by A. Gomez
“Why didn’t you park in the garage?” I wondered, noticing he parked right in front of the front door of the hospital. We were at Cook County. Crap. I hoped no one was working this late that might know me. I really didn’t feel like answering any questions or getting hugs and sympathy from anyone right now.
“Because the agents I texted to meet me replied saying they could meet me at the front door. I didn’t ask why, baby, if that’s your next question. I just need a couple of agents to be with you while I take care of this situation and that’s where they said they could meet.”
“And by situation you mean you can’t tell me… Right?”
“Right.” He kissed the back of my hand as we hustled to the door. Did he just say “a couple of agents?” Do I really need more than one agent? The evening wind was killer. A good night to stay in and snuggle by the fire. Sigh. I wished he didn’t have to work so we could be home in front of the fire watching football.
We finally made it inside after what seemed like the longest walk in history in that subzero weather. Two agents were inside waiting for us. One female and one male.
“Baby, this is Special Agent Cristina Cortez and Special Agent Todd Hawkins.” Josh let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist. I shook each agent’s hand. “They go where you go,” Josh explained. Hawkins? Is this the same Hawkins that Josh didn’t want to come to his apartment?
“Great!” I exclaimed. “I’m going home. Josh, your keys please,” I stated holding my hand out, smirking inwardly. The agents’ eyes flashed to Josh, speechless. Shock spread across Josh’s face.
“I’m kidding,” I giggled. “I’m just having some fun with y’all.”
Agents Cristina and Todd smirked, enjoying Josh’s reaction.
“Isabel, you’re not funny,” Josh whispered in my ear, kissing me just under it.
“I think I am,” I whispered back. “I really owe you worse than that for talking to my parents about marriage before you talked to me.”
“We’ll discuss this later,” he whispered. “And please stay put. There is a nice waiting area by the ER. I’d like you to stay there,” he ordered and stalked off, thanking the two agents.
Hmph. What did he expect me to do while I waited for him? Should I make small talk with my new bodyguards? I took my jacket off and started heading for the ER. Maybe someone can tell me Caroline’s condition. I could also check to see if David was brought here.
The agents followed close by. Both of them looked just like Josh when he was in FBI mode. I glanced at one, then the other. They were trying not to stare at my attire. I rolled my eyes at Josh. I knew I was going to get stares. I heard Cortez clear her throat.
“Uh, Dr. Langley.” Her voice was low and apprehensive. “If you don’t mind me asking, but are you wearing Rockwall’s clothes?” No doubt they were both curious and Todd probably appointed her to ask since she was the female.
“Sadly, I am,” I replied, pruning my face. “I, um… trashed the clothes Victor Chang gave me and I haven’t made it to my house to get any.” I hoped I didn’t divulge too much for Josh’s sake.
“We heard about how they found Chang,” Todd interjected. “Rumor is you’re the one who drugged him and taped him up.”
Was that a question or a statement? I couldn’t tell. “Um, yup. Except I don’t know what drug I gave him. It was some round chocolates that he had all over the house,” I said.
“Opioids,” Todd said matter-of-factly. “You gave him an opioid. Chang was smuggling it in for the past year but the DEA or the FBI were never able to pin it on him.”
I felt a pang of guilt remembering David and how he told me he was helping the DEA. I was so cold with him. I hoped he was here so I could see him. I wondered if he’d even be conscious. Josh said they were able to jumpstart him but what did that mean exactly? We reached the nurses’ station but no one was at the desk. I looked around. No one I knew was working. I heard someone yelling my name. Both agents turned in the direction of the voice and stepped in front of me. It was Uncle Fitz walking towards us holding a cup of coffee.
“Uncle Fitz!” I shouted. “Oh, Uncle Fitz!” I stepped around the agents to embrace Caroline’s father. He hugged me so tight I had to tell him I couldn’t breathe. He loosened his hug but didn’t let go.
“Oh, Isabel Grace…” His voice was gruff with emotion. He kissed my forehead several times. “Isabel… thank you,” he said, holding back tears. “Caroline told us…” The tears were spilling over his cheek. He could hardly speak.
“Uncle Fitz,” I said in a shaky voice, “just tell me how she’s doing. That’s all I want to know.” Tears were rolling down my cheeks.
He pulled away to wipe his tears and look at me. “She’s doing just fine,” he grinned. “They gave her a few pints of blood, took the bullet out and she is resting comfortably. She’ll make a full recovery.”
“I’m so glad to hear it,” I sighed, wiping my tears with my sleeve. “When can I see her?”
“Come by tomorrow late morning. She should be awake by then. I’ll let you know if it’s sooner.”
“That sounds great.” I smiled.
“Well,” he eyed the two agents. “I’d better head back to her and her mother. I just came down for coffee.” I was sure he was wondering why I had bodyguards. I didn’t know what to say. My boyfriend still thinks I’m in danger of getting killed by a nurse that was employed here so he’s acting extra paranoid and won’t let me be alone? I thought that might have freaked him out. Instead, I hugged him goodbye and told him to say hello to his wife for me.
A nurse finally materialized. Since I already knew about Caroline, I asked her about David Summers.
“…Yes, he’s here. He’s still in ICU, dear.” She eyed me from head to toe, confused as to why I was dressed like a clown. “But you can’t go in there, dear. Only family.”
My heart sank. I must have looked pitiful because the next thing I knew, Agent Cortez flashed her badge and got us all in.
“Thank you,” I whispered, smiling thankfully. She smiled warmly, nodding.
We walked in his room. Todd closed the sliding glass door. David had a tube in his mouth going to a machine. He was on a breathing machine. He had several other machines beeping around him, one to take his blood pressure, one to take his pulse oxygen level, one to monitor brain activity, and several others that I didn’t know exactly what they did. He was on too many to count. I grabbed his chart and began to read it. Coma. Minimal brain activity. Laid unconscious without oxygen for an undetermined amount of time. Non-responsive. The list went on and on.
I shut the chart not wanting to read anymore. I pulled a chair close to his bed and sat down next to him, holding his hand. Tears were streaming down my cheeks.
“David,” I choked. “David, I want to say thank you for saving my life.” I squeezed his hand, hoping he could hear and feel me. “I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you.” I began to cry softly, placing the back of his hand on my cheek. I didn’t know how long I cried for. It must have been long enough for the two agents to give me privacy. They were both standing outside the door. One of them must have drawn the curtain just enough to give me privacy yet still keep an eye on me.
I dried my tears and continued to talk to David about how I drugged Chang and how Caroline got shot, and all the other things that transpired on that same day. I even told him how I inadvertently got drunk. I laughed at myself and then noticed a louder beep from one of the machines. It lasted just a few seconds.
“David? Was that funny to you?” I stared at him, my eyes flashing to the machines then back to him. “David? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” Two of his fingers ever so slightly pressed against my hand.
“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. “Do it again, David!” The same machine beeped louder again but he was only able to press one of his fingers to my hand this time. I pressed his hand to my cheek. “Don’t stop, David! I’ll get a nurse!” I pressed the button for
the nurses’ station and called for someone to get in here.
One second later a petite redhead with short hair walked in. Wow, that was freakishly fast. She walked around the curtain with a stethoscope around her neck. It was Ginger. She had changed her hair color and had gotten a haircut and she was also sporting a fake-looking tan. She was no longer the cute, short blonde I remembered but a new, ugly, orange version. She looked thinner, gaunt almost, completely unrecognizable. She walked right past the two agents. We locked eyes. She looked down at my hand, releasing my stare, and saw that I was holding David’s hand. Her expression contorted from what she saw. She pulled something out of the pocket of her scrubs. It was a small, shiny revolver and she was aiming it straight at me.
“Ginger? You look awful! I thought you were long gone from here.” David’s machine was beeping a bit louder and a bit faster. I took a fleeting look at him.
“Shut up, Isabel,” she spat. “I knew you would come here, I just didn’t think it would be this soon or this easy.” She closed the curtain more so no one could see in. “I’ve waited for this day since the first time David moaned your name in the middle of our lovemaking. I’ve hated you for so long, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t.”
I sat frozen, holding David’s hand, lightly squeezing it, wondering if he could hear us. He pressed two fingers against my hand again. I gasped.
“David called my name out?” Surprise etched all over my face. No wonder she hated me so much. It all made sense. I began to feel a little sorry for Ginger. She actually loved David and he was just using her. I couldn’t imagine being in Josh’s arms, in the middle of making love and then to hear him call another girl’s name out. I would be more than heartbroken.
“Oh, not just once but several times and in his sleep too. I knew he loved you but I thought if I gave him what he wanted he would want me more. Now I get what I want. I get to kill you and leave him to die a slow miserable death,” she hissed, a slow evil smile spreading across her face.
Well, son of gun. Josh was right. Ginger was dangerous and still out to get me. I kind of hated that he was right. I supposed it was too late for me to say I’ll listen to him from now on. I had the most inappropriate urge to laugh at that point. I was staring down the barrel of gun, holding David’s hand—the man who saved my life not too long ago. He stepped in front of me so I wouldn’t get shot. He was lying in a hospital bed in a coma in the ICU and it was going to be all for nothing.
I began to laugh, loud uncontrollable giggles. Josh was going to be so angry with Agents Cristina and Todd. I was so glad I wouldn’t be around to see that volcano erupt.
“Whoa!” I yelled, laughing louder. “Ginger, you take your best shot,” I mumbled through giggles. “Because I think I’m done with trying to evade crazies like you.” I was laughing so hard I was bending over, holding my side. “I mean you are one fucked-up, stupid bitch!” I spat out, laughing harder. “Most girls would just break up with an asshole like David Summers, but not you!” I was trying to catch my breath. “You stayed, got mind fucked and emotionally abused and now you want revenge on me, when by all accounts it should be him,” I said, pointing to David. “You must be a glutton for punishment.”
Someone was banging on the door and yelling my name. The agents must have finally figured out that Ginger wasn’t the nurse that was supposed to be here. Ginger looked pissed, her eyes blazing with anger. She fired two shots at me and missed, hitting the machines instead. Did she mean to do that? Was she that bad of a shot? I quickly stopped laughing.
“Here, let me help you.” I stood up, moving to the wall away from David, holding my hands up in defeat. She frowned, eyeing me up and down, confused why I was dressed like a rodeo clown. “Maybe you’re getting nervous and you’re afraid you’ll hit David. After all, you did imply you want him to suffer.” I reached the wall, knowing I wasn’t going to be behind the cover of the curtain anymore. The two agents and Josh now had me in their sights.
I smirked at Ginger, twisting that painful, proverbial knife even more, and then Josh fired two shots through the glass door and the curtain, shattering the glass and hitting Ginger dead center in her back. She collapsed, hitting the floor with a thud. The same thud I heard when I shot Chang’s henchmen. Blood was pouring out of her body like an open faucet. My mouth went dry.
“Isabel!” Josh stormed in, stepping over Ginger. He took me in his arms. I nearly collapsed, exhaling. I could feel my heart racing. Odd how I hadn’t felt it before. Must have been my adrenaline shooting through me. I buried my face in his chest, not wanting to see anymore dead bodies.
He held me tight. “Jesus.” His voice was tense. “I can’t take you anywhere without someone trying to shoot at you.”
“Ha, ha,” I chuckled. “Please tell me it’s over, Josh. Please tell me there’s no one else out there that wants to kill me.”
“Yes, baby, it’s over.” He led me out of David’s room. Nurses, agents and doctors were rushing in.
He sat me down on a chair just outside the ICU. I noticed he quickly scanned me from top to bottom, looking for any injuries. He squatted in front of me, gazing intently at me.
“I knew you wouldn’t listen to me and stay put. I’m just glad I wasn’t too late. I got here as fast as we figured things out.” He was clenching his jaw and his mouth was set in a thin line.
“What do you mean? She knew I was here?”
“Not exactly. We had been watching the texts on the other therapists’ phones, including yours, but for some reason, Dr. Pamela Hobbson was working late and decided to text through her computer tonight, hence my needing to be here. It would’ve taken too long for me to connect remotely to the hospital’s network.” He continued. “Pam was keeping Ginger updated on Summers and…”
“Pam?” I interrupted, incredulous. Shock hit me like a Mack truck. “Pam’s the one that’s been helping Ginger and the Triads?”
“Yes, baby, Pam. She informed Ginger that Summers was brought in to this ER and wasn’t being watched or guarded. We did that on purpose hoping we could trap her. Well, we did… I just didn’t think ICU would let you in, but I suspect they only let you in because of Cortez and Hawkins. I’m going to have a chat with those two,” he muttered.
“But she changed the way she looks. I wouldn’t be able to pick her out of a line up if you asked me to. Did Cristina and Todd not know that?”
“We suspected that too, given their conversations. We just didn’t know what we were looking for yet. Everyone knew, but like I mentioned, we didn’t know what we were looking for and she did a good job changing her look.”
“How did you not know it was Pam before tonight? Did Pam know Ginger wanted me dead?”
He sighed, letting his head drop. “We found out it was Pam just this evening. She’d been very careful about texting or communicating with anyone. Possibly because of her affair with Conny. That’s how Chang’s men knew where to find you. Ginger thought you were flying commercial but Pam told her it was your father’s company jet.” He squeezed my hands. “And, yes, Pam knew Chang and Ginger wanted you… gone,” he said wryly. “I wish I would’ve listened to you and taken you home with me. All of this would have never happened.”
I stood up and began to pace the hallway, rubbing my forehead. “I don’t understand. Why? Pam is so good at what she does. She’s one of the smartest and most accomplished psychologists out there,” I declared. I felt like I was in shock. This couldn’t possibly be real. My office was just down the hall from Pam’s. She had so many chances to kill me. I stared unseeingly straight ahead.
“It was all about money and her husband, baby.” Josh was in front of me, clasping me by the shoulders. “Pam’s husband had gotten into some gambling trouble during one of his drinking binges and lost everything. The bank accounts were emptied; he lost the house and the cars. He even lost her wedding ring.”
“Gambling? Money? Did Conny know?”
“He had no idea until it was too late. He loved her and didn
’t suspect anything.” Josh’s voice grew softer, mournful. “Pam needed money fast. And not just a little, but a lot. Ginger brought her in and Pam just never got out. I guess the money was too good to walk away from.”
“Oh.” I blinked at him, feeling numb. I had loved Pam too. I still loved Pam. I had never suspected her, either. She was my mentor. “Where is she now?” I asked.
“In FBI custody. That’s all I can say, baby.”
I nodded, staring out into space. I was stunned. I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t know what to think. I had working lunches with Pam, meetings, social lunches and dinners with her. She would have us all over to her house and host Christmas parties every year. I just couldn’t believe that this was the Pam I knew. She was victimizing the very girls she was helping. She must have been frantic to go into that world.
43
Josh was done hacking whatever they needed him to hack and we were on our way back to his apartment. It was a quiet ride back. I was gazing out the window, watching all the people on the streets we passed. They were dressed up for New Year’s Eve with hats, tiaras, costumes and more. People were laughing and shouting with anticipation of the New Year. I saw friends embracing and lovers kissing. It was a happy and warm sight. I thought about Pam and her secret life. In past years she would send us a group text wishing us a Happy New Year with balloons and streamers in her text. How could things have gone so wrong for her? How could she have made those choices and not thought twice? I continued to watch the scene outside. Snow flurries were beginning to fall. Squeals of delight came from a few people yet others groaned. I thought I would feel a slight pang of jealousy because we weren’t a part of the fun and festivities, but I didn’t. All I really wanted was to be with Josh and know that I would be with him tomorrow and the next day and so on.
We reached his apartment, going directly into the building’s garage this time. He had an assigned spot that he paid for monthly, but it was better than trying to find parking outside and then having to walk to the building in freezing weather.
