by Desiree Holt
“All right. We’ll check in with each other in the morning, then go forward. I’d better get out of here now. And you’d better call our shooter and tell him to make himself scarce.”
The car door slammed, then footsteps echoed on the concrete. Finally a car started in the distance.
* * * * *
To Dan it felt as if a year had passed before anyone came out to talk to him, although in reality it was just a few short minutes. He knew he should step outside the building long enough to make his phone calls but his feet seemed glued to the floor outside the trauma room where Mia was being treated. He had to argue his status with hospital personnel but they finally allowed him to sign all the forms allowing them to treat her. Then he just waited, wondering if he’d survive if Mia didn’t.
Finally a man in scrubs came out and introduced himself as the surgeon, Dr. Cardoza.
“We’re prepping her for surgery right now and I have an OR ready,” he reported. “She lost a great deal of blood so we had to pump some into her before taking her upstairs. The bullet itself appears to have done extensive damage. It doesn’t look like any handgun wound to me.”
“It wasn’t. More like a long range rifle.” Dan was having trouble keeping himself in control. “Any fragments you can recover would be a help.”
“How well are you acquainted with the young lady?” Cardoza asked.
“She’s my fiancée.” Dan had stood in a similar spot many times when one of his men had been hurt, often in far more primitive facilities. He had never been as frightened as he was now. “Is there a problem I should know about?”
“Are you aware she has a heart murmur?”
Dan’s breath caught but he had long ago schooled himself not to show a reaction to anything. “No, I wasn’t. Is it a danger during surgery?”
“Not if it’s what we call an ‘innocent’ murmur.”
The look on Dan’s face must have spoken volumes, because the doctor went on to explain in greater detail. “An ‘innocent murmur’ is nothing more than an occasional irregular blip in the flow of blood. However, if the murmur is caused by actual cardiac damage, that makes a difference.”
Dan shoved his clenched fists into his pockets. “Can’t you tell ahead of time?”
“Normally we’d do a heart catheterization. That would give us our answers. But we can’t afford to wait with Dr. Fleming, nor can we do any invasive procedures in the shape she’s in. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation. Also, since this is a bullet wound, you know we have to report it to the police.”
“Ask for Captain Holcomb. He’s already working two cases for us and this is probably connected. Don’t let them slough you off to someone else.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to Cardoza. “Give this to whoever is going to make the call.”
The doctor studied the card, then looked back at Dan. “All right. I’ll give it to the head trauma nurse. If she has questions she’ll come find you.”
“Be sure to take good care of her,” Dan said, his face set in a grim expression.
Cardoza’s eyes narrowed as he heard the implied warning. “I take very good care of all my patients, Mr. Romeo.”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Of course you did.” He smiled. “Relatives give me the same message all the time. Go get yourself a cup of coffee. The surgical waiting room is on the second floor.”
“Can I ride up in the elevator with her?”
Cardoza looked over his shoulder, seeing the gurney being wheeled out into the hall. “All right. Just don’t jostle anything.”
Dan gripped Mia’s hand tightly as the gurney was pushed toward the elevator. She looked even paler than before. Fear squeezed his heart and he made a deliberate effort to push it away. He couldn’t lose her, not when he’d just found her. He’d use all his internal resources to be strong for her.
Just before they wheeled her through the doors to the operating suite, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her ice-cold lips. ”I love you, sweetheart. Remember that. I love you and I’ll be here waiting for you.”
Then she was gone, into the hands of strangers and he was left standing in the hallway feeling as if he’d lost everything in the world.
“Dan?”
The soft voice sounded behind him. He turned to see Faith standing there, her eyes filled with sympathy.
“Mark thought you might like some company.”
“Thanks.” He hugged her. “Although I hate to take you away from your writing. I know you’ve got a tough deadline looming.”
She squeezed his arm. “This is more important to me. How about a cup of coffee?” She held up the bag she was holding. “I made a quick Starbucks stop.”
“It’ll probably taste like mud to me right now but thanks anyway.”
“Come on.” She tugged at his arm. “Let’s go sit in the waiting room. I’m sure it’s going to be a long while before you hear anything.”
“I should go call everyone but I can’t use the phone inside and I’m afraid to go out of the building. Stupid, huh?”
“Not at all. Just sit down a minute. Mark gave me a bunch of messages for you.”
Dan moved closer but he was too jittery to sit. Iceman Romeo, having a case of the nerves. He would have laughed at himself if the situation wasn’t so serious.
“It’s my fault, you know,” he told her.
Faith raised an eyebrow. “That Mia got shot? Exactly how is that possible? Did you pull the trigger?”
“I never should have let her talk me into taking her to the house. Especially when we saw that mob. I should have driven like hell in the opposite direction.”
“Dan, no one expected this. When I talked to Mark he said the guys told him that woman has done this before. She shows up at Mia’s all the time. There’s never been any violence before. There’s no way you could have predicted this.”
“But damn it. I should have protected her better.” Pain contorted his face.
Faith cocked her head. “Am I detecting a little something more than just normal security concerns here?”
Dan gave her a halfhearted smile. “You might say.”
“She’s a lovely person, Dan. Just from the time I’ve spent with her—and certainly not under the best circumstances—I know she’s very special.”
“Yes, she is. Very.” He rubbed a hand across his face, feeling the beginning of a five o’clock shadow. I probably look like a bum but who cares? “Listen, I know this will sound stupid, especially coming from me. But the minute I walked into her office I felt a strong connection to her. As if I’d known her forever.”
“Well.” Faith smiled. “Far be it from me to argue with feelings like that. You know my thoughts on psychic connections.” She pulled a little notepad from her purse. ”All right, back to business. Aunt Vivi called her two friends who met with Mia, the ones who are also are precognitive. They had told her to let them know if she needed help. They’re both internet savvy and connect with other Lotus Circle members who have the same powers.”
“Mia’s already tried going through the website your aunt told her about. She said she got some stuff but the database is far from extensive enough yet.”
“I know,” Faith agreed. “That’s why they’re going out beyond that, to other sites and other people. Maybe they can find reports of similar visions and what they meant. At least it might give us a guide to follow.”
“Thanks, Faith. I really appreciate you doing that. I know how upset Mia is that she can’t pull out any more information. She was really stressed out last night.”
“No problem.” She flipped a page. “Next. Mark is at Carpenter holding everyone’s hand and assuring them that things will be fine. He’s also on the horn to Andy to see what the Dragon’s found so far.”
“Good, good. We need every piece of information we can get.”
“But even if we don’t find Stan’s killer before Friday,” she pointed out, “the demonstration and
presentation can go off as scheduled. Mark put out the word and has Phoenix prepared to provide whatever manpower is needed to ensure that. He’s trying to make everyone at Carpenter focus on what they need to be doing for Friday. Chase has finally gotten his act together and Lucas and Joy are refining the details for the event.”
“Do they know Mia’s been shot?”
Faith nodded. “Yes. It’s sort of hard to hide since it’s all over the news. Chase is really freaked and Joy, of course, is saying Mia’s responsible somehow for all this trouble.”
“Nice. I wonder if she chews nails for breakfast?” He began pacing again. “What else?”
“Mark met up with Captain Holcomb at Carpenter Techtronics. As soon as Mark told him what happened, Holcomb headed to Mia’s to check the scene out himself. He also got on the horn and sent one of his top men, a Lieutenant Santos, out there to take charge. He’s working with Rick. They both agree the timing on this thing is very strange.”
Dan stopped pacing and was suddenly very still. “I think so too. Have we heard from Santos yet? What does he say?”
“That they’ve had disturbances at her house before, according to the cops who cover that area. Usually it’s this same woman, who still blames Mia for her son’s death. But there’s never been any kind of violence. Certainly not shooting.”
“I think today’s episode was arranged to cover up the shooting.”
Faith frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I have a nasty feeling that someone got paid to set this up. To tell this woman, who I’m sure doesn’t need much urging, that this would be a good time to do her thing again. They had to get Mia out in the open where they could get at her again, then they hired the shooter. That shot came from the trees in the back, not from the crowd.”
Faith raised an eyebrow. “But for what purpose? Killing Mia isn’t going to stop the work on the case.”
“I know and that’s what baffles me. Sure, her email is what set off this whole chain of events. But I’m having to fight to get people to take her seriously.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Faith pointed out. “Think about it. If she hadn’t forced the email issue to begin with, whoever is planning—or was planning—to steal the robot, would have pulled off their plan and gotten away with it. And Carpenter Techtronics would have fallen on their face at their big shindig on Friday.”
“So it’s someone trying to steal this advanced piece of technology for themselves and sell it on the black market. That’s what I thought when I first got into this.”
“Mia is a wild card,” Faith pointed out. “They want to make sure she’s out of commission until they pull this off. To them she’s merely collateral damage.”
“Not to me she isn’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not to me.”
He resumed his pacing while Faith sat quietly watching him. At one point he picked up the coffee she’d brought for him, drank from it and made a face at the taste of the now-cold liquid.
Time ticked past. Other people came into the waiting area, huddling in groups as they waited for their own information. Every time someone came to the door Dan tensed, the rawness of his nerves almost visible.
Faith went outside to call Aunt Vivi and came back with an update. “They’ve been checking with other people, matching visions and interpretations. It’s possible the numbers and the blocks have something to do with movement. A machine that moves. Or a car, a truck. Something like that. Think of license plates. Or a parking slot. They’ll keep working on it. They’re busy emailing other members of the Circle to see what else they can match up to.”
“I guess I never realized just how many people have psychic gifts. Or how they battle with refining their ability to use them.”
“You’d be amazed. Listen, one of them has a nephew in Wisconsin who’s also a precog. He’s been trying different things to help him with his own visions. He definitely thinks it’s a machine that moves and has a number on it. Not much help, I know.”
“I’ll take anything. And thank them for helping.”
Finally Dan stopped wearing a rut in the floor and went to stand by the window, hands in his pockets, body rigid. “That’s got to be what’s behind this attack,” he said, as if there hadn’t been a lull in their conversation. “She was the original trigger and they’re afraid she’ll come up with something again.”
“Or they want to use her death as a red herring and send us off on a hundred false trails.” Rick Latrobe walked into the waiting area and clapped Dan on the shoulder. “Any word?”
Dan shook his head. “Not yet.”
“This hospital has a great reputation as a trauma center,” Faith assured him. “She’s in good hands here.”
“What’s happening at the house? Are you sure you should have left?”
Rick made a face. “Please. I’ll chalk that question up to a temporary brain fart. And everything at Mia’s is under control. Chuck Santos really knows his stuff.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“He brought a shitload of cops with him. Within thirty minutes he had names taken, people interviewed and the crowd dispersed. Then he set the crime scene unit to work looking for evidence of our shooter.”
“And? Come on. Spit out,” Dan said impatiently.
“Interesting choice of gun our fellow used. A Longbow T-76. It uses .338 ammunition with a range of fifteen hundred yards. It’s lightweight, easy to pack up and move away with. It’s also highly accurate.”
“And very expensive,” Dan added. “Whoever is funding this doesn’t mind spending money. They didn’t get that gun at Wal-Mart. We know this because?”
“He was set up in the woods behind the next door neighbor,” Rick went on, “and we got lucky. Apparently he had to get the hell out of there before finding his shell. It was hidden pretty well, under a bunch of dead oak leaves but the CSU guys found it. Santos asked Mike to fly it to the SAPD lab so he could get it there in a hurry.”
“Who did you leave at the house?”
“Frank, Lloyd and two SAPD cops. I called Andy—who by the way is probably going to ask for a huge raise after this—and asked him to trace every Longbow T-76 that’s been sold in all of North America in the past year.” He studied Dan. “How about some coffee?”
“I tried that,” Faith told him. “By the time he got to it even Mark wouldn’t drink it and he’ll drink just about anything.”
“I want every resource we have on this,” Dan said. “I don’t care who we have to pull from where. This is a top priority.”
Rick and Faith exchanged glances.
“Am I missing something here, sport?” Rick asked, his tone mild. When Dan didn’t answer, he looked at Faith again. “Oh. Well, okay. Whatever. You’re a big boy, so I assume you know what you’re doing.”
Dan opened his mouth to say something but at that moment Dr. Cardoza came to the door and called his name. His face gave nothing away as he beckoned to Dan. Rick and Faith joined him as they walked out into the hall. Dan felt his stomach cramp as he waited for the doctor to speak.
“She’s alive, I’ll tell you that first,” Cardoza said, noting the look on Dan’s face. He held up a plastic baggie, which Rick took. “A very high-powered rifle. Shattered the collarbone, shredded the muscle in the shoulder and splintered two ribs. We’re damn lucky he didn’t puncture a lung. We repaired everything but she’ll face a very long rehab with that shoulder. And we still have to guard against infection and a number of other things.” He shook his head. “If she’d been hit on the other side she’d be dead, so you can thank God for small miracles or someone’s bad aim.”
“What about the heart murmur?” Dan asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Not a problem. It turned out to be what I told you we call an ‘innocent murmur’. There’s no actual damage to the heart. We had a cardiologist on hand but she did just fine in surgery, considering the situation. We’re going to put her in ICU for at least a couple of days so we can monitor her better. The n
ext forty-eight hours could still be touch-and-go.”
Dan drew his first full breath in what seemed like hours. “Listen, Dr Cardoza, I don’t mean to throw my weight around but her life is still in danger from outside sources. I know ICU has its rules but I’ll be putting guards at the entrance to her area and someone will be sitting with her at all times. Can you make sure that’s not a problem?”
Cardoza frowned. “Is this a special case of some kind? I guess I could assume so considering the wound.” He looked very tired and anxious to have the situation resolved.
Dan did something he usually hated doing and saved for special occasions. He took out the business card he carried from the president of the United States, with a note scrawled on the back. Cardoza’s eyebrows nearly disappeared in his hairline. “I believe we can set Dr. Fleming up in a private room with everything she’d get in ICU. I warn you, though, it will be expensive.”
“Cost doesn’t matter. Just do it.” He shook the doctor’s hand. “I appreciate it very much, your doing this.”
“My staff will think I’m crazy but I’ll take care of it.”
“Can I see her now?”
“She’s in Recovery at the moment. Give us an hour to get things set up and then she’ll be in her room. Check with the surgical desk in about fifteen minutes and they’ll be able to give you her room number.”
“Any idea how long she’ll be here?” Dan wanted to get her away from here as fast as possible.
“She’s pretty weak,” he answered. “We had to replace a lot of blood and do a lot of digging around in the injured area. We’ll see how she does in a day or two but I’d say at least a week.”
Dan held out his hand. “Thank you, Doctor.”
Cardoza shook hands with him and headed back toward the surgical suite.
“Good news, right?” Faith said, smiling. “She’ll be fine?”
Dan’s face was like granite as he gave Faith the report. “I’m going to find the son of a bitch that did this and kill him one inch at a time.”
“Okay,” Rick said. “I’ll help you. With great pleasure. But first we have business to attend to.”
