when you’re ready to come back, and I’ll let you in.”
Anne left Doug’s room and headed slowly towards the waiting area. Her lower back was killing her, and she rubbed it with both hands as she walked. She was still wearing the heels she’d put on for the baby shower, and her feet were so swollen, each step was excruciating. She fought the urge to kick off her shoes and go barefoot.
She found the deputies sitting on a couch in the waiting room. One was older, balding and weathered-looking, and he fiddled with a sheriff’s hat that rested on his knee; the younger one flipped through an issue of
Sports Illustrated
. They both stood as she approached, and the older man extended his hand.
“Good evening, Mrs. Cummings. I’m Deputy Hodgkins, and this is Deputy Ward,” he said, nodding his head towards the younger deputy.
Anne shook both their hands.
“We’d like to talk to you about your husband’s accident, Mrs. Cummings. Why don’t you have a seat?” Deputy Hodgkins gestured towards an armchair that stood next to the couch.
“Is it really necessary that we have this conversation right now, Deputy?” Anne asked. “As you probably know, my husband is in critical condition, and I really hate to leave him.”
He smiled sympathetically. “I can certainly understand that, Mrs. Cummings. I promise we won’t take but a few minutes of your time. We have some information about the accident that we really need to discuss with you. Let’s sit down, and we’ll be as brief as possible.”
Anne felt too weary to argue, so she eased herself into the chair. “All right,” she said with a sigh.
Both deputies sat back down, and Deputy Hodgkins placed his hat next to him on the couch.
“Mrs. Cummings, there’s no easy way to say this, so I guess I’ll just get on with it.” He cleared his throat. “We have reason to believe that your husband’s vehicle was tampered with and that was the cause of his accident.”
“
What?”
Anne couldn’t believe that she had heard him right. “What do you mean by
tampered with?”
“It looks as if someone messed with his brakes,” Deputy Hodgkins replied.
“How do you know that?” Anne asked, frowning. “His accident happened just a few hours ago. Have you already inspected his Range Rover?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. One of the witnesses we interviewed told us something that raised our suspicion, so Deputy Ward checked the vehicle out, and, sure enough, he found that the brake line had been cut. We’ve had the vehicle and the trailer towed to the station, where they will be more thoroughly inspected.”
“What did the witness tell you? Did they see Doug’s accident?”
The younger deputy sat forward. “I’m the one who spoke with the witness, Mrs. Cummings. He was driving behind your husband and saw your husband’s vehicle go off the road. He called nine-one-one from his cell phone.”
“He can probably be credited with saving your husband’s life,” Deputy Hodgkins interjected. “Your husband’s vehicle crashed so far down the mountainside that it wasn’t visible from the road. Who knows when, or if, someone would have noticed it.”
The younger deputy nodded. “Yeah, it was lucky he was there. Anyway, he said that the first thing that caught his attention was how fast your husband was going. They were approaching a sharp curve going down a steep hill on the far side of Mount Weather, and he said he couldn’t believe that someone would drive so fast, especially hauling a horse trailer. He said he kept waiting for the driver to slow down, but the trailer brake lights never came on. Then he noticed that some kind of fluid was leaking from your husband’s vehicle. He saw it on the highway and said some of it sprayed on his windshield. That’s what made us suspect that your husband had some kind of mechanical trouble that caused him to lose control and go off the road.”
Anne nodded. “Go on.”
“When the vehicle was hauled up to go on
Anne left Doug’s room and headed slowly towards the waiting area. Her lower back was killing her, and she rubbed it with both hands as she walked. She was still wearing the heels she’d put on for the baby shower, and her feet were so swollen, each step was excruciating. She fought the urge to kick off her shoes and go barefoot.
She found the deputies sitting on a couch in the waiting room. One was older, balding and weathered-looking, and he fiddled with a sheriff’s hat that rested on his knee; the younger one flipped through an issue of
Sports Illustrated
. They both stood as she approached, and the older man extended his hand.
“Good evening, Mrs. Cummings. I’m Deputy Hodgkins, and this is Deputy Ward,” he said, nodding his head towards the younger deputy.
Anne shook both their hands.
“We’d like to talk to you about your husband’s accident, Mrs. Cummings. Why don’t you have a seat?” Deputy Hodgkins gestured towards an armchair that stood next to the couch.
“Is it really necessary that we have this conversation right now, Deputy?” Anne asked. “As you probably know, my husband is in critical condition, and I really hate to leave him.”
He smiled sympathetically. “I can certainly understand that, Mrs. Cummings. I promise we won’t take but a few minutes of your time. We have some information about the accident that we really need to discuss with you. Let’s sit down, and we’ll be as brief as possible.”
Anne felt too weary to argue, so she eased herself into the chair. “All right,” she said with a sigh.
Both deputies sat back down, and Deputy Hodgkins placed his hat next to him on the couch.
“Mrs. Cummings, there’s no easy way to say this, so I guess I’ll just get on with it.” He cleared his throat. “We have reason to believe that your husband’s vehicle was tampered with and that was the cause of his accident.”
“
What?”
Anne couldn’t believe that she had heard him right. “What do you mean by
tampered with?”
“It looks as if someone messed with his brakes,” Deputy Hodgkins replied.
“How do you know that?” Anne asked, frowning. “His accident happened just a few hours ago. Have you already inspected his Range Rover?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. One of the witnesses we interviewed told us something that raised our suspicion, so Deputy Ward checked the vehicle out, and, sure enough, he found that the brake line had been cut. We’ve had the vehicle and the trailer towed to the station, where they will be more thoroughly inspected.”
“What did the witness tell you? Did they see Doug’s accident?”
The younger deputy sat forward. “I’m the one who spoke with the witness, Mrs. Cummings. He was driving behind your husband and saw your husband’s vehicle go off the road. He called nine-one-one from his cell phone.”
“He can probably be credited with saving your husband’s life,” Deputy Hodgkins interjected. “Your husband’s vehicle crashed so far down the mountainside that it wasn’t visible from the road. Who knows when, or if, someone would have noticed it.”
The younger deputy nodded. “Yeah, it was lucky he was there. Anyway, he said that the first thing that caught his attention was how fast your husband was going. They were approaching a sharp curve going down a steep hill on the far side of Mount Weather, and he said he couldn’t believe that someone would drive so fast, especially hauling a horse trailer. He said he kept waiting for the driver to slow down, but the trailer brake lights never came on. Then he noticed that some kind of fluid was leaking from your husband’s vehicle. He saw it on the highway and said some of it sprayed on his windshield. That’s what made us suspect that your husband had some kind of mechanical trouble that caused him to lose control and go off the road.”
Anne nodded. “Go on.”
“When the vehicle was hauled up to go on
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