Page 92 of My One and Only

Jo nodded. Touched his cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I know you thought of Don as your brother. But he was the one behind everything that happened.” She dragged in a ragged breath. “Now that he’s in jail, maybe Phil Gwynn will be willing to talk. He clearly knows a lot of damaging information about Don.”

Cam didn’t give a damn about Don right now. All he cared about was Jo. “Can you leave?”he asked. “I want to get you out of here.”

“I’m going to wait for a bit. I want my phone and my purse back. And at least one of my guns, because I’m not sure Don was acting alone. They printed him at the hospital, and the fingerprints on the truck bomb weren’t his. So there’s at least one more person involved.”

She cupped his face in her hands. “He killed Ashley,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry. Fiona lost her mother, and you lost your wife. I know you said things were over with Ashley, but she’s still Fiona’s mom. Even if she wasn’t a very good mother, she’s the only one Fiona had.”

They stood together, holding each other, and Cam inhaled Jo’s scent. Held it in his lungs and savored it. He could have lost her today. If she hadn’t been so resourceful, so clever, they’d be dredging the Fox River for Jo’s body right now.

His eyes stinging, he held her tightly against his chest, thankful that she had outwitted Don. His best friend. No, the man he’d thought of as his brother. How had he been so blind? Why hadn’t he seen the man Don really was?

He and Jo stood together for a long time, breathing each other in. Gripping each other tightly.

Finally, one of the detectives said, “Ms.Hatch? Would you come over to my desk and have a seat?”

She eased away from Cam but fumbled for his hand. Held it tightly as she walked over to Detective Miller’s desk. She slid into one chair and kept hold of Cam’s hand as he sat on the other chair.

“I’ve listened to the recording on your phone again and made a copy of it,” Miller said. “Kincaid would be a fool to contest his guilt. We have it in his own words. I think his lawyer will try to convince him to plead guilty.” He shrugged. “But we’ll see. He could come up with some excuse or explanation. But he’ll be damned by his own words.”

“Am I free to go?”Jo asked.

“Yes. We’ll need you to testify at Kincaid’s trial, if there is one. We’ll have more questions, and I’m sure the DA will have questions for you, as well.”

Jo nodded. “I understand. I’ll be happy to cooperate with you and the DA’s office.” She swallowed. “Right now, though, I just want to go home.”

“Where is your home, Ms.Hatch?”

“I live in Montana. But I’m staying with Mr.Pierce. He hired me as his bodyguard after his truck was targeted.”

“Will you be in Ogden for a while?”Peters asked.

Jo shrugged. “Probably, but I’ll have to check with my boss. She may have another job for me. If that’s the case, I’ll be happy to talk to you on the phone.”

Miller blew out a breath. “Thank you.” He studied her for a long moment. “You saved those girls’ lives at the school today, Ms.Hatch. I’m sure their parents would like to thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. I couldn’t have stood there and watched Don shoot those kids.”

“We’re all grateful. And we have your phone number if we have more questions. Thanks for your cooperation.”

“You’re welcome.” She reached for Cam’s hand, and he wrapped his fingers around hers. He didn’t want to ever let her go, but she was right. She might have another job waiting for her.

Clinging to Jo’s hand, he turned to Miller. “You’ll keep us informed?”he asked.

“We will,” Miller said.

They both stood up, and he wrapped his arm around Jo’s shoulders. Led her out of the police station and helped her into his truck. Took her hand and held it tightly.

When they were on their way back to his house, he twined his fingers with hers. “God, Jo. When I realized Don had taken you, my heart almost stopped. Fiona told me exactly what happened. And that you sent her back to the school to find me. I can’t thank you enough. What if he’d gotten her into his truck?” Cam shuddered. “He could have killed both of you.”

“But he didn’t,” Jo said. “Fiona did exactly as I told her to do -- she ran for the school door. I knew I had a chance to get away from Don, but if Fiona had been forced to come with us, Don would have used her against me. Things might have turned out very differently.”

“I know,” Cam said.

“Where is she now?”Jo asked.

“After I called the police and told them what had happened, I took her over to my parent’s house. Explained what had happened after Fiona ran into the living room. Told my mom I’d fill her in when I could. We’ll stop there and pick Fiona up.”

Ten minutes later, Cam pulled his truck to a stop in front of his parents’ house. They hurried to the door, Jo clinging to Cam’s hand, and he rang the doorbell. It had barely stopped chiming when his mom opened the door.

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