“I’ve got to go,” Eve said. She slid off the gurney and hugged her sister. “Thanks for patching me up.”

“I’ll come by later tonight with extra meds,” Lisa said.

“Oreo cookies?”

“With double stuff.”

“Isn’t that extreme?” Eve said. “I have a broken wrist, I’m not dying of cancer.”

Eve gave her sister a kiss on the cheek and headed out to the lobby, where two deputies were stationed. She emerged just as Duncan came in from the parking lot with Cleve Kenworth, who rushed up to Eve so fast, she was afraid he might tackle her.

“Is it true?” Cleve asked. “Is Caitlin really alive?”

“She’s severely dehydrated and confused, but the doctors say she’ll be fine. She’s in exam room five. One of the deputies will take you back.”

“I can’t believe it.” Cleve started to tear up. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Take her home, keep her safe, and give her that Brady Bunch family you told me about.”

Cleve gave her a firm hug, took a deep breath, and went back into the ER with a deputy, leaving her with Duncan.

“It’s an amazing thing you did today,” he said.

“Not insane?”

“Oh, it was that, too. But I figure you’ve heard that enough already.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“The captain is furious, ranting about insubordination and the Explorer you destroyed, but I think he’ll overlook it given the circumstances.”

“And if I don’t tell anybody that he and the sheriff didn’t believe me that Caitlin was alive and being held captive.”

“All that matters is that Caitlin’s safe.”

Duncan tipped his head toward the doors to the ER and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Did Coyle sexually abuse her?”

Eve shrugged. She didn’t know and she didn’t want to think about it, not now anyway. “The house is ashes but I got pictures of the crime scene before we fled.”

Duncan looked at her in disbelief. “You did?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t you?”

“Hell no,” Duncan said. “But I wouldn’t have been there in the first place. I value my life. Running into a raging wildfire on a hunch is suicidal.”

“It was more than a hunch. You heard me present the evidence to Moffett and Lansing. It was a certainty.”

“Only to you,” Duncan said. “I’m not ashamed that I was unconvinced. You were right this time, but next time you might not be.”

“Then next time you’ll just have to come along to keep me out of trouble.”

“Not me. I’ll be working on my long putt in Palm Springs.”

“You’ve still got one hundred and sixty-one days to go before that happens.”

“One hundred sixty,” he said.

“A lot could happen between now and then. Has the word gone out yet that Caitlin is alive?”