He jogged to his vehicle, climbed in, and drove away.
Darius walked to the spot where the vehicle had struck Ms. Dillon’s bicycle and looked over the edge. Bark was missing from the trunk of the nearest tree, a red reflector lying in the duff, lots of boot prints in the earth. He climbed down, retrieved the reflector, looked up from the area where he believed Ms. Dillon must have landed.
Die, bitch!
That’s what the attackers had shouted.
Had they believed they’d killed her? Had it been their intent to kill her?
Regardless, she’d been lucky to survive.
He climbed back up to the road, reflector in hand. “You told me earlier that you’ve kept this from the media.”
“Sasha is a rock star in the climbing world. People all over the world follow her online. I knew that once this news got out, Scarlet would be overrun, and this site would be a tourist spot. I thought it would be good to get a jump on the investigation without a throng of people standing around us taking photos.”
Darius hadn’t realized rock climbers had that kind of fan base. “Good thinking.”
They waited until a truck had passed and then walked back to Deputy Marcs’ service vehicle, buckled up, and headed back into town.
Deputy Marcs glanced at him. “Where would you go from here?”
“The vehicle is probably your best lead.”
Deputy Marcs slowed at the roundabout. “We’re already pursuing that.”
“Apart from that, your best bet is to interview her about stalkers and past and present boyfriends. I would also comb through her social media and emails looking for threats.”
“It’s hard to imagine that anyone would want to hurt Sasha. Everyone loves her.”
“Apparently not everyone.”
Chapter3
Sasha acceptedEllie’s help getting out of bed. They wanted her to walk every so often to prevent pneumonia and blood clots. “Can you make sure I’m covered?”
“Sure thing.” Ellie leaned over, examined Sasha’s rearview. “You’re good. You won’t be mooning anyone in the hallway.”
“Thanks.” Holding onto the IV pole with her good hand, Sasha walked slowly toward the door, Ellie’s arm around her shoulder.
“Tell me if you start to feel dizzy, okay? I don’t want you fainting on me.”
Sasha nodded, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror above her sink as she passed. She stopped, stared. There were scratches and bruises on her right cheek, and she had a black eye and a swollen lip, probably from hitting the ground.
“That’s one heck of a shiner.” Ellie gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Those scratches and bruises will heal.”
Sasha didn’t mind. “It makes me look like a badass.”
“Youarea badass.”
They left her darkened room and entered the sunny hallway, where dozens of bouquets adorned the countertops that surrounded the nurses station—roses, lilies, delphiniums, chrysanthemums, dahlias, and carnations in a riot of colors.
“Wow!”
Ellie laughed. “I wasn’t kidding.”
“It smells like roses.”
“We’ll walk to the end of the hallway and back, okay?”
