Presumed Guilty until proven innocent by Katy Madison

Author:Katy Madison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, small town, serial killer, head injury, reunion, iowa, wrongful conviction
Publisher: Katy Madison

Chapter Fourteen

One and three quarters hours short of three days since Abby's kidnapping

Tuesday, 12:35 pm

A thump in the vicinity of the kitchen startled Daniel. "Jennifer?"

She didn't answer.

He ran back to the front of the trailer. Jennifer lay curled on the floor. His heart jumped into his throat as he bent down and shook her. "Babe?"

She was limp as a rag doll. Noting the fumes, Daniel scooped her up and cradled her against him. The sound of her breathing reassured him, slightly. She tucked her head against him as he struggled to get the door open without dropping her. He carried her out and settled on the wooden steps of the miniature front porch of the trailer. With her perched mostly on his lap, he shook her again. "Jennifer."

She moaned slightly and then blinked her eyes open. He wanted to sing with relief as he stared into them, intending to check the size of her pupils but getting lost in her green gaze.

"Did you hit me?" She reached for the back of her head.

He jerked back. "No."

Did she really think he'd hit her? His heart sunk.

"Somebody hit me," she said.

"We were the only ones in there." He shifted her weight off of his legs and put her on the porch. She still didn't trust him. As soon as she seemed stable sitting on her own, he stood and stepped back.

"What happened then?" She blinked at him. "All I remember was standing in the living area."

"I don't know. One minute you were talking to me, the next you fell on the floor by the kitchen, under where the roof collapsed." He wanted to add, but I didn't hit you. He'd long ago given up protesting his innocence. He knew from experience that the more he protested, the more people believed he had done something wrong. He reached for his keys and once again realized he didn't have them. Instead he rubbed his cell phone. "Are you all right?"

"I don't feel so good." She rubbed the back of her head.

"Do you need a doctor?"

"Do you think I need to go the clinic?"

He sighed and reluctantly stepped forward. "Let me check your head." He leaned over and parted her red-gold hair where she had been rubbing her fingers. Her hair was soft as silk against his fingers, and he tried to ignore it as he looked for a wound.

She sat patiently while he tested her scalp. He was too aware of the warmth of her body near his. He pressed lightly. "Hurt?"

"A little there. I'm okay. I remember getting dizzy, like maybe the fumes got to me. I kept smelling something that smelled like nail polish remover."

"No more going into houses for you." He sat down on the very edge of the porch step, which was the only way he could keep a few inches between them. "You should be at home with your family right now."

She narrowed her eyes, then she stood and swayed a little. She gripped the railing, and he resisted the urge to reach out and steady her.

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