Chapter Twenty-Nine
‡
Jenna had a few scrapes on her hands and knees, and a bruise on her cheek, but no major injuries. Leann made sure Jenna relaxed on the couch while Dizzy made tea for them all.
Leann’s gaze swept the quiet home. “Are the children here? Do they know?”
Jenna accepted a cup of tea from Dizzy. “I sent them to stay with my parents for a few days. If someone is trying to kill me I don’t want them anywhere near this.”
“Of course,” Leann said softly. “That’s an excellent idea. Hopefully Zach and Jason will have the person responsible in custody soon.”
Jenna’s eyes flashed. “They’re taking their time about it. In the meantime, people are dying. It was a woman who attacked me this morning and I bet it was that Nicole Quincy. They should go over there right now and arrest her.”
Without any evidence? That would be unlikely.
“What would Nicole’s motivation be?” Dizzy asked and Leann inwardly winced. Jenna had a bee in her bonnet when it came to Nicole.
“She’s always been jealous of me,” Jenna stated, slapping the delicate china cup into its saucer with a teeth-jarring clatter. “She’s always wanted Drew but she couldn’t have him. It’s made her a bitter woman that wants revenge on people who are happy.”
Dizzy’s eyes widened and she gave Leann an alarmed glance. “I didn’t realize that Nicole was that unhappy, but I don’t know her that well.”
“She could have killed me,” Jenna insisted, her lips pressed into a flat line. “I was lucky I was able to run away and call for help, otherwise I would be dead. Then my children wouldn’t have any parent at all.”
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” Leann replied, wanting to keep the conversation as calm as possible. She didn’t want to add to Jenna’s upset emotions. “Jason is going to double the guard on you.”
A deputy had been doing the guarding duties but Jason had assigned one of his own men to assist. He was currently sitting in a dark SUV in front of the house after posting several cameras around the property.
Dizzy frowned. “How did the attacker get through the guard this morning?”
That was an excellent question.
“I told him that I didn’t need a guard to go to the mall during the day. I asked him to drive the children to my parents’ house so I knew they’d be safe.”
The one time Jenna didn’t have her guard she was attacked? The killer had to be watching. It also wasn’t a smart move to go shopping by herself but Leann wasn’t rude enough to point that out. She too wasn’t thrilled about having a babysitter everywhere she went, but she put up with it because she wanted to stay alive.
The conversation waned as they sipped their tea. Dizzy had a strange look on her face and she was biting her lip. Leann wasn’t sure what to say either. She didn’t want to upset Jenna but she really wanted to ask some questions about what had happened in that parking garage.
“Is there anything we can do to give you a hand?” Dizzy asked, looking around. “Run some errands or do some grocery shopping?”
“That’s sweet but I can’t think of anything,” Jenna replied with a grateful smile. “It’s wonderful to have such good friends. Both of you have stuck by me through this awful time. But there is one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“Anything.” Leann refilled Jenna’s tea. “We’re here for you.”
“Will you hold my hand while I call my parents? They’re going to be so upset and when they get upset, I’m going to get upset all over again.”
Dizzy smiled and patted Jenna’s hand. “Of course we will.”
If the killer wanted them, they had to stick together.
* * *
Zach paced the perimeter of the area in the parking garage where Jenna was attacked and it didn’t make any sense. In the aftermath, she must have been so upset and frightened that she’d scrambled her answers.
His partner Logan wasn’t any happier, scowling and shaking his head. “This can’t be right.”
Rubbing his chin in thought, Zach couldn’t argue. “She must have been dazed and confused afterward. That would explain her statement.”
Logan pointed to the concrete floor. “She was standing about here when someone – a woman supposedly – came up behind her. Jenna said the woman wrapped an arm around her neck and pushed her to the floor. How tall is Jenna?”
“Five-five, maybe five-six.”
“So the female attacker would have to be a few inches taller and pretty strong to take her straight down.”
An image of the crime was being slowly constructed in Zach’s brain. “But Jenna fought and got away.”
“And ran that way according to her statement.” Logan now pointed toward the next level of the parking garage. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why didn’t she run toward the street where there are people? She’s parked on the first level and help wasn’t that far away, yet she ran in the opposite direction. That doesn’t make any sense.”
That was the little detail that was bugging Zach as well.
“I’ll play devil’s advocate,” he said, his gaze sweeping the open building. “Maybe the path to the street was blocked by her attacker so she had no choice but to run the other way. Perhaps she thought she could hide among the cars and get to the stairs or elevator.”
“Okay, let’s play that scene out. Come up behind me and then when I get away, block my path.”
Wrapping his arm around Logan’s throat, they lightly wrestled to the ground before Zach let go, letting Logan roll away. Zach stationed himself between Logan and the street as his friend jumped to his feet and turned to run.
Then Logan froze…staring right at Zach.
Logan pursed his lips. “If Jenna’s attacker was in between her and safety, then Jenna had to have seen who it was but she says she didn’t.”
“So she definitely didn’t run this way. Her statement has to be correct.”
“So she ran in the opposite direction,” Logan agreed. “But why? What was she thinking? Did she hear other people on that level?”
“Maybe she wasn’t thinking at all and was in a panic? We can’t expect untrained civilians to think like we do in a crisis situation. If she was in fight or flight mode, she probably just ran and to hell with the direction. She just wanted to get away.”
“Maybe,” Logan conceded. “It still doesn’t make sense to me but you have a valid point. If she was terrified she might just run. But I can tell this is bothering you too. Spit it out.”
Rubbing at his temples, Zach turned to face the street and then back to Logan. “How did she not see her attacker? You’re right, if she tried to run this way she would have seen the woman. If she ran that way and the attacker pursued Jenna, is she then saying she never looked over her shoulder? She would have seen the attacker then. I would have looked over my shoulder.”
Logan pulled out his phone and scrolled a few times. “Jenna says she ran that way and the attacker ran in the opposite direction. So if that’s true, the attacker had to run down the street. There might be some cameras out there we can get some footage from.”
“Where would she have parked?” Zach asked in frustration. “If she was waiting in the parking garage for Jenna, why didn’t she park there too? Why attack Jenna and then have to make an escape on foot to wherever her car was stashed? None of this is logical. This killer was smart enough to murder more than once and get away with it. Now they attack Jenna unsuccessfully and have a lousy getaway plan. Is there something I’m missing here?”
Hands on his hips, Logan surveyed the crime scene. “There has to be more than what was in that statement. We’re missing some key details.”
“Agreed, and there’s only one place to get those.”