She shivered and Luc let go of her hand to put his arm around her shoulders. She burrowed against him as her voice on the tape continued to recount that terrible night.
“Priscilla?” Dr. Devins spoke her name very gently.
“The gun has a long barrel. The man is pointing it at the dealer.” Her voice had a surreal quality, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.
She gasped on the recording. “The man just shot the dealer between the eyes. He collapsed onto the floor.” Her voice shook. “There’s so much blood.”
“Priscilla, what do you see now?”
“It all happens fast. The man aims his gun at Cassandra and shoots. Gerald moves toward the door, but the man shoots him in the back. The man walks up to the bodies, and I hear three more shots in quick succession.” She paused. “Why did he kill them?”
She rested her head against Luc’s shoulder as the tape continued.
“I must be quiet.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. The agents leaned forward.
“He mustn’t hear me. Please don’t let him hear me.”
Luc hugged Priscilla closer to him as if he could help her absorb the memories of what happened that night. If only he’d accompanied her back to the casino, he could have prevented her seeing the murders. But she had insisted on going alone to avoid detection, and thus had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he could only hold her shaking body, and pray that Culvert would be recaptured soon to put an end to this nightmare.
SIXTEEN
Priscilla trembled as she listened to herself describe the shooting. The pressure of Luc’s arm around her was the only thing keeping her together. Memories of that night continued to flow through her mind like the spray of water rinsing away shampoo.
“Where’s the shooter, Priscilla?” Dr. Devins asked on the recording.
“He’s picking up the shell casings,” she answered him, her voice thin and reedy, and her panic apparent in her fast delivery. “Now he’s dropping them into the pocket of his jeans. He pushes his sunglasses up on the top of his head. I think he’s looking to make sure he hasn’t missed one.”
“I’m so...” Her voice caught in her throat on the tape, as if holding back a sob. “I’m scared that he’ll search the kitchen.”
Dr. Devins turned off the recording. “That’s where we ended the session.”
Priscilla fought the urge to move closer to Luc, to draw strength from his presence. She focused on relaxing her shoulders and taking measured breaths to calm her racing pulse.
The older marshal spoke up. “Dr. Devins, in the case notes, you talked about her leaving the kitchen and calling for help. Can you go over that again? Maybe Priscilla has remembered more details after hearing the recording.”
“Marshal, would you mind telling us your names again?” Luc interjected with a wry smile that turned the corners of his mouth up in an endearing manner. Priscilla could get used to seeing smiles like that on a regular basis.
“Too many names to recall in too short a span, eh?” The younger marshal smiled.
“Something like that,” Luc conceded.
“I’m Marshal Frank Jarvis.” The older man pointed to his colleague. “And this is Marshal Steve Smith.”
“Yes, Smith’s my real last name—not an alias.” Smith winked at them, his easy manner defusing some of the building tension in the room. “When you’re ready, Priscilla, please continue.”
The humorous introductions gave Priscilla time to regroup from the recording session. Mac had vouched for Smith and Jarvis, and that was enough for her to trust them. She straightened with a slight shrug to dislodge Luc’s arm from around her shoulders and reached for her water bottle. While she found comfort in the closeness, it was difficult for her to concentrate when all she wanted was to snuggle deeper into Luc’s embrace and forget all about Culvert.
“The hypnosis brought clarity to the event, and I think I’ve recalled more details.” She closed her eyes, allowing the events of that evening to play through her mind like a filmstrip. “Culvert didn’t see me. He didn’t notice my hiding place on the room-service cart. He left a couple of minutes later, but still I waited. My legs fell asleep, but I ignored the discomfort. I had to be sure he was gone.”