The paramedic glanced over at Cowboy. “We’re ready to roll. If you want, Captain, you can follow behind the ambulance. Just be sure to turn on your flashers and emergency lights.”
“Follow? Are you kidding? I’m leading this parade,” he said, giving me a wink.
Chapter Nineteen
After arriving at the understaffed emergency room, I changed into a hospital gown, had a scan of my shoulder, and was eventually admitted to a room upstairs with Cowboy at my side. The nurses monitored me for any worsening signs of respiratory distress until the doctor on duty made his rounds and wheeled in a small surgical tray.
He examined me first, paying close attention to the sounds of my respirations, before moving on to my shoulder. The doctor explained how the results from my scan had showed no permanent damage, though I’d still have to wear a sling for a short period of time to promote healing. After adding a few stitches to the gash in my arm, he pushed the tray aside and told me he was keeping me overnight for precautionary observation due to the large amount of smoke I’d inhaled.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Been there, done that.
When the doctor finally left the room, Cowboy kissed my cheek and rubbed his calloused thumb along my jaw as he gazed down at my bandaged wrist. “I’m sorry, Anna. I wish I’d been there to protect you. I should’ve been. This is all my fau—”
I pressed my finger to his lips to silence him. “Don’t say that. You can’t stand guard over me every minute. The Barlows would have gotten to me sooner or later.”
“It won’t happen again,” Cowboy said, deadly promise looming in his threat.
The door opened and we both looked up.
Sheriff Wells stepped into the room, followed by Mandy Barlow, who was no longer in her bunker gear. Neither of them looked happy. Not that I expected her to be after hearing her brothers were going to be arrested.
“Did you pick up Joe and Clay Barlow, yet?” Cowboy asked, apparently ignoring the shine of Mandy’s teary eyes.
“No,” the sheriff said. “That’s actually what I came to talk to you about.”
They didn’t catch them?
The sheriff hesitated. “They said they weren’t responsible for Miss Weber’s kidnapping, and I have no choice but to believe them.”
“It had to be them,” Cowboy snarled, shaking his head in disgust. “If it wasn’t Stuart Nelson, then they’d be the only ones left who had any connection to Anna and would want to do her harm. What about all the threats they sent her?”
Sheriff Wells wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Threats?”
Everyone shifted their eyes onto me and I sighed. “After I had a run-in with the Barlow boys, I started receiving hostile notes in my mailbox. I thought they were just trying to intimidate me, though.”
“I want to see those notes,” the sheriff said.
“I’ll swing by Anna’s and bring them to you in the morning,” Cowboy stated, glancing over at Mandy. “I’m sorry. I know they’re your brothers, but they need to pay for what they did to her.”
Mandy shook her head. “That’s what the sheriff is trying to tell you. It’s not possible. They couldn’t have been responsible for the kidnapping. Both of my brothers have been locked up in County Jail since last night. They started a bar brawl over at The Backwoods and were arrested. They’re still in a cell.”
“Wait,” I said, trying to wrap my brain around this new information. “If what she says is true…”
“Then they both have rock solid alibis for their whereabouts,” Cowboy finished for me. “Which means there are no more suspects to investigate.”
“Actually,” Sheriff Wells began, a somber expression taking over his face. “Sorry, Cowboy. I hate to ask this, especially right now, but…well, where were you earlier this evening when Miss Weber was abducted?”
Apparently, Mandy hadn’t seen that one coming either because we exchanged a look of shock and confusion.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cowboy asked.
“You were the last one to see the victim before she disappeared, the one who reported her missing, and the first responder on the scene. Not only that, but the Barlow brothers claim you were yelling at Miss Weber and beating down her door more than once over the past few days. Like I said, I hate to ask, but…”
“Oh, fuck me,” Cowboy said, rolling his eyes. “I left Anna’s house around midnight after my fire pager went off, but it was a false alarm. After that, I went straight back to Anna’s. Probably only took me half an hour at the most. She was gone and there was a lamp turned over, so I knew something had happened. That’s when I called the sheriff’s office and reported her missing.”
“And then? Where did you go after that?”
“I was driving around looking for her. What the hell do you think I was doing?” Cowboy glared at him, but Sheriff Wells set his jaw and stared right back, as if the man were waiting for a full confession. “Oh, give me a fucking break! You think I kidnapped Anna, tied her up, and left her in some old barn so I could report her missing and then blame it on her father?”
The sheriff shrugged. “Crazier things have happened.”
“Then how do you account for the blue Cavalier? I don’t drive a car and I would have had to leave my truck at Anna’s house.”
“True. But like you said earlier, the man who gave us this information is an ex-convict. Doesn’t hold a lot of weight at this point.”
I scoffed. “I can’t believe you’re even considering Cowboy as a suspect. He didn’t do it.”
But the sheriff continued with his questions. “Were you alone when you returned to Miss Weber’s home?”
“Yes, of course,” Cowboy responded.
“So no one can verify your whereabouts around the time Ms. Weber went missing?”
Cowboy blew out a breath. “Guess not.”
“Then that leaves me no choice,” the sheriff said, shaking his head. “Cowboy, I’ll need you to come down to the station with me for more questioning.”
“You’ve got to be shittin’ me!”
What? This couldn’t be happening.
I ripped off my nasal oxygen tube and sat up, but Cowboy held me there, not allowing me to stand. “He didn’t do this!” I yelled, my throat burning from the effort.
“It’s okay, darlin’.” Cowboy squeezed my hand and gave me a wink. “Don’t worry. We’ll get this all sorted out soon enough.”
“This is absurd,” I said, my voice straining against the ashes in my throat as tears leaked from my eyes. “He didn’t do anything.”
“Maybe not. But someone did. And it’s my job to find out who.” Sheriff Wells motioned for the door. “Let’s go, Cowboy.”
I watched helplessly as the sheriff led him toward the door.
When they reached it, Mandy suddenly spoke up out of nowhere. “Wait,” she said, biting her lip. “I can vouch for his whereabouts. I…saw Cowboy earlier.”
“You already told me you saw him at the station when he showed up for the false alarm. But that was before Miss Weber was kidnapped.”
Cowboy and Mandy exchanged a look. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I saw worry in both of their eyes. “No, I saw him after that, too.”
“You didn’t mention seeing him earlier in your statement, Miss Barlow.” The sheriff glared at her. “So if this is true, then why didn’t you say that to begin with when I questioned you?”
Mandy’s gaze flickered from Cowboy to me, then back to the sheriff. “Because he didn’t want Anna to know.”
“Didn’t want me to know what?” I asked.
She looked down, keeping her eyes from meeting mine. “That Cowboy was with me tonight.”