by Sharon Dunn
When you feel up to it, can we meet to talk? There is a place on the fourth floor that is super quiet.
He typed in his reply.
Hi, Darcy. I’m up and could use some company.
Her reply was almost immediate. She must be as bored as he was.
Great. Fourth floor lounge, west wing. See you in ten minutes.
He had no idea where the west wing was, but it would be easy enough to find out. Taking his phone with him, he walked out into the hallway, which was quiet. He saw no sign of a nurses’ or administrative station, but he did find an unoccupied waiting area that had a map of the hospital. The west wing was down a floor from where he was on the fifth floor.
As he made his way to the elevator, he passed a janitor mopping the floor, a woman in hospital gown sitting by a window, and a woman carrying a clipboard, whom he presumed to be a doctor. Other than that, he didn’t see any other people.
He pressed the elevator button and stepped inside when the car arrived, getting off on the floor below his. Darcy, he recalled, was on the third floor; she must have figured this would be a good in-between place to meet.
Once he was on the fourth floor, he encountered a nurses’ station with only one nurse bent over a keyboard and focused on her work. As he walked past, she didn’t even look up to acknowledge him.
The earbuds she wore probably shut out most of the sound or maybe she was transcribing something. She had a sort of dashboard in front of her where, he assumed, lights would flash when a patient pressed a call button. He ambled past numerous rooms where the people inside, hooked to machines, lay nearly lifeless in their beds. This must be an ICU floor, he thought to himself.
He kept walking until he found a sign that informed him he was in the west wing. He entered a large lounge area, noting the circular setup of three different couch arrangements. Large floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on both sides of the city. The place was completely empty.
The hall beyond the lounge was completely dark. It must be a part of the hospital that wasn’t used.
He turned a half circle and pulled out his phone.
Where are you?
On my way. I move slow.
The walk had tired him out. He sat in a lounge chair and stared out the large window at the city lights. Just across the street was another high-rise building that was part of the hospital.
He stared down at his phone as his heartbeat kicked up a notch.
This was a setup. Darcy was not on her way.
He dove to the ground just as glass shattered around him. Pain shot through his wounded shoulder as he tried to drag himself across the floor to seek cover behind a couch, an almost impossible task with his bad shoulder. Another shot was fired. He pressed even lower into the floor.
He doubted the nurse who was way down the hall and wearing earbuds would respond. As far as he knew, no one on the floor could get out of bed.
He wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to drag himself soldier-style. Instead he rolled toward a chair that would provide some cover. Though he tried to protect his shoulder, the move caused pain that radiated through his whole body. With some effort, he tucked himself up behind the chair, realizing he’d dropped his phone in the effort to save himself. To try to retrieve it would make him an easy target. It was a long stretch where he’d be out in the open before he could get to the safety of the hallway. Because of his injury, crawling was out of the question. He’d have to stand and run.
Jackson angled his body and craned his neck so he had a view of the building not more than the width of a street away. The building where Chloe was probably lying on her stomach, looking through the scope of her rifle, and waiting for the chance to take him out.
She must have gotten Darcy’s phone.
That realization sent a new wave of fear through him. What if Chloe had done Darcy in and now was coming back to finish him off? He had to get to that nurses’ station. He bolted to his feet and ran at an angle toward the hallway. Gripping his shoulder where the pain had intensified, he bent forward and kept running. He sprinted past the hospital rooms where people lay unconscious.
He was doubled over by the time he made it to the nurses’ station. The nurse stood and pulled out her earbuds, running to him just as he collapsed on the floor.
* * *
Darcy pulled the covers up to her neck and stared at the ceiling. It had been hours since the medical staff had flushed the poison from her body and still she couldn’t sleep. All the trauma to her body had made her sleep through most of the day and there’d been no word on whether they had tracked down Chloe.
The female officer was still outside her door, so Darcy took in several deep breaths and prayed, trying to calm down.
A nurse entered her room. “Still awake, huh?”
Darcy nodded her head.
“The doctor had a preliminary test done on the IV solution. It seemed it contained a lethal amount of digitalis.”
“Heart medication,” Darcy said.
“So, you were right.”
The nurse took Darcy’s vitals and had just turned to leave when Darcy called out to her. “Can you get me my phone? It’s over in that plastic bag.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Darcy doubted anyone would be up at this hour, but she could send some texts to her sister, to Harlan and, of course, to Jackson if he hadn’t heard the news already.
The nurse pulled out the watch Darcy had been wearing when she was admitted to the hospital. She searched the bag. “Mind if I dump this out? I can’t seem to find your phone.”
“Go ahead,” Darcy said. “I know it was in there. Jackson had it delivered from my apartment.”
The nurse spilled the contents of the bag onto the rolling table by Darcy’s bed. No phone.
Fear gripped her.
“Chloe must have taken it.” Why? Chloe must of have left the room assuming that the poison would kill Darcy. Her stomach tightened. Chloe had made it clear she wanted Jackson dead, too. “I have a friend staying in the hospital. Jackson Davison. Could you check on his status for me?”
The nurse, who had been picking up Darcy’s personal items, slowed in her action. “We didn’t want to worry you. There was another attempt on his life a short time ago. He was on the fourth floor. Someone shot at him through the window.”
“Is he okay?”
“Relatively. He never should have been out of bed in his condition so soon after being shot in the first place. He wore himself out.”
“Did they catch the person who shot at him?” She knew it had to have been Chloe and that Chloe must have somehow lured Jackson to the fourth floor with her phone.
“I don’t know. If I hear any news, I will let you know.”
“Look, I can’t sleep. Can the officer on duty wheel me down to his room? Even if he’s still sleeping. Can I just hang out until he wakes up?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the nurse said. “I was on duty earlier when he asked to see you. You two seem very close. It must be true love.”
“We’re friends. Good friends. That’s all.” Even as she spoke, Darcy knew that wasn’t true anymore. What was between them ran way deeper than that.
The nurse left the room.
Darcy rested her head on the pillow and waited for the nurse to return.
Within minutes, the female police officer entered her room, pushing a wheelchair. “Heard you wanted to go for a ride.”
The officer helped her out of bed and wheeled her down the hall and into the elevator.
When they entered Jackson’s room, he was wide awake and sitting up.
“Guess we both had a little excitement.” Darcy said as the policewoman left to wait outside the door.
“Yeah, I heard. I’m glad you’re here.” He lifted his hand, showing that he was holding his phone. “They recovered my phone,
but not yours. They thought they might be able to track Chloe by your phone. She may have ditched it. The doctors won’t let me do anything but rest, which is making me nuts.”
“Sometimes, doctors have good advice.” Darcy pushed the wheelchair closer to his bed. “You look more worn out than me.”
“I have been on the phone. NYPD has a ton of officers combing the building where Chloe probably set up shop to take aim at me.”
“But they haven’t found her yet?”
He shook his head.
“She might be dressed as a nurse.”
“When they told me what had happened to you, I thought that might be the case. How else could she have gotten past that officer?” Jackson placed his head back on the pillow. “I know they didn’t tell me sooner about you being poisoned because I needed to rest, but I wish I had known.”
“Maybe you should try to get some sleep.”
He smiled. “You’re not sleeping, either.”
A silence fell between them and Darcy remembered what the nurse had said. It must be true love. What she realized was that if she had used discernment about the character of the detective who had only showed her affection to move his case along, she would not have been hurt. It wasn’t about not dating cops. It was about seeing the heart of the person in front of her. Darcy knew now that Jackson had shown over and over that he was a man of integrity. The right time to talk about how her feelings for him had changed never seemed to happen. If she was honest with herself, bringing up the subject made her afraid. Everything he’d said in the past indicated he wasn’t over his last breakup. Her affection for him ran so deep, she wasn’t sure if their friendship could survive a rebuff from him. She didn’t want to risk the friendship by asking for something more.
When Jackson was ready, he would have to be the one to open that door. She couldn’t bear the thought of his rejection.
“Some deep thoughts going on in that genius brain of yours,” he said.
She shook her head. “Just pondering.”
In the hallway, a familiar tune started to play. All the air left her lungs. She knew that melody. It was the ringtone for her phone.
She stood, still feeling a little wobbly.
Jackson sat straighter in his bed. “Darcy, what is it?”
The phone stopped ringing.
When she stepped out into the hall, the female officer assigned to protect her was standing by a medical cart, holding a phone.
“Someone left their phone on the cart.”
“That’s my ringtone. May I see it?” She held out her hand. There were probably other people in the world who chose old hymns as ringtones. Even before the officer handed it over, Darcy knew it was her phone. The glittery cover was hers.
“Did you see anyone by that cart who might have left it?”
“There was a lot of traffic through here a minute ago,” the officer said. “Some kind of emergency up the hall. The cart has been there for at least twenty minutes.”
Jackson stood in the doorway. “Darcy, what is it?”
“I think Chloe was here either twenty minutes ago and she left my phone on the cart or she swept through with a crowd of people a minute ago and left it.”
Jackson still held his phone. “I’ll let the other officers know. Some of them are still searching the hospital. If it was a few minutes ago, she might still be in the area.”
“She’s probably dressed as a nurse.” Darcy stared down at the phone. She had five new texts. She clicked on the message icon. All five texts were from the same number and they all said the same thing.
You will not live to testify at Reuben’s trial.
EIGHTEEN
Jackson paced the floor of the house where he and Darcy had stayed under protective custody since being released from the hospital three days ago. The trial was in two hours.
The house belonged to a retired police chief and his wife who’d gone south for the winter. A rotation of patrol and K-9 officers had been assigned to watch over him and Darcy.
As he paced, Smokey thudded his tail and licked his jaw. His way of asking if everything was okay.
“I’m just real nervous,” said Jackson. He glanced at his police utility belt resting on the table. He was dressed in full uniform. Still not cleared for field duty, he had talked Gavin into letting him be one of the officers that escorted Darcy to and from the trial. Though he had healed a great deal, his shoulder still hurt when he tried to raise his arm up high.
Darcy entered the room. She wore jeans and a baggy sweater. “Aren’t you getting ready a little early?” she asked.
“I just feel like I need to do something.”
She stared down at her clothes. “I guess I have the opposite response. I want to pretend like is not happening until the last minute.”
He walked over to her and took her hands in his. “All of the NYPD has taken every measure to ensure your safety. Since Chloe’s favorite thing is to shoot from a distance, officers are watching the tall buildings surrounding the courthouse. And no one will get into or out of those buildings without having to go past at least three officers and a metal detector.”
She looked up into his eyes. “I know that they will do everything to keep me safe. And I know that once I testify, the question about me being able to do my job will go away.” She glanced to the side at a window with its curtains drawn, as it had been since they’d both been brought here. Her lip quivered. “But it doesn’t mean Chloe will leave me alone. I’m sure she will want revenge for Reuben being put away for good.”
Jackson cupped her arm just below the shoulder. “If Chloe shows up for that trial, which we believe she will, we have taken every measure to ensure her capture.”
He did not want to tell Darcy that they couldn’t guard every inch of the route that led to the courthouse. They had chosen a route that was not predictable, but there were only so many ways to get to the courthouse. If Chloe had figured out where they were hiding, she would have attacked by now. They both had received threatening texts. Always from a throwaway phone. The texts made it clear that Chloe wanted both of them dead.
“I can put some coffee on for us if you like,” Darcy offered. “And I think there are still some leftovers of that casserole Lani brought when she came on duty.”
“Food sounds good. I don’t think coffee would help me calm down.”
She laughed and retreated into the kitchen. He followed her. Smokey waited until he was given the command to follow, as well.
He watched as Darcy pulled down, plated and heated up the casserole in the microwave. Even under these trying circumstances, he had enjoyed his time with Darcy. The curtains had remained drawn and neither of them had stepped outside since they had taken up residence.
The officer standing guard was also the one to stay with Smokey when he went out in the yard.
The days had been spent praying together, playing board games or sitting together on the couch, each of them reading their respective books. Even with the shadow of danger that had hung over each day, Jackson relished their time together. These days had made him realize that he could picture them having a life together of being more than just friends.
She set a steaming plate of lasagna on the table where he was seated. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shook his head. “Just thinking.”
She dished up some of the leftovers for herself and sat opposite him. “Just thinking about what?”
He shrugged. Now was not the time to broach the subject. They needed to get through the trial and the K-9 Unit needed to make sure Chloe was brought into custody.
He knew that one way or another, Chloe would make a last-ditch effort to get at Darcy before the trial. The text had made it clear that Chloe was out for revenge. After the trial, she might become a lot dodgier, laying low for months and then going after Darcy or him.
<
br /> They had to catch her today.
* * *
Darcy finished her meal and went upstairs to shower and dress. The plan was to arrive an hour before the trial and enter the courthouse by a back door, though the amount of police they had surrounding her would call attention to her if anybody was watching.
Half an hour later, she met Jackson and Smokey downstairs. Belle Montera was waiting outside in the yard with Justice, who was trained for protection. Darcy pulled back the living-room curtain a few inches for a limited view of the street. There was a dark-colored SUV parked at the curb.
Jackson stepped toward her. “We’ll be traveling in an umarked police car.”
“That must be it out there right now.” Her chest squeezed a little tighter.
He held out his arms and she fell into his embrace.
“I want to say that it’s going to be okay. But I know that’s not true. Not until we catch her,” Jackson said.
Closing her eyes, Darcy relished the safety of his arms around her. “Thank you for being honest. You know I would have seen past you trying to paint a rosy picture.”
He drew her closer, hugging her tight and then letting her go. “Let’s do this. I’ll go let Belle know we’re ready. We’ll walk out together. She and Justice will be behind us in a different car, also unmarked. We don’t want to call attention in any way.” Jackson left the room and opened the front door to call out to Belle.
Darcy took a deep breath, as though she were about to dive under water. Jackson returned, Belle and Justice right behind him. He commanded Smokey to fall in. “Let Smokey and I take the front.” He looked over at Belle. “You and Justice can be behind Darcy until you have to get in your own car.”
“Ready when you are,” Belle said.
They walked out to the black SUV where a driver, another police officer, sat behind the wheel.
“I’ll be up front. Smokey will ride in the back with you,” Jackson told Darcy.
There was a comfort in knowing that the dog would be so close. He was a true protector.
