Read Online A Cold Day in Hell by Stella Cameron - Free Book Online

try to get in with him so close. I think he would have driven away with me.”
    “He chased you,” Matt said. “But he didn’t catch you.”
    “I dropped my purse. It’s black leather so you’ll have to use a flashlight to find it. And the pages from my notebook went everywhere. I couldn’t hold on. I just ran and I thought I was going to get back to Ona’s, but he used a whip around my ankle and I tripped up.”
    Finn took her by the arms and looked into her face. “He what? ”
    “He flipped a whip thing around my ankle and yanked it to stop me from running.”
    Finn rubbed both hands over his face.
    “Sampson and his partner are going over the carpark,” Clemens said. “There’s the aid car coming right now.”
    The boxy vehicle squealed around to pull up close to Matt’s car.
    A medic hopped out, followed by a second one. Both men leaned over, hands on knees and one of them said, “Hold still, Mrs. Duhon.” A good-looking blond kid, he had a reassuring smile on his face.
    “She was under that pickup,” Matt said, brushing dirt from her face.
    The medic looked at her and his eyes flicked down to her belly. “I don’t know how you managed to get where you were, but you wouldn’t be able to get there again if you wanted to.”
    “Don’t bet on it,” she said, laughing weakly. “I’m a talented klutz.”
    “Are you in any pain, ma’am?”
    “I ache,” she said. “But I’m not really in pain.” Except in her mind. She was so scared.
    Officer Sampson’s partner hurried up. “We’re not seeing any purse, or any notepaper sheets,” he said. “Did you hear a vehicle leave, Mrs. Duhon?”
    “No. Even if he took my purse, the papers went everywhere. They did, I tell you. Yellow pages—”
    “It’s all right,” Matt said quietly. “We’ll have a better look.”
    “A Jeep left when I was arriving,” Finn said. “I didn’t recognize who was driving but he honked so he obviously knows me. I’d say the guy didn’t even know anything had happened. How long ago did this man leave, Emma?”
    “I’m not sure. I left the restaurant around nine-fifteen. I don’t think the whole thing took long to happen and then everything went quiet. I just stayed under the truck and waited.”
    “That’s more than an hour now,” Matt said, looking at his watch. “Which ankle did he get with the whip?” Matt asked.
    Emma stuck out the appropriate foot.
    Immediately the blond medic examined the skin. He undid her shoe carefully and slid it off, then the sock. “You did mean it hit your ankle? Not somewhere higher?”
    “No, my ankle.”
    “How long ago was this?” Matt said.
    “Forty-five minutes?” Emma said. “I guess. I don’t know.”
    “There aren’t any marks,” the medic said.
    “It was my foot really, not my ankle.” With difficulty Emma bent over to study her foot. “I’m all muddled.” She looked up. “The marks must have faded.”
    She saw the medics glance at each other and suddenly felt angry. “I’m not making this up. I couldn’t come up with something like that if I tried.”
    “I’ll ask the questions,” Matt said. “As soon as Mitch gets here and says it’s okay, we’ll move you Emma. I want more blankets, please.”
    At that moment, Dr. Mitch Halpern ran up. “Had to park at the side,” he said. “You guys have about filled this place. Hi, Emma. How are you feeling?”
    “Great,” she said, wanting only to get into Finn’s car and leave. She could see that Mitch was, as usual, in a track suit and exuding health.
    He unzipped his bag and tugged out a stethoscope. “Kneel behind her so she can lean on you and relax,” Mitch said to Finn, hitching the blankets more tightly around her. He listened to her heart and lungs, smiling directly into her eyes as he did so. “Ready to run a marathon,” he said.
    Mitch moved on to her belly and Emma held her breath.
    “Breathe,” Mitch said, laughing. “We don’t want you to pass out. Junior sounds as good