“In the woods near the old well,” she said. “I shot him.”
But Derrick’s relief was short-lived, as suddenly a gunshot echoed from the direction of the barn, loud and jarring. “Stay down and take cover,” he ordered Ellie.
She lowered her head, but continued CPR while Derrick gripped his gun and turned in the direction of the barn. The flames that lit the sky flickered off the figure as he darted behind a bush. Trees were down everywhere. The woods looked like a landmine had exploded.
Derrick braced his gun and fired. The bullet pinged off the barn, then Burton fired another round toward him, creeping from one bush to the other as he staggered closer.
“It’s over, Burton,” Derrick yelled.
“I’m not going to jail,” the man shouted desperately as he fired again.
In the distance a siren wailed, and voices reverberated from the woods. Burton pivoted, firing at Captain Hale and Cord McClain as they approached.
Then Burton raised his gun and fired at Ellie. She dropped her head onto Shondra, and Derrick, holding his breath, shot at the man’s head.
The bullet hit him square between the eyes, blood erupting everywhere, before he collapsed onto the ground.
One Hundred Forty-Five
Just as she saw Cord emerge from the thicket of trees, Ellie watched Burton drop dead with a mixture of relief and anger. Death was too good for him. But death by cop proved he really was a coward. He’d taken the easy way out.
Limping over to Ellie and Shondra, Derrick’s jaw clenched as he looked them over. Then his eyes settled on the damn collar around her neck and Shondra’s.
“God, Ellie.”
Humiliation flooded her. But at least Shondra was breathing. That changed everything. “Go get the damn keys and get these things off us.”
Derrick looked almost as bad as she did. But they’d gotten their man.
He ran back to Burton then returned, keys in hand.
“Shondra first,” Ellie said. It was tearing her up seeing her friend so battered and bruised.
Unlocking the collar, Derrick eased it from Shondra’s neck, then Ellie held her breath while he removed hers.
“Damn asshole,” Derrick muttered as he threw the collars back at Burton’s dead body.
Finally, Shondra stirred, trying to open her eyes just as the ambulance arrived.
“You’re going to the hospital now,” Ellie told her. “I’ll be right there with you.”
For once, she wanted to leave the crime scene to someone else. Her friend was all that mattered, and she needed to check on her mother, Burton’s words still haunting her.
Cord had disappeared into the barn, but he re-emerged, striding toward them. His smoky eyes were troubled, and he was also holding a small pitbull mix. “I found him in the barn. Looks like he’s been abused.”
“He was training them to fight,” Ellie said. “We heard him barking.”
“I’ll call Animal Rescue,” Cord replied.
The paramedics jumped from the ambulance and Derrick waved them over to Shondra.
“Ellie?” Shondra said in a whisper.
“I’m here.”
“Go,” Derrick said. “We’ll take care of things here. You need to be examined.”
“Call Melissa and tell her we found her,” Ellie said.
Derrick nodded, while Ellie took Shondra’s hand and ran along beside the medics as they carried her friend to the ambulance.
One Hundred Forty-Six
Bluff County Hospital
A half hour later, Ellie tolerated her own exam while the doctors continued treating Shondra.
The nurse cleaned and bandaged her forehead, treated her other bruises and cuts, and did a chest X-ray. Her ribs were bruised, but not broken. But it hurt like a mother to breathe, her head ached, and her jaw felt as if she might never chew again.
Still, she had to see Shondra, so she convinced the nurse to let her into her room.
A young, pencil-thin blonde hovered by Shondra’s bed, stroking her face. “Shondra, honey, I’m so sorry, so sorry.”
Ellie remained at the door, not wanting to disturb the reunion, but watching as Shondra opened her eyes. “Melissa,” Shondra whispered. “You’re here.”
“I am,” Melissa whispered. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
Ellie felt dizzy for a moment, grabbing the doorway to steady herself. Something about Melissa’s voice sounded familiar. You talked to her on the phone when she called about Shondra, she reassured herself.
“I’m here now and it’s over,” Melissa cried. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
As the dizziness passed, Ellie inched inside the room. Melissa turned to look at her, and a twinge of recognition struck Ellie. But no… it couldn’t be… She’d never met this woman. Her golden blonde hair hung down her back, and her eyes were a deep violet.
“Kennedy?” Ellie murmured under her breath.
Tears filled Melissa’s crystal-blue eyes, and Shondra coughed, spluttering out the words, “No… Ellie, this is Melissa.”
Shock stabbed at Ellie and her mind raced. Maybe she had hit her head too hard. Yet unease nagged at her as she stepped forward, her gaze falling to the woman’s wrist, at the small cross-like scar.
“No, you’re the Kennedy Sledge I talked to,” Ellie said, grateful her voice didn’t crack. “You wore a short dark wig, and colored contacts, but I saw that scar.”
Melissa lifted her arm, rubbing at the tiny mark on the inside of her wrist, and shook her head in denial.
Shondra pushed at the bed to sit up, but she was too weak, collapsing against the pillows. Her face was so bruised, her eyes swollen, and she had stitches in her lip. She swung her gaze back and forth between the two women. “What are you talking about, Ellie?”
Ellie quickly explained about Kennedy Sledge’s escape from the killer, and about the impostor. “This woman pretended to be Kennedy Sledge to learn details of his victims for the Weekday Killer. And she sounded so convincing, as if she really was a therapist.”
Shondra gasped, confusion clouding her face.
“I didn’t want to do it,” Melissa cried, finally relenting. “And I do have a background in therapy. He targeted me because of it, then forced me to help him. He was going to kill me…”
“Where have you been all this time?” Ellie asked.
“Locked up,” Melissa whimpered. “At first in a cage in an old chicken house, then he moved me because he knew you were looking for him.”
Shondra choked on a sob, and Melissa clenched her hand. “Please, Shondra, I love you. I didn’t want to help him, you have to believe that I didn’t. When I left to go tell my parents about us, he took me. He beat me and tortured me and locked me in one of those cages just like he did to you.” Pivoting, she unbuttoned her blouse and lowered the fabric. “See, I have scars. He whipped me and starved me and… I… I didn’t want to die.”
Melissa broke down into hysterical sobs, and Shondra pushed her hand away, clinging to the sheets in horror.
One Hundred Forty-Seven