Free Silent Witness by Diane Burke Page B

as though they were pets, not workers, and sometimes it gets confusing for the animal.”
    Liz crouched down toward the dog and grimaced as pain shot through her leg. The bleeding had stopped but the movement still hurt.
    “Hello, boy. You’re a handsome fellow. Yes, you are.” Rerun wagged his tail enthusiastically but never moved from his position at Charlie’s feet. Liz looked up at both of them. “Where’s Jeremy? Has he seen him yet?”
    Adam gestured to the open rear door of Darlene’s patrol car. Jeremy was belted inside.
    “He’s seen him but doesn’t want anything to do with the dog at the moment,” Charlie said.
    Liz shot her a questioning glance.
    “Don’t worry,” Charlie said. “That’s not unusual. The boy’s been through enough today. We’ll introduce them little by little after we get home.”
    Jeremy, who had looked like he hadn’t been paying any attention to the adults, was listening to every word. “Home. Jeremy wants to go home.”
    The three adults chuckled.
    Liz stood and opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel. “Sounds good to me, Jeremy. Let’s go home.”
    * * *
    He crouched in the heavy brush and watched the scene unfold with interest. His hands trembled slightly when he raised the binoculars to his face. He wasn’t sure whether the shaking was due to needing a fix or whether it was caused by the nonstop nagging voice of his conscience. Sure, things weren’t happening the way he’d planned. He’d never intended to kill that kid’s parents. He’d just wanted to square things with the dad.
    One thing led to another and the whole mess blew up in his face.
    He glanced over at what was left of the wreckage. The fire was out. The road had been reopened and the crowd had dispersed. The last of the fire trucks were rolling up their hoses and preparing to leave.
    He hadn’t wanted to shoot the tires out from under the sheriff’s car, either. His conscience yelled long and loud about that one. But what choice did he have? He had to make sure that kid couldn’t tell anyone what happened that night—not ever—even if it meant that others would become collateral damage.
    He couldn’t believe that all three of them made it out without more than some cuts and bruises. What kind of luck was that? Anyone else would have been killed in the wreckage either from the high speed of the crash or from the explosion.
    He adjusted the zoom lens and brought the adults into focus.
    Great! Now a woman and a dog had joined the party. This hole he’d dug for himself just kept getting deeper and deeper. What was he going to do now?
    He slipped the binoculars into their case, backed up through the brush and made his way to his car. He had to gain control of the situation fast, before things got worse. He had to stop worrying about killing innocent people and just get the job done.
    He wasn’t a bad guy. It was just rotten circumstances—survival of the fittest—them or him. And when it came to survival, he knew one thing for certain. When all of this was said and done, he had every intention of being the last one standing. All he needed was to come up with a foolproof plan.
    But first he needed a fix.

SIX
    L iz turned up the graveled driveway and the breath caught in her throat when the white-pillared house appeared.
    Please, Lord, don’t let this be a bad idea. Please don’t let our human errors hurt this child any more.
    “Home. Home. Home.” Jeremy’s voice rose with excitement. He rocked forcefully back and forth in his car seat.
    Liz eased to a stop right in front of the burgundy door. She turned off the ignition and just sat there, her heart hammering in her chest, her hands trembling.
    Charlie pulled up behind them with Rerun crated in the back of her SUV but she, too, turned off the engine and waited.
    Adam circled the vehicle and helped Jeremy out of his car seat. The boy ran, opened the door and raced inside.
    Liz could hear Jeremy’s voice drifting back through