Sarah sagged against him.
The flashlight’s beam moved about before hitting legs running toward them.
What the hell?
The impact caused the chief to grunt and stagger back. The flashlight clattered onto the rocks.
Without his support, Sarah crumpled to the ground. Her head spun wildly.
“I told you not to interfere,” the voice scolded as the chief collapsed into a heap.
The glow from the flashlight’s beam highlighted the knife protruding from his chest.
Sarah blinked. The chief was ...stabbed. Oh, hell. She needed to get out of here.
Couldn’t manage the strength. Her arms shook when she tried to push up to a sitting position.
A kick to her abdomen made her gag.
“Get up!”
She tried to identify the voice, but her brain wasn’t working right somehow. Definitely female.
“I said get up!”
Another slam into her gut.
Sarah gagged, coughed. Then pushed herself into a sitting position. She looked around, the world tilted. The pain in her skull screamed.
“You almost ruined everything,” the cruel voice taunted. “You and that fool.” She moved to lean over the chief. Grunted with the effort of tugging the knife from his chest. “He should have listenedto me and let me finish this. All he had to do was cover any mistakes I made. Fool.”
Sarah couldn’t see her face ... but she now recognized the voice.
The woman moved from the chief’s motionless body to where Sarah lay. She stared down in disgust. “Bitch,” she snarled.
Sarah stared up at Lynda Pope, who clutched that big knife in her hands.
“Why’d you kill the chief?” Sarah swallowed back the taste of bile. “He was on your side ...” Something Sarah had missed. She’d just thought the chief was too stubborn to listen to her. Now she knew better.
“Don’t worry about him,” Lynda snapped. “You have bigger problems.” She waved the knife in Sarah’s face.
Oh, well, Sarah mused. The story of her life.
Despite the pain, Sarah did what she always did: She questioned. “You should’ve been thankful your husband took the fall for you. You could have gotten off scot-free. No one suspected he wasn’t the killer except me, and I was leaving.”
“You are so stupid.”
Her foot connected with Sarah’s rib cage again. This time Sarah puked.
Great.
She raised a shaky hand to wipe her mouth. Her equilibrium wouldn’t find its footing. Her stomach roiled. She knew the symptoms. Concussion.
Really great.
“That was the plan,” Lynda scoffed. “Those self-serving little bitches would die, and all the evidence would point to Jerri Lynn.” She laughed, an evil, grating sound. “I knew Jerald would try to save her. All I had to do was strike once more after that and ensure Jerri Lynn looked guilty. With her father in custody, there would be no escape. You were actually a great help to me. If only that idiot hadn’t jumped the gun.” Lynda kicked the chief’s motionless body. “Now things are complicated.”
Since he didn’t even grunt, Sarah assumed he was dead. Or well on his way. Damn.
