Death Indoors: Target Practice Mysteries 4 (13 page)

Megan turned to Davey. "Sweetie, did you know about this? Did he ever touch you?"

Davey's lower lip quivered, and tears spilled down her cheeks. "He said he would hurt me if I told anyone."

Her mother wrapped Davey in her arms and pushed her daughter's hair out of her tear-streaked face. "I'd kill him first. Why didn't you tell me? When did this happen? What did you see?"

Davey was sobbing and hiding her face in her mother's sweatshirt.

I didn't want to interrupt the moment, but Davey seemed unwilling or unable to talk more. "Davey, did you see Coach Ron touch Becky? Did he threaten you, too?"

Davey hiccupped as she looked up from her mother. "Too?"

I nodded. "Someone else saw something, and Coach Ron threatened him. What did he say to you?"

"He said if I told anyone, he would hurt me and my mom."

"Did you feel the need to protect yourself from him? Did you get a Taser? Did he attack you?" I held my breath as she nodded.

"I ran out to the car to grab my backpack, and he backed me around a corner. I grabbed the Taser out of my pocket--I bought it from a kid at school--hit him with it and ran away. I don't want to go to jail! I didn't know it would kill him."

Her mother wrapped her arms around Davey and started crying.

CHAPTER SEVEN

By the time we got Davey and her mother to the police and things were sorted out, I had a little bit of time to warm up before lunch. Rumors were buzzing around the practice range as I shot. A few adults were standing behind the line, talking about how they had always known Coach Ron was up to no good. I did't know how the rumors had spread around, but I was already sick of it.

I grabbed my bow and quiver and left the practice range. Whatever warming up I would gain from being there would be offset by my frustration. If they had really known, then they should have said something. If they didn't know, then it was disgusting to pretend they did.

I thought of Davey's face as the police started questioning her and her mother's devastated look and felt sick. I'd set out to find who killed Ron, but this didn't feel like success. All I could think about was Davey's voice shaking as she said she didn't want to go to jail. I had fully expected to discover a ruthless killer, not a scared child who had tried to protect herself.

Liam was outside giving Moo another walk. I checked to see if he was still out there and ran smack into Brian, who was entering the range.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked him.

"Sure."

We stepped down the hall a bit. "Will Davey, er, I mean CarolAnn be okay? It was self-defense and--"

He cut me off with a hand. "Don't worry. The officers are fair. She'll be okay." He looked around and leaned in. "I can't get into it. You have to trust me."

Brian had proven to be a man of his word several times over. A wave of relief rushed over me. The grip on my lungs loosened, and I took a deep breath. "Thanks, and they can get the girls help? Like counseling?"

"Absolutely." He clapped me on the back. "Let the professionals do their job. You need to focus on shooting."

I thanked him and moved toward the entrance to find Liam. I stepped outside into the cold, crisp air. Cars were moving around the parking lot, and Liam was jogging and playing with Moo on a leash.

"Hey, Miss Marple." He jogged over to me and wrapped me in a big hug. "You did a great job solving the case."

"I don't feel great." I squeezed him tightly, and my frustration drained away.

He gave me another squeeze before letting go. "I know."

Moo came up next to my hip and leaned into me. I placed my hand on his side, gently patting him.

Orion and Mary opened the front door to the center.

"Come on, you two, we have to grab lunch quick." Mary waved us over. "Hey, Di, can you explain why there is a video all over the Internet of you explaining how to get sponsorship?"

"I told you about our plan to use it as an excuse to talk to the kids. Liam put me in charge of talking."

He teased me. "It
is
her specialty."

Mary pulled out her phone and, after pressing a few buttons, flipped it around to show me the description underneath the video. "I knew that part, but why do they describe you as Di, the new pro-staff and sponsorship coordinator for Westmound-Andersson Industries?"

My mind went blank as I stared at Mary. "They what?"

Orion laughed. "I'll gladly give you the job. One more thing off my plate."

"Oh no, we have to get rid of it. Who posted it? Has anyone seen it?" Once something was on the Internet, it was almost impossible to delete it, but perhaps no one had seen it yet.

Mary shrugged and pushed the phone back into her pocket. "The guy that posted it is gone already, and it's been seen and shared thousands of times. I have about a dozen messages from friends asking me to put in a good word with you."

Liam laughed. "Don't worry about it, Di. These things happen all the time. Everyone will probably forget in a few weeks. Let's go grab lunch."

We followed Mary and Orion down the hallway, and they had a good laugh at my expense.

Liam grabbed my hand and laced it through his arm as we walked back toward the center. "I wish I didn't have to leave tonight. You know that, right?"

I bounced up against him and laid my head on his shoulder for a few steps. "Yes, but in a few weeks it's the tournament in Vegas, and you have that double date planned."

"Exactly." He placed his hand over mine and squeezed it. "Valentine's Day."

I hope you enjoyed my second book. I would love to interact with you more. If you would like to learn more about me, join my mailing list, or discover my social media accounts, please check out my website.

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Nikki Haverstock lives with her husband and dogs on a cattle ranch high in the Rocky Mountains.

Before escaping the city, Nikki taught collegiate archery for ten years. She has competed on and off for fifteen years in the USA Archery women's recurve division.

Nikki has more college degrees than she has sense, and hopefully one day, she will put one to work.

© 2015 by Ranch Dog Entertainment, LLC

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