by Blake Pierce
But if the knife was in her leg, what could he be holding? Then it hit her. He had her gun.
CHAPTER FORTY
Everything happened at once. Joseph Setts pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal her own weapon in it. As he raised it in her direction, she saw the tunnel behind him start to glow orange. The fireball was coming. She looked Setts in the eye and, as she released her grip on his forearm, saw the madness there.
Even as he lost his grip on her wrist and fell backward, his expression didn’t change. He still looked at her with crazed determination. He was just hitting the floor when Jessie felt her whole body torn back from the mouth of the hatch.
As she hit the ground, flames consumed the spot where she’d just been, shooting fifteen feet into the air. She thought she could hear screams from inside the hatch below but couldn’t be sure. After about ten seconds, the flames subsided and were replaced by thick smoke, which churned out of the hatch without end. She also smelled something: charred flesh.
Jessie glanced around. Next to her on the ground were Kat and Officer Tanner, who had obviously both yanked her away from certain death. A short distance away, Brenda was locked in a group embrace with her husband and kids.
Fire trucks were on the scene and were just pulling their hoses across the lawn, though there seemed little point now. Two ambulances were parked nearby. Multiple squad cars were pulling up. The sight of them jogged Jessie’s memory and she pulled out her phone, dialing Ryan’s number. He picked up right away.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“I’m on my way to you,” he said, surprised by the question. “Are you okay, Jessie?”
“I will be but you need to call the officers guarding Jayne Castillo right now. Setts told me he set a bomb at her place. I think it’s on a timer. They all need to get out of there right away.”
“I’ll call now,” he said, hanging up before she could say another word.
She slid her phone back into her pocket and sighed deeply. She wanted to lie down but wasn’t sure she had the energy.
“Jessie,” Kat said. “Hold still okay?”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve got a knife in your leg,” she replied. “It’s bleeding pretty badly.”
Jessie noticed that Officer Tanner had run over to an EMT from one of the ambulances and was pointing in her direction. Just beyond that, she saw Officer Kendrick on a stretcher in the back of the second ambulance.
“Is Kendrick okay?” she asked.
“They stabilized him,” Kat said. “They sounded optimistic. I think he’ll recover. Let’s focus on you.”
“I think I need to lie down,” Jessie said, suddenly feeling slightly faint.
Kat grimaced.
“I’m not sure that’s a great idea. You’ve got some ugly burns on your back. And I think we both suffered concussions when we were in the car for that first explosion. You should probably try to stay conscious.”
“Now that you mention it,” Jessie said, “my back really does sting. And my leg is throbbing. And my head hurts.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kat said soothingly. “But the EMTs are on their way over. They’ll take care of all that and give you something for the pain.”
Jessie smiled up at her friend for a second before a better look at her head wound made her frown.
“Have them look at your forehead too,” she insisted. “It looks like you might have glass in there.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Kat said. “It’s just another scar to add to the list.”
Jessie wanted to tell her not to be so blasé but couldn’t seem to find the words. She noticed that a sudden clamminess had overtaken pain as her primary sensation. And then her vision started to fade in and out. The last thing she remembered was falling forward as two hands reached out for her.
*
Jessie saw a white light in the distance.
She had to blink a few times to realize it was the light coming in from her hospital room window. She lay there quietly for several minutes in the otherwise darkened room, trying to do a self-evaluation.
She knew she must be on some quality pain medication because the sting in her back and the throbbing in her leg were both dull. She glanced over to the tray beside her bed and saw a cup with a straw. She tried to reach out for it but her arm felt weak and wobbly. She was about to push the call button when the door opened and someone in scrubs backed in pulling a cart.
Despite the medication and her weakened state, she felt a surge of anxiety. She couldn’t see the person’s face but it was clearly a male with thick black hair. She slammed down on hard on the call button with her closed fist just as he turned around.
But it wasn’t Joseph Setts. The man was much younger and Latino. He smiled gently at her.
“Looks like we had perfect timing,” he said mildly. “You called just as I was bringing you lunch. I’m Daniel, your nurse. I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake. Do you need some help with that water?’
Jessie nodded, unable to speak yet. Daniel raised her bed a bit and propped an extra pillow behind her neck so she could sit upright. He held out the cup for her but when she fumbled with it, he simply moved the straw to her lips. She was sucking down water when the doctor came in.
“Hi, Ms. Hunt,” he said. “I’m Dr. Bright. Your friends and co-workers are anxious to see you but I’ve asked them to wait outside for a moment so I can let you know where you stand privately. Do you think you’re up for that?”
Jessie unattached her lips from the straw and managed to give him a throaty “yes.”
“Good. So the very short version is you’re going to be okay. The slightly longer version is that you suffered a number of injuries. You have several second-degree burns on your back and the back of your legs. No grafting is required but you’ll be going through a lot of ointments and dressings over the next few weeks.”
“Leg?” Jessie managed to croak.
“Ah yes. You were lucky when it comes to your calf. The knife didn’t penetrate to its full six inches and it missed any major arteries. We stitched you up and with a little physical therapy, the muscle should recover nicely. Still, you’re going to be sore for a while as a result of that and the burns so we’ve prescribed some strong medication. You should remain housebound as much as possible because your level of alertness may be a little dulled. For those reasons, you’ll be out of commission for a couple of weeks, first here at the hospital for a few days, then at home. After that, if you’re feeling up to it, you can work—desk duty only—for a couple more weeks. Then, we’ll reevaluate. If you feel okay, a full return might be possible at that point. I’ve told your captain all this so please don’t try to accelerate the process.”
Jessie nodded, deciding there was no point in arguing when she’d only been conscious for a few minutes. Dr. Bright continued.
“You also have a mild concussion which may cause some lingering headaches, though nothing as dramatic as your friend outside itching to see you.”
“How bad is she?” she asked.
“I can’t get into details on another patient. But as her friend, you might want to keep an eye on her. She’s quite stubborn and insists she’s fine. But sometimes we’re not the best judge of how we’re doing.”
Jessie nodded in understanding.
“Can I see them now?” she asked.
“Yes. Just please keep the visit as short as you can. I understand there’s a lot of catching up to do but you need your rest.”
He motioned for them to enter and Ryan, Kat, and Captain Decker all streamed in as Dr. Bright and Daniel stepped out. Kat had a bandage wrapped around her head. She saw Jessie’s eyes grow wide and immediately beat her to the question.
“Don’t worry. I’ve had far worse.”
Jessie decided not to press the matter for now.
“Where’s Hannah?” she asked, concerned.
“She’s outside with Dr
. Lemmon and Garland,” Ryan said. “We asked her to wait until we could update you. We figured you’d be itching to get caught up.”
“You figured right,” Jessie said.
“First, how are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ll be doing a lot better once you catch me up, Hernandez,” she said impatiently.
“Okay,” he replied. “Good to know you’re feeling better. What do you want to know first?”
“Is Jayne Castillo okay?”
“Yes. We got her and her husband out right away. The bomb squad came and found a device. It had seven minutes left on the timer when they disabled it.”
Jessie breathed a sigh of relief.
“What about Setts?” she asked.
“He’s dead,” Kat said, not unhappily. “Burned to a crisp. He was still clutching your gun when they found him. You may want to put in for a new one.”
“We’ll take care of that when the time is right,” Decker promised. “Right now you should take it easy.”
“How long have I already been in here taking it easy?” Jessie asked.
“Just since last night,” Decker said. “You’ve been here about twelve hours.”
A rush of awareness came over Jessie.
“I know who’s been trying to destroy my life,” she said suddenly. “You have to reach out to Dolan right away and tell him Kyle did it.”
Decker gave her an odd look she didn’t understand.
“You’re saying that your ex-husband, Kyle Voss, has been behind all the recent incidents?”
“Yes. I figured it out last night just before the explosion. Kat and I were able to listen to the recording of the anonymous call to DPSS. The caller said he heard me tell Hannah to ‘buck up.’ The line sounded familiar. I couldn’t place it at first but later I remembered that when I was little, before my mom died, she would always say ‘buck up or you’ll muck it up.’ The only person I ever told that to was Kyle.”
Decker exchanged troubled looks with both Ryan and Kat. Sensing they didn’t believe her, she pressed on.
“That’s not all. Camille from tech was able to back trace the phone used to make the call. It was stolen from a shipment that originated in Monterrey, Mexico. She determined that my social media was hacked from an IP address that also originated in Monterrey. The gang that Kyle was hooked up with in prison is associated with the Monzon drug cartel, which is headquartered in Monterrey. You can’t think all that’s a coincidence.”
“We don’t,” Ryan assured her.
“Then why the surprised looks all around?”
“We’re not surprised, “Kat said delicately. “It’s just that we’ve got some bad news for you.”
“What?”
They all looked at each other apprehensively. Captain Decker finally answered.
“Kyle Voss was released from prison about an hour ago.”
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
Jessie’s head was swimming.
The idea that the man who’d tried to murder her, the husband she’d slept next to for years, unaware that he was a sociopathic killer-in-training, was now walking free, made her feel like she was sinking into the mattress. At some point she realized Decker was still talking.
“Agent Dolan called to give us a heads-up before it happened. He was trying to reach you but didn’t know you were here.”
“Are you sure?” Jessie asked even though she knew it was true.
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “It happened just as he predicted. The prosecutor formally confessed to misconduct, specifically withholding evidence. Dolan’s sure his family was threatened by the Monzons but he can’t prove it. Regardless, the judge threw out the conviction. He was livid, even apologized to Voss on behalf of the court. He wished him all the best and sent him on his merry way.”
“He wasn’t at all suspicious?” Jessie asked.
“Suspiciously, no,” Kat interjected. “Your boy really laid it on thick too. Apparently he was a real altar boy in the courtroom. He said this was a chance for him to turn over a new leaf; to redeem himself. He held a press conference afterwards on the courthouse steps in which he pledged to donate half of his money to various charities supporting innocence projects around the country. The media fawned all over him. He’s a full-on cause célèbre now.”
“It’s not all bad,” Decker said. “Dolan told me the FBI is going to be tracking Voss closely. Even if they can’t prove the cartel threatened the prosecutor, they know the Monzons did it. And those folks aren’t in the habit of just helping out some random guy for no reason. They know your ex-husband was a major player at a wealth management firm before he was imprisoned. They’re going to expect him to pay them back somehow, maybe as their latest money launderer.”
Jessie sat with that theory for a moment before replying.
“Whatever they want from him, he’s way too smart to get caught. He’ll know he’s being watched like a hawk. He won’t make any mistakes, just like he didn’t make any when he did all this to me.”
“What do you mean?” Kat asked. “We know he did it.”
“Yeah. But there’s no way to prove it,” Jessie reminded her. “He had that anonymous caller say ‘buck up’ to let me know it was him. But I can’t do anything about it. It’s not that unusual a phrase. Besides, only I, my mom, and he knew anything about it. And as far as the cartel goes, now that the FBI’s informant was killed, there’s no way to definitively connect Kyle to them.”
“There must be footage of them hanging out in the prison yard or something,” Kat said.
“I’m sure there is,” Jessie agreed. “But that’s not enough to convict him of anything. And after what happened with the last prosecutor, the bar is going to be extra high to bring Kyle in for anything. It’s too bad that informant couldn’t wear a wire. If a judge heard Kyle telling his buddies that he’d like to gut me and bathe in my warm blood, maybe it’d be a different story.”
“So he just gets away with it?” Kat asked incredulously.
“For now,” Jessie conceded.
“At least we know it wasn’t Sergeant Costabile who was messing with you,” Ryan said, trying to find the bright side.
“That’s true,” Captain Decker agreed. “But it’s exactly the sort of thing he would do. And now that he’s heard how effective it was, how vulnerable you are, I wouldn’t put it past him to try to join in the fun.”
“You know she’s just recovering from a near-death experience,” Kat said disapprovingly. “Maybe you don’t have to throw every unpleasant tidbit at her all at once.”
“It wasn’t meant to be unpleasant,” Decker replied. “I was going to add that we’re now carefully monitoring all his prison communications for that very reason. If he tries anything, we’ll be on top of it.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Jessie said, trying to sound positive, though she didn’t really feel it.
“There are some other positive developments,” Decker added with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
“What’s that?” Jessie asked, happy for any.
“With what Camille uncovered about the anonymous phone call and the hacked posts, your job should be safe and the DPSS investigation should dry up.”
“Are you sure?” Jessie pressed. “I already missed my meeting about Hannah.”
“You were unconscious,” Kat noted. “I think they’ll let it slide this one time.”
“I’ll start work on both as soon as I leave you here,” he promised. “Of course, just because all that’s been disproven doesn’t mean everyone will believe it. There will still be some people who assume it’s a conspiracy to protect you from what they think you’ve done. But for now at least, those people aren’t in charge.”
“I’ll take whatever good news I can get,” Jessie said.
“In that case, I have a little more for you,” Kat said. “Your bestie is all better.”
“What?” she asked, confused.
“Andy Robinson, your bosom buddy,” she prodded. “She woke up a few hours ago.”
“How is that good news?” Jessie asked.
“I know you were feeling a little guilty,” Kat reminded her. “Like maybe reaching out to her pushed her over the edge. But it sounds like she’s going to be okay, at least physically.”
“What does that mean?” Jessie asked.
Kat looked over at Decker, who was once again tasked with being the bearer of the bad news.
“My understanding is that when she woke up, the first thing she asked was whether you had gotten her message.”
“The hits just keep on coming,” Jessie said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You know what?” Ryan said. “I think you deserve some actual good news.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” Jessie said.
“I think you’ll be okay with this. There’s someone waiting outside who really wants to see you. Mind if I let her in?”
Jessie nodded. He walked over to the door and motioned for someone to enter. A second later Hannah popped her head in.
“I think I’ll leave you all alone for a bit,” Decker said, heading out.
As he left, Hannah stepped inside, a shy smile on her face. She was holding a small tray with aluminum foil over the top.
“Whatcha got there?” Jessie asked.
“I figured you might want something a little better than hospital Jell-O,” she said, pulling off the foil to reveal a stack of cranberry orange scones.
“You figured correctly,” Jessie said. “I may have to wait to eat them until I can swallow water without my throat burning. But after that, I’m all over these.”
Hannah put the tray down, then looked at her sister with slightly wet eyes.
“How are you?” she asked softly.
“Better, now that you’re here.”
“Can I give you a hug?” Hannah asked tentatively.
“Maybe a kiss on the cheek for now,” Jessie suggested. “Everything else kind of aches.”
Hannah leaned in and grazed her sister’s cheek with her lips, then stepped back, wiping away a tear.
