Watching Ellie leave is the worst fucking thing I’ve ever had to go through. I don’t want her going without me, but there’s no choice. I clean up all the glass and board up our window. It’ll have to do until I can get a replacement. The one thing I’m not looking forward to is calling Ellie’s parents and telling them.

Time moves so damn slow when all you want is answers. The police have been out in our yard for hours, searching for clues. Ellie’s been gone for five of them. I have yet to hear from her. Sitting on my back porch, I watch the deputies comb the woods. They all start to vacate, and that’s when I notice Detective Bradshaw with a cell phone inside of a plastic bag.

I rush outside into the snow and hurry down to them. “What’d you find?” I ask impatiently.

Terry holds up the plastic bag. “A knife. We’ll run prints on it. We found it about a mile into the woods, right by Route 16. His steps were already covered in with fresh snow. There were other sets too, probably some hunter’s. We’re looking into them all.”

Lots of the neighborhood locals hunt in those woods. There’s no telling how many sets of footprints are out there. Terry and his other deputies head for their cars. “What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” I call out.

Terry stops by his police car and sighs. “Hang tight, for now. I’ll have my men in the area around the clock, just in case Snyder makes another visit. Stay alert.”

Alert? More like ready to kill. Bryan already tried to kill me once. He’s not going to get that chance again. “I will.”

Terry gets into his car, and his phone rings. He answers it and his eyes dart to mine. Waving me over, he finishes up with the call and hangs up. “Guess who my guys just found?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Hop in and you can come with me.” I open the door to his car and slide in. Terry peels out of my driveway and speeds down the road.

“Where is he?”

“One of my deputies found him on the side of the road, unconscious. He’s about four miles down Route 16.”

“Was he shot? Owen fired a few rounds last night.”

He shrugs. “I don’t know anything at this point. The ambulance might already have him picked up by the time we get there.”

A part of me is disappointed. I want Bryan to come at me again, so I can face him on my own. I don’t give a fuck if he’s laid up in a hospital bed when I see him. One way or another, he’s going to face me.

There are three cop cars on the side of the road, blocking anything and everything from view. The ambulance is there too, loading Bryan into the back. They shut the doors and drive off before I can even see him.

Detective Bradshaw gets out and I follow him over to his deputies, including Officer Charles McGee. “What all did you find?”

Charles points over to a snow pile. “He was found there in dirty clothes, covered in shit and piss. His pulse was weak, and he didn’t seem to have any injuries, but he was unresponsive. He’s being taken to the hospital.”

Terry glances over at me. “That’s our next stop. Do you want me to take you back home?”

I shake my head. “I want to know what the hell’s going on. I’m going with you.” As we head toward the hospital, so many things run through my mind. “Are you going to convict him?” I ask.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Terry shrugs. “It depends on what we find. We can’t convict him without evidence. We can, however, hold him on suspicion, but that’s only for ninety-six hours, and then we have to let him go. Right now, we can’t exactly charge him with stalking, unless we find proof on his phone. The other numbers aren’t traceable.”

“Goddammit to hell,” I growl. “He’s a fucking cop, Detective. He knows how to cover his ass! What about his footprints and the tires that match his truck at the scene of my accident?”

He pulls into the parking lot of the hospital and shuts off his car. “We’re going to look at everything, Mr. Kingston. This case is a little more difficult than the others.”

I’m so fucking pissed I can feel the blood boiling in my veins. Getting out of the car, I grab his arm, stopping him. It’s not a smart move, but if he were in my position, he’d be just as angry. “He’s not going to get away with this, Detective.” I let him go and he nods.

“I have a lot of work to do to make sure he doesn’t. But I’m more than willing to put in the time and effort to get it done.” He marches into the hospital and I follow closely behind.

Bryan is being taken care of in the intensive care ward. It’s going to be a while before he even gets questioned. I plan on being right around the corner when he wakes up.

While the detective talks to the nurses, I pull out my phone and call Owen.

“What’s up?” he asks. It sounds like they’re still in his truck.

“Where are you?”

“Almost to Richmond. Ellie’s asleep in the back. She fought it for a while, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out.”

I want to talk to her, but I don’t want him to wake her up. She’s had a rough night. “They found Bryan unconscious on Route 16.”

“Holy shit. Are you fucking kidding me? That’s good. Maybe this will all be over sooner than we thought. Ellie will be happy to hear it when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean he’s been convicted yet.”

Owen scoffs. “There’s enough evidence there. The only thing that’s odd is that he was unconscious. Why? Doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know. Does seem a bit odd. They said he had no signs of outward injury.”

“Well, either way, they have the fucker in custody. Should I turn around and bring Ellie back?”

My first thought is yes, but I don’t want her here, just in case they let Bryan go. There’s no telling what he’ll do next. “Not yet,” I reply. “Just stay put for now.”

“Will do. We just pulled up at the hotel. Keep me updated.” After we hang up, I sit down in the waiting room. It’s going to be a long fucking day.

---

Just one minute waiting in the hospital feels like an eternity. The hours drag on like years. All I want are answers, and I’m determined to be there when the police get them. The sooner Bryan is convicted, the sooner Ellie can come home.

Terry and I grab a coffee from the cafeteria and sit back in the waiting room. Bryan’s family has been contacted and they are here as well. Judging by their wrinkled clothes and unkempt hair, I’d say they hopped straight out of bed and rushed over here. His mother has been crying non-stop, pleading with the police that her son would never do the things he’s being suspected of doing, while his father paces the floor. It takes everything in me not to say anything to them. They’re both obviously too distraught to realize who I am. What I really want is to tell them that their son is a fucking psycho who tried to kill me to get to my wife.

A middle-aged man with a full head of white hair, wearing green scrubs, walks in and looks around the room until he spots Bryan’s parents. Terry walks over to them as well, but I listen intently from my place across the room.

“How is he, doctor?” Bryan’s mother asks.

The doctor sighs. “He’s stable. Looks like he’s suffering from severe dehydration and withdrawals.”

Withdrawals?

His parents look at each other in disbelief. His father shakes his head. “That’s not possible. My son doesn’t do drugs. What’s he withdrawing from?”

The doctor clears his throat. “Mainly Propofol, but there are traces of other drugs as well. My guess is that they were mixed together and injected. There are wounds on his forearm.”

What the hell? Propofol is a serious drug, and not one you can easily obtain recreationally.

Bryan’s mother bursts out crying and buries her head against her husband’s chest. “When can we see him?” Bryan’s father asks, sadly.

The doctor moves to the side. “You can go now. My nurse around the corner will show you where to go.”

While the doctor talks to Detective Bradshaw, I follow Bryan’s parents to the door and I overhear the nurse saying what room Bryan’s in. When the time is right, I’m going in there.

“So, you’re saying he couldn’t have done the things we suspect?” Terry asks. His words catch my attention.

The doctor shrugs and shakes his head. “I’m not saying the other incidences aren’t related, but I don’t see how he could’ve done what you’re accusing him of last night. With the amount of drugs in his system, there’s no way he would’ve been able to walk five miles in the snow, much less through the woods. He wouldn’t have been able to stand.”

Terry nods once. “Thanks, Doctor Whitfield. I appreciate your time.” He makes his way over to me and runs a hand over his face. “This changes things.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

He nodded toward the door the doctor just left out of. “Did you hear everything he said?”

“Just the part where he doesn’t think Bryan could’ve been at my house. What is that going to mean for the case?”

Terry huffs and paces the floor. “I don’t know. He also said that according to the level of dehydration Snyder’s suffering from, it’s as if he hasn’t eaten or drank anything in almost four days.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know,” he agrees. “With everything the doctor just told me, I don’t see how Bryan could’ve been the person at your house last night.”

I shake my head. “It has to be him. Who else could it be?”

Releasing a heavy sigh, Terry looks right into my eyes. “I think we have to consider the possibility there is more than one person involved.”