Last Seen Alive

Chapter Twenty

"I think we dismissed Daniel's involvement in this case a little too soon," Kelsey told Michael when she met him in the gym for their evening training session.

She'd gone over her memory of the night Louis died the whole journey to the station and she was convinced more than ever that Daniel had lied and he'd been hiding behind the house the whole time.

"Why's that?" Michael asked curiously.

She pulled her hair up into a bun before replying. "Remember when I went outside to take a call that night? There was a lot of activity out front so I went to the side since it was quieter. Daniel showed up from the back of the house and said he was avoiding the press so he came in through the back."

Michael frowned. "There's no back gate on that property and the wall running behind it is way too high for anyone to jump over it."

"How do you know that?" she blinked at him in surprise.

"I asked the uniforms who were first on the scene about their perimeter search before I left. And it's in the report, in the case file that you were supposed to go through as part of your job."

"Oh," she flushed.

"If Daniel was back there the whole time, they would have seen him."

"Unless they checked the perimeter after he'd joined us in the house," she suggested.

"Maybe," he agreed. "Although protocol dictates that they check and secure the perimeter upon arrival. I'll confirm."

"And what are we going to do about Daniel?"

"Now that he's on suspension, watching him is going to be a little difficult, but I'll figure out how to keep an eye on him."

She nodded, then clapped her hands together once. "So, what moves am I learning today?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Still doing joint locks," he replied, then they began training.

***

After her session with Michael, Kelsey caught a ride to Pinehive General Hospital with some officers going on patrol. She called Liam when she got there to let him know she was waiting for him in the hospital's lobby. He appeared a few minutes later, still dressed in his scrubs, surrounded by a number of doctors and nurses donning party hats, all cheering him on with balloons.

Kelsey smiled at the adorable scene and took her phone out to record a video of the special moment. The blaring of a siren from the hospital's parking lot caught her attention and she turned towards the sound. The doors burst open a few seconds later and two paramedics wheeled in a stretcher with a man lying on it, bleeding from a wound on his stomach that was covered by a bandage that was already soaked through with blood.

"Black male, early 20s, single GSW to the abdomen!" one of the men yelled as they wheeled past Kelsey. The hospital lobby burst into a hive of activity and half the nurses and doctors who were with Liam sprang into action, calling out instructions as they disappeared further into the hospital.

Kelsey remained frozen, staring after them, then suddenly the hospital disappeared and the scene in front of her changed into the pale pink walls of Natasha's old room. Max was lying on the bed that was covered in white bedding. He was clutching his stomach as blood oozed out of the wound there and coated his hands in its thick, bright redness, while the rest dripped onto the bed and formed a pool on the carpet. She could even hear his agony-filled, ragged breath as he stared desperately at her and begged her in garbled words to help him.

Her phone fell to the ground, but she didn't hear it or feel it slipping through her fingers. A cold shiver washed over her body as Max started shouting her name, pleading for her to help. Only, it wasn't Max calling her.