Page 25 of My One and Only

“So you were following him?”

“Only for the last few blocks. I just happened to turn onto Main Street right behind him.”

“You see anything out of the ordinary before the blue truck hit your friend?”

“Nothing at all. But that truck was waiting at the stop sign when we were two or three blocks back. I could see it in the distance. And there wasn’t much traffic, so it wouldn’t have had to wait that long. He could have pulled into traffic almost as soon as he stopped at the stop sign. But he didn’t. He waited for the red truck, then rammed into it.”

“In your opinion,” the cop said.

“No. That’s what happened. There were too many opportunities for that truck to turn or go straight, whichever it needed to do. Instead, he waited until the red truck stopped at the stop sign and started through the intersection before it moved. It barreled right into the side of the red truck.” Jo swallowed. “It looked as if the driver of the red truck sped up just before impact. As if he saw the car barreling toward him and tried to avoid it.”

In front of her, one of the EMTs passed a backboard into the truck. She helped her partner arrange Cam on the board, then they carefully removed him from the cabin. They carried him to the ambulance and strapped him down, still on the backboard.

Jo stepped away from the cop. “I need to see how he is,” she said, rushing toward the ambulance. One of the EMTs began to close the door, and Jo grabbed the edge of it. “Is he okay?”she asked.

The EMT studied her for a moment. “You the one who hit him?”

“No,” Jo said, shaking her head vehemently. “I’m his friend. We were meeting at a house he’s building for my mother. I just happened to be behind him when I saw the other truck hit him.”

“He needs to be checked for a concussion, because his head hit the steering wheel.” She shook her head. “He’s damn lucky that truck didn’t hit his door directly. Could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Okay. What hospital are you going to?”Jo asked.

“Delnor. It’s the closest.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll head to Delnor, then.”

The EMT nodded, then shut the door in Jo’s face. Moments later, with a wail of its siren, the ambulance took off.

The other cop hurried over to Jo. “Did Officer Barnes get all your contact information?”he asked.

“She has my phone number. I’m visiting my mom for another week, then I have to get back to my job in Montana. But I’ll do whatever I can to help you figure out who’s targeting Cam Pierce.”

The cop’s eyes narrowed. “You know the guy in the red truck?”

“Yes, I do. He’s building a house for my mother. But I knew him fifteen years ago. We went to high school together.”

The cop’s eyes sharpened. “And you just happened to be behind his truck this morning.”

Jo was getting tired of the cops’ insinuations. Drawing herself up straight, she said, “Yes. I was following him to the house his company is building for my mother. To check it out.” She stared at the older man. “I gave your partner the description of the truck that hit Cam’s truck. It was quite detailed. Do you have someone out looking for that truck?”

He stared at her for a long moment, then looked away. “I’m sure Cilla has called it in to dispatch,” he said gruffly. “We’ll find that truck. From the size of the dent in your friend’s truck, there’ll be damage to the front of the other truck. And you gave her a good description of it. Thank you,” he added after a long moment.

“You’re welcome,” Jo said, narrowing her eyes. “Now find that truck.”

Chapter 8

Cam’s head ached as if someone had swung a baseball bat at it. Like they were hitting a World-Series-winning homer. Every time the ambulance hit a bump, pain exploded through his skull and he closed his eyes and bit back a groan.

Jo had been there at the accident. She hadn’t been in the truck with him. Was she the one who’d hit him?

He forced himself to focus. No. Not Jo. It had been another pickup truck. Jo drove a crappy little tin can of a car. Her car would have bounced off his truck like a mouse throwing itself at an elephant.

He swallowed the sudden fist in his throat. What if Fiona had been in the truck with him? In her car seat in the back row. She could have been seriously injured. Or worse.

He closed his eyes and told himself Fiona was safely in school. Nowhere near this accident. But the truth was, if it had happened earlier, shewouldhave been in the truck.

And why was Jo there at the accident scene? He struggled to remember where he’d been going, and finally retrieved the memory. He and Jo were going to look at her mom’s house. So maybe she’d been behind him. Maybe she’d seen it happen.

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