He left, and I circled an arm around Kennedy, careful not to be rough in case she was feeling as battered as I was. I suspected I’d have some nasty bruising in addition to the laceration on my thigh, but it could have been much, much worse. We were lucky I hadn’t been driving fast and that we were in town. If the brakes had malfunctioned elsewhere, I could easily have slid off the side of the road and down a gully.

Kennedy jerked all of a sudden. “I need to call Blair. If he hears about this from someone else, he’s going to be worried sick.”

“Do you have your phone?” I asked.

“It’s in the car.”

Nate handed her his. “Use this.”

She took it and dialed the number by heart, wandering further away while she spoke with her brother.

“We’re going to need to record a formal statement at the police station and keep the car in lockup so a forensic analysis can be undertaken,” Nate said, his voice low. “If this was the stalker, it’s a serious escalation. The sooner we uncover the scumbag, the better.”

“Agreed.”

Kennedy returned, her expression strained. “Blair and Tyler are on their way.”

“Would you mind directing them to the police station instead?” Nate asked. “If you’re feeling up to it, we’ll head over there and run through everything that happened.”

Her jaw firmed. “Absolutely.”

Nate retrieved her phone from the Ute, cautioning us to stay back, and handed it over, then we packed into the back of the patrol car and he drove us to the police station. Similar to the fire station, the police were located on a side road adjoining Centennial Street. Nate led us inside, past a receptionist, and into a small room out the back. The walls were white, and a round table occupied most of the room. The floor was concrete, the table bolted down. I sank onto one chair, and Kennedy pulled up another beside me, reaching for my hand, seeking comfort via touch. Nate set his phone on the table, and Constable Mehrtens withdrew a notepad and pen from her pocket.

“You mind if we record this?” Nate asked.

“Go for it,” I told him, and Kennedy nodded too.

He set the phone recording and stated his name and the names of everyone else present, then asked us each to say our name in turn so any listeners would be able to recognize us by voice.

“Can you walk me through the events leading up to the accident?” he asked.

Kennedy and I exchanged a look. I wasn’t sure if she’d prefer to take the lead. But then she gave a slight nod and started speaking. She ran through a highlight reel of the day’s activities, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she mentioned our time at her cottage. Mehrtens took notes. Nate simply listened and asked for clarification. When Kennedy finished talking, we sat quietly for a few seconds before Nate spoke.