Exposed

by C. M. Sutter

  “Ma’am, we’re going to help you up gently and put a collar on you. Tell us if it hurts too much.”

  I groaned again as they sat me up on the curb and wrapped the foam collar around my neck.

  “Let’s take a look at your head wound.” The EMT carefully wiped the blood from my head and looked it over. “Head injuries bleed profusely even if they aren’t that bad. You’ll probably get by with butterfly stitches, but you’re going to have a goose egg for sure. I think you ought to be admitted overnight for observation. It doesn’t take a lot of force to cause a concussion.”

  “Is that really necessary?” I asked.

  “It’s in your best interest, ma’am. Let me see that shoulder.” He cut the sleeve of my blouse open and took a look. My entire shoulder was road rashed and dotted with blood spots. “Can you lift your arm and rotate it?”

  I did and it hurt, but nothing was broken or dislocated. I nodded. “It’s okay.”

  “All right, let’s get her into the ambulance. You need to stay the night for your own good.”

  “Can you give me a second?” I tipped my head at Jack. I needed to talk to him. “I don’t mind staying overnight at the hospital. Better safe than sorry, I guess. I was going to call Clark, anyway, and ask if we could stick around after seeing how the PD isn’t doing quite as much as they should. Now, after seeing Max, my hunches are telling me that he is somehow connected to Theresa’s disappearance. Maybe he’s been stalking the Gardinos all along and knew they were here.”

  Jack whispered. “But why?”

  “Remember? It was Antonio’s father that put Darryl in prison. Get my phone and come to the hospital. We have to figure out where Max is holed up.” I took a deep breath. “Holy crap, my head is throbbing. Make sure to call Clark and tell him what’s going on.”

  “Will do.” Jack stood and waved the EMTs over. “She’s all yours. Where’s the hospital?”

  The EMT pointed. “Three blocks up on Division.”

  They helped me up to the gurney and loaded me into the ambulance. Jack gave me a thumbs-up and disappeared around the corner.

  Chapter 32

  He looked at his right shoulder in the visor mirror. Blood covered his shirt. “Stupid bitch shot me. This better be a flesh wound and nothing else.”

  Max had to think this through. Now that the sergeant had recognized him, he had to get out of the area before he was found. He needed a different vehicle. The van’s windshield was blown out, making it far too visible and nearly impossible to drive. His eyes watered from the wind coming in at fifty miles an hour. The throb from the bullet wound didn’t help. He’d have to go through the totes in the back of the van and find the first aid kit that had been in the bathroom of the farm. He thought about the sergeant’s comments he’d overheard earlier and smirked.

  She isn’t as smart as she thinks she is. Just because they didn’t find any more bodies in the woods doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.

  He turned into the driveway and drove the van deep under the tree cover. Max climbed out and grimaced as he slammed the door behind him and went to the back of the van. There were boxes, totes, and bags full of things he took from the house at the last minute.

  Where the hell is that first aid kit?

  “Ah, there you are.” He pulled the entire tote out of the van and dragged it to the porch. There were other items inside he might need. He fumbled for the padlock key buried somewhere deep in his pocket. His arm was quickly going numb from blood loss. His hand shook as he slipped the key into the lock and opened it. He kicked the door open. She woke with a start and slunk back against the wall when he entered.

  “I need your help, doc. I’ve been shot. I’m going to release your hands but not your feet. I swear if you try anything, I’ll gut you on the spot. Understand?”

  She nodded.

  He kicked the first aid kit toward her, and it slid across the floor.

  “Bend your head down so I can take the ball gag off you.”

  She complied, then he untied her hands too.

  She rubbed her rope-burned wrists. “How did you get shot?”

  He gave her a threatening look. “With a gun, how do you think? Just fix my shoulder and shut up.”

  “If you want to know how bad the wound is and what I can do for you, I have to talk.”

  “Fine, but keep it to medical talk only. Open that kit and see what you can use in there. I have a knife on my hip that I’ll use without hesitation. Keep that in mind.”

  “You have to take off your shirt. Open the shutters so it isn’t so dark in here, and bring the lantern closer. I’ll need cold and hot water and a rag.”

  “Why both?”

  “Because I’m thirsty.” She rummaged through the first aid kit as she spoke. “I’ll have to make do with the items in here. I’ll know more after the wound is washed.”

  Max did everything Theresa requested, then sat on the floor and removed his shirt. He turned toward the light. Theresa took several gulps of water to revive herself. She dipped a rag in the bucket of hot water, washed her own face, and then dipped it again.

  “This is going to hurt, but don’t take it out on me.” She wiped his shoulder with the hot, wet rag. He flinched but sat still. Theresa looked at the back of his arm. “It’s a through and through.”

  He gave her a quizzical stare. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I don’t have to dig a bullet out. Consider yourself lucky to be alive. Now I have to clean it good and stitch it somehow. I don’t see anything in this first aid kit to do that with, though. The best you have in here is gauze and medical tape. It will help but not enough to stop the bleeding.”

  “I have fish hooks and line.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “I’m not going back into town. The windshield of my van is shot out. That would be a bit noticeable, don’t you think? Are you going to do it or not?”

  Theresa growled. “I doubt if I have a choice in the matter. Go get your tackle box, and I’ll see what I can use.”

  Max stared at her suspiciously. “Give me your hands. You’re getting tied back up while I’m outside.”

  She stretched her arms out in front of her.

  Max smirked. “Nice try. From behind.”

  Chapter 33

  Jack sat in the chair next to my bed and waited for the nurse to leave. Other than my pounding head sporting a lump the size of a golf ball, I felt okay. My shoulder was sore, but the X-rays confirmed nothing was broken.

  After I downed a few aspirin, the door closed at the nurse’s back, and we were finally alone.

  “Did you call Clark?”

  “Yeah, after the cursing and hearing that Max tried to run you down, he said it was good that we were staying the night. He wants us to find Max no matter what it takes. The man is a wanted fugitive.” Jack gave me a thoughtful smile. “I don’t know about you, Monroe. Always the rogue cop looking for attention.”

  I smacked him on the arm. “I am not. I’m just always in the right place at the wrong time—or is it the wrong place at the right time?”

  “Yeah, right. Anyway, Clark said the search at the farm was almost complete. They think they have all the bones they’re going to find.”

  I pressed the button to raise the back of the bed. “That’s good to hear. Now they just need to extract the DNA and see if there are any matches to the samples brought in. Did Clark say anything about the Swedish store pulling out?”

  “Yeah, he told the mayor the forensic team would release the farm in five days. Now it’s up to the mayor to act as a go-between with the developer and the store. Clark can wash his hands of the stress that created.”

  I reached for the cup on my tray table and took a sip of water through the straw. “So why do you think the police department here is dragging their feet on the Gardino case?”

  “To be honest, Jade, I don’t think they are. I’d say they’re a little overwhelmed and aren’t sure what to do.”

  “Come on. We all
went to the police academy and learned How to be a Good Cop 101. There’s no way they can be that ignorant.”

  Jack shrugged. “I’d really like to help out but—”

  “Yeah, I know, it isn’t our jurisdiction. What if Judge Gardino insisted on our help?”

  “I’ll talk to him about it. So tell me everything that happened after you realized you left your phone at Black Elixir. Oh, by the way, here you go.” Jack stood and reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out my cell phone. “They already had it behind the counter so nobody would snatch it. They made me show my badge to prove I was an honest cop.”

  I laughed. “As opposed to a dishonest cop?”

  “I guess. Okay, go ahead.”

  “Well, I left you at Katie’s Closet and waited for traffic before crossing the street. That’s when I saw him at the corner of Main Street and Fillmore. I knew I’d lose him if I did anything other than chase him down. He looked over his shoulder before turning the corner and saw me. We locked eyes, Jack, and by the way, he’s changed his appearance. He knows we’re after him.”

  “What did he change?”

  “His hair is shorter and he shaved off his beard, but I’m one hundred percent sure it was him, and I know he recognized me. At that point, I didn’t have a choice. I had to go after him.”

  Jack nodded. “Hard decision, but I probably would have done the same thing. Then what?”

  “Then I rounded the corner and didn’t see him. I glanced down both sides of the street for his vehicle. Then I saw him backing out of a parking spot. I ran into the street with my gun drawn and called out for him to stop. He floored it and headed right for me. I got off two rounds before he hit me with his side mirror and threw me for a loop.”

  “You could have been killed, Jade.”

  “I’m a cop, for Pete’s sake. Cops put themselves at risk every single day. It’s what we signed up for, Jack.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I know, but this past year you’ve taken a few hard knocks.”

  I smiled. “Are you worried about me? You’re so sweet.”

  He chuckled. “Get a grip. You’re probably tougher than I am. Anyway, give me the judge’s cell number. I’m going to call him. Maybe he’ll stop in.”

  “You want him to come here?”

  “Yeah, if we’re both going to talk to him. Or would you rather go play Uno with the elderly patients?”

  “Smart-ass.” I tossed my purse to his side of my bed. “His number is written in my notepad.” Jack made the call, and the judge agreed to stop by the hospital. He told Jack he’d be here in a half hour.

  “I’m going to grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria. That muffin didn’t hold me over for long. Want something?”

  “I’m sure I’ll get dinner later, but yeah, bring me something crunchy.”

  “You got it. I’ll be back in a flash.”

  The nurse returned while Jack was gone. She checked my pupils, took my blood pressure and pulse, asked me who the president and vice president were, then left. I turned on the TV that was mounted to the wall on the opposite side of the room, then remembered I had to call Amber and tell her what had happened. She picked up on the third ring.

  “Hey, Jade, how’s Darryl Sims doing?” She chuckled into the phone.

  “We haven’t made it there yet. We’re staying overnight in Green River Falls.”

  “Really, is there something you want to tell me about you and Jack?”

  “Cute. Actually I’m spending the night in the hospital, and Jack will probably find a cheap motel in town.” I heard Amber’s voice tighten and go up a few octaves.

  “Why the hell are you in the hospital? You obviously aren’t dying, otherwise you couldn’t call me.”

  “No, I’m not dying, but Max Sims is in town, and he tried to run over me. He hit me with the side mirror of his van and threw me to the curb. The EMTs that took me to the hospital suggested I stay overnight for observation.” I had to hold my cell phone a foot from my ear or my eardrum would have been blown out by Amber’s yelling. “Sis, I’m okay, really. Just sore and a little banged up. Gotta go, Jack is back in the room. We have a lot of planning to do. I’ll keep in touch, I promise.” I said good night to Amber and clicked off. “What did you bring me?” I asked.

  “A bag of pretzels, two dill pickles, and a gooey chocolate bar.”

  I chuckled. “What kind of place sells two dill pickles separately?”

  “None that I know of. They were from my burger plate.”

  “Well, keep them. You know I don’t like dill pickles.”

  “But they’re crunchy.”

  “So is tree bark, but that doesn’t mean I want to eat it. The pretzels and chocolate bar are perfect. Thanks.”

  “Sure, no sweat. The judge should be here any minute. Is there anything you want to go over before he arrives?”

  “Not really. I want to be totally transparent with him. He’ll have to insist on the police department looking at every video the stores in town have. If Max Sims abducted Theresa somewhere on Main Street, it’s on somebody’s surveillance system. I really believe he thinks Theresa ran off with her boyfriend, but I don’t. Why would Max coincidentally be here the same time the Gardinos are?”

  “Maybe he has a place of his own. He did need to hide out somewhere.”

  “Hmmm… not bad, Jack. Let’s check that out tomorrow.”

  A knock sounded on my half-opened door, and the judge peeked in.

  “Come on in, Judge Gardino,” Jack said. “Where are the kids?”

  “I asked the neighbor to watch them for a few hours.” He turned to me. “I heard about your accident this afternoon, Jade. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just a bruised head, shoulder, and ego. I’ll be fine. Judge—”

  “Please call me Antonio. Let’s save the formalities for the courtroom.”

  “Sounds good. Antonio, how certain are you that Theresa left with her boyfriend? I want your true gut feeling.”

  He stared off into space for a few seconds. “I guess it was just an assumption since this is a safe area of the state and we’ve been coming here for years. And of course, we fought that night before she stormed out. I figured she was teaching me a lesson. I can’t imagine someone actually abducting her.”

  “Antonio, have you noticed a black van near either of your homes?”

  “No, not that I can remember. Why a black van?” He looked from me to Jack, then back to me.

  “Max Sims has a black van, and he’s holed up somewhere in Green River Falls. He’s the reason I’m here. He tried to run over me.”

  “You can’t be serious. What would he want with me?”

  Jack spoke up. “You said your dad put Darryl in prison.”

  “He was the acting judge in the case, but the jury made the call.”

  “Criminals don’t look at it that way. They like to blame someone they can pinpoint. We think Max has Theresa,” Jack said.

  Antonio held his face in his hands and slumped. He was inconsolable. “And I’ve been doing nothing about her disappearance. I thought she left on her own.”

  “Would she really do that to her kids?” I asked.

  “No, no she wouldn’t. I can see that now in hindsight. What do we do? We have to find her!”

  “Come with me. We need to pressure the police to check every security camera in town. You have to make that call. After that, we’ll go to City Hall. It’s in the same building. We have to check the property tax records to see if any parcel of land in the area is owned by a Sims.” Jack turned to me. “Are you going to be okay? We really need to go now before everything closes for the day.”

  I waved them on. “Yeah, go ahead but update me later.”

  Jack gave me a wink. “Behave.”

  Chapter 34

  “This is really going to hurt. Don’t you have any booze lying around?”

  “Just do it. You’d like it if I passed out, wouldn’t you?”

  “Whatever. I’m going to use the thinnest li
ne you had and the smallest hook.” Theresa held the hook up to the light. “I’d suggest cutting that barb off unless you really enjoy pain.”

  Max dug through the tackle box and found a clipper. He snipped the barb off the end of the hook and pulled the hook straight with a needle-nose pliers, then checked it under the light.

  “It isn’t going to get any better than this. Go ahead and stitch me up before I bleed out.”

  “Maybe you should put the ball gag in your mouth so nobody hears you scream.”

  “Yeah, you’re real funny, doc. Get busy.”

  She wiped the needle with an alcohol pad to sterilize it, then wiped Max’s shoulder with another one. He grimaced and moaned with pain.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?”

  Max punched the side of Theresa’s head. “That hurts too, right? I don’t want to hear your smart mouth again.”

  She groaned. Tears stung her eyes as she began stitching Max’s wound. She wiped the blood every few minutes so she could see the injury better.

  “There, the entry side is done. Turn around so I can do the back.”

  “Hold on, I need a beer.” Max rose, then slumped to the couch. “I’m getting dizzy.”

  She saw an opportunity and frantically tried to untie the knotted rope around her ankles. Her anxiety was audible—sobs of frustration came from deep within.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  She looked up to see Max standing above her. He kicked her hard in the face, and she toppled over. Theresa lay on the floor, writhing in pain, blood running from her nose. Max walked across the room and pulled a beer out of the cooler. He dropped to the couch and snapped off the pull tab while he stared at her. She held her face and cried.

  “Are you done acting up?”

  “I think my nose is broken.”

  “Serves you right. Now finish my shoulder. Next time it won’t just be a broken nose.”

  Theresa sat up and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, then jammed gauze into each nostril to stop the bleeding. She finished stitching the back side of Max’s shoulder, put gauze on each side, and wrapped tape around her work.