Semi-Psychic Life (Glimmer Lake #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,74

were found in the spring—if they ever were—the case would be cold. His friends in the department would never suspect he was part of it.

“He was planning on killing all three of us.” Val pulled away and felt an immediate wave of nausea. “You, me, and Josh. He didn’t think anyone else would be up here. He was going to hide our bodies.”

“Who was the other man?”

“Charles.” She swallowed hard to fight the nausea. “He knew Anderson was going after Josh. He didn’t realize we’d be with him.”

Sully said, “I’ll tell Francis to start looking for a guy named Charles who owns a tan Land Cruiser.” He turned Anderson over on his side. “Sounds like you had an accomplice, buddy! Wonder how long it’ll take him to give you up for a sweet deal?”

Anderson was on his side, staring at Val with wide eyes. “How did you know that?”

Val used his glove to tap his cheek and fought to retain her breakfast. “Oh, Americano Asshole, don’t you know who I am? I’m your friendly neighborhood psychic.” She winked. “And I’m gonna know all your secrets. Every. Single. One.”

She didn’t think he could look any paler, but he could. He actually could.

Chapter 24

They took the easy way down the hill, pushing Anderson in front of them. The man didn’t have snowshoes, and he kept falling into drifts and having to be lifted out. Mark was carrying the sharpshooter’s backpack and skis. Robin was carrying a shotgun and a rifle. Sully had two rifles.

Val had wisely handed the revolver back to Sully. Anderson was still pissing her off, and she didn’t quite trust herself not to put a bullet in his butt. Which would have been illegal. He already had one legally allowed bullet in him from Sully’s gun. Another one would be overkill.

Literally.

Sully shouted to the forest rangers as soon as they got near; a man and a woman in olive-green uniforms and heavy winter hats trudged toward them through the snow.

“Sully.” The man spotted the blood on Anderson’s shoulder. “Carol, bring the first aid kit!”

“Good to see you, Cartwright.” Sully kept Anderson in his grip, partly to keep the man standing. “Thanks for the assist.”

“We got the call from Francis and got up here as quickly as possible.” The ranger frowned as a medic examined Anderson and began pressing gauze to the wound under his snowsuit. “Is this who was shooting from that ridge?”

“Sure is.”

“We need to get him in blankets and down the hill,” the medic said. “I can get the bleeding under control, but I don’t want him going into shock.”

Sully watched the rangers take Anderson away. “The bullet went in and out.”

Cartwright nodded briskly. “We were getting a sled ready for Josh Mason, but we’ll take Anderson down first.”

“He aimed a rifle at me, so don’t take your eyes off him.”

“Yeah, he shot at us too, so I don’t think you need to worry. Francis should be waiting at the plowed road with the ambulance.”

Mark asked, “Did he hit anyone? That last shot, I mean.”

Cartwright shook his head. “Grazed a machine, but that’s it. Moving targets are far harder to hit than most target shooters realize. I’ll call my guys back. They were hiking up to find out where the shots were coming from.” He walked away, talking quietly into a radio that crackled on his shoulder.

The female ranger was nearly as tall as Sully. She was eyeing Robin and Mark. “These firearms belong to you?”

Robin and Mark exchanged a glance. “Uh…”

Sully said, “They were an emergency procurement from a local resident after Josh Mason was shot.”

She shook her head. “Dammit, Bill. I told him he could have a shotgun to scare off bears. One shotgun.”

Robin said, “Technically, it says discharging a weapon on forest service land is a crime. But, uh, we didn’t actually discharge any of these. Sully was the only one who shot anyone.”

Val could only think: Only because I didn’t get the chance.

“Can Bill get a pass this time?” Sully asked quietly. “He had them secured and asked for my badge before he handed anything over.”

She sighed. “At least he’s being responsible.” She turned her back and started walking toward the clearing. “I saw nothing. Take them back and tell him I do not want to see them again.”

“Thanks. Just to let you know, we’re looking for an accomplice. First name Charles. He drives a tan Land Cruiser.”

“I’ll get the word out to our people.” She nodded at them. “Let us know what