Divine Trilogy

by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

  But the pain was kicking in now―full force.

  Brandon tightly secured the cloth around her arm, but within seconds, it was soaked with blood.

  "It may have hit an artery," he explained grimly.

  With those words, she realized that her injuries could be serious.

  Or worse―fatal.

  Jasi shivered, her body quivering with icy cold. She blinked, trying to focus as Brandon swayed dizzily in front of her.

  She raised her aching arm. The cuff of her jacket was damp, and when she held up her hand, droplets of crimson fell to her lap. She watched her blood, mesmerized. Her hand was sticky, cold, and she couldn't feel her fingers.

  Jasi drew in a ragged breath, her head shifting slowly from Ben to Brandon.

  "Oh shit," she moaned.

  And she promptly passed out.

  25

  Saturday, June 23, 2012

  ~ Vancouver, BC

  "How's the patient doing today?" Natassia smiled, perching cautiously on the edge of the hospital bed.

  "Not very patient," Jasi mumbled groggily. "Get me outta here."

  There was no answer.

  "Well?"

  Natassia wagged her finger. "I don't think so, girl friend. You have to stay here for a couple of days. You lost so much blood it put Dracula to shame."

  Jasi managed a grimace of a smile.

  "Do you know how hard it was to get in here?" Natassia asked, outraged. "Nurse Hitler wouldn't let me in. I'm not family, she said. I had to flash her my badge. So how are you really feeling?"

  "Two fractured ribs, a sprained ankle, a mild concussion and a bullet wound in my left arm. They removed the bullet. No permanent damage. All in all, I'd say a normal day at the office."

  She saw Natassia roll her eyes toward the ceiling.

  Jasi's left arm was bandaged, secured in a sling. It throbbed mercilessly.

  "You lucky be-atch," Natassia grinned. "That means more downtime for you. And something new to add to your collection."

  Jasi tried to bite back a smile.

  Only Natassia would see the 'bright side' of being shot.

  "So what happened after I passed out?"

  Natassia told her that an Ops helicopter had flown her to Vancouver General Hospital. Jasi had arrived unconscious and bloody. She was immediately taken into surgery where the bullet from Scott's gun was tweezed out, half an inch from the radial artery. There was some minor damage to her nerve endings but that would heal.

  "Did they save the bullet for me?" Jasi asked in a small voice.

  The drugs were making her sleepy.

  "Yeah. They found your note."

  Jasi kept a note tucked behind her ID photo requesting that any foreign object taken from her body be put into a Ziploc bag. She possessed a bizarre collection of slugs and shrapnel. She kept them on a shelf in her spare room.

  "How's Baker?"

  Natassia flinched as she flopped into a chair beside the bed. "As obnoxious as ever in some ways."

  "What's he up to now? Did he hit on you?"

  "No, not me. But he hit on half the nurses on the floor."

  "Some things never change."

  There was a soft rap on the door.

  When Jasi glanced up, Ben entered the room, carrying a huge bouquet of blue roses. Setting the flowers down on the small bedside table, he dragged a chair toward her.

  "They're from everyone at Ops," he explained, indicating the flowers. "Do you need anything?"

  "I'm fine, Ben. My memory is just…cloudy. Fill me in."

  "You and Brandon got Baker and Gibney out of the shed just in time," Ben said. "Brandon told us how he followed your tree marks. He heard most of what Scott told you too."

  "And Ronald Scott?" she asked.

  "He's dead, Jasi" Natassia sighed. "He died before the paramedics arrived."

  "What do you think set him off?" Jasi asked wearily.

  Ben patted her hand.

  "We think Scott tried to block his memories of the abuse. Approximately three months ago, he made some inquiries into his birth. He tried to find out the identity of his foster mother but the records were sealed. He probably couldn't remember the Foremans' names or address. He had no idea where Charlotte Foreman lived until he was called out with the VFD to that earlier fire in their neighborhood. You remember? Jessica Marie told us about that fire."

  The fence fire that the teenagers had set.

  "He must have recognized the house or the neighborhood," Ben guessed. "He had his foster mother's death planned for months. That's why he purchased the Gemini lighters. For some reason, he sent the first lighter to Jasi. Then, once he knew where she lived, he went after Charlotte Foreman."

  "And before he killed her, she told him that Washburn was his father," Jasi added.

  Ben clenched his jaw. "Scott killed his foster mother in the shed where she had tortured him. And with Washburn, he stretched him out as if on a hospital table, then used the IV tubing to strangle him."

  "How'd he get the tubing?"

  "We figure he stole it from a paramedic's truck," he replied. "It would have been easy for Scott to jump inside an unattended truck, steal the tubing and then take off. If he was in uniform he could have easily disappeared into a group of firefighters―unnoticed."

  Jasi looked at Natassia. "The boot print. It was a fire fighter's boot, right?"

  Natassia nodded. "Ronald Jones Scott joined the fire department in Vancouver. Maybe it was his way of psychologically putting out fires. He knew the Foremans lived somewhere in Victoria so, when he was ready, he forged a transfer. That yellow fabric we found with the blue thread was a match with Scott's fire jacket."

  Jasi remembered the first time she had met R. J. Scott.

  He had been wearing the standard yellow firefighter's jacket…with a loose patch.

  "How'd he manage to get Baker and Gibney to Loon Lake?"

  "Scott called Baker first and told him he had some information on Washburn," Ben said. "Once he had Baker tied up, Scott forced him to call Gibney and tell him he had proof that Gibney was involved in the prostitute's murder. Of course, that wasn't true. Once Gibney arrived, Ronald Scott knocked him out then poured gasoline on him. Made Gibney a human sacrifice. Baker witnessed it all before he passed out."

  Jasi closed her eyes for a moment. "Ronald told me he faked the drowning, then lived on the streets."

  Natassia nodded. "After ERT pulled him from the car, we found his wallet in the grass. Ops sent a team to his apartment and as near as we can tell, Ronald Scott spent most of his youth living on the street. When CPS couldn't locate him, they eventually forgot about him. And if he wasn't hiding on the streets, we figure he was in the woods. Ops found camping equipment in his room."

  Jasi's head snapped anxiously toward Ben. "What about that pink skipping rope in the woods? Did you pick it up?"

  Ben frowned. "What skipping rope?"

  "There was a pink skipping rope on the ground. That's how I knew which way Scott went." Jasi gasped. Now why would Scott have left a clue like that?

  Ben and Natassia exchanged startled looks.

  Then Ben shook his head. "Jasi, there was nothing in that woods. Except the markings you made in the trees. We've already scoured it―thoroughly."

  She was confused. The rope had been there. She was sure of it. She recalled touching it, following it.

  "What about Scott?" Natassia prodded. "What did he have to say?"

  Jasi explained how all the children in Charlotte Foreman's care had been mistreated―burned with cigarettes or lighters, and left in the shed. How his foster mother had scarred Ronald's face, permanently disfiguring him.

  "Charlotte Foreman told him Cameron died in a car accident. Scott faked his death to escape the abuse. But there was no escape for him. He never had a hope in hell. He was molded into a killer from the moment he was born. From the second he was dumped into the garbage along with his sister."

  Jasi's eyes drifted shut.

  Ronald Scott was
gone―dead.

  She should be relieved. And part of her was relieved, but another part cried for a forgotten little boy, abused by his foster mother, abused by the system.

  The people Scott had relied on the most had created a killer. Charlotte Foreman, Washburn, Gibney. They were all responsible. Even Allan Baker had his role.

  "And so continues the cycle of abuse," Jasi murmured sadly.

  No one spoke.

  She thought of her visions, of Natassia's. She ached for the twin babies who were abandoned, left to die. She ached for the young boy whose face was forced into a scorching fire. She ached for Cameron who would have to live with what her brother had done.

  Cameron Prescott.

  Jasi blinked suddenly. "Cameron was adopted by a couple by the last name of Prescott. Around the same time, in a different town, her twin brother changed his last name to Scott."

  "Coincidence?" Natassia asked.

  "No, I don't think so. I think it was a twin thing. I wonder why neither of them knew the other was alive?"

  Natassia and Ben gave her a blank look.

  "Ben, what about Baker?" Jasi asked suddenly. "What's he going to do? He has a sister now. A half-sister at least."

  "Premier Allan Baker? Now there's an enigma. I passed him at the nurse's station. He told me he'll stop by before he leaves."

  "What do you mean leaves?" she demanded, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "How the hell―"

  "He only had minor injuries," Ben interrupted. "Bruised ribs and a few cuts. They're sending him home."

  Jasi eased herself into a sitting position. "Benjamin Roberts! You know there's only one thing I hate more than my goddamn birthday and that's―"

  "Hospitals!" Ben and Natassia finished for her.

  Jasi pouted. "That bastard gets to leave already?"

  There was a muffled sound from the doorway.

  Premier Allan Baker took two steps into the room, his feet shuffling restlessly. A thick white bandage was taped to his bruised forehead, just above his right eye. He was holding a plant in one hand and a small box in the other.

  "Mind if this bastard comes in?" he asked ruefully.

  Jasi gaped at him, open-mouthed.

  Then she waved him in.

  Baker took tentative steps, like an old man.

  Wincing, he set the plant on the window ledge. Then he looked from Ben to Natassia, and finally to Jasi.

  "I, uh, just wanted to thank you―all of you. For saving my life."

  "Natassia and I had nothing to do with it," Ben said coolly. "It was Jas―uh…Agent McLellan."

  Baker glanced awkwardly in Jasi's direction. "Brandon Walsh told me."

  At the mention of Brandon's name, Jasi experienced a stab of sadness, an ache that could not be dulled with drugs. Brandon would be leaving soon. And she was not going to stop him.

  It's better this way, she reminded herself.

  Baker edged closer to her bed. "Chief Walsh told me that you're responsible for finding Gibney and me. That you carried me out of that fire, even though the smoke was deadly. I just wanted to say…thank you."

  Jasi flicked her uninjured arm in the air. "No big deal, Premier Baker."

  Baker flinched noticeably. "You won't have to call me that for long. I'm stepping down."

  Jasi was speechless.

  Ben and Natassia exchanged bewildered frowns.

  When Baker finally spoke, his voice held a trace of bitterness. "There's just been too many secrets, too many lies. Everything's going to come out in the end. My father left me a legacy of death. He killed a woman, abandoned two babies in the garbage and he was involved in illegally operating an abortion clinic. Who's going to want a Prime Minister with a family history like that?"

  He had a point, Jasi realized. The man would never be able to hold a public position again. Allan Baker's political career was over.

  "Agent McLellan?" he asked. "I've been told that you usually use public transport or CFBI vehicles. Agent Roberts told me that your car was destroyed, during your last case. Some unfortunate accident?"

  Jasi lifted a brow, twisted her head and glared at Ben.

  "I had a visitor in my car," she mumbled dryly. "One that really ticked me off."

  When Baker gave her a dull look, she rolled her eyes.

  No one appreciated her warped sense of humor.

  "A bomb," she explained with a hoarse chuckle.

  He smiled nervously and then his scarred palms pressed the small box into her hands. "I hope you'll accept this then. As a token of my thanks."

  Jasi carefully opened the box, watching Baker from beneath her lashes. She peeled aside a small piece of tissue. Underneath it was a silver key. Attached to the key was a small, rectangular black square with security buttons.

  She choked back a gasp. "The key to your Mitsubishi Zen?"

  "Your Zen," Baker replied.

  Realizing the impact of his words, her head snapped up and she exclaimed, "Oh, no you don't! I can't accept this!"

  "The Zen is yours, Agent McLellan."

  "No, it's not! CFBI policy states that we cannot accept outside payment for doing our―"

  "This isn't payment," Baker pressed. "It's a gift―for saving my life. I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you."

  "But this is too much!" she sputtered. "It's too, uh, too damned valuable!"

  Jasi darted a quick glance at Natassia for support.

  Natassia grinned at her. "We can accept gifts, Jasi. No matter how expensive they are. And Divine's already approved it."

  She stood up, bent toward Jasi and whispered loudly in her ear. "Take the car, you stubborn mule."

  Outnumbered and exhausted, Jasi glanced at Ben.

  He shrugged, holding back a smile. "You do need a new car, Jasi. You'll still have to pay the insurance."

  "The insurance is a bit high," Baker advised her. "But I have a few contacts. I'll get you a good deal."

  Ever the politician, Jasi thought. Maybe the guy should go into car sales.

  She wondered whether BC would suffer, losing a Premier who slept around so casually with other men's wives or girlfriends. She had to admit, though―she was seeing a different side to the man. Perhaps his father's death had changed Allan Baker after all.

  She picked up the key, running her thumb over the fob.

  Then she turned it in her hands and remembered Ronald Scott.

  "Why do you think Scott didn't take your car? He could have bypassed the alarm and I wouldn't have been able to catch up to him."

  Baker grinned. "I had an upgrade added to the door handle. A fingerprint security system. You can't open the door until the system checks the print. Don't worry. It's all ready for you to program your own prints."

  Jasi was tempted―so very tempted.

  What had her father always told her?

  Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth?

  "But don't you need your car?"

  He smiled down at her. "Not where I'm going. I'm taking a long vacation, Agent McLellan. Probably to the Caribbean. At least until things die down. So I won't need a car for awhile."

  Jasi spared a quick glance at Ben.

  "Just take the damned thing!" he huffed.

  Smiling, she thanked Baker. "A fingerprint security system, huh?"

  "There are a few other perks too," Baker smirked as he limped to the door. "But I'll let you discover them yourself."

  Natassia let out a loud sigh of relief after Baker had gone. "Jesus, Jasi! For a moment I thought you were going to give him back the key."

  Ben laughed. "Me too." He gave Jasi a friendly peck on the cheek. "I almost buzzed the nurse for more drugs."

  His data-com chirped insistently.

  When Ben shifted away from the bed, Jasi heard only a few muffled words before he whispered something in Natassia's ear.

  "I'll be back later, Jasi," he said, a serious expression on his face as he hurried out the door.

  She studied Natassia. "Where's he going?"

&nb
sp; Her partner's voice was somber. "To meet with Lydia Gibney. Her husband didn't make it. He had third-degree burns to most of his body. His nerve endings were completely destroyed, along with underlying muscles and tissues."

  Jasi knew what that meant.

  If he had lived, Gibney would have been scarred beyond recognition. Years of therapy and excruciating pain were what he would have had to look forward to.

  Martin Gibney was better off dead.

  Feeling drowsy, she was about to give in to the drugs when she remembered something. "Hey! On my birthday, you were going to tell me something. Some secret."

  Natassia gave her a sly, wicked grin. Then her brow twitched up, twice.

  Jasi giggled. "You and Ben?"

  "Yeah, but don't say anything. Ben doesn't want anyone to know."

  "Piss off! I'm not just anyone," Jasi grinned, closing her eyes. "Oh, and Natassia?"

  "Yeah?"

  "You are family."

  The room was so quiet that Jasi had to pry one eye open to see if Natassia was still there.

  Her friend sat in the chair, beaming widely and wiping tears from her eye.

  Jasi scowled, then clenched her eyelids shut.

  Damn!

  This friendship business was a lot of work.

  "Don't you want to know where a particular TDS firefighter has been the past two days?" she heard Natassia say hesitantly.

  Brandon…

  When Jasi's eyes popped opened, Natassia leaned forward eagerly. "Brandon Walsh has been by your side the entire time. The nurses wanted to boot him out, but―"

  "Let me guess," Jasi said dryly. "He charmed them into letting him stay."

  "No," a male voice announced from the doorway. "I told them there was a beautiful woman waiting in here for me…naked."

  Wearing a huge grin, Brandon sauntered into the room.

  "For crying out loud, Walsh," Jasi snapped, flustered by his remark.

  He held up both hands in defense and grinned. "Okay, I left out the naked part."

  Jasi glanced uneasily in Natassia's direction while Brandon shifted forward, his pale eyes scanning her injuries.

  "Don't leave me with him," Jasi hissed between clenched teeth.

  Natassia patted her shoulder gently, clucked like a mother hen, and then vanished.

  Jasi scowled after her.