She used a tai chi technique with her hands to strike him at the bridge of his nose as hard as she could—maybe breaking it—followed in quick succession by a solid blow into his groin. As Juan yelled an expletive, then made an eerie groaning sound, and Bella looked confused, Stefanie took advantage of this to punch her once to the side of the head with enough force to cause Bella to lose her balance and nearly fall, wailing from the discomfort.
As her abductors were sulking, Stefanie tried to make a run for it. She didn’t get very far, as her legs were like rubber. And lead weights, all at once.
“Stop her, you idiot!” Bella blared nevertheless, then warned, “But not with the gun! It has to be the fentanyl if we’re going to get away with this!”
Stefanie recalled seeing the firearm that he’d pulled briefly from his jacket pocket at Bella’s house—meant to intimidate her into cooperating with this diabolical scheme. She tried to move her feet away from them. But they were able to easily close the distance and grab her. Then Juan, angered by the pain she inflicted upon him, slammed a fist into her jaw.
Between that and the effects of the fentanyl poisoning beginning to take full effect, Stefanie fell flat on her face. She went out like a light, while sure she had seen the last of what was once a bright future—one she’d hoped to share with Campbell.
Now none of that seemed possible, now that it appearedas though Bella and Juan had won the battle—with Stefanie’s death being their prize.
* * *
CAMPBELL SPOTTEDJUAN’SSUV parked haphazardly in the lot. Checking it, he saw no signs of Stefanie. Or, for that matter, Juan Barrientos or Bella Reston. So where were they? And was Stefanie with them—and still alive?
He was left to hope for the best as Campbell locked eyes with Xander Wilde, both detectives converging on the location, holding their firearms and flashlights.
“This place should be swarming with cops shortly,” Xander said, as if to make Campbell feel better.
But he didn’t. Not till knowing that Stefanie was safe. Wherever she happened to be at the moment.
“Until then,” he told Xander, “why don’t we split up and see if we come across Barrientos or Bella Reston—”
Xander nodded. “Okay.”
Campbell headed into the park in search of Stefanie—who was the best thing to ever happen to him. It certainly felt that way, how she’d managed to warm his heart in ways he never thought possible. Now he only needed to convey that to her. If given the chance.
He heard the sounds of voices up ahead. They were coming his way.
Shining his flashlight in that direction, Campbell saw Bella and Barrientos. But not Stefanie.
The two suspects froze when they laid eyes on him.
Pointing the light beam at Barrientos, Campbell said doggedly, “Juan Barrientos, I have a warrant for your arrest on suspicion of causing two drug-induced homicides. Put your hands up—”
Barrientos hesitated. Then abruptly, he pulled a handgunfrom his jacket and aimed it at him. Before Barrientos ever had a chance to pull the trigger, Campbell shot him once in the chest.
Barrientos went down as the gun flew from his hand. Bella made a move to try to grab it, but Xander, who had shown up at the scene, his own gun pointing at her, spoke in a commanding tone of voice, “I wouldn’t try that if I were you—”
Thinking better of ignoring his advice, Bella stayed where she was and Xander quickly came up to her and handcuffed Bella, without resistance.
Campbell, grateful for Xander’s teamwork, kept his weapon aimed at Barrientos, who was seriously injured, but still conscious and groaning. The flashlight shone on Barrientos’s firearm, which looked to Campbell like a Sig Sauer 10mm pistol. He kicked it farther from Barrientos’s reach—for the CSI Unit to take possession of as evidence of the suspect’s clear intent to shoot him.
Campbell peered at Barrientos and asked him demandingly, “Where is she—Stefanie Nguyen?”
Barrientos moaned, then responded defiantly, “You tell me.”
Campbell took that as an admission that she was in the park. He handcuffed the suspect and stepped toward Bella, who was being held firmly by Xander. “Bella, where’s Stefanie?” Campbell demanded.
She glared at him with a snicker and answered coldly, “It’s too late for her…”
Campbell wondered how she could go from friend to foe almost in the blink of an eye where it concerned Stefanie. He was sure Bella would put it all out on the table, now that the jig was up.
“Like hell it is,” Campbell retorted, not wanting to believe this—against the odds that Stefanie was still alive.
Bella hissed, “Believe it or not, you can’t save them all, Campbell—any more than your father could—not even your precious Stefanie…”
Campbell flinched at the venom in Bella’s voice, like a cobra. “Stay with them till help arrives,” he told Xander. “I’m going to look for Stefanie.”
