Page 18 of Engaging the Deputy

“Had Rob and Emery been arguing?” No.

“Had either been acting strangely?” To that, he’d gotten confused looks. Clearly, neither girl had known either of them well enough to know. Both girls were grounded and still shocked and upset that they’d almost died.

As he was leaving the Bell residence, the hospital called.

Cody had regained consciousness.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cody felt himself falling in and out of sleep as he waited for the doctor to come back. Earlier, he’d told him that he had a severe concussion from a blow to the head. Cody had touched the bandage on his forehead, but he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten it. His head hurt and he felt confused and anxious.

When the door opened, though, it was the deputy. He groaned silently, having learned that when a cop showed up, it was usually not a good sign.

“How are you feeling?” Jaden asked as if he really cared.

Cody doubted it since they’d been in love with the same woman. He wondered if the deputy had gotten over Olivia. He had his doubts.

The lawman dragged up a chair and, pulling out his notebook and pen, sat down. “Need to ask you some questions about Halloween night at Starling.”

Cody frowned. He’d awakened in a hospital bed, wondering how he’d gotten there. “Halloween?” Why couldn’t he remember? Actually, he was having trouble retrieving his last memory. “What is today?” Jaden told him. “I’ve lost three days?” He couldn’t help being scared. He had no idea what had happened in those three days. They were now a dark hole.

The deputy studied him, no doubt thinking he was lying. But why would he need to lie? Why was the deputy here asking him questions unless something bad had happened?

“What do you remember?”

“Work.” He frowned in concentration. “Friday, getting off work and going to the bar.”

“And after that?”

Cody shook his head. “Nothing until I woke up in this bed. Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“I’d rather you remember on your own. The doctor said once the swelling goes down in your brain, you should remember more.”

“Great,” he said, leaning back in the bed. “You can’t tell me how I got hurt?”

“There was a tornado.”

“No kidding?”

“You probably don’t recall who you were with or what you were doing in Starling.”

Cody frowned. Of course he hadn’t been alone. But a tornado? What had he been doing in Starling? “Sorry, nothing. I have no idea what I might have been doing out there.”

“Let me know if you remember something,” Jaden said as he saw the doctor coming down the hall. His time was up.

* * *

After the deputy left, Cody stared out the window, his heart pounding. He blamed his aching head for why he hadn’t caught on sooner. Had someone tried to kill him? Why else was the law asking him all these questions? Something had happened at Starling. It had happened to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing at the pain as he tried to remember. For a moment, he thought he saw something on the edge of his memory, a fleeting image of a dark figure standing above him. But it was quickly gone. What scared him was that if he really was in danger, he wouldn’t have any idea who he had to fear.

At a sound, his eyes flew open, startled to find someone right beside his bed, standing over him. “Krystal? What are you doing here?” he demanded, drawing back instinctively.

“Keep your voice down,” she ordered. “I had to see you.” She reached out to touch the bandage on his head.

He grabbed her hand. “You shouldn’t be here. The deputy thinks someone tried to kill me.”

She mugged a face at that and pulled up the chair close to the bed before sitting down. “Who’d want to kill you? That old girlfriend of yours. That’s who you were with Halloween night, right?”

“Old girlfriend?” he asked, even more confused.