. A month after he got out, he died too.” Theo met Casey’s gaze. “Did you know Lou’s in love with you?”
She swallowed back the guilt. “I’d begun to get that feeling.”
“How do you feel about him?”
Casey’s eyes filled with tears. “More than I can say.” More than she wanted to tell this guy. Hadn’t Theo played a role in this nightmare? She wiped her eyes with a tissue. “How on god’s earth did Lou wind up in your car?”
“You weren’t returning my calls, presumably because of trust issues, so I asked for help from the person you trusted. I thought you’d want a witness and good friend close by when I showed you what I had. Lou wasn’t hard to track down.”
“He wouldn’t have cooperated if he thought it would put me in danger.”
“Actually, he’s the one who told me you were in danger. He was about to rush out the door to follow you to Marcus’s place when I showed up, so I offered to help.”
Casey blinked back more tears.
“We passed you on Marine Drive and turned around, but couldn’t catch up,” Theo said. “When we reached Napier, I spotted Darcy’s car speeding toward the house.”
Casey saw the large clock on a wall outside the alcove. It felt much later than nine-thirty. “You, Mother, and
