Chapter 45

FORTY-FIVE

MONDAY, WEEK TWO

Emily Wolfe dashed into her father’s office. “Am I too late? Has she left yet?”

“Nope.” Wolfe looked up from his computer screen and smiled at her. “She’s out back making sure the van is packed with everything she needs. Is this really how you want to spend your day off? I figured you’d be sleeping most of the time.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I worked the weekend so I could take a day to go with her to look at the crime scene. You know I’m very interested in forensic anthropology and will be definitely adding it to my qualifications as I go along.” Seeing the amusement in his eyes, she gave him a long look. “I’m tougher than you think, Dad. I put it down to the hours you kept me here working in the morgue. Sure, the shifts are long but I’m learning all the time. I actually like working with live patients. It’s been a good experience for me, but I’ll be grateful when it’s over and I can join you here. Then I’ll look into continuing my studies part-time. Having Norrell here, with her wealth of experience, I’d be crazy not to.”

“I’m sure people will look on our family as being extremely unusual, all of us working with the dead.” Wolfe chuckled. “But then I’d imagine there are families of undertakers out there.”

Footsteps on the tile in the passageway announced the arrival of Norrell. To Emily she was like a shaft of sunlight. Her long blonde hair and bright smile lit up the room. She’d never imagined accepting another woman to take her mom’s place, but right from the start, Norrell had made it very clear she had no intention of doing that, although she did mother Anna. Often she’d found her sitting on the edge of Anna’s bed reading her stories and she’d heard her talking to the little girl about their mom. It was obvious she was trying to keep her mother’s memory alive to Anna, although she’d only been two when her mother passed, and her recollection would be sketchy.

“You made it, Em.” Norrell gave her a hug. “That’s really good. I didn’t want to squash in with the guys in the van. Now we can go in the truck.”

Emily had driven the mountain tracks many times and could handle the conditions. “I’ll drive. I’ve been up the mountains many times and the conditions are pretty bad at the moment.”

“That’s fine by me.” Norrell smiled. “I’ll tell the team they can get going. We’re all meeting Blackhawk at the end of the fire road. Raven will be meeting us about halfway. Somewhere along there is a cutaway that goes straight to his cabin. He cleared it himself.” She looked at Emily. “Have you met him?”

Recalling the devastatingly handsome man who’d saved her life, Emily nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met him. He’s a very nice guy. It will be good to have him along for protection.”

“Yeah, Shane told me how he rescued Julie from the plane crash.” Norrell nodded. “It will be nice to have another person around we can trust.”

“Go and grab survival kits before you leave and take a rifle.” Wolfe looked at Emily. “You carrying? I don’t want you going into the forest unarmed. There’s a killer in town and y’all need to stay alert.”

Sighing, Emily kissed her dad on the cheek. “Yeah, I’m good. Don’t forget to eat.”

Leaving them to say their goodbyes, Emily headed for the closet in the passageway and grabbed supplies and liquid Kevlar vests. The light vests were worth their weight in gold. She heard Norrell walk by and head outside to speak to her team. She headed after her, grabbing the keys to one of the medical examiner’s white trucks from the board as she followed her outside. She handed her the vest. “Put this on before we leave. We don’t know what we’re going to encounter in the forest and this offers protection. It’s not bulky and you won’t even know you’re wearing it.” She dumped the survival packs in the back of the truck, then removed her jacket and put on her own vest. “Ready to go?”

“We take the third entrance into the fire road along Stanton and then follow it to the end, where Blackhawk will be waiting for us.” Norrell climbed into the truck and secured her seatbelt. “Look out for Raven. He’s driving a new sheriff’s department truck.”

Nodding, Emily set off. She’d driven the medical examiner’s trucks many times and was very familiar with them. As they turned into Main, a garbage truck backing into an alleyway to collect the dumpsters blocked the road. She glanced at Norrell. “Will your team wait for you?”

“I doubt it.” Norrell gave a shake of her head. “They know we’re all meeting up at the end of the fire road and I told them I would be coming along behind with you.”

It seemed to take forever for the garbage truck to move along. The delay had caused a line of traffic and it was slow going until they reached Stanton. When Emily turned onto the fire road, although the gullies along each side held deep muddy water, the gravel-packed road appeared to be relatively stable, apart from deep tire tracks marring its normally smooth surface. They bounced along for a few hundred yards and the road evened out, allowing her to increase her speed, but Norrell’s white van was nowhere in sight. In her rearview mirror she noticed another vehicle following along behind. “I think Raven’s behind us.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Norrell smiled. “He sounds like a very interesting man. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Emily stared in the rearview mirror and frowned. The vehicle behind was coming at high speed, which seemed reckless on a dirt road. The next second, the truck shunted them in the back, throwing them both forward in their seats. Terrified, Emily gripped the wheel. “That’s not Raven. Hang on, he’s coming again.”

“Do you think he just wants to pass?” Norrell’s face drained of color. “Maybe you should just pull over?”

Panic gripped Emily as another impact jarred her, twisting the truck sideways. A metallic taste poured into her mouth. She’d bitten her tongue. Increasing her speed, she drove the truck along the side of the road close to the gully, where the ground was smoother. A group of men would be waiting for them at the end of the fire road and all she had to do was outrun this lunatic. The next second, the truck was beside her and a man wearing a ski mask was peering at them through the holes. When he spun the wheel, panic gripped her. He slammed into her and the jolt went right through to her bones. The terrible sound of metal panels grinding against each other screamed in her ears. Beside her, Norrell cried out as her door buckled under the impact. The front wheels bounced and the truck came again, smashing hard and pushing them toward the rushing water.

Frantic, Emily spun the wheel and pressed down hard on the gas. The attacker was relentless and rammed them again. With a loud moan, the truck tipped over and rolled into the gully. The airbags burst out in a cloud of white, and objects from the cab flew into the air. Her Aunt Betty’s Café travel mug bounced off her shoulder and a bag of candy spilled its contents over her. Pinned tight between the curtain and main airbags, Emily could see only the brown water rushing past the window. They must get out before they drowned.

Trembling with fear and shock, Emily reached out to give Norrell a shake. “Are you okay? We need to get out. Undo your seatbelt. We’ll climb out the back. Your door is toast.”

“Oh, my God, he’s coming back.” Norrell struggled to undo her seatbelt without luck. “My right arm won’t move.” She let out a piercing scream. “He has an ax. He’s going to kill us.” She frantically tried to unclip her seatbelt.

In horror, Emily gaped out of the window. The man was strolling toward them holding an ax like a baseball bat over one shoulder, as if he had all the time in the world. She reached for her weapon but couldn’t get her fingers past the airbag. The next moment, the masked man swung the ax and smashed Norrell’s window. Shards of glass exploded over them like diamond rain. She gaped in terror as he raised the ax again, his eyes fixed on Norrell. Emily stretched out a hand to pull her toward her but she still hung in her seatbelt. “Nooo.”

The whoop whoop of a siren screamed in the distance. The trees lit up with red and blue flashing lights. The man cursed loudly, turned, and ran back to his truck and then took off at high speed in a squeal of tires. Heart thundering, Emily, fought against the airbags. Brown water was oozing through the seals in the door and lapping over the windshield. Beside her, Norrell was crying and blood was oozing through her shirt.

Seconds later, a sheriff’s department truck with the lights flashing skidded to a halt beside them and Raven jumped out. Raising her voice above the sound of gurgling water, Emily stared at him. “Get us out of here.”

“I’m on it.” Raven ran to the door, placed one foot on the side of the vehicle, and, muscles bulging, used brute strength to tear it open. The door whined as he wedged his body against it to keep it open.

Dizzy and with her back jammed to the door, Emily couldn’t reach Norrell to help her. She looked at Raven. “Norrell’s injured. Get her out quickly before we drown.”

“I’ve got you.” Raven pulled a knife, stabbed at the airbags, and cut through Norrell’s seatbelt. His gaze moved over Emily. “If you’re not injured, try and scramble toward the door.” With gentle care, he lifted Norrell out and placed her on the back seat of his truck before turning back.

Gritting her teeth, Emily dragged herself toward the open door, but with the airbag, she wasn’t getting far. The truck groaned and slipped deeper into the water. Panic gripped her as she fought to escape. The next moment, Raven returned, grabbed her arms, and lifted her out as if she weighed nothing. He set her down and assessed her injuries and then led her to his truck and opened the passenger door. She shook her head and leaned against the truck taking in his concerned expression. “I’m fine. I’ll take care of Norrell.” She smiled at his hesitancy. “It’s okay. I’m doing my residency in the ER at Black Rock Falls General.”

“That’s good to know. Norrell will be fine—bruises, is all.” Raven met her gaze with a smile. “Wolfe mentioned you being a fine medical examiner in training. So will you be working with him soon or flying the coop?”

Cheeks heating under his charm, Emily dropped her lashes. “I work with him now, but I have almost two more years of residency to go before I join the payroll. This is my home. I’m not going anywhere.” She dragged her gaze away from him. “Enough about me. Call Jenna. She needs to go after that guy. He’s probably the killer of those women. Where’s your med kit?”

“In the back.” He nodded and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Jenna now.” He made the call and then returned to her side. “They’re in town and will be able to catch up to him along the highway. I doubt very much he’ll risk coming back this way.”

Emily helped Norrell out of her coat, and then pulled on examination gloves, noticing that Raven did the same. She grabbed tweezers from the med kit and commenced removing the glass shards from Norrell’s face, chest, and arm. As she took out the glass, Raven swabbed each small laceration. When she’d finished, she stood back as he examined Norrell’s arm. The skin was black in places, but she could move her fingers. She patted Norrell on the back. “There’s morphine here if you need it.”

“No, I’ll take some Tylenol if you have any.” Norrell looked at Raven. “Do you think it’s broken? It hurts real bad.”

“The impact hit your humerus and just a chip would be very painful, but I can’t feel any fractures. You’ll need X-rays to be sure.” He handed her a bottle of water and two pills. He took bandages from the kit, removed the wrapping, and bandaged her arm from wrist to shoulder and then placed it in a sling. “Now let me look at you, Emily.”

Emily took a step backward. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You have glass in your face and blood running down your neck. It’s true what they say about doctors making the worst patients.” Raven picked up the tweezers and poured antiseptic over them before removing the glass from Emily’s face. “We need to call Blackhawk and let him know what’s happened. He’ll be still waiting for us at the end of the trail.”

“I’m not going to the hospital, well, not yet anyway.” Norrell looked at them with a determined expression. “If that was the killer, he did this to prevent me from going to the crime scene. I don’t need to do anything other than instruct my team. Blackhawk said it was only a very short walk from the river to the cave.”

Emily nodded. “I figure we should go too. She’s right. This was done to stop Norrell excavating the crime scene.”

“Have you two lost your minds? Shock could set in at any time.” Raven looked from one to the other. “You’re both doctors and you know the risks. You’ve just been in a car wreck.”

“I was scared stupid but I’m not in shock.” Norrell stared at him with stubborn expression. “I have Viking blood. We don’t stop work because of a few small cuts and bruises.”

“Okay, I guess there’s no reasoning with you.” Raven sighed and finished up tending to Emily’s wounds. “I spent time with Julie, and I know just how stubborn Wolfe women are.” He looked at Emily. “If you insist on going, you’d better call your dad.”

Emily nodded. “We are stubborn and tough. I’ll call a tow truck first. There’s no need to worry my dad right away. He’s busy today.” She made the call to Millers’ Garage. “They’ll pick up the truck and we’ll sort it out later. You won’t mind filing a report for the insurance, will you?”

“Not a problem.” Raven gave her a long searching look. “Just as long as you promise to tell your dad you both refused to go to the hospital. I don’t want him knocking on my door late tonight. I’ve seen him angry and it isn’t nice.”

Emily chuckled. “He’s great, isn’t he? He and Dave are so gentle unless anyone threatens their families. It was annoying when I was younger, but now I appreciate him. I like being protected. That’s a quality I respect in a man. Maybe I’m the old-fashioned kind, just like them.”

“I like it too.” Norrell leaned back in the seat and stroked Ben’s head. “He makes me feel special.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll take you old-fashioned gals to the crime scene and hope we don’t get into any more trouble.” Raven smiled at them. “I’ll grab your stuff from the truck.”

As he walked away, Emily turned in her seat to look at Norrell. “I figure he’s my knight in shining armor. That’s twice now he’s just appeared and saved my life.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “Coincidence or fate?”

“I’d say time will decide.” Norrell rubbed her sore arm and winced. “When we’re through here, I’ll take the morphine. This hurts so bad, but I need to keep my head straight. I just hope we find something to nail that maniac.”

Emily nodded. “So do I.”