Page 68 of The Fix

Rex sat down in the chair next to Cami’s hospital bed and took her hand.

It’d been a good hour before she’d stopped shaking.

It was well past ten now and she was rightly exhausted from what she’d endured and the horrific shock—shared by the nation, he imagined—of watching a woman be assassinated on live TV.

She only had a few minor cuts and some less-minor bruises.

But it wasn’t totally clear what muscle relaxant or in what dose Seraphina had administered to Cami, and so the doctor had decided to keep her overnight as a precaution, should an unexpected reaction arise.

The police had assigned a guard to her door as a professional courtesy, and Rex appreciated that, even though he tended to think it was unnecessary.

Mrs. Barclay was dead. Seraphina was in police custody, and Hollis had been taken away by a team of medics who’d pried him from the stage floor, where he’d curled screaming into the fetal position.

Even though the doctor didn’t know what chemical Seraphina had used on Cami, what was clear was that the woman had planned the deadly outcome of Hollis’s rally in advance.

She’d paid a still-unnamed employee to help deliver Cami where she wanted her, seated front and center for what turned out to be a live execution.

The hospital staff was still buzzing. The entire country was going to be buzzing for a long time to come.

Yeah, it’d been a hell of a day.

Rand, Gigi, and Cyrus had met them at the hospital but had gone home an hour ago.

They’d downplayed Cami’s injury to Cyrus and turned off the television in the room.

The kid had experienced enough and didn’t need to worry about another parent being taken from him or horrors being played out on live TV.

Rand—that’s what he’d insisted Rex call him—had started to shake Rex’s hand when they’d met in the hospital hallway and then decided on a hug. Rex had laughed a little uncomfortably, but inside, he had this strange urge to cry, and this time, he’d allowed himself more than a heartbeat of healing.

Gigi hadn’t been restrained in the least during their introduction, throwing her arms around Rex and kissing his cheek as she gushed and thanked him for rescuing Cyrus and finding Cami.

Cami had saved herself, however. He’d just recognized her call. And regardless of what Seraphina’s intentions with her had been, Rex would be forever grateful he was there with Cami as Seraphina carried out her deadly mission.

He’d arrived in time. And Cami hadn’t had to watch what unfolded alone. He’d held her as the shrieking crowd had scattered and the police arrived.

Rex brought Cami’s knuckle to his lips and kissed it. “You’re safe now,” he said for the hundredth time.

She nodded. “I’ve been going over it all, Rex.

And most of it ... it’s clear. Horrible .

.. but clear.” She looked away for a moment, out the open window, where only a slip of star-studded sky showed above the adjacent buildings.

“But I still have a question. Who made that call about the do-over? Who helped me find Cyrus after Mrs. Barclay arranged his kidnapping? Seraphina didn’t even know about it at the time. ”

That was the one mystery that Seraphina’s confession to Cami hadn’t solved. Rex had an idea, however, but nothing definite yet. “I’m looking into that,” he told her.

She gave him a small nod. “What about the fixer, Rex? Do you think there’s any way to find them?”

“People like that are generally very difficult to find. But I’m looking into that too. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

Her lashes fluttered. “Promise?”

“Promise.” He squeezed her hand. “Get some sleep.”

“Okay.” She barely uttered the word before her eyes blinked shut.

Rex stayed for a few minutes longer to make certain she was asleep, and then he stood and walked quickly out the door.

Rex had thrown his laptop in his truck after using it to hack the tracking app, and he retrieved it quickly and brought it back into the waiting room down the hall.

It was bright here, and there was coffee, and he needed both now if he, too, wasn’t going to begin to crash.

He still had one more important task.

Vital perhaps, and also urgent.

He bought himself a Styrofoam cup of coffee from the vending machine and sat down with the laptop on his thighs.

He logged in as an administrator to Hollis’s campaign site—their meeting spot, as he understood it now. He opened a random email from Hollis’s inbox, and then he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long.

A reply box popped up, and Rex’s breath halted for a moment. He didn’t think she had much capability for links or long messages, and so he was going to make this as easy as possible.

He brought his cursor to the box and typed:

Is this Josephine Kiss?

A second clicked by, two, before a single word appeared:

Yes

Rex’s heart jumped. He was right. “Well, hello, Josephine,” he murmured. Do you need assistance? he typed.

Yes

Rex paused, trying to determine the best, most expedient way to get the information he needed. But she must have been a few steps ahead of him, because she began typing first.

Dr. Gerhard Ellingson

It took her several tries to get the name out as she paused and backed up more than once.

And then again, before he responded, she typed another line.

Broward Art Auction

Rex waited, but she seemed to be done, and he sensed that she was now waiting for him.

Waiting for him to figure out what she was communicating with those two names—one a person and one an event. And how knowing about those two things would help him help her. It must be somewhat straightforward. There was no reason Josephine would use riddles.

I’ll be right back, he typed.

Rex opened up another browser and typed in the name of the doctor.

Gerhard Ellingson was a physician who specialized in spinal cord injuries and practiced in the DC area.

Okay, so he was likely Josephine’s doctor?

He sat there for a moment, stretching his fingers as he considered what this meant and how knowing the name of her doctor might assist him.

Did she have an appointment? Something occurred to him.

He picked up his phone and dialed the office number, and an answering service picked up.

“Yes, hi,” he said. “I’m calling on behalf of Josephine Kiss. She has an appointment with Dr. Ellingson.”

He waited, breath suspended as the woman on the line hummed as though she was looking up that information. “Yes, sir. The house call tomorrow morning at eight a.m.? It’s the doctor’s first appointment with the patient? Is there a problem?”

“Yes, actually. I’m sorry to say something has come up, and Ms. Kiss will need to reschedule.”

“I’ll let the doctor know, sir. What date would you like instead?”

“I’ll have to call back once I have Ms. Kiss’s calendar in front of me. I just wanted to ensure the doctor knew tonight so he doesn’t make the trip unnecessarily.”

“Absolutely. I’ll make sure he knows. And he’ll look forward to making Ms. Kiss’s acquaintance in the near future.”

Rex hung up, blood buzzing as he began to understand the plan Josephine had obviously already come up with.

Rex looked up the auction next, finding that it was an event that was held every year in London. An event that happened to be tomorrow evening. Rex scrolled through the site, stopping when he got to the list of the board of directors. “Anton Kiss,” he murmured.

Her brother was on the board of the art auction that would be held tomorrow night in London. He’d have almost certainly left the country already. He would not be home.

Okay. Rex wasn’t certain why that part was important but apparently it was.

He looked up as a member of the janitorial staff exited a closet just down the hall from where Rex was sitting in the open lobby. He caught sight of a white coat hanging inside.

Rex returned to Hollis’s internal website, where the reply box was still open, cursor blinking.

I understand, he typed. And then he logged off.