She did the best she could to hang on to the sill and frame. To delay him. To keep him from getting past her to check the empty porch roof outside the window. She’d carried out her part of the plan. Now it was up to Marsha and Kyle to sneak past him while he was distracted, get down the stairs and out the front door.
Wide-eyed, Jamie saw a blow coming and raised her hands defensively. That was enough to deflect the attack but not to keep her from being stunned.
She fell backward.
Saw Randall start to lean out the window.
Heard him bellow as her head hit the floor.
* * *
The first thing Shane saw when he and Harlan arrived was a line of patrol cars parked on each side of his truck, providing a barrier against whoever was in the house. He was out of the sheriff’s unit and racing toward a group of other officers long before the dust settled.
When the door of the farthest car opened and his son jumped out, he fell to his knees with open arms.
“I was a ninja,” the boy told him happily as he threw himself at his daddy. “I saved Memaw. All by myself.”
“That’s wonderful,” Shane managed to say while blinking back tears of relief.
The nearest uniformed officer said, “You folks need to keep your heads down and stay where you’re told, for your own safety.” He gestured. “We have Mrs. Bryce in that car. If you and the boy will join her...”
Rising as far as a crouch, Shane took Kyle’s hand and led him. As promised, his mother was seated in the rear of the police car. There was an ice pack on her ankle.
“Are you all right?”
She clasped his hand. “I’m fine. Just twisted it running down the stairs.”
As her eyes met his, Shane realized what she was not saying. Only she and Kyle had escaped.
“What about...”
“She got us out,” Marsha told him. Sniffling, she wiped her damp cheeks. “She was amazing.”
“The judge let you go?”
Marsha was shaking her head. “No, no. He’s a raving lunatic. Jamie set up a trick, lured him away, and we were able to make it out.”
“But...?”
“She’s still in there, as far as I know.” The older woman pulled her grandson onto her lap and held him close. “I was afraid none of us would survive.”
Shane wanted to rejoice, and, in his heart, he did. Up to a point. There was only one thing wrong with Jamie Lynn’s plan. It had not included saving herself.
* * *
The sheriff was conferring with the other officers when Shane returned to him. They were actually talking about standing back and waiting for the hostage negotiation team to arrive. That could take hours. And if the judge was as deranged as everyone believed, that was far too long.
“We need to at least try to talk to him,” Shane insisted.
A murmur of voices vehemently disagreed. “Let the experts handle this,” Harlan said above the din.
“We brought the boxes of Dad’s papers he wanted.”
“And he has the upper hand,” the sheriff countered. “According to your mother, he’s not only armed and acting real crazy, he has one more hostage.”
“I know. That’s why I want to negotiate.”
“Out of the question.”
With that, the sheriff turned away as if dismissing Shane’s concerns. It wasn’t good enough. Sam would have done something, somehow. He had always managed to talk his way out of a jam. Except that last time, Shane reminded himself. The man who was holding Jamie at gunpoint was probably the same one who had arranged his dad’s murder. That put him in a whole other category.
Shane tapped Harlan on the shoulder. “You need to bring Bobbi-Sue out here to talk to him.”
“Why her?”
“Because she was involved at the beginning of all this. That’s what Max had started to explain when he was shot. The hit-and-run driver had to be either her or Alan Abernathy. Their fathers conspired to blame Ray and got Max involved. He was trying to protect Martin.”
“Ray Jr. confessed.”
“That doesn’t make him guilty. He was weak, worn down by the trial. Once he figured out what was happening he changed his plea for the sake of his family. Only it was too late to save his father.”
“Alice was right?”
“Looks that way to me.” Shane gestured toward the house. “Last I heard, Abernathy’s son went to Texas, but Bobbi-Sue is still around.”
“She teaches school, for crying out loud. She can’t be guilty of murder.”
“What she is or isn’t guilty of doesn’t matter now. All we need her for is to talk down the judge.”
Reluctantly, the sheriff conceded. “All right. I’ll radio for a deputy to fetch her. But there’s no way I’m putting one of Serenity’s model citizens in danger. She can sit out here in my car and use the bullhorn.”