Deadly Fear (Deadly #1)(24)

Right. Like that was going to happen. Monica fired a glance at Luke.

He gave a slight nod and said, “Ah, miss, we’re gonna need to talk to you.”

Her baby blue eyes widened.

“So why don’t you just stay put a bit.” He flashed a smile. One with lots of teeth. “And we’ll all have a real, nice talk soon.”

Davis motioned and Melinda Jenkins, another deputy, stepped up beside the nurse. She’d been waiting for Monica outside the hospital. Petite and soft-spoken, but with a no-nonsense attitude. Good thinking on Davis’s part to bring Melinda in, especially with that dazed stare Lee was flashing at the nurse.

The nurse’s hold on her bag tightened. “B-but I didn’t do anything!”

“You were the nurse on duty, weren’t you?” Monica asked quietly. She knew the answer. Davis had pointed out the blonde when he’d led her off the elevator.

A grim nod.

“Then you were here when the killer struck. You saw him.” A pause. “And he saw you.”

That pretty face paled.

“I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere, ma’am,” Luke said, his drawl deepening, deliberately, she was sure, to make the nurse feel like she was talking to another good ole boy. “We need to ask you a few questions because we sure need your help.”

Melinda sidled close to the nurse. Real close. Monica met the deputy’s dark eyes and knew that Curly wouldn’t be getting away.

“Why don’t you come with me, honey…” Melinda said in that gentle voice of hers.

“But—but I just wanna go home.…”

“Ah, Sissy Sue, I’m afraid that’s just not an option right now.” Still soft, but no missing the steel.

Monica realized she could like Deputy Jones. If only she’d been on duty for the night, maybe Laura would still be breathing instead of being wheeled to the morgue.

She drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Davis stood by her side, his whole body tense. “One other thing you need to know about tonight, Sheriff.”

His brows pulled low.

“The killer made contact.”

Davis’s jaw dropped. “Bullshit.”

“Not quite. He called me,” probably right before the bastard had gone after Laura, judging by the lividity of the body and the waxy color of the flesh. “He knows we’re hunting him.” Her gaze held his. “And I think he likes it.”


Deputy Andrew “Andy” Vickers looked like he wanted to cry. Maybe he was crying. Luke narrowed his eyes and braced his legs as Monica began questioning the guy. Sheriff Davis stood to the right, shaking his head in disgust every few minutes.

“I didn’t leave! I didn’t!”

“Then who did you see?” Monica pressed. “This hallway was cleared. No other patients. Just Laura. Who did you see on her hallway? And why the hell didn’t you step up and stop—”

“Nurses and doctors!” he said, still rubbing his hand over his face. “All night… I only saw nurses and doctors coming to check on her. No one else!”

“You were supposed to stay at her door,” Luke said. “But you didn’t, did you?” He could just guess why. A reason that was about five-foot-two, one hundred and twenty pounds…

Shame there, flashing on Andy’s face. “I just went down to talk to Sissy. Ten minutes, I swear—and I could still make sure the hall was clear from the station. I could see the room!”

Bullshit. If he’d still been able to make sure the hall was clear, Laura wouldn’t be dead.

“That’s the only time you weren’t right next to Laura’s room?” Monica asked, pushing back her hair.

“Y-yeah…”

“Then who did you see? Who passed you when you were chumming it up with Sissy? Who?” When she got going, Monica could be fierce.

Hard. Smart. Sexy.

He cleared his throat.

Andy blinked a few times. “I-I… a doctor. Yeah, yeah—a doctor. He had on green scrubs and one of them little hats and—”

“Did you see his face?” Luke asked.

Andy’s eyes met his and fell.

Luke knew the answer before the quiet response even came. “No.”


Sissy Sue Hollings had enough nervous energy to fill up the whole room. Her body vibrated. Her curls bounced, and her eyes shifted from Monica to Luke to the Sheriff, then back. One really big circle, over and over again.

Monica crossed her arms. “When you were talking with Deputy Vickers—”

“At approximately 4:30 a.m.,” Luke felt obliged to help.

“Did you see a man walk past the nurse’s station?”

Sissy Sue’s lips parted.

“Did you, Sissy?” Now Davis was stepping up. He’d suspended Vickers, told the deputy he’d be sitting on the sidelines, but Davis’s anger still had his cheeks tinted red. “Did you see him?”

The faintest of nods. “But-but that was just a doctor—”

“Really?” Monica asked. “Which doctor was it? What was his name?”

Sissy’s mouth closed. A furrow grew between her brows.

Come on! “Did you see his face, Ms. Hollings?” Luke demanded.

She shook her head.