Murder in the River City(19)

Tears ran down her face, in pain and anger and a deep fear she’d felt only once before: yesterday morning, when she thought her grandfather was dead.

She tried to move, to hide, when she realized he was no longer in the bedroom, but each movement made her cry into the gag and made it harder to breathe.

The intruder didn’t leave the apartment immediately. He spent a long minute looking for something, while she scooted slowly over to the corner where she’d dropped her phone, tears burning her eyes. Her phone started singing her ring tone from Riverdance. It was under the bed somewhere, no way she could reach it tied up and in pain.

The front door closed and she was alone.

She hoped.





Chapter Eight



John had called Sam as he was leaving Dooley’s. “I got a text message from Shauna Murphy that there’s an intruder at Mack Duncan’s apartment and she’s hiding in the bedroom.”

Sam’s blood ran cold as he ran to his truck. “I’m on my way.”

“So am I. I dispatched a patrol car, ETA six minutes.”

Six minutes was enough time for Shauna to get hurt. Or worse.

Damn damn damn!

Sam ignored all traffic lights and wished he was in a marked car so he could get people to move out of his way.

“What were you doing at Mack’s, Shauna?” he said to no one.

Mack’s apartment in South Natomas wasn’t far from Dooley’s. Ten minutes at most, and Sam made it in six—just as the Sac PD patrol car looped into the drive. Riley Knight got out from behind the wheel.

“John’s on his way,” Sam said. Shauna’s red Jeep was parked in Mack’s space.

“That’s Shauna’s car.” No way was Sam waiting for John, not if Shauna was in danger. He had his gun out and Riley followed suit.

Riley covered Sam as he went up the stairs, then Sam covered Riley as he followed. They stood on either side of Mack’s door. Sam motioned to the doorknob, indicating that Riley try it but not open it. The knob turned freely and Sam nodded, held up three fingers, then counted down to one.

Riley pushed open the door. He went low and Sam went high. No one was inside. The apartment was small and they cleared the living area and kitchen quickly. The bedroom door was closed. A muffled cry came from behind the door. Sam quickly inspected the bathroom and found no one hiding inside.

“Three,” he whispered to Riley.

Riley opened the door again. A quick sweep told them no one was inside. No one except Shauna, tied up on the floor, her face stained with tears and blood, a bruise on her jaw and a T-shirt in her mouth.

“Oh, God, Shauna.”

He removed the T-shirt while Riley checked under the bed and in the closet. “Clear,” he said.

“It’s about time,” Shauna said, but any anger she might have had at her predicament had faded and she sounded relieved.

Riley started to untie the lamp cord and she cried out, a new wave of tears streaming down her face. Sam inspected her, heart pounding while his training still kept him calm. “Is anything broken?”

Then he noticed her shoulder.

“Dislocated?” he asked and she nodded.

“Please,” she said through clenched teeth, “just push it back in.”

“You’re sure it’s just dislocated?”

She nodded again and bit her lip, her face and neck red. He wanted to check her entire body for injuries, inspect the bruise and blood on her face, but first things first.

Then the bastard was going to pay for what he’d done to her.

John called into the apartment. “Garcia!”

“Bedroom. Call an ambulance.”

“No,” Shauna said when John stepped into the hall, filling the doorway with his tall frame.

“I have to untie the cord,” Sam said.

“Just do it,” she whispered through clenched teeth.

As carefully as possible, Sam undid the knot and unwound the cord. “Help me stand her up,” he asked John.

“Have you done this before?” John took Shauna’s good arm and pulled her up.

Sam glanced at Shauna and smiled. “Oh, yes. Remember your championship soccer game when you were a senior? Those two girls slammed you into the ground.”

“They were poor losers,” Shauna said. “And Mike was there.”

“Mike was useless. I’m stunned he became a doctor. You were screaming in pain and he went pale.”

Shauna grimaced. It might have been a smile. “It’s because I’m his sister.”

“This is going to hurt.”

“Just do it,” she repeated.

Sam turned her arm until it was at a ninety-degree angle, then said, “On three.”

“One,” Shauna said.

It only took a second for Sam to rotate the shoulder back into place.