Seconds Away

CHAPTER 41

Spoon was right.

I was hustled out of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Spindel were in the corridor. They rushed past me into the room. It took a few minutes, but Spoon was stable again. I thought I heard one of the nurses say something about his legs not moving, but I immediately shut that out. I couldn’t deal with that. Not now.

When I got back to the waiting room, I grabbed Ema and pulled her to the side. We found a quiet corner away from the television.

“What happened?” Ema asked. “Is he okay?”

I quickly explained about what Spoon had said-if Sunglasses and Scarface had already been at Rachel’s house when they killed her mother, why would they ask me which house it was?

“Maybe they were just, I don’t know, playing with you,” Ema said.

I frowned. “Playing with me?”

“Like a prank.”

“‘That the Caldwell house?’” I said, mimicking Scarface. “Does that sound like a prank?”

“I don’t know. Maybe when they came the first time, it was dark.”

“So?”

“So maybe they weren’t sure where the house was during the day.”

I frowned even harder.

“Lame, right?” she said.

“Very,” I said. “There’s a gate around that house. If you had managed to break in and shoot two people earlier, don’t you think you’d remember where the house was?”

Ema nodded slowly, seeing it now. “And come to think of it, why would you break in and shoot them in the first place? Let’s assume these two guys wanted the gym bag back. Wouldn’t they, I don’t know, try to beat the information out of them? What good would just shooting them do?”

“Exactly,” I added, “and if you went there to get the package back, wouldn’t you toss the place? They clearly wanted their money and drugs back. Why not search for it? Why just shoot the two people who could tell you?”

The official conclusion wasn’t making sense anymore.

“There’s more,” I said.

“Like?”

“Like how come Mr. Caldwell was all chummy with them when I saw them at the house? I mean, he’d have to know they just shot his ex-wife and daughter, right?”

“Right.” She shook her head. “We have to consider another possibility.”

“What?”

“Let’s just go back over this, okay? Rachel’s father is a drug dealer. He was willing to keep his ex-wife locked up for years to protect himself. Now she comes back. Rachel gives her mom the benefit of the doubt and steals his cash and drugs.”

Ema stopped. I stopped. It was right there in front of us, but neither one of us wanted to say it.

“He wouldn’t shoot his own daughter,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

“I just don’t believe it.”

“The man drew a gun on you.”

“To protect her. Because he was worried about her.”

We pondered that for a few moments.

“It could have been an accident,” Ema said.

“How so?”

“Think about the whole scenario. Rachel’s dad finds out his money and drugs are missing. He comes home and finds, to his surprise, that his ex-wife is there. They argue. He pulls out a gun, maybe they struggle. Rachel surprises them. Maybe he shoots Rachel accidentally.”

It added up. And yet… “There’s one more thing,” I said.

“What?”

“What’s up with Chief Taylor?” I asked. “Why has he been hanging around Henry Caldwell? Why does he keep worrying about what Rachel will say about the shooting? Is it just a coincidence he was first on the scene?”

“Wait,” Ema said, showing me her palms in a double stop. “I mean, okay, I know we have our problems with him and Troy, but you’re not suggesting…?”

“I don’t know what I’m suggesting. But Spoon is right. We have to get out of here. We are all in danger until we figure out who shot Rachel.”