Page 49 of K-9 Prime Target

The crowd parted to admit two uniformed paramedics, a man and a woman, carrying medical kits. They knelt beside Nina and listened as Scott explained what had happened.

“Somebody get a snowmobile with a sled up here ASAP,” commanded a man’s voice from the microphone on Lily’s shoulder. “We’ll need to transport Nina to the ambulance.”

Raz and another patroller left. Liam remained with Nina, cradling her head as the paramedics peeled back the bloody clothing. “The cut is about an inch deep,” one of them, a man with short, graying hair and a square jaw, said. “Her clothing probably kept him from getting any deeper. Probably a really sharp knife or a box cutter or something like that. It’s a clean cut, not jagged. We’ll keep the bleeding stopped and get her to the hospital, where they can sew her up and check for any other damage.”

Raz and Brian arrived with the snowmobile, and Lily, Scott and Renee gently lifted Nina into the sled. She was awake now, not speaking, but watching them. Liam squeezed her hand and then they carried her away.

By this time, the parade had ended. The participants had led much of the crowd away, toward the plaza where the band now played. As the ambulance was leaving, the sheriff arrived. Liam headed straight toward him. “If you had taken the threats against her seriously, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“Did you see what happened?” the sheriff asked.

“No. I wasn’t with her. I was down near the bottom of the run.”

“Then I don’t have time to talk to you.” He shoved past Liam and positioned himself on the ski run, in front of the crowd. “Did anyone see what happened?” he shouted.

“We were standing beside her.” A young man in a green helmet and baggy gray snow pants and a woman in a silver snowsuit stepped forward.

Liam moved closer, straining to hear their conversation. “This guy shoved my girlfriend right over,” the man said. “I was ready to punch him, but by the time I’d helped her up, he was already moving away. I mean, he was booking it out of there, shoving people aside.”

“What did he look like?” the sheriff asked.

“He had on a mask,” the woman said. “One of those Mardi Gras masks, with lots of feathers and sequins.”

“It had a bird’s beak,” the man said. “Like this big old beak sticking out in front.” He held his hand out six inches from his face. “You couldn’t see his face at all.”

“What else was he wearing?” the sheriff asked.

“Just a black jacket,” the woman said. “Maybe black pants?”

“Was he holding anything? A knife or a box cutter?”

They both shook their heads.

“Did you see which way he headed?” the sheriff asked.

“No, sorry. We were watching the parade, until we heard that patroller cry out and then she collapsed.”

The sheriff and his deputies spread out among the crowd, asking everyone what they had seen. Liam moved away. He needed to get to the hospital. Wherever Nicholson was right now, Liam was sure he was far from the plaza. Back to wherever he’d been hiding for the past week.

* * *

Nina raised the head of her hospital bed and looked toward the window, which afforded a view of a few inches of blue sky. She wasn’t in any pain—the medication they had given her had seen to that—but she was unsettled and uncomfortable.

Someone knocked on her door. “Come in,” she called.

Liam entered. The sight of him flooded her with relief. Her phone had disappeared, along with all her personal belongings, and until someone at the hospital located them, she was unable to contact anyone.

He moved to the side of the bed and kissed her cheek. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Annoyed. Angry at Nicholson for doing this, and at myself for not catching him,” she said.

“No one saw this coming,” he said. “Even the people right next to you. Are you sure you’re okay? Do you know how long they’re keeping you here?”

“Just overnight, for observation. I have a bunch of stitches and I’m sore, but nothing important was damaged.”

His expression hardened, dark eyes cold with anger, jaw tight. “I told the sheriff if he had listened to you and done anything, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“He came here and questioned me. I really couldn’t tell him much. I didn’t get a look at the person who stabbed me.” She frowned. “He said some people said the man who attacked me was wearing a feathered mask, with a bird’s beak. Why don’t I remember that?”