Page 64

When he withdrew his hand, it grazed against something embedded in the man’s neck.

Prongs. In the darkness, Hayes couldn’t make out where the wires led.

So he’d been tased to incapacitate him first, giving his attacker time to jab him with the drug.

He’d probably been jolted repeatedly to provide the drug time to work.

Hayes’s right hand was shackled to the door handle, so he had to use his left to stretch into the vehicle, searching for Starr’s weapon.

His pistol and taser were missing. So was his body cam.

Cursing, Hayes lowered his hand to the officer’s belt, trying to find the radio that should have been hooked there. Also missing.

He pounded his free fist on the door in frustration, the chain on his other wrist jangling.

There’d be an emergency feature on the radio that he could have used to alert dispatch.

Another thought struck him. The cuffs he wore must have come from the policeman.

His fingers were strangely clumsy as he felt around the man’s duty belt.

It was stripped bare. Starr’s vest was unzipped.

Checking inside it, he discovered neither a cell nor keys.

The pants pockets were also empty. Even his wallet was gone.

Hayes checked Starr’s shirt pocket. His fingers brushed metal near the bottom seam.

Relief slammed into him. It took more time than it should have to fish the handcuff key out.

His fingers felt thick. Awkward. When he retrieved it he stared, his thinking increasingly muzzy.

Key. Cuffs . Some part of his brain still worked, but his thoughts seemed to come from a distance.

Fitting the key into the tiny lock of the handcuffs took a dexterity he no longer possessed.

Hayes found himself leaning against the cruiser for support as he worked.

Finally, he heard the tiny snick signaling success. He shoved the key in his pants pocket, released the cuffs, and fastened a bracelet to one of his belt loops.

His brain was growing increasingly fuzzy.

Focus grew more difficult. Backup gun. The idea flickered through his mind and was nearly lost before he mentally lassoed it and reeled it back.

Hayes hadn’t carried a BUG, but Officer Starr may have.

He opened the car door and crouched down to check the man’s ankles.

Found another weapon strapped above the right one.

Withdrawing it, he placed it in his empty holster and then unlocked the car doors so he could climb in the back seat to look for Starr’s shotgun bag.

Some officers kept their Narcan in there, and the man may well need it to avoid an overdose.

But the bag wasn’t present. The glove compartment and trunk were locked.

Shooting his way into the trunk would alert anyone inside the building.

Where Reese remained in danger.

Hayes backed out of the car and spent precious minutes working the probes out of his skin before stumbling for the back entry of the building. There might be a landline inside. He could alert 9-1-1. Hayes had the element of surprise.

And he was no longer unarmed.

“Put down the sculpture.”

Reese purposefully let the figurine go without lowering her hand, rejoicing at the loud clamor it made as it bounced off the tiles a couple of times before rolling.

“Now the purse.”

She let the bag slide over her arm. Drop. “Hands in the air.” Sedgewick waited until Reese had obeyed before motioning with the weapon. “Out of the stall.” The doctor backed away a bit, keeping Reese in her sights.

Without moving, she said, “Kervin needs help. His pulse is weak.”

The doctor gave a thin smile. “He’s not your concern. Move.” With a last glance at the man, Reese walked by the other woman. “Stop there. Lie down.”

Reese’s mind swirled. Delay. Buy time . “You know how unsanitary a bathroom floor is?”

“Or I can just shoot your buddy in the head.” Lisa arched a brow. “Doesn’t matter to me when he dies.”

Reese went to her knees then lay down on her stomach, hands still raised. The doctor took a radio out of her pocket. Pressed a button. “Blake. Bathroom by the arrangement room. Now.”

“Where’s Hayes?”

“Your bodyguard? Probably not dead, unfortunately. But that will be rectified soon.”

A torrent of relief rushed through her. He’s alive . The knowledge reignited her determination. She wasn’t going to die on these germ-ridden tiles. People were depending on her. Hayes. Kervin. Reese inched her arms closer to her head. Bent her knees infinitesimally.

The doctor spoke into the radio again. “Chen!”

She levered herself to her knees and sprang forward, arms outstretched.

Sedgewick tried to dodge, but Reese caught her by one ankle and pulled with all her might.

A shot rang out, deafening in the small space.

The doctor landed heavily against the towel dispenser.

Reese wrapped both hands around the woman’s ankles and tried to yank her off-balance.

A voice sounded through the radio. “What the hell’s going on in there? ”

The doctor re-leveled the weapon at Reese’s head. “You have no idea what that will cost you.” To Chen, she said, “Get in here!”

The door burst open. Reese didn’t dare look behind her but clung to a gossamer thread of hope that help had somehow arrived. That snapped a moment later when she recognized Chen’s voice. “You.”

Hard hands yanked her up, spun her around and delivered a solid punch to her stomach. The air whooshed out of her. Reese doubled over, struggling to breathe. Felt herself pulled upward again.

“That’s enough.”

She was dimly aware that the man’s fist remained cocked above her. Ready to fly.

“I said no. She’s not for you. Where are your zip ties?”

“She split my head open! I need stitches!”

“Tie her hands and feet. Find whatever she used to cut Langrath’s bonds. Then we’ll get you taken care of.”

Reese didn’t dare move, her breathing still choppy. She could see both of his fists balled now, pent-up fury shaking him. He shoved her to the floor, drawing his foot back and kicking her hard in the side. Pain exploded. She choked and gasped, trying to draw a breath.

“That’s a fraction of what you deserve.” The words drifted over her, around her, as her chest heaved in a futile attempt to fill her lungs.

“Do as you’re told.”

She felt her arms wrenched roughly behind her. Something bit into her wrists. Then her ankles. “Now search her.”

Chen frisked her, then rolled her over onto her bound arms and repeated the action. “Nothing. Maybe it’s in her purse.”

“In the stall.” The man disappeared into the small cubicle. “Pick up all of her belongings and put them in the bag. Bring it to me.”

Sedgewick used the intervening time to drop the radio into the pocket of her spring-green suit jacket. Then she pulled several paper towels from the holder and stepped to the sink to wet them, divide them into two pads, and fold them, all the while keeping the gun pointed at Reese.

She managed a gulp of air. Chen reappeared with the purse dangling from his hand. “Didn’t find anything that could have cut through his ties. He may have broken them.”

Sedgewick stepped over her body to take the purse. Handed him the pads she’d made. “Clean yourself up. Then get Langrath out of here.”

For the first time, Reese was aware that the woman was wearing nitrile gloves.

Minutes later, the toilet flushed, and Chen backed out of the stall hauling Kervin, his hands wedged under the man’s arms. He struggled with the weight, but Sedgewick didn’t move to assist him.

The blood smearing his temple and down one side of his face had been stanched and wiped away, but his wound was still seeping.

He was ungloved. The ramifications of that struck Reese as important but it was another moment before her oxygen-starved brain chugged to life, connecting the dots.

The man had bled profusely from Reese’s attack and then had searched many of the rooms looking for her, shedding even more droplets.

Yet the doctor wasn’t warning him about the evidence he was leaving behind.

Because she was setting him up to take the fall for all of this, or because he, too, was dispensable? Maybe both, she decided, sickened.

He paused, his back against the swinging door exit. “Where to?”

“The aquamation room. Did you get everything prepared?”

“I was sort of busy chasing down that fucking bitch.”

The doctor’s voice was devoid of sympathy. “Shouldn’t have let her get the jump on you in the first place. Go on, now. We’ll be there shortly.”

Chen backed out of the door, dragging the prone man. Although the CNA had seemed to rouse a bit minutes earlier, his eyes were shut.

“Kervin has been a loyal employee for years,” Reese protested. “You can’t just…”

“Oh, but I can.” The doctor’s mouth twisted. “You and I have a different definition of loyalty. Do you think I don’t know that he was feeding you full of lies that you were going to weaponize against us? I don’t take betrayal lightly.”

“Why would you think that?”

“We have a no cell phone policy in the hospital. It’s strictly enforced, no exceptions, to protect our patients’ privacy. Employees keep their phones in baskets behind the front desk.”

Kervin had mentioned that, hadn’t he? “So you…what? Stole his cell?”

Lisa’s lips curved. “Just long enough to clone it. Lorna warned me that he was speaking with you. I needed to know what he was saying.”

“He never messaged me any information.”

She kicked Reese’s calf. Hard. “No, because he was selling it to you. In person. At this point, one would think you’d stop underestimating me.”

“Underestimate you? The woman who had Greenley killed and tried to frame me? The person who’s currently plotting another murder?”

“More than one, actually. But there’s a difference between planning and committing.”

The law didn’t make that sort of distinction, but Reese was well aware that law enforcement didn’t factor into this moment, either.

“What are you hiding? Why did Greenley need to die? Because of the scam you’re running at the hospital?

” At least, that’s what she thought Kervin had whispered. “The lies you’ve been telling?”

Sedgewick cocked her head. “Tyler was handy when alive, but after you started asking questions, his death made him useful in a different way. One must be flexible. Loose thread snipped, and police attention diverted to you, making you a very bad pick for your brother’s conservator. Triple win.”

Her stomach lurched. A man’s life was a loose thread and no more, just like Kervin’s would be. And then hers. And Hayes? Starr? Nausea rolled in her stomach. Rose to her throat.

“Why do you care so much who Ben’s conservator is? Because you’re the reason Greenley was manipulating the trust funds? Everyone was enriching themselves at my brother’s expense, is that it?”

“Oh, that’s ironic. First your fucking aunt and then you, vaulting on your high horses when neither of you gave a damn about your brother all your lives.

One has to have a deep understanding of human nature to know who you can manipulate.

Find a person’s flaws, appeal to their worst nature, and you own them.

Padding expenses is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. And I was running out of time.”

A dark river of dread twisted through her, one that carried a recognition her mind scrambled from fully embracing. “And what’s Ben supposed to do once you drain his trust fund?”

Sedgewick gave an ugly laugh. “He’s made no complaints so far. But then, your brother’s been dead for over six years.”