But breaking the sound of the silence, a Chevy truck roared up that road, tearing across and nearly hitting a mailbox after swerving to get back in the correct lane.
Chapter Twelve
“Miss Morgan?” a voice softly called to her.
Evie heard a murmur of voices all around. One was dim in sound to her left and said, “You sure she isn’t on any medication?”
“She’s told me dozens of times she doesn’t take anything.”
A pressure came to her shoulder, and it jostled her tenderly. Something was wrapped around her finger and arm. And then there was another motion that she sensed around her. Her head felt like someone smashed it with a hammer.
“Her blood sugar is low. Is she diabetic?”
“No, she’s not. But I do know I saw her this morning at Songbird Café. That was way earlier at almost 8:00 a.m. She had a bagel for breakfast, but I don’t recall her finishing it. Then again, I left before she probably could.”
“Miss Morgan?”
Evie groaned and finally came to. As she gazed about in confusion, a pounding came to her head that she couldn’t escape. A familiar voice called to her again, and she looked to the right to see Deputy Hunt by her. She was surrounded by a bunch of paramedics. “Hey there, doll face!” Deputy Hunt chimed. “You took a nasty fall. You okay?”
What a hero to see at a time like that. So badly did she want to sit upand throw her arms around Hunt and hug him, but her energy levels stuck her to the floor.
A paramedic slowly helped her sit up and called for Gatorade, water, and a Snickers bar. Evie was still a little dizzy, but she felt like she could breathe better. She mumbled, “Yeah, I guess I’m okay. I don’t know what happened.” She placed her hand on Hunt’s shoulder and nearly cried. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
He rubbed her back. “You’re alright.”
The paramedic opened the Gatorade for her, and she chugged it quickly. She wasdyingof thirst! “Do you remember what you were doing or what you felt before you fainted?” he asked.
“I was um, in the middle of having…” She stopped and rubbed her head. “I had a tense conversation with a nasty woman on Facebook over something stupid. She said a bunch of nasty things to me. I think I’m being stalked and uh…”
“Stalked?” Hunt asked. “By whom?”
“I don’t know. It’s too much to explain, but I felt myself having a panic attack, so I tried to take some of my CBD chews, but it didn’t help. My legs got really tingly. My lips got like…weird feeling, and I fainted. I don’t remember anything else.”
The paramedic asked, “What have you eaten today?”
Deputy Dan Hunt began to open up his notes to scribble down anything and mostly prepare to ask her about being stalked.
She became alert. “Oh God. I didn’t realize, but all I had today was a bagel, and that was over six hours ago. But I didn’t finish the bagel, and I didn’t eat dinner last night.”
The paramedic checked her mouth. “You could also be suffering from dehydration. Even though it’s uncommon to faint from not eating unless you have a medical condition, it could’ve been exacerbated due to dehydration and the stress. Your heart is fine.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Do you want us to take you in?”
“Um, yeah. I’d feel better if you did.”
Evie was taken to the hospital and treated for mild dehydration, stress, and low blood sugar. Deputy Hunt sat next to her as the monitors beeped.
He patted her arm. “It’s okay. I know you’ve had a hard day, but I need you to tell me why you think someone is stalking you.”
“I… As you know from this morning, people in town think Caleb and I were sleeping together. And neither he nor I told anyone anything close to that. But people are saying it was because they saw us together at O’Malley’s in Freeton, which we were. But it was a casual hangout. And then everyone’s been seeing his truck at my place, but he’s been doing work for me.”
“Is there reason you believe this is stalking and not a chance encounter that someone saw you? And also, who told you any of this? I’d be glad to go and talk to them on your behalf.”
She relaxed deeply with his kindness. “You know Joey was one of them. If you could actually get Joey to talk, I’d be forever grateful. She wouldn’t tell me who told her. But the real culprit is Sandy Stottlemeyer. She’s who told Ashley, Caleb’s wife.”
Hunt jotted down everything. “Anything else?”
