Snowfall on Haven Point(105)

Marshall didn’t release his hold on her. She knew it couldn’t possibly be comfortable for him, balancing on the crutches, but he didn’t seem to want to release her. Andie decided she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Yes. She took some kind of medication, but she wouldn’t tell me what. I don’t know what time she took it, only that it seemed to really kick in about ten minutes after she showed up, slurring her speech and slowing her movements. Whatever it is, I don’t think she took a fatal dose—on the other hand, she also sustained a full center of mass electric current straight into her back, too, so I can’t say how the two things will interact. She was trying to kill herself.”

“Any idea why she chose Wynona’s kitchen as the location where she wanted to kill herself?”

Andie felt Marshall’s chest move as he gave a long exhale. “Apparently she wanted to apologize to me before she killed herself. She was driving the SUV that hit me.”

Andie lifted her head to stare at him. Now she really had no qualms about tasing the woman. If she had the chance, she might even want to shove in her backup cartridge and do it again.

Who knew she could be so bloodthirsty?

“Your secretary is the one who ran you down? Why?”

“It’s a long story,” Marshall said. He sounded tired and sore and, if she wasn’t mistaken, deeply sad. She hugged him harder, and after a startled moment, his arms tightened around her in return.

“She wanted to keep me from coming into work so I didn’t link her to embezzlement in the department,” he said to Cade. “I think she knew we were close and decided she would rather die than go to jail.”

“Sounds to me that’s where she belongs, but we’ll get her to the hospital first and stabilize her condition. I’ll need full statements from both of you, but why don’t you go into the other room and sit down while the EMTs take care of things here? You’re probably ready to fall over, aren’t you?”

“No. We’re good here, as long as we’re out of the way.”

The police chief didn’t seem to care, returning to talk to his other officers as the EMTs began to load Jackie onto a gurney and wheel her out. Jackie spotted Marshall as the EMT was rolling her out and started sobbing harder. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry,” she moaned repeatedly.

Marshall gestured for the stretcher to stop and he approached her on his crutches. He reached down and squeezed her hand in a gesture of compassion that brought tears to Andie’s eyes.

“I know you were trying to help your boy. I get it,” he said. “I just wish you’d come to me first instead of handling things the way you did.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled again. “I don’t want to go to jail, Sheriff.”

“Just focus on getting better right now. There were extenuating circumstances. We’ll get you a good attorney and go from there.”

Andie didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman. She could have killed Marshall and had caused him severe pain. But it was difficult not to experience some empathy as the EMTs rolled her out, still crying.

When they left, Cade handed the Taser back to Andie with the probes reloaded. “You’d better hang on to this. I don’t think we need to keep it in evidence,” he said. “Anyway, we know where to find you if we need to take a look at it again.”

“Will she be all right?” Andie asked.

Cade shrugged. “The hospital will probably pump her stomach, unless she can tell us what she took and how much.”

He took their statements in the den with a crisp efficiency she appreciated. Ten minutes later he was on his way to the hospital to talk to Jackie and the house was empty again except for the two of them.

She felt nervous suddenly, which seemed ridiculous after everything that had just happened.

“How are you doing?” Marshall asked.

“I don’t feel like I need to throw up anymore, so that’s good. How about you?”

He was quiet. “I wouldn’t mind just holding you again.”

That was exactly what she needed. Without hesitation she rose from her chair adjacent to the Christmas tree her children had decorated and onto the sofa next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her halfway across his lap, then buried his face in her neck.

He was trembling. Her big, tough, wonderful sheriff was trembling. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life as when I saw you standing there in the hall when Jackie was waving that .38 Special around.”

Wasn’t it just like him, to be scared for her but not for himself? “Nothing happened. We’re both okay. It sounds like Jackie will be okay, too. At least now you know who hurt you.”