Expired Getaway (Last Chance County #7) - Lisa Phillips Page 0,10
know what she expected him to say. Probably that everything had turned into a disaster and she’d been right all along. “Everything’s fine. Thank you.”
“After all that West stuff I’ve been reading about in the news articles, I was afraid the whole town had been overrun by criminals.”
“If it had been, then we’d take care of it. I’m actually on shift right now.”
“Oh! Well, I should let you get back to it.”
Aiden glanced at the carpeted roof of the SUV. “That isn’t what I meant. It’s nice to talk to you, Mom. How are Dad and Aunt Lena? How was your guys’ Christmas?”
“Oh, it was quiet. Just a few friends over from bridge club. You know?”
No, he didn’t know, considering it had been him and Sydney by themselves since the day that lady from social services showed up with her in a carrier and the story about her mother’s death in childbirth.
Of course he would take a child who was his flesh and blood. Just because she was the product of a friendship turned disastrous summer fling that ended abruptly didn’t mean she deserved anything other than the best life he could give her. Even if he had been eighteen with next to no clue what to do with a baby. They’d learned together, and he’d had a ton of help from church folks.
Aiden’s radio crackled, and he heard a call come in. “I have to go, Mom. I need to respond to a call.”
She rushed a goodbye and hung up abruptly, not giving him time to say anything.
Aiden grabbed his radio, responded to the report of a car accident on the highway, flipped on his lights, and gunned it out of the parking lot.
Ten minutes later, he pulled over behind a truck that had plowed into an embankment of snow before then barreling into a tree. Given the tree was completely frozen, it had splintered on impact and several branches were now lodged in the windshield.
Aiden winced and headed for the driver’s side. No one else was around. It was just the two vehicles and him.
He grabbed his radio and twisted it toward his mouth. “Dispatch, come back.”
“What is it, Officer Donaldson?”
“This call I responded to. It’s the blue truck we’re looking for.” He opened the door and saw the driver. “And the woman is inside.” He pressed two fingers to her neck, but it was obvious she was no longer living so he explained that as well. And yet, something about this just wasn’t right. “I need another set of eyes.”
Something about the crash didn’t quite add up, and he hadn’t been there long enough to figure out what it was yet.
“Copy that. Sending a detective to your location.”
By the time Detective Wilcox pulled up, Officer Ridgeman in her passenger seat, Aiden had figured it out.
The two blonde women strode over to him. Savannah Wilcox wore her red coat, gloves, and a hat. Jessica Ridgeman had on long sleeves under her uniform shirt, but no coat—the same as he did. Aiden knew for a fact she had foot warmers in her boots, though.
“Officer Donaldson.”
He nodded. “Wilcox.”
“This is the woman you saw dealing drugs at the bowling alley?”
He followed her to the driver’s door, which was still open. “Shouldn’t there be more blood?” That was what was bothering him. The whole interior of the truck just seemed… Clean. “If she died in a horrific crash, there would be more blood. Right?”
“If she bled out after impact, then yes there would be.” Wilcox turned to Ridgeman. “Check the passenger side for a purse or any other personal belongings.”
As Jess rounded the back of the truck, Wilcox straightened. “Could be she was dead before the truck hit the tree.”
“Which could’ve been what caused the crash. Like a medical event that stopped her heart, leaving the truck to veer out of control.”
Aiden wondered if it had been some kind of heart attack or stroke. She looked pretty young at first glance, but he knew from talking to her up close that she was much older. Or, at least, her eyes showed her age.
“There’s a purse and a wallet. But no phone.” Jess straightened and came back around the car.
Savannah, Detective Wilcox, nodded. “I think you’re right, Officer Donaldson. Her heart wasn’t pumping when she sustained these injuries. She might’ve already been dead when the truck went off the road.”
Jess stopped beside him. “What do you think caused her death?”
“This is just a guess, of course, considering I’m not a medical professional, but