Page 2 of What’s Left of Us (What Left #3)
“And you boss,” she says, surprising me.
“Shortly after their interviews they stopped by the room and asked if you were up yet. They haven’t come back so far, but last I knew they were in the waiting room.
” She clears her throat before continuing.
“Tyler is monitoring the guard detail overseeing Constantine until he is officially moved back to a room post surgery. As far as I know he’s still unconscious so unless he suddenly wakes up I don't see him doing anything.”
This is a disaster. I shouldn't have allowed things to get this out of hand, and now that I’m awake I need to get a handle on the situation.
Having a serial killer in the hospital will put everyone on edge, especially someone with as much of a violent history as Alastair.
Right now it’ll be easier to reach him for questioning in the hospital than in prison again, but he needs to be awake to ask him anything.
It feels cold to say after my last memories of Alastair. Before he turned and pistol-whipped me, I could see the parts of him that appeal to Jo and Vinny. He was a completely different person from the unstable criminal I've interviewed.
I'm just not sure which version is the real one: the killer or the trickster.
“I'll call the team and let them know you’re up,” Finley says, shifting back from the hospital bed. The door to the room is cracked, and she looks over her shoulder before meeting my gaze again. “The doctor should check you out. And… there’s something else.”
What else could there be? “Go on.”
“The deputy director called me once I landed,” Finley explains, rubbing the side of her head. “I relayed that you were unconscious but seemed otherwise well, and he expects a status once you’re checked out.”
I sigh. That sounds about right, considering how off the rails things went since yesterday. It feels like it’s been days since I stepped into the cabin.
“I know you have a lot to handle, Sir,” Finley continues, tapping on her phone.
“Tyler thought you should be evaluated before I show you this but there’s a lot going on and I can tell that you’re going to just run out of here and start working.
This was live earlier and I saved the link to show you.
It's going to be a shit show out there.”
Before she can hand the phone over, I press a hand to my temple and shake my head. “Keep it until I’m out of this bed, Finley. Is it a report?”
“Yes. Um, Beverly Heather went on the air rambling about the case.”
That makes a new headache form thinking about Ms. Heather. She wanted all the gossip when we last spoke, and she will only cause issues if she’s sharing the wrong intel. “Is it bad?”
Finley nods. “Bad enough I planned to show you. She was also walking the hospital earlier. She’s friends with one of the nurses out here apparently. She wanted to talk to you about a box she has?”
That sounds weird, and like the last thing on my mind right now. Beverly is a pain from what I remember, but not a dangerous one. My biggest worry is she will share misinformation and either freak out the public, or piss a lot of people off sharing details that she doesn’t need her nose buried in.
“We’ll do damage control on anything she says once the team can meet up and get a status on everything,” I say, trying to think rationally.
If I open the video right now and she’s skewed evidence or just completely making things up, it’s going to make my headache worse and ruin my composure.
“Gabe is best with the media. Has he seen the video?”
“He found it before I could show it to him,” she admits.
“Then he can start thinking about how we can make a statement to curb any hysteria if he’s so damn determined to be useful,” I sigh.
This is not what I wanted to wake up to.
With the tangled web of lies, timelines and involved parties in the case, I can only imagine what’s getting mixed up with a big media scoop.
“Where the hell are they getting this information?”
“It's a mix of omitted information, gossip the news station collected on Constantine and the current news reports. Even though it's all wrong.” Finley rolls her eyes, and I can tell she’s just as unimpressed as I am. Beverly is going to stir up drama, not help close the case.
Unless there's some hidden agenda, some big reveal the news stations are leading up to, there's no reason things should be that far off. I can feel a headache already forming, and my throat is screaming for some sort of water. I’ve let myself get distracted talking to Soto, needing as many details as I can get.
Before I say anything, a doctor pushes through the door into my room, offering me a strained smile. “Agent Gideon, glad to see you're awake.”
I nod, glancing at Finley as I clear my throat. “Go check on Gabe again for me. If he’s trying to get discharged, make sure he follows the doctor's advice.”
Her lip twitches, and she fights a smile. “Will do.”
As she walks out and the doctor starts speaking to me, I notice someone passing by in the hallway. The doctor continues reviewing my symptoms—but my attention is fixed elsewhere.
That was definitely Vinny walking by, but Jo was not with him.
I’m positive the man by his side is Xeno.
I try to zone in on the Doc so I can get out of this room sooner than later, but my mind keeps wandering back to three specific people: the one who surprised me, and the two lovers that I want to see.