Nine Lives by Sharon Sala

Author:Sharon Sala [Sharon Sala]
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-04-17T22:00:00+00:00

It was after ten p.m. when the chopper carrying Sheriff Sam Lohman, his deputy, Cat Dupree and the body of Marsha Benton landed at the heli-pad outside the local hospital. An ambulance was waiting to take the body to the morgue, and the driver was standing beside the ambulance.

Sam nodded to him. “Hey, Charlie. Sorry to get you out at this time of night. Did you have a good Christmas?”

Charlie Conroy rolled his eyes. “Forgot to buy batteries for the damned toys.”

Sam chuckled. “Oh man, and everything in town was closed, right? What did you rob?”

“The remote controls…all three of them.”

Sam grinned, but then they pulled the body bag out of the chopper, and he got down to business and introduced Cat.

“This here is Cat Dupree, friend of the deceased. She made a positive identification of the body when we got to her. The deceased’s name is Marsha Benton, from Dallas.”

Conroy eyed the steely-eyed woman who was walking beside the body bag. He watched her step back as they loaded it in the ambulance, and when they closed the doors, she laid her hand on the latch and bowed her head.

Sam sighed. “She’s had a rough day. Reckon we can question her tomorrow. For now, I’m gonna see about getting her a room.”

Charlie nodded, then got in his car and followed the ambulance to the morgue, while Sam and his deputy escorted Cat into a patrol car.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate a ride to the nearest motel,” Cat said, then leaned back and closed her eyes.

“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy said.

Sam glanced back at Cat once, then started the car. They were backing up when his cell phone rang.

“This is Lohman,” he said, then listened to his caller. “Yeah, sure…no problem,” he said, and when the line went dead, dropped the phone back into his pocket and took a quick right turn.

Cat looked up just as they passed a well-lit motel.

“Hey, that one has vacancies.” she said.

“I’ve got to go by the office first,” he said.

“But, I…oh, never mind,” Cat said. She didn’t have it in her to argue.

Sam started to explain, but when he looked up into the rearview mirror, he saw that she’d closed her eyes. She would know soon enough, anyway.

A few minutes later, the patrol car turned off the street into the parking lot of the sheriff’s office. As soon as the car stopped moving, Cat sat up.

“Come inside,” Sam said. “You’re going to the motel in another vehicle.”

Assuming that one of his deputies was going to take her, she got out without comment and followed them inside. They went through the outer office and down a small hallway before coming to the sheriff’s office. As they walked through the doorway, she saw Wilson McKay stand up from a chair beside the desk.

Breath caught in the back of her throat as her eyes filled with tears. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

“Hey, you,” Wilson said softly, and enfolded her in his arms, then held her close.

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