Always Faithful

by Caitlyn Willows

  He relinquished her mom’s hand gently as he stood and came her way.

  Rowan shook her head. “I started all of this.”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders then pulled her into a hug. “And you’re going to help finish this, honey. You need to stay strong, stay focused and remember that you aren’t at fault. Collins is, and we are going to prove that.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, can’t a girl get some sleep around here without you two getting all noble on me?” Emma’s voice was weak and scratchy but steady.

  “Mom.” Rowan crouched at her mother’s side.

  “Jess told me about Ian and Zach,” Her mom said. “I’m doing fine, darling. I just need some rest.” She grasped Rowan’s hand. “Go to Phillip, honey. He needs you now. Jess will stay with me.”

  Rowan scrubbed the tears from her cheeks.

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something about Ian. I love you.”

  She turned to leave then paused and gave Jess a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  She returned to the waiting room and tried to sit while Phillip paced. Time passed with agonizing slowness. How long does it take to get one little boy settled? Has something else gone wrong? She launched to her feet to pace in the opposite direction as Phillip and nearly smacked into two deputy sheriffs walking through the door.

  “Excuse me, Captain Stuart? Staff Sergeant McKinley? We need to ask you a few questions.”

  Phillip pressed his hand against her back. “We’ve already given statements to the officer who called us from the hospital.”

  “Yes, sir.” The taller deputy nodded. “But we have some questions about the passengers of the other car—the one that rammed your friend’s vehicle. You did know, didn’t you, that one of the two passengers was involved in the accident as well and brought in for treatment?”

  Rowan scowled. “What other man?”

  “Witnesses say two grizzled-looking men in a beat-up truck plowed into the car Captain Taylor was driving. The driver lost control of their vehicle afterward and skidded off the road. One got away. The other one was hurt too badly to escape. He was still out cold. His ribs are smashed. One leg is badly broken,” the shorter deputy replied.

  A nurse poked her head into the room. “You can see your son now,” she said, beckoning them to follow.

  The deputy stepped into their path before they could do so. “Do you have any idea why this happened?”

  “Yes.” Phillip pushed by, taking Rowan with him. “But we need to see our son first.”

  She leaned into the comfort of his hand at her back as they followed the nurse down the corridor to Ian’s room. Knowing he was hurt still didn’t prepare her for the sight of him in that huge bed.

  He was a healthy boy, tall for his age, yet now dwarfed by the machinery, tubes and wires attached to his body. An ugly purple bump dominated his forehead. There were cuts along his arms and cheeks.

  As if sensing her thoughts, Phillip said, “Glass from the rollover.”

  “He looks so little, so vulnerable. I wish I could hold him.”

  He pulled the single chair in the room to the bedside. “Sit down, honey. Talk to him. Maybe he’ll hear us.”

  She longed to comb her fingers through Ian’s hair and cuddle him on her lap. She settled for holding the one hand not hooked up to an IV.

  Phillip did most of the talking. Any words that came to her mind lodged in her throat while she forced the tremors from her voice.

  “We love you.”

  “You’re going to be fine.”

  “Rest and get better.”

  “Hang in there.”

  Upbeat and positive, nothing to let Ian know how serious his condition was. Rowan kept praying Ian would open his eyes and give them his sweet smile, but he lay there, his small hand limp in hers.

  This is a nightmare. It has to be. Life wouldn’t be so cruel as to take their son away when they were finally a family. She didn’t know how in the world Phillip managed to stay so calm, but she blessed him for it.

  She wanted to scream at the injustice, to collapse on the bed and cry.

  “Phillip?” Mike’s voice at the door brought their heads around. “Zach’s awake. He’s asking for you. The deputies are on their way to talk to him. The nurse isn’t happy about it but they insisted. I don’t know how much they’re going to get out of him in his condition.”

  Phillip curled his fingers over Rowan’s shoulder. “I’ll be back in a little while. Will you be okay?”

  She gave him a quick nod, then covered his hand with hers. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you, too.” He said it in full voice, not caring who heard or knew. “Ian’s going to be fine and we’re going to be a family.”

  Rowan’s stomach roiled. If only it were as easy as it sounded.

  * * * *

  Phillip had seen Zach after dusk-till-dawn parties and all-night stretches of duty. Even then he had looked better than he did now. Normally robust and in good humor, now Zach was deathly white and could barely summon the energy to move. Tubes entered his nose and arms, pulsing with fluids and oxygen. Phillip’s heart twisted at the thought of losing his best friend.

  “How is he?” Phillip asked the attending nurse in a voice meant only for his ears.

  “Starting to become feverish and he’s weak from the loss of blood, but he’s got enough morphine in him to keep the pain away. He’s also not going to be as coherent as you’d like. It would be best if you got this visit over with quickly. He’s still in critical condition. If he didn’t seem so distressed with the need to talk with you, I would have sedated him immediately.”

  Phillip glanced over his shoulder. The deputies were keeping a respectful distance but that wouldn’t last long. They had a job to do. He motioned them in. Mike followed.

  Zach regarded them through dazed, half-lidded eyes and tried to extend his uninjured arm to Phillip, who reached forward and clasped it gently between his hands.

  “Ian…Emma?” It was barely a croak.

  Still grasping his hand, Phillip sat on the edge of the bed. “Resting.” That was all he needed to know.

  Zach closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “It happened so fast. He came up behind me from nowhere. I wasn’t even away from the house ten minutes and there he was. He had his brights on, and for a minute, I thought he was going to plow into the rear of the car. The rain was the worst I’ve ever seen. I could barely see the road as it was, then those damn bright lights.”

  Zach paused to take several shuddering breaths. “Finally, he passed. Glass exploded beside me.” He closed his eyes, then opened them once more as if struggling to stay awake.

  “We can finish this later. You need to rest.”

  Zach squeezed Phillip’s hand feebly. “I’m okay. It’s funny. I didn’t realize I’d been shot at first. All I remember thinking was that Ian never made a sound and Emma didn’t scream. I fought the wheel, trying to keep on the road. I was afraid to stop because I didn’t know what might happen. Then he swerved into us over and over again. I hit a patch of water and he rammed us again. We rolled. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

  “They caught one of the guys, Zach. He’s right down the hall. The other one got away. There were witnesses. Once the bastard comes to, we’ll be able to nail this case shut.”

  Zach nodded. “I’m sorry, Phillip. I was supposed to protect—” His face turned an alarming shade of gray. Beads of sweat gathered at his temples and along his upper lip.

  “Don’t even start that. If it weren’t for you, Emma and Ian might not be alive right now.”

  “Brave kid,” Zach murmured. “Not a peep. Not a complaint.”

  Phillip didn’t have the heart to tell him it was because Ian had been knocked out cold. Zach’s grip slackened and he started to drift off to sleep. A piercing tone from the corridor flashed his eyes open.

  Zach struggled to right himself. “What—?”

  Phillip gently pushed him d
own. “It’s nothing. Rest.” He walked over to the deputies. “What is that sound?”

  “Code Blue,” the tall one whispered. “Someone’s died.”

  God, no! Please, no! Phillip tore from the room as if the devil was on his heels.

  He jerked to a stop shy of entering Ian’s room. A Navy corpsman and doctor stood over his bed. Rowan was at the foot, hands folded in prayer beneath her chin. He was afraid to cross the threshold.

  Rowan looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes. She held her hand to him. “Come see.”

  Somehow, he forced himself to move. He caught Rowan’s fingers—his lifeline to reality.

  “Look.” She motioned to the bed.

  He pivoted that way and was greeted by Ian’s groggy gaze.

  “Hey, Dad,” he croaked.

  Phillip didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He compromised with a little of both.

  “He started to come around a few minutes ago,” the doctor said with a smile. “Some trouper you’ve got here. Quite a little fighter.”

  “That’s our boy,” Phillip said, still dazed from his fright.

  “You’re shaking,” Rowan whispered. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head. “There was a Code Blue. I thought…” The words were best left unspoken. “I should let Zach know everything’s okay here. I left him in kind of a hurry. I won’t be long.”

  Mike and Jess intercepted him two feet from Zach’s room. “The guy who ran Zach off the road is dead. Looks like someone walked right in and smothered him.”

  “Since I doubt his partner could walk in here without being seen or smelled, I’ll give you ten guesses who killed him.” Phillip massaged the ache between his eyes. “Now what?”

  Jess gnawed on his toothpick. “He’ll go after the other desert rat…wherever he is.”

  “Well, I don’t know where he is, but I have a pretty good idea how to find him.” Phillip laid out his plan.

  * * * *

  “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.” Laura fidgeted with her seat belt as if trying to decide if she was really going to follow Phillip into the bar.

  “We’re both wired. The place is surrounded. There’s no danger to either of us.”

  “It’s one in the morning. The bars will close in an hour. Are you sure this woman will still be around?”

  “Right now, I’m not sure of anything except that I want to get this done.” Before someone else died, someone he loved.

  She flicked open her seat belt then flung open the door. Stomping ahead of him as they had planned, she marched into the bar.

  Phillip chased after her and spoke in an over-loud voice. “Will you wait up?”

  Laura flopped behind the nearest table and whispered under her breath. “She’s in the corner booth.”

  He dared a glance up. Rusty sat facing them, her short skirt hiked up to her rear end.

  “I thought I told you to wait,” he snapped at Laura.

  “I’m sick of you ordering me around.” She shoved herself to her feet, drawing the room’s attention and toppling the chair to the floor.

  “We’re finished. I thought I made that clear. If you follow me again, I’ll have you arrested.” Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she stormed back out of the bar.

  The room was silent for a few seconds then everyone turned back to their business. It took half as much time for Rusty to saunter his way.

  “Have a fight with your girl?”

  He forced his gaze to travel the length of her body. “Not my girl anymore. She caught me with someone else. Don’t understand why she’s so hot about it. She doesn’t own me. Cold fish in bed. She doesn’t understand what I need. Know what I mean?”

  She slithered closer. “Yeah. I know all about a man’s appetites. So, are you hungry now?”

  Chuckling, he caught her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. “Starving. Got any food?”

  “I might know where we can get some. What’s your budget?”

  “Rusty, the sky’s the limit tonight.”

  “Well, then”—she hopped to her feet—“I know a cozy little place real close.”

  “I hope so.” He jerked his thumb toward the door. “She left me stranded.”

  “Just a few blocks away. You know, you’ve got to be the yummiest lookin’ thing I’ve seen in a long time. I’m real glad you’re back in the neighborhood.”

  Phillip laughed and hooked her arm through his. “Sounds like you’re the one who’s starving.”

  “I might be, as long as the sky’s the limit.” She leaned close and dropped her voice to a whisper. “And speaking of limits, I’ll have to see some cash before we mosey on over to my place.”

  Phillip stood and smiled. “Of course.” He pulled Rusty close, bent as if to give her a kiss and passed her a one-hundred-dollar bill. “That’s for starters.”

  Rusty’s avarice shone across her thin face. “C’mon.”

  They made it as far as the parking lot before the deputy sheriffs closed in. “You’re under arrest for prostitution, Rusty.”

  She sputtered obscenities at the deputies and Phillip as they cuffed her then shoved her into the patrol car beside Jess.

  The toothpick danced from one side of Jess’ mouth to the other. “If you quit your blabbering long enough, we might be able to make a deal.”

  Chest heaving with indignation, she glared at him. “What kind of deal?”

  “You were seen dancing with a couple of men the other night.”

  “I dance with a lot of men every night.”

  “No games,” he barked.

  She drew back.

  “Two desert rats and a man with dark thinning hair, a Marine high-and-tight haircut, ferret face. Sat in the corner booth. They seemed to be on pretty good terms with you.”

  Rusty shrugged. “Okay, so I know ’em. What’s it to you?”

  “One’s dead. We want to talk to the other one before he winds up dead, too.”

  Her bravado faded. “That’s all? And you’ll let me go?”

  Jess twirled the toothpick. “Free and clear.”

  “All right, I’ll tell you. No skin off my nose. I don’t owe those two a damn thing.”

  The deputy scribbled the information on a notepad and shoved it to his partner.

  Jess unfolded himself from the car. “Okay, gents, let the lady go. Let’s get a team over to this guy’s house and take him into custody.”

  Rusty was out of the car the second the cuffs came off. “Wait a minute. You can’t leave me here. What if this maniac comes after me?”

  Phillip leaned close, pinning her to the vehicle. “Now why would he do a thing like that? Is there something you know that you should be sharing?”

  She sputtered for a response, searching each face for answers. Finally, she drew up her shoulders. “All right. I’ll tell you everything I know if you promise to protect me until Malcolm is locked up.”

  After Jess nodded, she crawled in the backseat once more and, after having been read her rights, Rusty made her preliminary statement. It verified everything they already suspected. Now all they had to do was catch Collins, and the net was tightening fast. At least, he hoped so.

  Standing with Jess, they watched the patrol car drive off with Rusty in the deputy’s care.

  “I just got word,” Jess said as he pulled open the door on his car. “Collins was watching when you pulled up to the bar. He followed Laura back to the base. She’s been notified and is moving to the next part of the plan. The MPs aren’t far behind. They’re keeping a close eye on her and her shadow. She’s going to drive around a bit and give us a chance to get into position before she goes to the legal offices.”

  Phillip nodded and prayed this was going to be the end of it.

  * * * *

  Cramped in an unmarked van across the street, Phillip, Jess and the MP chief watched Collins edge toward the legal office. Looking in all directions, he lifted his fist and beat at the door. Laura waited a few minutes th
en opened it a crack.

  Stick to the script, Laura. Don’t let him in.

  Voices came over the wire Laura wore. It sounded as if she and Malcolm were standing no more than five feet away. Her voice shook. Who could blame her? She was facing a murderer. If Collins took a notion, she’d be dead in seconds and there would be nothing Jess or Phillip could do to save her.

  Phillip didn’t have a problem with her helping earlier, but this was going too far. Yet she had insisted. Rather than argue, he’d relented. Now he wished he’d argued harder. He pulled up the night-vision binoculars for a closer look.

  Malcolm leaned against the wall. “Didn’t mean to bust in on you, but I saw you at the bar with Stuart and thought you might need a little cheering up. You two have a tiff? Thought you might want someone to talk to.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but I really don’t feel like talking about it, Mr. Collins. With all due respect, I don’t discuss my personal life with my friends. I certainly don’t feel comfortable talking about it to someone I barely know.”

  “I understand completely. Been down the breakup road myself because of someone else. It’s been pretty clear where Stuart’s interest has been since he arrived. It’s enough to—”

  “Mr. Collins, please.”

  “Sorry.” His gaze wandered for a moment before returning to her. “A little late for you to be working, isn’t it, Captain Cushing? Or are you burying yourself in your work to ease the pain of Stuart’s betrayal?”

  She shrugged. “Call it whatever you’d like. Not much else for me to do now. Besides, I can’t sleep when I’m working on a big case. I get too wrapped up in it all. Trying to pull all the evidence together to nail the accused.”

  “So, the evidence is pretty well stacked up against Staff Sergeant McKinley? After that pathetic attempt at a defense by Captain Stuart, I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t get life in prison. Just goes to show what happens when you let your personal life interfere with business, something my wife never understood.”

  “It does seem that the evidence weighs heavily against her. I should know more by Monday morning, unless something delays the lab report. Oh, that reminds me. Tell me, Mr. Collins, did NCIS identify that new set of fingerprints that were found at the murder scene?”