Chapter 18 - No More Accidents
"Eli!" June screamed.
I pressed both hands against the wound near his shoulder while June pulled him behind a concrete pillar. He was conscious, barely, and swearing in a steady stream. That was the best sound I'd heard all day.
A man in a gray cap stood outside with a handgun. The same deputy from the diner. He advanced toward us, but headlights swept across the yard and a state-police cruiser skidded sideways between him and the entrance.
"Drop it!" an officer shouted.
The deputy fired once at the cruiser. The troopers returned fire. He fell, and the gun slid across the wet pavement.
Stacey ran toward the back exit. I followed as far as my leg allowed, but I couldn't catch her. She disappeared into the service tunnels beneath the plant.
The troopers freed Finch and called paramedics for Eli. Finch was terrified enough to talk before anyone offered him a deal.
He admitted he'd signed false evaluations for the guardianship case, using medical records Stacey had obtained from my old insurance files. He said Calder had threatened to expose prescription fraud from his practice unless he cooperated.
"Did you examine Evelyn?" a trooper asked.
"Never," Finch whispered.
"Did you examine Robert after his death?"
Finch shut his eyes. "No. But I supplied the drug they used. I thought they were going to scare him. I didn't know—"
"You knew enough," I said.
The trooper asked me to step back. I did. Letting the law do its work felt less satisfying than I'd expected, but Eli was breathing, Wren was safe with June's sister, and for once no one had been able to rename violence as bad luck.
By midnight, Marisol had been released after the state prosecutor intervened. The deputy was in surgery under guard. Investigators had secured Finch's statement and were searching for Stacey and Vale.
Then the weather warning came: a fast-moving storm was heading toward Miller Valley. The county issued a flood advisory, and the emergency management office reported that Gate Nine's controls had been accessed remotely again.
Marisol studied the forecast. "If they open the spillway at full capacity, the contaminated sediment gets flushed downriver. They'll claim the storm spread it."
"And the evidence disappears," I said.
My phone lit up with a new video message.
May you like
Stacey stood inside the pumping station, water roaring behind her. Beside her was Grant Vale, his face bruised and furious.
"Come alone, Evelyn," she said. "Or I open every gate."
