Steve’s back was to Amelia, so she couldn’t see his face, but she could hear his voice.
“You’ve always had quite the thing for my wife, haven’t you?” The hefty gun was by Steve’s side, but now he carefully pointed it in front of him right at Caleb. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”
“What are you doing?” Caleb released Steve’s arm and shielded his face as though mere flesh and blood could save him from a bullet.
“I’m finishing what Randy started. If you had been here today like you were supposed to be, none of this would’ve happened. Amelia is dead because of you, you spineless asshole.” Steve’s voice swelled with emotion as though he were sad Amelia was shot and dying, which, once again, didn’t make sense. How could Steve, her husband of ten years, leave her so clouded and unsure even after what she’d witnessed today? How could she know so clearly one minute that he was driven by purely narcissistic values but then question her own sanity the next?
Though she couldn’t see if Steve was crying, she knew Caleb was. He took his arm off his face and looked up at Steve, tears streaming. He reached up and put his hand on the gun but didn’t try to wrestle it away; instead, he pulled it down until it rested against his forehead.
“Do it,” he whispered. “Just do it already. I can’t live like this anymore. Shoot me.”
Caleb’s willing participation must have stunned him, because his finger left the trigger momentarily. Amelia knew this was her last chance. Either she climbed out of the fog of pain and blood loss and years of emotional manipulation to do something, or she watched her friend, a man who deep down she knew loved her more than Steve ever could, be shot in the face.
Randy’s gun. The thought entered her mind like it was sent there by another source. Randy’s gun was only a few inches from where Amelia lay, and though even the thought of moving that far made stars play at the back of her eyes, she knew she could do it. She’d had two babies. She’d pushed through pain. Pain didn’t always equal bad . . . Sometimes it meant a new life was starting.
With her last ounce of energy, Amelia rolled forward, holding back the yelp of pain that gathered in her throat. More blood filled her shirt and ran down her side as she crawled just far enough to wrap her fingers around the hilt of the gun, put her finger on the trigger, and point.
“Do it already,” Caleb repeated, almost begging. Steve sighed and repositioned his finger on the trigger.
“No!” Amelia called out, gun drawn and pointed at her husband. “Leave him alone.”
Steve didn’t say a word; he just raised the gun and pointed it at Amelia, but before he could shoot, she tugged on the trigger, one, two, three times, until the gun was empty of any remaining bullets. Then she collapsed. The darkness could not be evaded any longer, and though she could hear the external office door open and close and felt Steve nearby, moving the gun, checking for remaining bullets, and then rubbing it down, she knew her time was over. She was floating now, the pain gone, awareness gone. In her last moments, all she could think about were her girls and how Steve was right; they’d end up without a mom or a dad now. She rolled onto her back, the cool metal of the door feeling good against her burning shoulder.
The only comfort she had as she fell into what felt like the deepest sleep of her life was that Ellie was safe. Little Ellie would take care of her babies, be their mom, teach them how to put on lipstick and study for calculus and, when it was time, how to kiss boys. Yes, Ellie. Ellie would save her family.
CHAPTER 37
ELLIE
Wednesday, May 11
6:48 a.m.
Ellie looked over at Collin’s Jeep. She rarely drove it, but as Collin walked off with the detective who had questioned Steve, he handed her the keys. In that moment she could see that he knew she was the reason the police were there. He was disappointed in her but seemed resigned, as though he knew what she would do long before even she did.
The only sign of anger Ellie could detect was when Collin passed Travis on the way to the squad car. Travis greeted him with a small two-fingered wave, but Collin kept his eyes forward, refusing to acknowledge the officer. Ellie swore Travis had a little self-satisfied smirk on his face once Collin couldn’t see him anymore. He was by her side as soon as Collin drove off, with Caleb already ahead of him in a separate squad car.
Travis had peeled off his gear and was wearing street clothes underneath. He looked so normal, the maroon tee shirt a nice contrast to his olive complexion. He must’ve showered recently, because his face looked newly shaved and he smelled faintly of fresh deodorant.
“So, you went home after all,” Ellie said, flipping through the keys, ready to go back to her sister’s bedside and not leave. Travis had already given her an update. Amelia was asleep but still stable. Now that her father was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and her sister already ensconced there, she knew where she had to be. The girls were under Mr. and Mrs. Saxton’s care for now, and soon Steve would be released and be by their sides. Ellie had plenty of questions for Steve after Caleb’s wild story, but those could wait. The girls needed their father now.
“I got in trouble.” He shrugged with a mischievous grin on his face that made a dimple sink in on one side. “You’re really not supposed to work more than ten hours, twelve at most. Chief had a fit when he realized I was still working this case.” Ellie started walking toward Collin’s Jeep, listening and flipping the key ring in a circle around her finger repeatedly. “I’m just glad I got your text. I must’ve been in the shower when you sent it, because I didn’t get it when it first arrived. I’m sorry, Brown.”
Ellie stopped flipping the keys and turned to face Travis, already at the rear of the car. She studied his expression. He was sincere, and there was relief there in his soft brown eyes. She reached out and put her hand on his arm and gave a squeeze. She meant for it to be brief, but he placed his hand over hers and took a step closer, their bodies not far from touching.
“I think you should start calling me Ellie, what do you think?” She looked up into his eyes.
“It might take me a while, but, yeah, I think I like that. Need anything else from me today? Sweatshirts? Emergency arrest warrant? Coffee?”
“Mmmm, coffee sounds great.” She gave his hand one last squeeze and then slipped her hand out from under his, refocusing on who was really important right how—her family.
“I’ll grab some and meet you at the hospital if that’s okay?” He put his hands in his jeans pockets like he wasn’t sure what to do with them anymore. “Hope they let you in after that whole morgue fiasco. You have any problems, you tell them to call me. I’ll figure out a reason why you were sneaking peeks at dead people in the middle of the night.”