Every Move She Makes (14 page)

He nodded. “My friend is Cal.”

“Thank heaven you came when you did. My name’s Rachel.”

“I’m glad we found you.” His smile was hesitant. “I’ve never saved anyone before.”

“Well, you have now, and that makes you a hero in my book. How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“You and Cal have a lot to be proud of. You scared off my attacker, kept your heads and called for help. I can’t thank you enough.”

The boy’s cheeks turned pink. “It was no big deal.”

Cal appeared a moment later followed by two paramedics with a stretcher and the local sheriff with three deputies. The sheriff took her initial statement then sent his deputies out to search the woods for her assailant. The older paramedic, a gray-haired man with bushy eyebrows, carefully examined the lump on her head. During the confusion, Ford and Dan arrived.

“Rachel, honey, are you all right?” Ford knelt beside her.

“I think so, but my head is killing me.”

“She has a concussion.” The paramedic glanced up from his clipboard. “Also some bruising, but there don’t appear to be any other injuries. They’ll check her out more thoroughly at the hospital.”

Rachel winced. “I really don’t want to go to the hospital. I’m fine, honestly.”

“I’ll examine you and be the judge of that.” Ford set down the black satchel he carried and moved closer.

“Hey, mister, I can’t allow you to interfere with my patient.”

His partner, a Hispanic woman with a beautiful smile, nudged his arm. “That’s Dr. Carpenter. He worked at the hospital before he retired.”

Ford smiled. “It’s nice to be remembered.” Taking out a penlight he shined it in Rachel’s eyes and felt her head.

“You have a definite goose egg. How long were you unconscious?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes.” Isaac rolled his bike out of the way. “We heard her scream when we were riding down the trail and reached her a few seconds later. I think she came to about a minute or so after that.”

“That’s good news. How about dizziness or nausea?”

“A little of both initially.”

“Your neck is bruised, and your throat feels swollen, which will make talking uncomfortable. Did he have his arm wrapped around your neck?”

Rachel nodded gingerly then held her head. “I have to stop doing that.”

“I can give you something for the pain once we’re home. You definitely have signs of a mild concussion, but I can keep an eye on you tonight.” He looked up at the paramedics. “If I see anything unusual, I’ll bring her in for a CAT scan, but I don’t anticipate a problem.”

“It’s your call, Doc. I can’t force a patient to go to the hospital against her will.”

“We’ll probably need the stretcher to get her back to the car.” Ford stood. “I don’t think she’s up to the walk.”

“No problem.”

The sheriff finished questioning Cal and Isaac then approached Rachel. “I’ll need you to answer some more questions first.”

Dan stepped forward. “Can you question her back at the house? It’s close by, and I’m sure Rachel would be more comfortable sitting in a chair than on the ground.”

The middle-aged man with a droopy mustache and kind eyes who’d introduced himself as Sheriff Barns nodded. “I suppose so. Let me check in with my deputies, and then I’ll follow you there.”

The paramedics lifted her onto the stretcher and strapped her down. When they hoisted her, with Dan’s help, Rachel protested.

“I came the other way.”

“We parked on the far side of the creek.” Ford patted her hand. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll get you out of here.”

They made it across the shallow creek without incident. When they reached the road, Ford eased her off the stretcher and into his big sedan.

“Are you certain you don’t want to go to the hospital?” The senior paramedic raised a brow.

“I’m positive.”

“Then sign this release.” He handed her a clipboard. Rachel filled out the information they needed, signed it and thanked them for their help. When the sheriff arrived a few minutes later and gave them a thumbs up, Ford drove away.

“I can’t believe some psycho attacked you.” Dan turned in his seat to give her a commiserating smile. “I’ve lived in Tahoe City my whole life, and nothing like this has ever happened before. At least not that I’ve heard about. How’re you doing?”

“Fine.” She swallowed.

“She’ll feel better once I get a couple of pain pills into her.” Ford stopped the car. “Get the gate.”

Dan jumped out to punch in the combination, then Ford and the sheriff drove through. All three girls, Wes and Daisy waited in the front yard.

Ivy ran forward. “Mom, what happened?”

“Are you okay?” Jade’s face was pale beneath her tan.

“Give her some room, you two.” Lark tugged her sisters away as they crowded closer.

Rachel’s smile shook. “I’ll be fine, but I do need a hug.” She held each girl in a brief embrace then patted Daisy’s head before letting Dan help her into the house. She sat on the couch then cautiously leaned her head against a cushion. When Ford handed her a couple of white tablets, a glass of water and an ice pack, she took them with a grateful smile.

“Thank you.” After swallowing the pills, she placed the ice pack against the lump on her head.

“See, girls, I’m fine. Go eat your dinner while the sheriff asks me a few questions.”

“Yes, why don’t we all eat?” Erica shooed the girls toward the door. “It’s long past dinner time.”

“I’ll stay with Rachel.” Ford touched his wife’s arm when she stepped up behind her daughter. “That way I can answer all your questions after we’re finished, and Rachel won’t have to go through it again.”

Eyes wide, Olivia left the room, and Dan followed.

The sheriff pulled up a chair and opened his notebook. “Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me exactly what occurred. Don’t leave anything out, even if you think it’s not important.”

“First, can you tell me if your deputies found the man?”

“Not yet, but they’re still searching. Your information could help, so let’s get started.”

Rachel told him about her run, the coyote and the man grabbing her from behind. She went over how she struggled with him then had to go over it again.

“Now, I want every detail, Rachel. You probably know a lot more than you think. What part of this man did you see?”

“I saw his forearms and his hands and feet.”

“Describe them for me, please.”

“His arms and hands were lightly tanned and had brown hair on them. His fingers were bare, no rings.” She closed her eyes. “He was wearing dirty navy and white running shoes. I didn’t notice what kind.”

“How tall was he?”

“I’m not sure. When he held me against him, his voice was just above my ear. When he spoke, he whispered. It was really freaky.”

“It’s possible he didn’t want you to recognize his voice.” The sheriff looked up from his notes. “You’re what, five-five, five-six?”

“Five-six.”

“Then that would probably make our suspect between five-nine and five-eleven. Was he thin or fat?”

“Sort of in-between. When he held me against him, he wasn’t flabby, but not super muscular either. He was strong, though, a lot stronger than I am.” Rachel hesitated. “He was...excited.”

The sheriff’s eyes held sympathy as he met her gaze. “Did you notice anything else about him, an unusual odor or maybe an accent when he spoke?”

“He smelled like sweat, not pot if that’s what you mean, and he was breathing hard. I was running pretty fast before I stopped for the coyote and he caught me.”

“So he isn’t in top condition, but he was able to run a couple of miles.” Sheriff Barns smiled. “You’re doing great. Now, let’s go over what he said again and anything you can remember about his voice.”

Rachel shuddered. “He spoke in a whisper, except for once when he yelled, ‘No!’ It was hard to distinguish any kind of accent. He kept calling me Jordan and said I belonged to him.” She drew in a breath. “He told me he’d been waiting a long time to have me and asked me not to ruin it. Oh, and he said something about me betraying him. When I fought, he threatened to hurt me. That’s it.”

“Why would he call you Jordan? A case of mistaken identity?”

“I doubt it. For five years I played a character named Jordan Hale on a soap opera, but that was a long time ago. People still recognize me occasionally.”

The sheriff stopped writing. “It sounds like you have a stalker.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Has any stranger approached you lately, maybe tried to talk to you or follow you? Have you gotten any unusual letters or e-mails?”

“No mail, electronic or otherwise. I did feel like I was being watched a few times at work, but I thought it was just my imagination. I’m almost positive someone was following me up at Granite Lake.”

“Where do you work?”

“I own a bookstore in Vine Haven. It’s in Napa County.”

“You don’t live in Tahoe?”

“No, I’m just visiting my in-laws. My daughters and I were up at Granite Lake Retreat on Donner Summit for a week before we came here.”

“You thought someone was following you there?”

“One day when we were out hiking, I heard someone on the trail behind us.” Rachel shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important at the time, but now I’m not so sure. Could this creep have actually been at the camp with us?”

“It’s a possibility we’ll look into, although it could have been someone hanging around the area. Now, what do you think he meant about betraying him? You told me you aren’t married, but is there a man in your life?”

“There hasn’t been, but I met someone at the camp.” Her face heated. “We were together a couple of times in somewhat compromising circumstances. I suppose it’s possible we were observed.”

The sheriff’s pen poised above the notebook. “The man’s name?”

“Kane Lafferty.”

He asked a few more questions before taking her full name, address and phone number. “I’ll have this typed up. You’ll need to come by the station tomorrow to sign it. Under the circumstances, I wouldn’t advise going anywhere alone.”

“I don’t intend to. Thank you, Sheriff.”

Ford walked him to the door and returned a few minutes later. “How’s your head?”

“The pain medication you gave me is helping.”

“Good. You can take the ice pack off if you’d like.”

“Thank God, my head feels frozen.”

Ford took the pack from her and felt the lump. He probed carefully and smiled. “The swelling has gone down some. Would you like something to eat?”

“I think I’ll pass, but go ahead. You must be starving.”

“You could sit with us.”

“I’d rather just rest here if you don’t mind fielding the questions all by yourself.”

He patted her arm. “I don’t mind at all. I’ll check on you shortly if you’re sure you don’t need anything else.”

“Actually, would you mind sending one of the girls up to my room for my purse? I’d like to make a phone call.”

“One of them will be down with it in a jiffy.”

Jade came in a minute later and handed her mother the leather bag. “Does your head still hurt?”

“A little. Thanks, honey. Go finish your dinner.”

“I was done. Aren’t you going to tell us what happened?”

“Right now I need to rest. Your grandfather knows all the details, so you can grill him.”

“Okay.” Jade hurried from the room.

Her daughter obviously didn’t want to miss any of the excitement. Alone again, Rachel pulled out her cell and the business card Kane had given her. Her fingers caressed the SFPD emblem. Taking a breath, she sent up a prayer he’d answer and tapped in the number.

“This is…surprise. Did…miss…so soon?” Kane’s voice faded in and out.

Rachel let out a long breath. “I’m so glad I reached you. Can you hear me?”

“…sound funny. What’s wrong?”

“Some lunatic attacked me. My throat is a bit sore.”

“What did…say?”

“I was attacked.”

“Shit, hold on…run up…hill…reception…better. If…lose…call back.”

Rachel leaned against the couch cushions and closed her eyes. A minute later his voice was stronger in her ear.

“Now, explain what happened. I want to hear everything.”

She gave him a brief synopsis. “The sheriff thinks some psycho fan from my past is stalking me. It could be a man from the camp.”

“Why would he believe that?”

“Someone was following us the day the girls and I hiked to the waterfall. I told Jed about it, but I’m pretty sure he thought I was imagining things.” She sighed. “It’s hard to believe someone I’ve met would actually attack me.”

He swore. “Give me your address, and I’ll be there in an hour, maybe a little longer.”

“Kane, you don’t have to come. I’m sure I’ll be safe if I stay close to the house. I shouldn’t have called, but I wanted to tell you the sheriff will be investigating all the men who were at the camp with us.”

“Of course I’m coming. This guy sounds like a serious lunatic. You don’t know what his next move will be.”

“I’m sure the sheriff would have left a deputy here if he thought I was in imminent danger.”

“Honey, no disrespect to a fellow law enforcement officer, but your small town sheriff is more used to drunk and disorderlies than violent stalkers. I’ll pack my stuff and be there as soon as I can. Now give me those directions.”

Rachel recited the address and the code to the gate. “I might be asleep when you get here. I’m pretty tired.”

“Then warn your in-laws I’m coming. I don’t want them to mistake me for your attacker and shoot on sight.”

“I’ll tell them. Thanks, Kane.”

“Take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.”

Rachel put the phone back into her purse. She looked up when Olivia entered the room, followed by the rest of the family.

“Did you call your parents?”

“I spoke to my friend, Kane. He’ll be here shortly.”

Olivia frowned. “Do you really think that’s appropriate under the circumstances?”

“He’s a police detective, and he thinks I need protection.”

“You mean this psycho following you might come here?” Erica frowned and pushed blond hair behind one ear.