Save Her Soul (Detective Josie Quinn #9)(52)
Gretchen turned slowly in a circle, looking around. She pointed uphill toward the Patio Motel. Josie started to walk with her toward it but then Alice said, “Don’t leave. Just a few more minutes to make sure no one followed you. That’s all I’m asking.”
Josie stopped. She looked at Gretchen and pointed behind them. They turned and walked back toward the flooded area. “Alice, you really need to tell us what’s going on. If you’re this concerned for your safety, I think you need to let us bring you in.”
Silence.
“Alice?”
“I think I hear something,” she said.
Josie pulled the phone from her ear, and she and Gretchen strained to listen for the sounds of tires over asphalt or footsteps, but there was nothing. Gretchen gestured toward the interstate and mouthed, I think she’s there.
Josie followed her movement, eyes landing on the concrete barriers set in place so that drivers wouldn’t go directly into the flood. There was still some area of dry interstate behind them before the water flowed up and over the overpass. It wasn’t the safest hiding spot, but it would give Alice a clear view of the rears of all the buildings leading up the hill without being seen, and no one would look for her on the closed interstate.
Josie nodded to Gretchen and slowly, they began walking in that direction. Alice started to speak, but her words were lost when another call beeped in on Josie’s phone. She pulled it away from her ear and looked at the screen. Noah. Whatever he was calling for, it could wait. She swiped decline and sent him to voicemail. “What was that, Alice?”
Gretchen’s cell phone rang. “Noah,” she said as she looked at the screen. She, too, sent the call to voicemail. As they climbed over the guardrail and stepped onto the highway, a woman emerged from behind the barricades. A cell phone was pressed to her ear. She pulled it away, pressed the screen, and put it in her jacket pocket. Her raincoat was dark blue and beneath that she wore a pair of black jeans and white sneakers. She was rail thin with long, dark hair that had obviously been dyed, but Josie recognized her features at once.
“Vera?”
The woman stopped and raised both hands. “Stop. This was a mistake.”
Gretchen said, “No, it wasn’t a mistake. Whatever is going on, we can help you.”
Josie’s phone buzzed again with a call. Noah. She put her phone into her own jacket pocket and let it go to voicemail again. From where they stood, so close to the river, the sound of the current was even louder. Behind the barricades, it looked as though the water was flowing more quickly. Rain continued to splatter them, growing steadier by the moment. With every drop, Josie felt her heart sink even more. It would mean more flooding, more flash floods, more damage. But right now, she had to focus on Vera Urban.
Josie said, “Vera, you wouldn’t be here if you believed this was a mistake. You took a risk to meet us, didn’t you?”
The woman nodded. With the rain beading on her face, Josie wasn’t sure if she was crying or not, but her features twisted and a sob erupted from her throat. Then the concussive boom of a gunshot rang out and a dark red splotch bloomed across Vera’s stomach. She stumbled backward, hands reaching for something, face slack with shock, and fell.
Immediately, Josie ran toward her. Gretchen’s gun was already out and up as she panned it around them. Another shot shattered the air and a few feet away, a chunk of concrete burst from one of the barriers. “It’s coming from the building,” Gretchen shouted.
Flat on her back, Vera’s mouth worked like a fish out of water. “The—they—the—”
“Get her on the other side of the barricades,” Gretchen said, standing in front of them, gun pointed toward the bowling alley. Her right eye zeroed in on the iron sights of her Glock, but she didn’t take a shot. Josie moved around to the top of Vera’s head and hooked her arms under her armpits, dragging her behind one of the large concrete beasts. Gretchen followed and the two of them knelt down, pushing Vera as close to the barrier as they could so she wasn’t exposed. Another shot sailed over their heads.
“Put pressure on that,” Gretchen said, turning back toward the bowling alley, her gun ready. Another shot boomed, and they heard it hit the other side of the barrier. Josie’s ears rang. She took off her raincoat and bunched it up, pressing it to Vera’s abdomen.
Josie heard the familiar ringtone of Gretchen’s phone. Shouting to be heard over the aftershocks of the gunshots and the steady rumble of the river at their backs, Gretchen said, “It’s in my pocket. It’s gotta be Noah. Take it. We need units now.”
Josie kept one hand on Vera’s abdomen while the other plunged into Gretchen’s jacket pocket and pulled out the phone. She used her thumb to swipe answer but with the rain coming down, it took three tries on the slicked screen. “Noah,” she cried.
Vera’s hand gripped Josie’s shoulder. Her mouth worked again. Josie put her free ear down toward Vera’s face, trying to hear what she was saying. “Ple—please—”
In her other ear, Noah said, “Josie. Are you still on Lockwood? I’m on my way to you now. The railroad levee broke. With the thunderstorms overnight, it was too much. There’s going to be a big surge downriver. You should get out of there.”
The crack of another gunshot caused Vera to buck beneath Josie’s hand. Noah was saying something, but Josie couldn’t make it out. The rain fell harder. She felt something against her ankles and looked back to see that the surge Noah warned about was already happening. The water had been ten yards away only moments ago, and now it was at their feet. Panic squeezed at Josie’s heart. She had to stay calm. Focused. Noah was on the way.