“Jennifer Wakefield.”
“Thank you for your time, Ms. Wakefield,” Ellie said, stomach tight with dread as she typed the doctor’s name into her search engine. When his obituary popped up, she gasped.
“Is he dead?”
Ellie nodded. “He died twelve years ago.”
“Twelve?”
“Less than six months after he saved my life.” She checked the date on the article, heart racing when her suspicions were confirmed. “And less than a month after he gave the Charleston Star this interview.”
“Is there anyone else connected to the case we can interview?”
Ellie nodded and groaned when she glanced at the clock. “Just one. Chief Johnson. But he’s probably about to leave for the day, and this isn’t going to be a quick conversation.”
“Do you think he’ll tell you everything?”
“I hope so. We’ve exhausted almost every lead. He’s my last hope to find out what happened to me that night.”
14
Marcus Johnson leaned back in his desk chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. He let his eyes close for a second, ready for the day to be over. If today was any indication, the citizens of Charleston were already gearing up for Friday the thirteenth.
Sighing, he glanced at the calendar, jaw clenching. He’d been putting out fires all day, and it was only Tuesday, and he knew from experience that the shenanigans wouldn’t end on Saturday morning.
He glared at the clock, which seemed to slow down as soon as his attention was on it. Closing his eyes again, he inhaled slowly and released the breath, wishing he could let go of his stress as easily.
One more hour, he thought, and laughed at himself. He was the chief of police and could leave at any time. But part of what kept morale high at Charleston PD was the way he ran his own office. He didn’t expect everyone else to work their tails off while he skated along on their hard work, and that made all the difference. Yes, what he had on his plate could wait, but that wasn’t how he ran the department, and rough day or not, he was determined to end strong.
When a familiar face appeared in his doorway without a knock ten minutes later, he wished he’d left when he had the chance.
Ellie’s green eyes were swimming with frustration she obviously could barely hold in check. Her nostrils flared, and her hands balled into tight fists at her sides as she greeted him.
He waved her in, bracing himself. After she closed the door behind her, he offered her a seat.
She declined, shaking her head. “I can’t sit right now.”
“Then stand. What can I help you with? Are things going well with Dr. Powell?”
“I’m not here about Powell.”
He sighed, feeling his evening slipping away. “Fortis?”
“I want to talk about that night. I need to know what happened. All of it.”
His stomach dropped, but he wasn’t surprised she was here, demanding details. He gave a barely perceptible nod. “Off the record?”
“Whatever it takes to get the whole truth and nothing else. I’m tired of people hiding things from me. Especially you.”
Her words hit hard. The memories came flooding back, rushing in as painful as they’d been when he’d first spotted her running through the darkness and right in front of his police cruiser. He didn’t want to rehash that night, but he didn’t argue. “I suppose I deserved that.” He motioned to the chair again. “This will take a while. You might want to get comfortable.”
This time, she did take the seat he offered, but she stayed on the edge, perched as if ready for a fight. “Thank you.”
“I guess I should’ve known this day would come. Doesn’t make reliving that night any easier, but if that’s what you’re after, you deserve to know. Where should I start?”
“From the beginning. Where did you find me?”
Johnson nodded, leaning back in the chair, his eyes going to the ceiling as he searched his memory. “Market and Fifth Street. That was the last night I worked that beat.”
“Why?”
“When I came back from leave, every time I drove by that intersection, I remembered you flying into the street from between two cars parked on the side of the road.” He shuddered and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose before he continued. “Even now, I can see your face in my headlights an instant before your body hit the front bumper. I tried to stop, but you came out of nowhere, and the road was wet.”
Ellie’s expression softened. “I know it wasn’t your fault.”
“Thank you for that.”
“What happened next?”
“I got out of the car after I radioed for an ambulance. Oh, Ellie, I was afraid you were gone, but you were awake, eyes wide open, and trying to talk.” He shook his head, the horror he’d felt that night coming back to him in a wave. “Covered in blood with an obviously broken leg, and you were talking. Not crying, not screaming. I realize it was shock, but you seemed so calm. I went back to the car and checked on the ambulance, but they were too far out. That weekend was crazy. There was a heavy rainstorm followed by a cold snap, and almost constant drizzle all weekend long. The streets were a mess.”
“I remember.” Ellie cleared her throat, emotions from the memories wanting to choke her. “Well, sort of. When I see myself getting dragged into the kidnapper’s car, I was walking in the mist for a long time, but I didn’t have a choice, so I just covered my head with my jacket and kept going.”
“That was the other thing I was worried about. You didn’t have a jacket on when I found you, and there was standing water on the street. Only an inch or two in most places, but I couldn’t leave you like that, and the ambulance gave me an ETA of almost twenty minutes. They were overwhelmed with calls at that point. Like I said, there were quite a few accidents. That’s the only reason I risked
