by Mary Stone
Jacob nodded. “And from what I hear, no one saw anything.”
“Jesus. Why would the guy go after her? Why now?”
“At this point, we don’t know anything. Whether it’s a random shooting or what.”
Linc eyed him suspiciously. “You really think it’s random? Kylie said a guy was following her.”
“I know. And Kylie might’ve pulled herself off the case, but I can’t say the same for Elise. Turns out, she started contacting other PI’s, doing her own research based on what Kylie had already started. I’m officially putting more men on the case. It looks like someone is going to a lot of trouble to make sure we don’t find something out, and in my guess, it’s all interconnected and has to do with a child laundering ring. Elise was probably just a very small part of it, but maybe she went too far.”
“What? Is Elise okay?” a voice said behind them.
Linc turned. Kylie was standing there, pale. With the pounding of the band playing “Oh What a Night” nearby, he hadn’t heard her approach. He held his breath, not sure how to break this to her so he pulled the band-aid off quick. “She was shot in back of the diner. She’s at the hospital.”
“What? Oh, my god.” Kylie covered her mouth with both hands. “It’s because of the child smuggling, isn’t it? I knew it.”
Jacob held up a hand. “Now, we don’t know that. It could be a coincidence.”
Kylie snorted. “I don’t believe that. She was being stalked. Why was no one watching her?”
“We had police on her for two weeks after the last incident. Then we took them off. Same as we did for you. We don’t have unlimited resources,” Jacob said. “We’re doing the best we can.”
“Well. I’m happy to help. Do you want my most recent notes?” Kylie asked, springing to action. “What can I do?”
“Whoa. Hold your horses,” Jacob said. “Yes, I’ll take your notes, sure, and any other information you can provide. But you don’t have to get them to me now. I just wanted to let you know what happened, because you were involved.”
Kylie crossed her arms. “But don’t you want to go after this guy?”
“Yes. We are. We’re going to talk to Elise when she wakes up and get her side of the story. That’s what we’re focused on right now. You just sit yourself back down and enjoy your mom’s party. Tell the happy couple congrats for me.”
He turned to leave, and Kylie stared after him. Linc saw it all in a couple of seconds. The excitement on her face when she thought she could get back in the game, and the disappointment that flashed across it seconds later, when he told her to relax and enjoy the party.
Enjoy the party? Looking at Kylie’s face now, Linc didn’t think that was possible.
They walked back to the table, and Rhonda said, “Is everything all right? I saw the police arriving and thought they were going to escort someone out in handcuffs!” She tittered nervously.
“No, Mom, that’s Jacob. Linc’s best friend, remember?” Kylie said absently, her eyes still trained on the doors. “Everything’s all right.”
Kylie put her hands in her lap and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Linc asked her gently.
She gave him a sideways glance. “I’m fine. Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Because you look like a kicked puppy.” He took a sip of his beer. “It’s the job, isn’t it? I saw the way you looked at Jacob. You want to get back into it.”
“No,” she said weakly, picking up her glass of sparkling juice.
“Right. Liar. Admit it.”
She sighed at him. “Okay. Fine. Maybe a little. But what I really want to do now is see Elise in the hospital. She’s got no one other than Cody, and he’s kind of a prick to her.”
“You want me to give you a ride over there?”
She blinked. “You’d do that? But what about…” she gripped her napkin on her glass and scanned the room for her mother. “Wouldn’t it be rude?”
He followed her gaze to find Rhonda and Jerry on the dance floor, dancing to a slow song and gazing into each other’s eyes as if they were the only people on earth. “Actually, I don’t even think your mom will know.”
She smiled. “All right then.” She downed her drink. “Let’s go.”
Kylie dashed into the sliding doors of the hospital with Linc following behind her. She gave Elise’s name to the receptionist, who told them that Elise was on the sixth floor. After going to the gift shop and grabbing a balloon bouquet with a stuffed dog that looked a little like Britt, they took the elevator up.
As they did, Linc said, “You should be prepared if they won’t let you see her.”
Kylie studied her reflection in the shiny metal doors. The giant stuffed dog wasn’t enough to hide her growing belly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that it’s probably family only.”
“Well. At least we can drop this off and let her know we’re thinking of her,” she said, shifting her eyes up to the floor number. “I feel bad, especially that she doesn’t have parents to dote on her.”
The bell above them dinged, and the doors slid open to the ICU. Kylie stepped out and craned her neck around the bouquet to find the nurse on duty. “Hi. We’re here to see Elise Kirby?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry. Visiting hours are—”
“Hell, what are you guys doing? Following me?”
They turned to find Jacob striding toward them. Linc explained, “Kylie felt so bad about Elise, she wanted to come see her herself.”
“She doesn’t have much family,” Kylie added.
He motioned them into the back. “All right, come on. Good timing. She was just waking up a minute ago. I was going to ask her those questions. You can join me.”
Kylie’s eyes lit up. Jacob usually tried to keep her from his investigations. He’d never actively included her. Maybe she should’ve finished up her criminal justice degree and become a police officer, because she loved this part of the job. Loved it. She suddenly felt her blood rushing through her veins.
And as she followed Jacob, she knew Linc was right. If she went her whole life just doing surveillance, she’d probably go insane.
“But,” Jacob said, turning on her suddenly. “Let me do my job. No interfering, okay?”
She gave him a mock-hurt look. “Me? Never.”
He eyed her, stroking his chin. “I know you. You can’t shut up.”
She made like she was zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
They walked down a long corridor with numerous doors, but it was obvious which one was Elise’s. There was a bored-looking guard standing in front of one of them. He jumped to attention as Jacob approached.
Jacob stopped at the door and allowed her to go in first. Elise was sitting up in bed, her gown rumpled and pulled down over one shoulder to reveal a large bandage on her upper arm. Her eyes, half-closed, blinked open. “Oh, Kylie,” she said breathlessly, smiling big.
Kylie smiled at her, set the balloons down in a corner, and lifted the stuffed animal up to her. “I figured they wouldn’t allow Britt in to see you, so I brought you the next best thing.”
She grabbed it and cuddled it like a child. “It’s so cute! It looks just like him! I’ll call him Britt Two.”
Kylie laughed. “All right.” She sat down on the chair across from her. “So, what happened to you?”
“I got shot,” she mumbled, touching her bandage. “It really hurts. Or it did, til they gave me drugs. Now I’m high as a kite.”
Kylie looked over at Linc and Jacob. “That’s awful. We want to know more about it so we can catch the guy. Was it the same guy who you said was following you?”
She shook her head. “Don’t know. Didn’t get a good look at him.”
Jacob cleared his throat.
Oh, right. She had a way of overstepping her bounds where the police were concerned. She never meant to. It just happened, because she got so excited. Promising she wouldn’t interfere again, she said, “This
police officer has some questions to ask you. Is that okay?”
She nodded.
Kylie backed away and smiled at Jacob as if to say, All yours.
“Thank you,” Jacob said to her, sitting on a chair and pulling out his pad. “All right, Elise. Just tell me in your own words, exactly what happened.”
Still clutching the stuffed dog in her lap, she looked over at Kylie for a moment, as if asking for permission. Kylie nodded encouragingly.
“It was nearing the end of the dinner rush, and when that happens, I usually go out for a cigarette out back of the diner, next to the dumpsters. So like, eight o’clock or a little after, I goes outside and told the others I’d be back in five. I’d just lit up a ciggy and was puttin’ my lighter back into my pocket when I heard a loud bang behind me and felt somethin’ hit me from behind. I dropped my cigarette and fell over, and it was only when I saw all the blood and heard the car’s tires squealin’ that I realized I was shot. Then Gary, the dishwasher, came outside, found me, and called for help.”
“Did you see anyone else out there in the alley?”
She shook her head.
“And did you perhaps wait on someone new, who took an unusual interest in you? Did you see anyone while you were reporting in to work?”
She shook her head. “And I’m extra careful now, because I’d been followed before.”
“Right.” He flipped back in his pad and scratched his jaw. “You told me that man was short with dark hair. Kind of square-faced. Maybe late forties, early fifties. Unshaven, with a scar on his chin.”
“That’s right. I bet it’s him,” she said, looking over at Kylie. “I’ve been lookin’ into Daisy’s disappearance more. I went to a place called Southern Hills, but I was thrown out. The director didn’t even want to see me. She told her receptionist she’d have the police escort me out if I didn’t leave. And I wasn’t doing nothin’. Just asking questions.”
Kylie’s ears perked up. “Southern Hills Child Welfare Society?”
Elise nodded.
Kylie stood up. “Did you get a chance to see Leda Butler? The director?”
Elise shook her head. “She wouldn’t let me talk to her. She’s the one who had me kicked out.”
“But—”
Jacob cleared his throat. “Um, Kylie. Let me—”
“Wait,” she said, standing up. “Don’t you see? I met with Leda Butler, too, right before all this stuff started happening. And Agnes Mott, the woman who was babysitting when Elise’s baby was taken, said the woman who took her was blonde, and older, and smelled like strong perfume. That’s exactly what Leda Butler looks like.”
Linc and Jacob just stared at her.
“And not only that, Jacob, there’s the Hanson case from Sylva. The only witness said he saw an older, well-dressed, blonde woman, leaving the scene. That’s Leda Butler. I’m sure of it.”
“All right, but—”
“No buts, Jacob. She’s our man. I got a weird vibe from her, too, like she was trying too hard to be friendly. At least just check her out.”
He raised his radio to his mouth. “You said Southern Hills?”
She nodded.
He spoke into the mouthpiece. “Hey, Harper? Can you check in with me on a Leda Butler, who works for Southern Hills? Get me an address and whatever info you can find.”
Kylie grinned at Linc.
Her heart was thumping in her chest now. Just the act of working this through, detecting, it thrilled her like nothing else. The doctor had said to take it easy, but with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she felt like she could run a marathon.
The radio crackled with static. “Jacob. I’ve got a residential address for you.” Jacob wrote as the dispatcher rattled it off.
“That’s right downtown, near the hardware store,” Linc said.
Jacob fastened his hat on his head and looked at Linc. “You want to come with?”
He looked at Kylie, who nodded. She waved them on. What could happen here in the hospital? They had a guard watching them too. “Just go! We’ll be fine!”
Linc leaned over and kissed her forehead, then the two of them headed out. She was so excited, she wanted to go with them. But poor Elise was all alone. When they left, she patted the dog’s fake fur along with Elise and said, “Where’s Cody?”
She sniffed, her eyes growing glassy with tears. “We broke up.”
“You did? Oh no! Where are you living?”
“Well, we’re still living in the same place for now. It’s kind of recent. I’m lookin’ for a place but there ain’t nothin’ either of us can afford by ourselves. So, I guess we’re just roommates right now.”
Kylie didn’t like the sound of that. Maybe she shouldn’t have let them have Britt since their family life was so unstable. “Well, don’t you think he’d want to know about what happened?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s the reason we fought in the first place. He thought I was gettin’ too carried away by the Daisy thing. He got sick of me wastin’ so much of my time and thinkin’ on her. I guess he’s right. But I had to. If he’s gonna make me have to choose between the two of them, I choose her.”
“Oh, honey,” Kylie said, leaning over and giving Elise a hug. “I don’t blame you. I would too. Every time.”
27
How did this happen?
I thought I had everything under control. That snooping private eye, Kylie Coulter, had backed off, enough so that I’d almost entertained the idea of opening business back up again. I’d been in Code X—meaning that I was to have no contact with K, nor he with me—ever since Kylie had shown up at my office, asking questions. I’d gone through the contents of my office and removed anything that could cast suspicion on me. I’d covered my tracks.
Then that little dim-witted bitch came after me.
I’d had enough. I told Cherry not to admit her, that I didn’t have time to deal with any more of these ridiculous questions. I’d smiled at Cherry and convinced her everything was all right. I didn’t like that my own people were starting to get suspicious of me now.
I’d needed to stop this in its tracks, once and for all.
And what did Stephen do?
He fucking shot her in the arm. He didn’t kill her, the moron.
“Are you absolutely serious?” I cried into the phone when he told me the news. “You are a hit man, aren’t you? Or did I hire a hurt-man? Because you know what, Stephen? You should probably consider a new line of employment.”
He’d stumbled over his words, trying to explain, but I’d had enough.
“What hospital did they take her to?”
“Asheville General.”
“Great. Thanks for nothing.” I wished I had one of those old phones that I could slam down so hard that the bell inside rang. Slamming down a cell phone was liable to break it.
I’d been making myself a TV dinner and looking forward to a night of watching Lawrence Welk on PBS while drifting off to sleep.
This threw a wrench in those plans.
I quickly got changed into a pair of scrubs, put my own gun and a few necessities into my purse, and hurried to my car. I was glad it was Asheville General. I had a lot of friends there. I used to work as a nurse, back in the day, before I got my master’s in social work, and I worked with nurses all the time. I knew my way around a hospital, especially Asheville General.
I’d rather not have had to do it at all, but I’d take care of it. It would be fairly simple. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d been in a jam. After over fifty years in the business, I knew a thing or two.
I smiled as I drove toward the hospital. I’d be seventy-five next May, but this job kept me young, I always said. People always asked me why I didn’t retire. I’d received award after award for my humanitarian work, but it wasn’t the accolades that kept me active. No, I didn’t retire because this was in my blood. Uniting families and giving them the best chance of life was just a privilege to me.
Of cou
rse, I did love going on my cruises, too, something I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford on retirement.
Parking in the lot outside the hospital, I grabbed the identification badge and affixed it to my collar. Having intimate knowledge of the hospitals in the southeastern part of the country, I had fake credentials for nearly every one of them. Patting my hair down and checking my face in the rearview mirror, I pushed open the door and stepped outside.
I was tempted to wear a wig, but then the staff wouldn’t know me. It was a risk to present myself as me, but I could do it.
I’d done it before.
That was the great thing about Asheville General. It was so big, no one even batted an eyelash when I strode through the sliding doors. It also helped that I had the face of an angel. No one ever suspected the grandmotherly type. I waved at the front desk and security guard and went walking right on with authority toward the elevators.
I glanced at the list of departments, even though I knew the ICU was on the sixth floor.
If they knew what was good for her, they’d probably have a guard watching, a wet-behind-the-ears newbie who could easily be avoided.
When the doors opened, I walked out into the ICU and smiled at the one nurse who looked up. “How is your day?” I asked.
She barely looked at me before muttering, “Same old.”
Oh, this was almost too easy.
I peeked down the hallway and…bingo. There was the guard, hunched over in a chair and yawning. It was almost a positive thing for me that he was there—it saved me from having to peek in every open door. I walked right on over to the door, smiling at the officer. Just a kid.
A kid who was about to have a worse day than I was having.
“Let’s check on this patient,” I said and pretended to look at my tablet while reaching for the needle in my pocket.
He shrugged and started to yawn again.
As he did, I struck, injecting the liquid into the flesh of his neck. He reached over to touch it, but before he could, he’d already slumped over. Gone.
I loved how quickly this stuff worked.
