Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

Haviland.”
    Rawlings gave her an indulgent smile. “I’ll take care of Haviland. As for you, you get on that gurney or I’ll carry you to the ambulance. And I’m not young anymore, Olivia. I’m not sure my back can take it.”
    “Then I’ll walk. Just hold on to me.”
    After telling the paramedics that he’d meet them by the front door, Rawlings slipped an arm around Olivia’s waist. “You’re the most difficult, infuriating, and impetuous woman I’ve ever known.”
    Olivia leaned her head against his shoulder and they walked slowly down the hall to the waiting elevator car, Haviland following on their heels. “I’m sorry, Sawyer. It wasn’t my intention to screw this up. I could have tried to talk Millay out of her plan, but I have to admit that I found it very attractive. I wanted to act. I wanted this to be over.”
    “Well, for both of you, it is over.”
    The elevator doors slid closed and Olivia wrapped her arms tighter around the chief’s waist. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but the brief drop from the second floor to the first made her feel dizzy.
    “You should have gotten on the gurney, you stubborn woman,” Rawlings chided as he half dragged her through the lobby.
    “I love you too,” Olivia mumbled and then grudgingly allowed the paramedics to help her into the ambulance. Suddenly, the idea of lying down was very appealing and she settled on the stretcher, relaxing as an EMT strapped her in for the ride. Having the sheet tucked around her feet made her feel like she was in a cocoon of clean, white cotton, and she wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep and wake the next morning with the whole nightmarish event behind her.
    “Oh, no you don’t.” Rawlings gave her shoulder a shake. “They’ll hit you up with the smelling salts if you try to nod off.”
    She opened her eyes and glared at him. “I thought you had a bad guy to work over.”
    “I do. And don’t think that what you said earlier is going to keep you out of hot water,” Rawlings said. “This is Poole’s neck of the woods and I don’t know how he’s going to handle this mess.”
    “What did I say?” Olivia frowned and then suddenly realized that Rawlings was referring to the “I love you too” comment. “Oh, that.” She paused and then reached up and touched his cheek with her hand. “I know you’re supposed to say that kind of thing over a candlelit dinner or a walk on the beach, but it just tumbled out. Doesn’t make it less true though.”
    The EMT waiting by the rear doors coughed discreetly, signaling Rawlings that it was time to get a move on.
    Rawlings ignored the paramedic and lowered his face so that his lips brushed Olivia’s. “Say it again,” he whispered.
    “I love you,” she whispered back and the two of them lingered for a long second, clinging to a moment that belonged to them alone, a tiny oasis of light and warmth in the dark night.
    When Rawlings tried to straighten, Olivia grabbed him by the arm. “Judson’s pain is connected to the house. If he won’t talk, mention the house. The only time he had a family, as screwed up as that family was, was in that house. When his mother sold it to Calvin Locklear, it broke his world apart. He could never pick up the pieces. Life wouldn’t let him.”
    Kissing her hand, Rawlings nodded. He stepped out of the ambulance and she heard him say, “Come on, Captain. We’ve got to get a signed confession before I can feed you one of your fancy suppers,” before the paramedic closed the rear doors.
    “So your dog is the hero of the hour, eh?” the fresh-faced EMT said.
    Olivia smiled. “He is. He’s going to be impossible to live with over the next few days.”
    “And the police chief? Is he your boyfriend?” the EMT continued, fitting a blood pressure cuff around Olivia’s upper arm.
    Olivia laughed and then winced. Laughing hurt. “I’m too old to have a boyfriend. At my age, women have lovers, not boyfriends.” Her head throbbed. “What the hell was I hit with anyway?”
    The paramedic was pleased to be able to answer her question. “It was a woodcarving. Almost as long as my arm and pretty solid too. One of the deputies said that your attacker must have bought it at the powwow.”
    It had certainly felt solid. “A carving?”
    “Yeah, an eagle perched on a log. Guess the guy was really patriotic or something.” The paramedic placed stethoscope buds in his ears, inflated the cuff, and then