by R. G. Ryan
“How do you know that?”
“I just do. Part of it is that he needs medical attention, but part of it is…I can’t really explain it. You’ve trusted my instincts before. Trust them now.”
“I will, Jake. I’ll have whatever resources you need available until this is over.”
I shook his hand.
“Thanks, my friend.”
Andy Steward’s SUV pulled out ahead of us with full lights and siren, and we followed close behind, riding in a sort of surreal silence. Given that Eddie, Cassie and I were physically and mentally exhausted, hungry, battling dehydration and now emotions that threatened to careen out of control, I thought we were doing good to simply be holding it together. And as for Gabi and Vanessa, well, they didn’t really know what to do. Mainly, what we heard from the rear seat was occasional quiet sobbing from Vanessa. If you want to know the truth, it was what I wanted to do myself. Probably more than at any time in my life except for when my Abby had died. But, big boys don’t cry. Right?
Chapter Fifty
We made the short, four-mile trip from the hotel to the hospital in a little more than five minutes. Agent Washington pulled up to the ER with the Agency SUV’s grill lights flashing; Carter opened the door for us and then served as our escort while Washington stayed behind with Andy Steward and his agents to secure the vehicle and control any media activity. The power of FBI credentials is a constant source of amazement to me. And Carter held his out in front of him like a battering ram.
It occurred to me that given our appearance, people probably didn’t know if Cassie and I were visitors or were there to be admitted for treatment!
We got to the security door leading into the trauma unit and Carter said, “Agent Christian Carter, FBI. I am escorting these people to see Michael Harvey, Aaron Perry and Muriel Palmer.”
The security guard smirked and started to say, “Policy prohibits more than two visitors at—“when Carter cut him off.
“Excuse me. I don’t think you heard me correctly. I’m with the FBI and I am escorting all of these people back to see their family. Do we have a problem here?”
The man’s eyes widened and he shook his head.
“No sir. No problem at all.”
He was scribbling all three names onto six stick-on slips of paper when agent Washington hustled up.
“We good?” he said, staring at the now impotent and intimidated guard.
“Okay,” the man muttered, stretching out the word. “Seven to see Perry, Harvey and Palmer. No problem. All right, here you go.”
As he handed the slips of paper over I said to agent Carter, “Christian, huh?”
Carter frowned.
“Excuse me?”
“Christian. That’s your first name?”
“Well, yeah. But I go by Chris. Why?”
“Out there in the thick of things, it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know your first name. And it bothered me for some reason.”
He grinned, “Usually when people ask me and Washington for our first names, we tell them it’s ‘Agent.’”
“Kind of like when Columbo would tell people his first name was Lieutenant.”
Washington nodded his head.
“Exactly.”
The door opened and we walked through in a solemn cluster with Carter in front and Washington bringing up the rear still dressed in his tactical gear with that gigantic pistol strapped onto his left hip.
As we approached the nurse’s station, Carter said, “Michael Harvey, Aaron Perry and Muriel Palmer?”
The charge nurse, a no-nonsense blonde woman of indeterminate years glanced at his FBI creds; gave us all the once-over and jerked her head for us to follow her. As we moved through hallways crammed with gurneys and beds filled with people of all ages in various stages of trauma—some of which appeared to be life-threatening to my non-medical eye—I realized that violence knew no timetable. Here it was a little after 4:00 a.m. and people were still getting shot, stabbed, beaten and, like our friends, victimized by an irresponsible driver.
The nurse, whose name was Susan, said, “Ms. Palmer and Mr. Perry are in eleven and twelve respectively. I’m afraid that Mr. Harvey is still in surgery and will be so for a good long while. Whoever among you is family—”
“I’m his fiancée, “ Cassie said in a dull voice.
“All right, then. Ms….”
“Blake. Cassandra Blake.”
She tapped Cassie’s name into a tablet computer and asked for her cell number.
I quickly replied, “I’m her uncle. You can use mine for the time being,” and gave it to the woman.
“All right, Ms. Blake, we will notify you through your uncle’s phone as soon as Mr. Harvey is stable enough to be moved to ICU. I will warn you that it could take a fair amount of time for that to happen.”
With that she returned to her station leaving us on our own.
We walked in a tight group until we got to Muriel’s room.
She was a mess!
The right side of her face was swollen horribly and her right leg elevated and wrapped in a compression cast.
“Oh, my sweet Muriel,” Vanessa whispered as she and Gabi walked toward the bed.
Since she appeared to be sleeping, we left them there while Eddie, Cassie and I moved on to see Aaron with Carter and Washington posting up as if they were our personal guardians. And I suppose at that point, they were.
Aaron’s head was wrapped in a heavy bandage. His face looked better than Muriel’s, but only just.
He turned as we entered.
“Jake. Thank God you’re here.”
His normally resonant voice was weak and slightly wheezy.
Cassie walked immediately to the bedside, leaned over and laid her head on Aaron’s chest. It was at that point that she lost it. I mean really and truly lost it, as if all the trauma of the day reached a breaking point, and the deluge of tears simply wouldn’t be denied.
With tears of his own, Aaron laid his enormous hands on her head and back whispering, “It’s okay, baby. Just let it go. Let it all go. You’ve got this…you’ve got this. You’re going to be all right. Michael is going to be all right.”
After a full minute Cassie finally backed up, wiped her eyes and said, “I guess I’ve been holding that in for a while.”
“Not a problem.” His eyes found Eddie. “You must be Eddie.”
“Oh,” Cassie said. “Aaron, this is Eddie. Eddie—Aaron.”
Eddie approached slowly.
“I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you. And, by the way, I’m a huge fan of your music, Mr. Perry.”
Aaron replied, “Forget that ‘Mr. Perry’ stuff. It’s Aaron.”
Eddie smiled shyly and replied, “Okay. Aaron.”
Cassie asked, “Do you remember what happened?”
He shook his head very slightly.
“You know…I don’t. We were all excited to see you and were coming down Seven Hills Drive. Gabi and Vanessa were in a separate car, thank God! We stopped at the light when we got to St. Rose, and then…nothing. I got absolutely no memory of anything except firefighters and EMT guys cutting us all out of Jake’s car. Sorry about the car, bro.”
“Hey,” I said. “I’m just glad you guys were in it. From what I hear, anything else and it most likely would’ve been fatal.”
“Heard that. It’s those side airbags that made the difference.” He paused and then said softly, “They are doing wonders with spinal surgery these days, Cassie.”
She nodded and replied, “I know. It’s just all so…overwhelming. The stuff with Morgan; what happened to me in the mine; the horror…I guess I’m not processing things very well right now.”
“They’re supposed to put me in a regular room pretty soon,” Aaron said. “When that happens, you can sack out on the guest chair while you wait for Michael to get out of surgery. I hear they convert to beds.”
“I appreciate that, Aaron. But I think…” she turned to me. “…I think maybe I need to have someone take me back to Jake’s place so I can shower and put on some of those clothes I always leave in case of emergencies.” She was quiet for a second or two and then added, “I guess this qualifies. And then I’m going to sleep. God only knows how long Michael will be in surgery and recovery.”
“I think that’s a good idea, little girl,” I replied. “I’ll have either Washington or Carter drive you. I’m going to stay here and get Aaron and Michael’s people in the loop. Like it or not, when news of America’s premier novelist and jazz pianist being involved in a major automobile accident hits the street, this place is going to be crawling with media.”
Aaron added, “I’m already into it with my people. Tryna’ keep it on the down low as much as possible. The hospital staff has been very accommodating thus far, by the way.” He stared at both of us for a minute. “You know, I’ve got to say that knowing what I know of what you two have been through today, I’m thinkin’ you should look a little worse for wear than you do. Why is that?”
I laughed darkly.
“It’s a long story, bro.”
“Seems like there’s a whole lotta’ that going around.”
“I know. I’ll fill you in later. For now, let’s just say that there were some interesting things that happened out there.”
As Gabi and Vanessa came around the corner, he said, “Can’t wait to hear about it.”
After I filled Gabi in on what was happening, she suggested, “Okay, but how about if Vanessa and I take Cassie and Eddie back to my place after she gets her clothes? I think we all could use some down time and my condo is way off the radar.”
Vanessa said, “No offense, but I really want to stay here with Muriel in case she wakes up, you know.”
“That’s an even better idea,” I affirmed. “Aaron, you heard anything about Muriel’s condition?”
“Not much!” he answered with some frustration. “They’re pretty closed mouthed around here even though they know she’s with me. But what I have heard isn’t the best. Her femur is basically shattered and will require extensive orthopedic surgery. Probably talking titanium rod or something on that order followed by lots and lots of physical therapy. The ribs will heal and from what I hear the facial lacerations are all superficial so she won’t have much, if any, permanent scarring. The main concern is to get her to where she won’t walk with a limp.” He was silent for a few beats before adding, “She will have one huge, nasty-ass scar on her leg, though.”
It was at that point that the seriousness of the situation finally settled in—at least for me. People that I love could have been killed and there wasn’t a single thing I could’ve done to stop it.
I said, “Gabi, why don’t you go ahead with your plan. I’ll stick around and take advantage of that chair Aaron was talking about and keep you guys informed of any updates.”
Cassie was so exhausted that all she could do was nod an agreement. Gabi leaned into me and kissed me passionately in front of Aaron and Cassie.
That was a first.
The kissing in front of family and best friend thing.
“Hey,” I said. “Thanks for being there for my girls.”
“It is my great pleasure, Jake,” she replied.
I walked them out of Aaron’s room and next-door to explain the plan to Carter and Washington. When agent Washington heard the plan, he immediately vetoed it insisting instead that he be the one driving.
“I mean it’s not like you or Carter here are going to be going anywhere for a while. Besides, the boss is on his way and can provide any transportation needs that may arise.”
I was way past arguing.
“Thank-you, Grover. We all appreciate everything you and Carter are doing for us.”
“It’s no problem at all, Jake. We brothers now.”
I bumped fists with both agents and watched Washington herd the girls back down the hallway that was now even more crowded than when we had first arrived.
Just before exiting, Cassie turned to look at me over her shoulder and gave a sad little wave. I think that if Gabi hadn’t been standing right beside her, she would have simply collapsed. As it was, Gabi grabbed her to keep her from falling and Washington swooped her up in his arms and carried her protectively through the outer waiting area.
“That young lady has had a long day,” Carter said.
“Yeah, she has. So, listen, since I can’t really be two places at once, are you okay hanging out here with Muriel and Vanessa for a bit longer until—“
“I’m here for whatever you need for as long as you need it. I’m kind of invested in this thing now.”
“Redfern won’t mind?”
“He cut me and Grover loose so we could stay with you guys and see this through.”
I nodded appreciatively.
“Thank-you, Chris. It means more than I can say.”
With a quick grin, he turned and resumed his post outside of Muriel’s door. Thankfully, she was still out and probably would be for a while.
“Anybody hungry?”
I turned at the sound and saw Gerald Redfern striding toward us with two bags from Five Guys and a six-pack of bottled water.
I said, “It’s been so long since I’ve eaten that I can’t even remember what the experience feels like.”
“Anywhere we can set up and eat this stuff?”
“Probably have to go back to the waiting room.”
He glanced around.
“Yeah, these aren’t exactly private rooms. All right. I’ll meet you out there.”
I checked in on Muriel one more time and went to tell Aaron that I’d be right back, but he was out as well.
It was starting to sound like a good idea.
Strike that…it sounded like a great idea.
After dinner, though.
Chapter Fifty-one
We were about to set a record for the speed at which double cheeseburgers are devoured when my SatPhone started ringing.
I didn’t recognize the number.
“Moriarity,” I answered.
I could hear heavy breathing, but nothing else.
“Morgan!”
He laughed, or at least that’s what I assumed the dark, wet gurgling sounds represented.
“Thought I was done, didn’t you, Moriarity.”
“I was hoping.”
“Well, I’ve got a little life left in me. Enough to finish what I started.”
And then I knew I had miscalculated.
Badly!
I stood, made eye contact with Redfern and began moving quickly out of the room and down the hall with him right behind me hollering orders into his cell phone.
“Listen, you son of a bitch!” I yelled into the receiver. “Enjoy what few moments of life you have left because I’m coming for you.”
“Oh,” he replied with another wet laugh. “And where exactly do you think I am?”
“I don’t think…I know.”
“Do you, now? Tell me, oh mighty Moriarity. Tell me please.”
Even though my prediction that he would show up at the ER had been proven completely false, I was ready to bet my life that he was either on his way to Gabi’s condo or was already there.
I muted the phone and quickly passed along my suspicion to Redfern who immediately called Las Vegas Metro to get them in the loop and scramble a couple of black and whites to stake out Gabi’s place.
I said, “Since you seem to be in a playful mood, Morgan, riddle me this: what happens to a person’s system when they crash after using FLAKKA? Do you know, or do you want me to tell you.”
It had been an educated guess on my part, but I could tell from his silence that it had been spot on.
“Okay, I’ll take that as meaning that you don’t know. So let me educate you: the pill, or pills you took, have no standardization, which means that you never really know wha
t you’re ingesting. Based on the behaviors I observed I’d say that you took a hell of a dose. In which case you may already be experiencing an incredibly high body temperature, perhaps kidney failure or even cardiac arrest.”
“Shut up!” he bellowed. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You’re wrong. I feel fine.”
We reached Redfern’s Agency SUV that had been parked at the curb and hurled ourselves into the seats. As he started the engine I scribbled Gabi’s address on the back of a leftover napkin sitting on the center console. He glanced at it, put the pedal down and laid a thirty-foot strip of rubber as we pulled away from the ER.
I said, “I’m sure you feel fine, Morgan. But that’s the thing with that particular drug—you have a feeling of euphoria right up until your heart decides it’s had enough and virtually explodes inside of your chest.”
He screamed, “You’re giving me an even worse headache than I already have!” Calming, he added, “But, even if everything you said is true, it won’t stop me from finishing what I started with your little niece. Nothing can stop me. Not even the mighty Jake Moriarity.”
He laughed maniacally and ended the call.
“Gerry, please tell me we can track where he was calling from.”
“We can try.”
He pulled over suddenly, put the SUV in park and hollered, “Trade me places,” as he jumped out and ran around the vehicle.
We swapped positions and within fifteen seconds we were on our way.
While he called the phone number in to William, his tech wizard, I speed dialed Gabi.
When she answered I said, “Gabi. I need you to lock down everything in your condo and shove something heavy in front of the door.“
All I could hear at first was her irregular breathing before she softly, and calmly spoke.
“Hello, Jake. We, uh…we have company.”
I glanced over at Redfern and mouthed, “He’s already at Gabi’s,” and then replied, “Inside?”
“Yep.”
“Is he threatening you at present?”
“Pretty much.”
“So, he’s listening in on this conversation?”
“Umm…somewhat.”
