Oath of Honor

by Lynette Eason

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I have a press conference scheduled in thirty minutes on the steps of the hospital. Then I want to see you.”

  “Of course. I’ll be in the surgery waiting room.”

  “I’ll find you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And Isabelle?”

  “Yes?”

  The line went silent for a brief moment. Then the woman cleared her throat. “I’m not the chief of police right now. I’m your mother and I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you, sweetheart.”

  Izzy’s throat tightened at the husky words. “I love you too, Mom. See you soon.”

  Ryan waited at the entrance for Izzy to park her car and come through the automatic door. Somehow he’d beaten her here. Officers involved in the incident were already in the waiting room. They could give their statements from there just as well as any other place. Ryan had already gotten an update on Kevin and there was nothing more he could do except wait.

  Wait and talk. Find out what happened from the officer who’d let his brother get shot.

  When Izzy saw him, she frowned, then took a deep breath but didn’t try to avoid him. No, she wouldn’t. Izzy always faced everything head on. One of the many qualities he admired about her.

  “How is he?” she asked.

  “They’re taking him to surgery now. My parents are on the way and I’m headed in there too. I’m probably going to be giving blood. We’re the same type. Walk with me?”

  “Sure.” She fell into step beside him and they made their way to the elevator. They were the only ones on the ride to the second floor.

  “Did they catch them?” she asked. “The guys who ran from the warehouse? There were four of them. No, five.” The guy on the balcony.

  “They got one. If there were five, then three managed to slip away. One’s dead, one’s in custody.”

  “Is the one in custody talking?”

  “He hasn’t said a word, according to Charice. He just sits and stares at the wall. Like he’s deaf. She said it’s creepy.”

  Charice Mann. His partner of four years. She’d continue to keep him updated on the interrogation.

  “Is he? Deaf?” she asked.

  “No one knows. I don’t think so, though. Charice said he’s got gang markings for the Crips. If we let him sit long enough, maybe he’ll start talking.”

  Izzy rubbed red-rimmed eyes. “What is with the sudden resurgence of gang violence? It seems to be so much worse in the last few weeks. Even random attacks on people in the street have risen.”

  “I know. Seems like every time we turn around there’s a new dead gang member—mostly kids. Dead kids.” It broke his heart.

  “It needs to stop.”

  “The gang unit is working on it.”

  She paused. “Wait a minute. You said he has the markings of the Crips.”

  “Right.”

  “But the dead guy had the markings of the Bloods.”

  “So what were they doing together in the warehouse?”

  They stepped off the elevator. “Izzy? Ryan?”

  Ruthie’s voice stopped them. Izzy turned and gave a little grunt when Ruthie enveloped her in a massive hug.

  “I’ve only got about three more minutes,” Ruthie said. “I was hoping to see you step off that elevator. Are you okay?” She stepped back to look her over. “I see blood. Is it yours?”

  She started to examine her when Izzy caught her hands.

  “It’s not mine. It’s Kevin’s.” Her voice broke on his name and Ryan felt his own throat tighten.

  Ruthie’s eyes reddened, but no tears fell. “I heard. He’s being rushed into surgery right now. I’m going to assist. I’m headed there now, so you can rest assured there will be someone in the room who’s praying.” She turned her attention to him and Ryan soon found himself wrapped in a hug as well. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I really am.”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Ruthie. Just save him, okay?”

  “They’re waiting on you, Dr. St. John.” One of the nurses stood to the side, glancing at her watch.

  Ruthie stepped back. “I’ve got to go. But I’ll have someone keep you updated as often as I can, I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  She gave Izzy one last hug and hurried down the hall. Izzy looked down at her arms and hands. Ryan’s gaze followed hers to Kevin’s dried blood. “I need to clean up. I can’t see your mother like this.”

  “There’s a bathroom over there.” He pointed down the hall and to the left.

  Izzy nodded and disappeared inside. When she stepped back out, he pushed himself off the wall. She looked presentable. She still had some blood on her shirt and on her jeans at the knees where she’d knelt next to Kevin on the warehouse floor. But the worst of it was gone.

  Ryan swiped a hand over his eyes. “Before we hit the waiting room, will you please tell me what happened with Kevin?” he asked.

  “Thought you’d already come to your own conclusions.”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry. I was panicked.”

  “I know.” She reached into the bag she carried on her shoulder and pulled out a small handheld camcorder. “You can watch it.”

  His heart thudded. “You recorded it?”

  “Partly. I drove my personal car to the stakeout. The last thing I needed was for these guys to catch me in a cruiser. I set up the camera as a precaution. Anyway, it doesn’t show what happened inside, just outside. And I debated even showing it to you, but if it was my brother …” She hesitated when he tried to take it from her. “You’re not going to be happy with Kevin.”

  “That’s nothing new.” He sighed. Then scowled. “I can handle it.”

  She placed a hand over the camcorder. “No, I mean, you’re going to be livid … and very disappointed.”

  He met her frown for frown. Livid? That was a pretty strong word. And disappointed? What had Kevin done?

  He hesitated. He wanted to watch the video, but he wanted an update on Kevin more. “Hold on to this. It can wait.” He just needed to hear his brother was still alive. Please, God.

  A mere two minutes after he and Izzy stepped into the waiting room, the door swung open again and Ryan turned to see his parents enter. His father’s eyes met his and the absolute devastation there nearly took him to his knees. He went over and hugged the man. “He’s still alive, Dad.”

  “Barely, from what I was told.”

  Yes. “But still alive.” As long as he was alive, there was hope. He turned to his mother, who stood stoic, her blank stare riveted on a painting hanging on the wall across the room. Prematurely gray, her short hair curled around her temples and at the base of her neck. He took her arm and led her to a chair. “Mom? Mom. Look at me.”

  She blinked. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her still-smooth cheeks like silent rivers of pain. “I can’t lose him, Ryan. Not him too. My heart simply can’t … not with Chris … I can’t …”

  Grief burned yet another hole in his heart. “I know, Mom.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, then grasped her hand. Two SLED detectives approached Izzy. Yeah, the state agency, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, would be involved in this. He knew the chief, Tabitha St. John, worked closely with them. She would have been all over that. “Could we get your statement? Officers are canvassing the area and doing an all-out manhunt for the suspects, but we need your input now.”

  And they’d want to check her weapon. If she’d fired it, she’d have to go through all the paperwork. If she hadn’t, they’d simply hand it back to her.

  “Of course.”

  “While you’re doing that,” Ryan said, “I’m going to go give blood.”

  His mother patted his hand. “Yes. Go.”

  “Text me if there’s any change at all. Promise.”

  “I promise, son,” his father said.

  Izzy stepped aside with the two SLED detectives and Ryan made his way to the area he’d been to several times before. Always for a
n officer-involved shooting. Never had he imagined it would be for his brother. Thirty minutes later, with no texts regarding Kevin, he tossed back the orange juice they handed him and took the crackers without protest. He might need them.

  Ryan made his way back to the waiting room and found his mother leaning against his father, eyes closed, face ashen, tears still wet on her cheeks. He simply sat next to her, trying to ignore the thick-as-tar tension surrounding him.

  Time passed with no word on his brother and Ryan’s nerves stretched with each minute that ticked by.

  Izzy finally finished with the detectives and returned to her seat opposite him and his mother. She leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Marshall.”

  His mom opened her eyes. “Tell me what happened.” She sniffed and swiped a tissue over the tears that seemed to have no end.

  Ryan almost interrupted and told her not to worry about the details for now, but of course she’d want to know. She might be reeling with the news of Kevin’s shooting, but she’d want answers.

  “Uh, well, I can’t right now,” Izzy said. “I promise that as soon as I have the green light, I’ll fill you in.”

  His mother frowned at the evasive answer, and Ryan didn’t like it either but kept his mouth shut. She was shooting looks at him to back her up. She didn’t want to tell his mother what had happened. And until he knew himself, he’d support her.

  A woman stepped into the room. “Is the Marshall family here?”

  Ryan shot to his feet. His father stood as well. “We are.”

  “Could you follow me, please? The doctor would like to meet with you in private.”

  “No,” his mother whispered. “No. I’m not going.” Sobs tumbled from her lips. The others in the waiting room stared and Ryan couldn’t stand the pity he saw etched there. He pulled her to her feet. “Come on, Mom. I’ll help you.” His eyes locked on Izzy’s pleading ones. He nodded and she rose to follow.

  His mother let him lead her, him holding one arm, his father on the other side.

  Once in the private room, Ryan lowered his mother into the nearest chair while he kept a tight grip on his grief. Izzy stood just inside the door, her hands clenched, jaw tight. Tears stood in her eyes, but he could see her fierce determination to keep them from falling.

  He didn’t want to be here. He knew what was coming, but for just a moment he could pretend it wasn’t real. It wasn’t real if nobody said it.

  His father stood by the fake window with curtains that framed a painted outdoor scene. Ryan wondered if that was supposed to be comforting somehow. Then wondered why he wondered that.

  His dad started to pace from one end of the twelve-by-twelve room to the other. Ryan focused on the cross on the wall. Don’t take Kevin, please, God, not Kevin too.

  The door opened and then Ruthie stepped into the room. Ryan’s heart dropped. He knew that look on her face. Had seen it on his father’s when he’d told him his Marine brother, Chris, had been killed in Afghanistan by an IED.

  Ryan placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder and felt it shake. Sobs ripped from her.

  “I asked them to let me tell you.” Her voice hitched. “I’m sorry,” Ruthie said. Tears stood in her eyes, then tumbled over her lashes. She wiped them away. “We did all we could, but his injuries were just too extensive—”

  5

  Izzy stumbled back against the wall. Then slid down it until she sat on the floor. Kevin was dead. Her partner, her friend, a guy she’d known since birth, was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t turn back time and do things differently. She couldn’t fix this.

  Her mind raced with sporadic thoughts, each one trying to find a landing spot, but skittering out of reach at the last minute.

  Except for one.

  Kevin’s dead. Kevin’s dead.

  “Izzy? Izzy?”

  Ryan’s voice penetrated and she lifted her head to find him holding a hand out to her. She swiped a hand across her wet cheeks and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “What?”

  “You might want to check your phone. You have so many messages coming in, it’s about to blow up.”

  She drew in a shuddering breath. How much time had blipped by while she’d been lost in her grief? His mother was still crying on his father’s shoulder and Ruthie was gone. So maybe just a few minutes?

  The door opened and more family entered. She recognized Ryan’s sister, Cathy, and her husband, Dale. Cathy ran to Ryan and hugged him while her tears soaked his shirt.

  Izzy looked down at her phone and realized she’d missed her mother’s calls as well as calls from her brothers and sisters. And twenty-four texts from her siblings and a few friends.

  Her mother. She had to find her. “I have to go.”

  Ryan nodded. “Okay.”

  “Mom’s here to make a statement about the shooting to the press. I need to find her before she gets in front of the cameras.” She motioned to her bloody clothes. “I’m not letting them get a shot of this.”

  “She’ll announce Kevin’s death as well now,” Ryan said softly.

  “Yes. I’m sure.” She pressed fingertips to her burning eyes and gathered her emotions into a safe place. When she was ready, she blinked and texted her mother she was on the way. Then sent a group text to the rest of her family that she was fine.

  The door opened again and her mother walked in. Tabitha St. John, dressed in her chief of police formal blues—she exuded confidence, strength, sorrow, and compassion. Her assistant, deputy chief of police Felicia Denning, followed behind. The other woman was tall with blue eyes and usually wore a warm smile. Today her eyes sparked with anger and her lips were tight with suppressed emotion. Izzy understood.

  She nodded to Felicia, then went to her mother and hugged her. “I was on my way to find you.”

  “I was just informed of Kevin’s death. Ruthie called me. I wanted to come offer my condolences.” She walked over to Ryan and hugged him, then did the same, one by one, for each of his family members. “I’m so sorry, Gena,” her mother said. “So very sorry.”

  “Thank you,” Ryan’s mother whispered. She dabbed her cheeks with the tissue and lifted her chin. “What are you going to do about this, Tabitha? Felicia? They killed my boy.” Her lips trembled, but her eyes never wavered from the two women.

  “There will be a full investigation and we’ll catch the people who killed him,” Tabitha said.

  Just flat, emotionless facts. Her mother decreed it, therefore it would be. Izzy had no doubt she would do whatever it took to bring Ryan’s killer to justice.

  That was fine with Izzy. She felt the same way. Felicia nodded with each word her mother said. The two women worked well together, and Izzy felt sure the people responsible for Kevin’s death would soon be in custody—especially with every cop in the city also on high alert, looking for their brother’s killer.

  The events of the night blipped through her mind at warp speed, stopping only when she got to the man on the warehouse balcony. She played his profile over and over in her mind. He’d saved her life, then run.

  Why?

  She’d given her statement to the police and left Derek’s name out of it since she wasn’t completely sure, but still …

  She grabbed her phone from the clip on her belt and dialed her brother’s number. Four rings, then voice mail. “I’m not kidding. Call me.”

  She hung up.

  Her phone buzzed, indicating a text. Derek.

  Can’t talk right now. What do you need?

  A cold ball of anxiety formed in the pit of her belly.

  That was you on the balcony, wasn’t it?

  No answer. She typed again.

  I know it was you. You shot that guy.

  What are you talking about?

  Anger and disbelief curled inside her.

  So, you’re going to lie to me?

  They’d never lied to one another. Never.

  More time passed and she thought he was going to ignore her. Her phone buz
zed, but her mother took her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Come with me.” She excused them to the others in the room and left Felicia with the family. Once in the hall, her mother released her hand and turned. “We need to talk and I don’t have much time. They’re waiting on me.”

  “I know.”

  “Tell me everything that happened.”

  “Hasn’t someone already filled you in?”

  “Of course, I want it from you, though.” She pulled a tube of lipstick from the pocket of her blazer and applied it expertly without a mirror.

  “Okay, but quick question.”

  “Yes?”

  “Is Derek working on something I don’t know about? He missed our lunch today.”

  Her mother frowned. “Like what?”

  “Like some undercover stuff.”

  “Seems like he’s always undercover, doesn’t it?” She rubbed her forehead as though she had a headache forming. “But no, nothing as of right this minute. He actually asked for time off.” Her eyes narrowed and she dropped her hand back to her side. “Why?”

  “Time off? Derek, the workaholic? Time off for what?”

  “You know he and Elaine broke up. He said he needed time to clear his head and get his focus back. Not wanting him undercover in that state, I told him to take two weeks—and to let me know if that wasn’t long enough.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  Izzy opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Was she wrong then? Maybe it wasn’t Derek. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does. You asked for a reason. What is it?”

  She should have kept her mouth shut. “Just … I don’t know. I have to think.”

  “If something’s going on with Derek—”

  “There’s not. I mean, there might be, but it’s nothing I have facts on. Nothing that I know of for sure and I mean that.”

  “Izzy, I know he shares everything with you—”

  “Mom, please don’t push. And apparently not everything. I didn’t know about his leave of absence or that he and Elaine had called it quits.”

  Her mother raised a brow. “You didn’t?”

  “No.”

  “Then something is definitely going on with Derek.”