Page 14 of No Time for Doubt
“Her.Her.Okay?Nell.He told me he was going to take care of the body.”
That wasn’t in the file yet.“He said body?”She nodded, once.“Did he mention how?”
“He did.”
Cade waited.
She swallowed, her face was pale.“He said he’d take her out in the boat and toss her in the lake.That we could be together.He said we wouldn’t have to worry about her ever again.”
“And knowing all of that, you drove her car away from her house, left her with a man threatening to kill her and never called the police.”
“I’m sorry.I was terrified.He’s never been like that before.I knew it wouldn’t matter what I said.I wouldn’t change his mind.He got in my face.”She swiped a tear from her cheek.“Told me if I argued or called the cops or didn’t follow through, he would find me.Kill me too.”
Cade made a note, adding more charges to the long list Daniel Pereda was facing.
“He said he wasn’t going to jail alone.I don’t know what happened after I left.I just knew I had to try and get away when I had the chance.”She gripped her purse with both hands.“I’m so sorry.Nell’s okay, isn’t she?I saw on the news you rescued her.”
Cade didn’t correct her about who had done the actual rescuing.He wasn’t about to publicly praise a self-proclaimed psychic.Ms.Norris hadn’t argued about letting the police take the credit.Cade still hadn’t decided if that was a point for or against her.
“The doctors expect Nell to make a full recovery,” he replied, sticking with the more relevant issue.He was here to do a job.
And after...Well, there was always more work for a cop to do.But he’d missed a critical personal milestone yesterday and today, he vowed to do better.He’d finish this interview, get his notes in order, and then he had a babymoon to plan.
Cade asked Ms.Milton a few more questions, mostly about how long she’d known and been involved with Daniel Pereda and if she had any insights into the man’s habits.She was more than happy to spill every detail she could think of.
When she ran out of steam, he cut her loose, cautioning her to stay in town.
“Will I be charged with a crime?”she asked, her voice cracking.
“That’ll be up to the State’s Attorney’s office.They’ll review the case and confer with Mrs.Pereda before they decide.”
Milton nodded, tears welling in her eyes.“All right.You don’t have to worry.I won’t leave town,” she promised.“He wasn’t...I mean, I wouldn’t have stayed if...”She swiped a tear from her cheek.“I didn’t know he was capable of this.”
They never did.Cade couldn’t reel in his dark thoughts as he walked the woman out of the station.Some days just didn’t have much light at all.Though Nell was safe and Milton had likely escaped a similar fate at some point in the future, he didn’t feel the usual full satisfaction of a good arrest.
Didn’t take a shrink—or psychic—to uncover why.He was all for teamwork, he just preferred the official Chicago Police Department team.The Norris woman had interfered and muddied the waters.
He couldn’t say for sure that her involvement would prevent justice, but he couldn’t rule it out.
“Laurier!”Over his shoulder he saw another detective holding up the handset on his desk phone.“Phone call.”
He’d come to that conclusion on his own, thank you very much.“Detective Laurier?”
“Yes.”
“This is University Hospital.You’re the emergency contact for Samantha—”
“Yes.Yes.”He reached for his jacket.“What happened?”
“The doctors are with her now, sir.There seems to be a concern with the pregnancy.”
“I’ll be right there.”Cade didn’t wait.He dropped the handset into place and flew out of the bullpen.
And he was still too late.Not that his presence would’ve helped anything at all.The baby was gone.Samantha was hemorrhaging.He’d never felt more helpless or lost.He didn’t know who to call, so he sat in the ER until a nurse led him upstairs to a room.
He waited there, in shock, until they wheeled in Samantha, looking pale and weaker than he’d ever seen her.A doctor gave him facts and details that didn’t cut through the fog of grief.
Once she was settled and the nurses left them alone, he crawled into the bed and held her.
