Wright In Danger

Chapter Twenty Five

Scoffing, he sat himself up. "I'm no fan of lawn enforcement. So this ought to be good. What do you want to talk with me about? Can you make it quick, I was enjoying my nap." Yeah. He could see that he was, Too bad this conversation needed to be had. "This is about your having been fired. Your drug use specifically." This had his full attention. "I should have known it would have got out. You want to know my entire sordid tale? I'm warning you. It's long and unpleasant." Beau held up a hand. "Not your entire story."

"What's got you sniffing around anyway? Tell me that first, detective." He had no problem with doing so. He did after all technically trespass into his yard. "I had a conversation with Rita at the beginning of the week. It didn't sit right with me. I knew I needed to talk with her again. She was none too happy to see or speak with me. Anyway, I got her talking. About you and your exit from the job. She was too defensive and it only made my suspicion worse." The more he talked the more agitated the guy became. "So you wound up here."

"I did. I need confirmation of my suspicions. Did one of the other guys supply you with the drugs? If you tell me that, it'll confirm my second question." His answering glare put Beau on alert. Drug addicts were as predictable as unpredictable. The guys bloodshot eyes told Beau he'd been using. Recently. If he needed another fix soon, he could turn threatening in a blink of the eyes. "Do you really think I'm just going to rat out someone that easy? You've trespassed and woke me up and now your digging into a part of my life I'd rather not rehash. So if you could get the hell out of here. That'd be great, detective," he said on a sneer.

He hadn't needed a name just confirmation. Which the guy apparently didn't realize he'd just given. Refraining from smiling to himself, he gave a terse nod before turning heel and heading out. The chief was not going to like hearing about this. He had plenty on his shoulders to bear at the moment. Climbing back into his car, he had just started it when his cell went off. Answering, he brought it to his ear. "Detective. This is officer Ash. I'm sorry to disturb you sir but I'm calling on behalf of Ina. She's been attacked and is insisting that you come here." 

The word played on loop in his mind. Attacked? Loraine had just seen and talked with her not all that long ago. "Tell her I'll be right there. Give me your location." He spent the drive white knuckled. What was going on? Who would attack Ina? In broad daylight? It threw him. Arriving, he noted the officers standing off talking. The ambulance had its lights going and the doors open. Ina had to be sitting in the back.

Climbing out, his first order of business was to get the story of Ina's attack and what injuries she'd sustained. Coming up to the officers their conversation stopped. Ash spoke. "Thank you for coming. She was insistent as I told you that you be here." He could easily imagine how that conversation went. "What happened here? How bad is she hurt?" Ash's gaze flicked over to the ambulance and back. "She told us she'd been walking, lost in thought. It dawned on her too late that she was being followed. Didn't get the chance to check out who it was before she was struck in the back of the head. When she came to she was disoriented and when she touched her head her hand came away bloody. Called us after that." 

So she hadn't seen her attacker. "Was anything of hers stolen?" Ash shook his head. "Said her purse was in the car when it happened." Hmm. So it wasn't a mugging. "Thank you. I'll go and talk with her now." Walking over to the ambulance, she sat on the gurney, eyes downcast. Standing in front of her, he gently touched a hand to her knee. "Ina? I'm here. We can talk now."

Wincing, she was slow to make eye contact. He could practically see the headache behind her eyes. "My head hurts. I should have been paying better attention. I'm so stupid." He wasn't going to give her a hard time. Not when she needed him to be attentive and gentle. Be fortunate it hadn't ended differently. "Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you? Anyone you haven't been getting along with?" She shook her head. "There's no one. Which means I just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."