One Last Step by Sarah Sutton (free e books to read TXT) 📗

substance. Her heart picked up speed and she glanced back at him again. He picked up his head just at the turn of her eyes and she threw another question at him just to distract him once more.

“Have you been caught hunting illegally before?”

He grew even more anxious at her question and she saw the door vibrate slightly as his hand began to show his nerves. He placed it down beside him and let the door rest on his shoulder, opening it just a millimeter more.

“I…uh…” he began as he looked back down toward his feet once more.

Tara took the opportunity and peered into the kitchen behind him. She stared at the dark dried spots on the white floor that under the fluorescent light showed hints of dark red. She was then immediately aware of what it was—blood.

McNamara’s eyes still pointed toward the ground as he continued to nervously find words.

“I’ve never been caught hunting illegally before,” he finished as his eyes darted left to right on the ground. “I…uh…”

Tara cautiously looked toward Warren and locked eyes before nodding her head toward the doorway. But Warren was unable to see what she was gesturing toward. McNamara’s body blocked his view into the kitchen, but he didn’t need to look inside to know that she saw something.

Tara placed her hand on her gun sitting on her hip and nodded at Warren.

“Mr. McNamara, may I ask why there’s blood on your kitchen floor?” she questioned.

He immediately looked up with an unmistakable look of terror.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he realized how far open the door had become. He quickly closed the gap again as he looked behind him and a blotchy rash broke out under the hair on his chest. “Oh that…that’s from cooking. Like I said, I hunt…” His body, now tense, shielded Tara from the view as well, while his eyes moved wildly around Tara and Warren. He was planning something, Tara could feel it.

“Mr. McNamara, please step outside,” Warren barked.

Tara got a better grip on her gun and slightly pulled it out of the holster on her belt.

“Why? I’m telling the truth!” he yelled as heat rose to his face.

“I said, step outside,” Warren repeated.

But Warren’s words only stirred his frustration.

“I shouldn’t have to do what you say. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he spat, his teeth now clenched with rage.

“Then there’s no reason why you can’t step outside.”

He considered Warren’s words for a moment, but then gritted his teeth.

“If I didn’t do anything wrong, then there’s no reason why I should have to.” He paused for a moment before leaning closer toward them, inches from their faces. “Get the fuck off my property!”

He tried to slam the door, but Tara forced her foot in the doorframe, letting it close on her shoe instead.

He looked down at it, fueled with rage as Warren placed his hand on the door.

“Don’t make this harder on yourself. Just step outside,” Warren repeated again.

He tried to slam the door once more, but Warren pushed back, and Kenny McNamara stumbled, losing his grip for just a moment. The door flung open, leaving the inside of his home fully exposed, and Tara looked toward the kitchen once more.

But just as Tara’s eyes wandered, Kenny darted, his shoulder slamming into Tara’s, almost knocking her off her feet as he sprinted past her.

Tara spun around and picked up running, right on his tail. He fumbled, pulling keys from his pocket as he raced to his car in the driveway. But once he reached halfway across the lawn, Tara closed in on him and grabbed hold of his arm.

He spun around, wild with fury, swinging his fist in the air.

She ducked, just barely as it grazed the top of her head, and she plowed into his abdomen, sending him stumbling backward until he fell flat on his back.

She hadn’t even noticed that Warren was right beside her, and he held McNamara down as Tara sat herself up and cuffed him.

He thrashed about wildly, cussing at Tara. When done, Warren pulled him onto his feet and Tara stood up, steadying her breathing. Warren glanced at her, checking to make sure she was okay.

“I’ll meet you inside,” he said to her as he forced McNamara forward, ushering him to the car.

Tara watched them from afar as Warren opened the back door and McNamara, now defeated, ducked his head and got inside. She was now more eager than ever to find out whose blood was on his kitchen floor. The man was clearly guilty of something or he wouldn’t have run.

She made her may back to the home and then into the kitchen. She was right; the substance was clearly blood. It streaked the floor as if someone were dragged across the ground.

Moments later Warren stood beside her. He took one look around and shook his head.

“Let’s get forensics in here immediately. Find out whose blood this is. We should head back to the station for questioning.”

Tara nodded and for the first time she wondered if this case could officially be over.

Chapter Eighteen

Kenny McNamara sat in handcuffs all alone in the interrogation room as Tara looked in on him through the one-way mirror. He sat hunched over, staring down as if he were trying to make sense of something upon the floor.

Tara heard footsteps and she looked up to see Warren entering the room.

“Anything?” he asked as he looked from Tara to Kenny through the glass that separated them.

Tara shook her head. He had been still the entire time she was viewing him. He just sat there, defeated. But there was something about his face that captured her. It was the way his muscles would tighten around his eyes and lips, and the slight shake of the head each time he had a thought. To Tara, it looked like confusion—like he was mulling over the events in his head, trying to make sense of why he was here. His eyes were red—almost watery. He was scared.

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