“Do you think it was Willy or any of his gang?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.
He couldn’t say it out loud, but it had been all he’d been thinking since hearing the first shot ring out.
He’d believed they had been coming after them—Liz, him, and Kara—in retaliation for the other night.
The question of why the shooting had been wild weighed on him though. Had they intended it that way? Had they been drunk? High? Or were they just bad shots?
He knew the three men dabbled in drugs and had been drunk or drinking almost every time he’d had a run-in with them.
He was sure that the police were looking into the three. Especially after what had happened to Liz on her birthday.
It wasn’t as if Cedar was crawling with criminals. Besides Willy and his gang, there were a handful of high school students causing issues in town. A group of them had been caught breaking into the school but the problem was mostly vandalism.
This didn’t smell of a bunch of high school kids pulling a prank. This was direct. Whoever had shot at the market had intended to hurt and kill.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. “They would be the most logical guess. If I were in charge, I’d definitely look there first.” He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. “Why don’t you and Oliver come stay at my place tonight?” he suggested. “We can make some dinner, watch a movie?”
She rested her forehead against his shoulder. “I… need some time alone.” She glanced up at him. “I promised Liz I’d be there tomorrow morning when they release her.”
He nodded, feeling his heart sink a little. “Okay. I can still make you something to eat while you go clean up?” he suggested.
Kara took his face in her hands. “Nick, thanks, but… I’m too tired. I’m going to shower and then lie down.” She lifted on her toes and brushed her lips across his. “I… thanks.” She turned away from him.
Driving away from her place and going home alone was the hardest thing he’d had to do that day. Still, he figured he’d get some work done after making a handful of calls to determine what in the living hell had gone on.
After the first two calls, he turned on his television and watched the news replay some very grainy video. He instantly spotted himself and Kara helping Liz after the shooting.
Kara’s face was pale as she shouted for help. The video zoomed in on him when he ripped the tablecloth and applied the tourniquet on Liz’s arm. The reporter called him a local hero, but his eyes weren’t on him or Kara. His eyes were scanning the background, trying to find any sign of the shooter or shooters, as the news hinted at.
The report ended with information that there were no suspects in custody and that the police were looking at a few leads. He hit mute and went back to making his calls.
Kyle didn’t take his call.
Gary did.
“I know why you’re calling. No, we don’t have any leads. Yes, we’ve talked to Willy and his gang. They’ve all vouched for one another. They claim they left the market half an hour before the shooting and were back at Mike’s place. We’re trying to confirm that,” Gary said before Nick could even say a word.
“Was it one shooter or more?” he asked. “They sounded different. Like they were from different guns.”
Gary was quiet. “We’re checking on that.”
“Did you also check on any guns Willy and the others might own?”
Gary was quiet again. “I can’t discuss…”
“Damn it.” Nick slammed his fist on the table. “What about the other night? What those three tried to pull with Liz? What’s going to happen with that?”
“The three of them claimed they just wanted to give Liz a birthday gift they had for her out in Willy’s truck. We can’t charge them without proof a crime was actually committed. Since they are claiming that Kara attacked Willy to begin with, we can’t do much about it.”
After getting off the phone with Gary, Nick felt more frustrated and had even more questions than before.
He walked over to the kitchen window and looked out over to Kara’s place. All of her lights were out now. He could just make out the dark building through the lightly falling snow.
Glancing down at the dogs, he motioned towards the back door and grabbed his coat, needing the fresh air to think.
Watching his father’s dogs skip and play in the snow, he felt a wave of loneliness hit him. It was funny, he’d never thought about how lonely the place was before. Never had he imagined being there without his father.
Sure, maybe when he was an old man, but not before he’d turned twenty-five. Hell, what was he supposed to do with the rest of his life?