“Roger that.” Then, “Cars are responding.”
Cruz caught the call and headed for the intersection. He saw Alex laying on the grass holding his ribs. Two other cars pulled up. Guns were drawn.
“They screwed up and left me alive. When they realize that, they may be back.”
“Roger that. You okay, Alex? We have an ambulance on the way.”
“My knee, I think. My left leg had a knee replacement. It’s hard to breathe…”
“Okay, just lay still. The ambulance should be here in a minute. I can hear the sirens now. Hold on. Anything else hurt?”
“Pretty much the rest of my body.” He laughed, then groaned.
“What did the suspects look like?”
“She was a well built and extremely strong woman…with big teeth.” Alex then groaned and passed out.
The EMT unit approached. The medics stepped out, headed for Alex, and started to evaluate him.
“He just passed out. We may be compromised at any minute. Get down if we say to.”
“Got it.”
Alex woke up and tried to speak then went out again.
“They’re ready for us at Emergency. Let’s brace that knee and put a neck collar and oxygen on him.”
“Careful. Good. Let’s get out of here,” the EMT said.
Sharkey made his way across the street followed by Jenny and stopped by the medics.
“Get him out of here. Tell the hospital that he’s to have an armed guard at all times. I’ll have a car follow you.”
Cruz bent down at the edge of the curb. “Look over here. There was a syringe laying in the gutter. I bet she used it on him.”
“It was a woman?” Jenny said.
“Yeah. He said extraordinarily strong and big teeth,” Cruz replied.
Sharkey’s face twisted into a questioning look.
“That’s what Alex said before he passed out.”
Sharkey put on gloves and picked up the syringe carefully and put it in an evidence bag.
“I need to drop this at evidence.”
“Okay, we know that they have Carl. That suggests we’re dealing with an organized crime group,” Sharkey said.
“Cruz, head to the hospital and cover Alex.”
Sharkey turned to Jenny. “I need to call Stephanie Williams and find out what she knows. Jerry’s at the hotel waiting to hear from me. Give him a call and tell him to come to my office in the morning.”
Jenny called Jerry and explained what happened.
“Okay. Chichi and I are in Stephanie’s room. She left for another hotel after the altercation with Carl. Not pretty. Don’t know where she went yet.”
“I’ll relay that to Sharkey. See you in the morning,” Jenny said. “Sloan should be notified, and Alex’s wife,” Jenny said.
“She’s most likely on duty at the hospital,” Chichi said.
“Okay. Sharkey has an officer on duty to cover him,” Jenny said.
Sharkey called Stephanie’s cell phone.
A sleepy voice answered. “Yes?”
“Mrs. Williams, it’s Detective David Sharkey.”
“What now?” Her curiosity had changed to anger.
“We’re looking for Carl Abbott. He was last seen being abducted by someone in a black SUV.”
“That stupid numbskull.”
“Do you know where he was going tonight?”
“No. He put an ad in the paper to try to get the kidnapper of Tyler to give him information.”
“When was the last time you saw or spoke to him?”
“We were having dinner, but he was such an ass that I left and went to find a new place to stay.”
“You moved?”
“I didn’t want to be near anyone determined to do really stupid things. Sounds like that was a good idea. That dumb ass.”
* * *
Sharkey’s cell phone rang. “Hey it’s me. Don’t say anything. I’m okay, just under the radar. I’ll call you later.” The phone went dead.
Sharkey breathed a sigh of relief. Harris. This should be good. He’s either being brilliant or just stepped in a really big pile of …
Nurse Cynthia walked quickly to the back of the EMT truck and was intercepted by Nurse Amy.
“Cynthia, let me do this. I just got word that it’s Alex.”
“What?”
“You need to let us help him.” Two other nurses ran past her and out to the vehicle. Cynthia frowned and kept walking. Amy ran ahead.
The doors opened and the medics lowered the gurney and rushed it into the hospital.
“Exam three,” Amy shouted.
Cynthia pushed her way into the room.
“Alex…Alex…” he tried to turn his head.
“Cynthia…”
Amy took ahold of Cynthia’s arm. “The doctor is here. Step out for a moment.”
Cynthia nodded and stood close to the curtain listening to what the doctor said.
“He had a total knee replacement about a year ago,” Amy said. The doctor examined his other leg. Another doctor stepped in and was checking his vitals.
“Alex, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. We’re going to do some X-Rays and make sure nothing is broken.”
“Check the ribs, too.”
“I’ll talk to Cynthia while you’re gone.
“Okay,” Alex said.
The doctor stepped out and saw Cynthia standing next to the side curtain.
“Cynthia, he appears to be stable.” The doctor who had worked with Cynthia for years saw tears in her eyes. He took her hand and held it tightly. “He’s going to be okay, trust me. Well, he might be a little ornery for a while, but he’ll be okay.”
“I know, I just…” she leaned against him and cried. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. “Come on, let’s get you something to drink.”
She pulled away. “Thanks, Dr. Olson. I’m fine. Sorry, I lost it for a minute.”
“That’s okay, you’re human.”
“Yeah, I guess I am. Okay…” She wiped her eyes and took a long breath.
“So, what do we know?” she asked as they walked to the lounge.
“He was attacked by someone and thrown into a hedge where he fell to the ground on his weak side. I believe the knee is stable, but we need to be sure. His vitals are a little low but stable.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, there’s a police officer who is staying with him.”
“Why?”
“They think the attacker may try to come after him.”
Cynthia’s face turned pale.
“They won’t let anything happen to him…or you. I was told to keep an eye on you. You’re to have someone with you…”
“No.”
“Yes. Detective Sharkey says these people are very dangerous.”
“Okay, can I take his personal things?”
“Sure. Let’s go get them. You can put them in the staff locker.”
“Thanks. Okay, back to work.”
Dr. Jim Olson smiled. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be by to see you soon. Stay at the nurse’s station in ICU after you pick up his things. I’ll keep you posted.”
She smiled and headed for emergency. That’s when Sharkey saw Cynthia and walked to meet her.
“You all right?”
“Yes. He’s in x-ray now. Sharkey, who attacked him?”
“We’re not sure of specifics but we think they were connected to an open murder case.”
“Oh, no. He’s in danger then.”
“We have him covered just to be safe.”
“I was on my way to pick up his personal things and lock them up.”
“I’ll go with you.”
When they came into the room Nurse Amy was folding up his clothes and putting them in a large bag.
“Amy, can we see his things?” Sharkey asked.
“Sure.” She set the items on the bed. “Watch, pen, change, notebook, keys…that’s it.”
&nb
sp; “Where’s his wallet?”
Her arm was in the process of presenting the items on the bed when her face froze. “Not here.”
“I’ll have the area checked,” Sharkey said. “Excuse me.” He called Officer McCabe at the scene.
“McCabe, its Sharkey. You find a wallet anywhere around there? Alex is missing his.”
“No, not so far.”
“Could you double check where Alex hit the hedge and around there? It’s not with his things and that’s making me nervous.”
“Will do. There’s no sign of anyone hanging around or driving by the scene.”
“I’ll be in touch. Watch your back.”
“Will do.”
Sharkey turned back to Cynthia. “You have any coffee around here?”
She smiled and picked up the bag.
“Come on. I think I could use some too. I know there are some sweets in the kitchen. We need to keep our sugar up.” She smiled at him and they headed for the lounge.
Sharkey called in and asked for a facial recognition technician to come to the hospital.
“We have Silvia on duty. She’s on her way.”
The x-ray technician backed out of the elevator with Alex on the gurney. Alex’s face had more color, and he was alert. When he saw Amy, he asked to stop and talk to her.
“You’re awake. Welcome back,” Amy said. “You look much better. Cynthia and Sharkey are headed your way. You’ll be in ICU for the meantime. Along with your guard.”
“Yeah, he’s great. Nobody’s attacked me since I got here.”
Cruz grinned and Silvia Santos appeared around the corner.
“Let’s us get him settled in his room and we’ll leave him alone for a while,” Amy said.
Santos was new on the staff at the KWPD. “How are you?” Sharkey asked.
“I’m good, and ready to go to work,” she said. Her hair was pulled up on the top of her head and she smiled up at Sharkey.
“So, what do we have?” she said in a high voice.
“We need you to do magic and show us a picture of what Mr. Alex Sloan ran into tonight that put him in the hospital.”
“Okay,” She turned to the gurney, “I take it you are Mr. Sloan?”
“Right,” Alex said
Turning back to Sharkey, “Now if you will give us some time alone, we’ll see what we can come up with.” Her expression was firm. Sharkey and the rest backed out of the room.
She sat down and smiled at Alex.
“Okay, I understand that you wrestled with the devil?”
“Yes. There was a woman and a man, or a woman and a gorilla. She was on top of the victim and as I approached them. We wrestled. She had stuck a syringe of something into the victim’s neck. The gorilla came out of the car, a dark SUV actually, and he grabbed me. Picked me up and tossed me like a twig onto the top of a hedge that ran along the sidewalk. I struggled to get off the hedge and fell to the ground where all I could do was watch them put the limp guy in the SUV and drive off.”
“Wow. Okay, let’s go back to the moment when you got on top of the woman. Close your eyes and picture her face.”
“The streetlight was half a block away, but I was able to see her face…” he paused, “…she had hard eyes and a strange face…big teeth.”
“Focus on her eyes.”
“They were…big. Her nose was big. She was straining, so her eyes were big…Her hair was just below her ear lobe, long. It covered part of her face.”
“What shape was her face?”
“Longish. Almost pointed chin. Big teeth for a woman.”
“Did she say anything?”
“She just made grunting noises. She was very strong for a woman.”
Silvia’s left eyebrow raised. “Okay, I’m doing a rough sketch to get us started. So, she was strong.”
“Yes, very.”
She continued to work. “Okay, take a look.” She turned her tablet computer around and Alex stared at it.
“Okay, her face was more angular. Crap…maybe she was not a…”
“Woman?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s possible, but not likely. Let’s make her look a little masculine.”
“Wow, that’s more like it. She was wearing a loose shirt…and pants. But her hands had long fingers…slender. Her hair was like a woman’s.”
“Like this?” She gave the picture curly hair and made it a little longer.
“Yeah. Pretty ugly, uh?”
Silvia laughed. “Okay, her neck, could you see her neck?”
Alex thought for a moment. “She was straining but I think it was slender.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, her shirt was scoop neck. I didn’t notice her build but she was strong as an ox.”
“Let me do a little shading and refine it a little.”
“That’s about it. I just saw it in my mind, and it looked like that.”
“All right. I’m going to bring it back in the morning and let you get some rest tonight. With fresh eyes we can refine it more.”
Sharkey stepped back into the room after Silvia left.
“Hey, Man, thanks for doing that.”
“All I know is I really would prefer not to ever run into her again.” Alex said.
Sharkey laughed.
“I have an APB out for Carl. You notice the van that was there?”
“It was either dark blue or black SUV.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you alone with Cynthia and Officer Rosario at the door. No one will get to you. Get some rest.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, Cynthia and I looked through your clothes and belongings. Your wallet was not there.”
Alex’s normally calm face look startled.
“What do you mean? It’s gone?”
“Yes. I have the team going over the crime scene and so far, there’s no sign of it.”
“Sharkey, they have my address.”
“I know. I’ve got word over to your complex security. Amy said Cynthia can stay at Harris’ house. He’ll bring them to work and walk them in and out of the building.”
Alex relaxed a little.
“I don’t expect any further contact with them,” Sharkey said, “but we’ll error to the side of security. These are killers.”
Alex suddenly felt very tired. “See you in the morning?”
“You bet. Get some sleep.”
Sharkey left and Cynthia walked in.
“How are you doing, Handsome?”
“Better, now that you’re here.”
She smiled and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too. You stay safe.”
“Officers are here to take me and Amy to her house for the night.”
“Sleep well. I’ll be thinking of you.”
* * *
The people who jumped Alex returned to their home.
“Rita,” the large man said. “We only got half the money?”
She snorted. “Yeah, and that guy saw my face.”
The big man smiled. “First, we’ll dispose of the body. I have a place all picked out. I picked our good Samaritan’s wallet before I tossed him.” He pulled out a driver’s license. “He’s Alex Sloan. We have an address. The guy’s in the hospital. The place was full of cops. Really fast.”
“So, we may have a problem?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid we may.”
“He should have an accident…,” she said.
“That we can arrange.” He raised his massive body up out of the chair and headed for the door.
* * *
Piper was waiting for Sloan and she met him at the door when she saw the car lights in the driveway.
“How did it go?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck.
“Good. Glad to be back in your arms. Now it’s just us and I love you, Piper.”
She smiled and looked into his eyes. “I love you too. Come in and I’ll fix you something to eat.”
“It’s been a long day.
”
“How’s your dad?”
“I went to see him before the meeting and he’s a little roughed up, black and blue in a few places, but they say he’s on the mend.”
“That’s so awful. What happened to him? He’s such a good man.”
“Yeah, he’s that. Don’t want to even think about losing him. It feels like I just found him.” Sloan sat down on the sofa and she put a plate of fried chicken and potatoes down in front of him. “That looks great.”
“Eat. Then let’s talk.”
He ate the chicken and drank down the beer that she set on the table.
“Want another beer?”
“I just want you.” She snuggled in next to him. “Heard from the adoption agency yet?”
“Not yet. Amanda said probably sometime this next week. It could take a while. There are lots of hoops to jump through. I’m a lawyer, I’m supposed to like jumping hoops. But if it makes you happy, I’ll put on my best jumping shoes.”
She laughed. “Thanks for being supportive. It means a lot to me.”
“Hey, it’s not just you. I’m looking forward to it too,” Sloan said.
“You sure?” she asked hesitantly.
“Positive. I’m even looking forward to getting fat, losing my hair, and driving a station wagon.”
She laughed. “I love you so much, but I don’t think they make station wagons, they’re SUVs now.”
“According to Shelby, there’s still one thing we have to do to be seriously considered for adopting,” Sloan said.
“What’s that?”
Sloan reached in his pocket. And looking into the eyes he loved so much, he pulled out a velvet box and got down on one knee in front of the couch.
“Piper, will you marry me?” He opened the box and she gasped.
“Oh…yes…yes, yes, yes!” She jumped into his arms and they fell over laughing.
They climbed back up on the couch and he took the ring and her left hand. “You’re my soulmate. I love you with all my heart.” He slipped the ring on the third finger of her left hand, and then kissed her lips.
“Sloan, I promise to be a good wife and your soulmate forever.” He pulled her into his arms and held her for a long time. Then he stood and took her hand and they walked up the stairs for a night of pure love…”
Wednesday Morning
Key West Gone into the Night Page 11
