~ ~ ~
Marnie was busy looking at the bridal magazine when Lindsay poked her head in the room to check on her, relieved to see her future sister-in-law looked pleasantly distracted. Lance was off seeing some old friends after Dougie’s court date.
She left the apartment to pick up something for dinner. Jace hadn’t returned and she felt a bit of worry. He had to leave soon. She knew he wouldn’t come back. Whatever reason he was still around was coming to an end.
She hefted her groceries up the stairs and saw Sheriff Wilson pull in. He’d been retired all of a week and was true to his word, sitting in the lot in his own car, watching and waiting for Cameron to make a move.
“Hey, ya got a minute?” he said as he rolled down the car window.
“Yeah, just let me put these things inside,” she said and went in and deposited the groceries on the counter.
She approached his vehicle with a worried feeling. She still wore the wire and had yet to get anything on Cameron. His court date was coming up. She knew there was a chance the charges would get dropped. It was becoming a do or die now in getting a confession out of Cameron.
“What’s up?” she asked as she slid into the car.
“We got a problem,” he told her with a tense expression.
“What now?” she asked in irritation.
“The prosecutor is buckling, Lindsay. We need something and we need it fast,” Wilson told her, his expression disgusted. “I intercepted a call meant for Dan about an hour ago. Unless we get a confession; Cam walks.”
Lindsay looked sick. “I can’t believe this! How can he get away with this?”
“It’s a little thing called evidence, Lindsay,” Wilson informed her and shook his head. “We got no blood evidence, no witness, and unless he confesses the charges will be dismissed.”
“He hasn’t tried to approach me since that day in Merriman’s.”
“We need to step it up.”
“How do you want me to do that?” Lindsay said in anger, blue eyes filled with fear. “He knows I know he did it! He firebombed my mom’s car for turning him in! What more do you want me to do?”
“I want to see this kid get his for this as much as you do, Lindsay,” the Sheriff said quietly with a sigh. “We have no choice but for you to confront him on his own turf and push it. You need to get in his face, force him to admit it.”
Lindsay looked terrified. “I can’t! There has to be another way!”
“I wish there was but you have to push it now, and fast.”
“He’s crazy! I go get in his face and there’s no telling what he’ll do to me!”
The sheriff looked resigned. “There’s no other way. You got the wire on. I’ll be there. You don’t need to worry. I’ll be right there with you.”
Lindsay felt fear gnawing t her belly to think of confronting Cameron, getting him to admit what he did. Thoughts of his turning on her and killing her made her tense. She realized she did have an ace in her hand. She had a ghost on her side. Jace could help her. He wouldn’t like it but he had to see there was no other way.
The haunting of his killer wasn’t going to do it. They needed to step it up like the sheriff said. They graduated on Saturday. She heard through the grapevine Cameron was being shipped off to his grandparent’s house after his court date. They were running out of time.
“If I do this I want to be assured of my own safety,” she said tightly. “You might be waiting in the wings, but this guy is a nutcase.”
“I’ll get you hooked up with a live wire,” he said and smiled in a reassuring way. “I’ll be listening in the whole time. He gets crazy on you and I’ll be there.”
“If anything goes wrong,” she trailed off and looked out the window in despair. “Ok, I’ll do it.”
Gary smiled in relief. “I’ll come by tonight and hook you up.”
“My brother can’t know about it. We need to meet away from here if their home,” she warned him. “If he finds out I’m still helping you, he’ll have me shipped to Georgia on the next flight out.”
“Meet me in the park tonight at seven,” he said and she got out of the car, feeling nervous as she watched him leave the lot.
She was feeling alarmed as she went back inside, knowing there was no choice. Thinking of Cameron getting away with what he did to Jace made her more than resolved now. Despite her fears, she had to do this. Time was running out. Cameron would be gone after his court date. They would never get another crack at him.
As she expected, Jace was furious to hear the plan.
“No way are you going to confront him, Lindsay,” he fumed as he listened to Sheriff Wilson’s plan. “He’s ready to lose it and I don’t want you anywhere near him. I got it covered.”
“We’re running out of time. His court date is Monday, Jace. You’re leaving Sunday. We gotta do this.”
“I won’t put you in that position, Lindsay,” Jace argued and paced in her bedroom. “Too much can go wrong.”
“Too much already has!” she snapped and glared at him. “You’re dead, Jace! The guy who killed you is going to walk out of court on Monday free as a bird unless we get him to confess. We don’t have a choice.”
Jace looked at her and she could see his indecision. “Lindsay, if he hurt you I don’t know what I would do.”
She smiled, forcing herself to look calm despite her fear. “The sheriff will be right there listening in. You’ll be there with me. What could go wrong?”
Jace didn’t say anything, just looked at her with a tortured look for a minute. “Everything could go wrong.”
“It’s now or never,” she pointed out. “I plan on going to that party Saturday night. It’s perfect. He gets a buzz on and I corner him. He’ll start running off at the mouth.”
“Lindsay, I appreciate everything you’re doing to help me,” he said quietly. “This isn’t your fight, but mine. I don’t want you taking these kinds of chances.”
“Jace, if it’s the last thing I do for you; I’m going to get Cameron,” she promised and looked at him with finality. “He took away everything from you, from me, from your family. I want him to pay.”
“He will pay, Lindsay,” he told her and shrugged. “That’s one thing I can tell you for sure. This is going to come back on him one day, even if you can’t get a confession. Where I am; it’s a done deal. Nobody gets passed that.”
Lindsay could see he wouldn’t tell her more about the mysterious place he was now. He hesitated to say a whole lot, not wanting to blow her whole image of death. He thought he’d scare her. She wasn’t scared. She was exhilarated to know there was a place like he described.
“I’m not as patient as you, Jace,” she said and bit her lip. “I want to see it happen before I leave here. I need this to be over for you.”
“Alright, we’ll do it,” he agreed and shook his head. “You just do everything I say, Lindsay. This is getting dangerous. Cameron knows I’m back and he’s made threats against you. We take no chances. You got that?”
“I got it,” she said and smiled. “Don’t worry about me so much. I can do this, Jace.”
“We need to go up to the cabin and let you practice with that gun.”
“Let’s go now. I have to work tomorrow.”
“I meant what I said. You get in a tight spot and there’s only so much I can do.”
She looked at him and saw how uneasy he was. “Then we need to make sure I can use that thing.”
“Let’s hope you shoot a gun better than you shoot pool,” he teased and she glared at him.
“I can do it,” she assured him. “Point and pull the trigger; how hard can it be?”