Seth nodded and rose to his feet. “Call the sheriff and tell him we need some heavy digging equipment out here. There’s a car buried beside the barn, and we have reason to believe it’s connected to an unsolved murder investigation we’ve been working on for twenty-five years.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
The deputy turned away and pulled out his cell phone just as two EMTs hurried into the demolished room. They dropped down beside her and began to check her for injuries. As they worked, she tried to catch sight of Seth, but the EMTs blocked her view.
Within minutes she was loaded onto a gurney and rushed toward the front yard where two ambulances sat with their lights flashing. As she was being shoved into the back of one, Seth ran up to the back door.
“Maybe the next time I see you, I’ll have all the answers about Hope.”
She nodded and smiled at him. “Good. I’ll see you then.”
One of the EMTs jumped in beside her and slammed the back doors shut. She heard the other one climb in the driver’s seat, and before she knew it, they were racing down the road toward the city.
She thought of the last time she’d been in an ambulance. Uncle Dan had been injured, and she’d ridden with him. Although she’d dreaded it that night, she’d known Seth would be at the hospital. He would be there again this time, too—and once again, she dreaded seeing him. He said he loved her, but she hadn’t been able to say those words. If she could help it, she still wasn’t going to tell him how much she loved him. Not when she’d have to give him up again.
Instead, she planned to tell him why she hadn’t married him and then give him his freedom as she had done once before. This time he probably never would forgive her, but it had to be done.
It was time for the truth.
FIFTEEN
Callie opened her eyes and frowned. Where was she? Then she remembered. The hospital. She’d been brought here from the farm last night and had finally been put into this room after being examined in the emergency room, the same place she’d been only a week ago when she and Uncle Dan had been in the wreck.
She turned her head on the pillow toward the window beside her bed. A few beams of sunlight peeked through the closed blinds, and she wondered what time it was. She tried to push up into a sitting position, but every muscle in her body screamed in agony. She exhaled and lay back.
“Good morning, Callie. Do you need me to call the nurse?”
The quiet voice shocked her, and she turned her head toward the other side of the bed. Seth’s mother stood beside her, a smile on her face. “Mrs. Dawtry, what are you doing here?”
“Seth called me last night and told me what had happened. He wanted me to be here with you until he could come. He didn’t want you to be alone when you woke up, but evidently, there was a lot for him to clear up about your abduction.”
“Yes.” Tears filled her eyes. “I thought of Anthony as family. How could he have done this to Uncle Dan and his fellow officers? He was ready to kill me without the least hesitation. I think he did shoot Abby. Do you know if she lived or not?”
“From what Grace reported on TV this morning, Abby was dead at the scene. Anthony is in this hospital, too, but he’s under arrest and under guard.”