Chapter Thirteen
Cullen steeled himself, preparing for the worst when he saw Kali. But she was nowhere in the “worst” category.
He saw that right away when Kali came running out of the woods.
Leigh, Karen and he all started toward her. Kali’s hair was disheveled, and there were smudges of dirt on her face, but he couldn’t see any injuries that would have left those blood drops.
“Kali, wait!” Austin called out to her.
But Kali kept running, and she practically collapsed into Cullen’s arms when he caught her. “I don’t want Austin here.”
In the grand scheme of things, that seemed small compared to everything else that had just happened. And to everything that could still happen. The shooter could still be out there, ready to fire off more shots, and that’s why Cullen led Kali to the side of the shed so they’d have some cover.
“Are you hurt?” Leigh asked her.
With her breath gusting, Kali nodded. Then shook her head. She lifted her hand, to show them the gash on her palm. “I cut myself in the kitchen.” It was deep enough that she’d need stitches, but it wasn’t life-threatening. Unlike those shots.
“What happened?” Leigh pressed, still glancing around and no doubt keeping an eye out for the gunman. “Why were you in the woods?”
Kali sobbed, throwing herself against Cullen again. Her face landed against his shoulder. “Someone was breaking in through the front door so I ran out the back.”
“But the back door was locked when we got here,” Cullen pointed out.
“It locks automatically unless you adjust the thumb turn. And I didn’t. I just ran and kept running so I could hide in the trees, but I didn’t have my phone with me so I couldn’t call anybody.”
“Kali, are you all right?” Austin tried again.
“Make him leave,” Kali snapped.
Cullen gave Austin a hard stare, hoping that he wouldn’t give them any trouble about this.
“She needs to go to the hospital,” Austin insisted, but he turned and headed toward the house.
“I’ll have to question you later,” Karen called out to him. “And question you, too,” she added to Kali. “But Austin’s right about you needing to go to the hospital. You should have someone take a look at that cut.”
Kali turned not to Karen but to Leigh. “But what if the killer comes back?”
Leigh met her eye to eye. “You saw the killer?”
“No, but he shot at me.” Kali paused, then shook her head again. “At least I think he was shooting at me. I didn’t see him though.”
Hell. Cullen had hoped Kali had at least gotten a glimpse of him. That could have put an end to the danger if they’d gotten an ID. But maybe the CSIs would be able to find something.
Karen stepped to the side to call in the shooting. It didn’t take long, and when she was finished, she looked at Leigh. “Two other deputies are on the way here now so they can search the woods.” Glancing up at the sun that would be setting in the next hour or so, she added, “A thorough search might have to wait until morning though.”
That meant valuable trace could be lost, and it would sure as heck give the shooter plenty of time to get away.
“I’ll go ahead and take Kali into the ER and get her statement,” Karen continued a moment later. “I’ll send you a copy. Cash will also need statements from Cullen and you.”
“I’ll make sure he gets them,” Leigh told her. “I’d also like to see reports on any evidence the CSIs collect.”
“Will do,” Karen assured her, and she led Kali away while she kept watch around them.
Cullen and Leigh kept watch as well, but they didn’t speak until they were in his truck. “Austin could have been the one to fire those shots,” Leigh said.
Since Cullen had already considered the same thing, he nodded. “Or Kali could have.”
Leigh’s sound of agreement was fast and firm, causing Cullen to curse. Not because he was upset with her but because Kali and Austin had been his friends, and now he wasn’t sure if one of them was a killer.