A Dozen Deadly Roses (20 page)

A muffled rustling in his ear told Mac the Watch Commander had put his hand over the handset of the office phone.  In spite of the lieutenant’s efforts, Mac could still hear what was said.

“I need everyone out of my office right now.  Hurry up, and close the door behind you.”

The rustling in Mac’s ear stopped.

“Okay, I’m back.  Start over and tell me everything.”

“It’s a long story, but I’ll try.”

After Mac explained about the stalker and why he and Jade were in Las Vegas, the lieutenant let out a long whistle.

“I gotta tell ya, bro, you haven’t even been back on the job a week, and you and your partner are in a heap of trouble.  But from what you’ve told me, you did the right thing by calling.  I don’t know why neither of you notified the Department before now about the stalker, but at least your trying to fix it now.  It sucks to be you.  But then, I guess you’re a lot better off than your partner, right?”

The lieutenant’s tone turned more professional as he told Mac someone would be calling him back.  Mac knew with certainty not only was Captain Kincaid going to be advised, the notifications would probably go up to the Chief of Police.  Internal Affairs would be called to start an investigation into the off-duty relationship between Mac and Jade.

Mac wouldn’t bother explaining to this lieutenant that Jade had tried to advise Callie Lasko about the stalker.  That information could wait for the captain or the I.A. investigation.

In retrospect, he realized how foolish it was to share a suite.  It made their relationship appear sexual which, much to his disappointment, it wasn’t.  While he’d spent many of the last few nights fantasizing about making love to Jade, his feelings for her were growing into so much more.  Now they’d probably both be fired because no one would believe that only a few kisses had been shared.

Mac went back inside to check on Angus.  The old man looked like he desperately needed a drink.  Mac felt the same way.  Thank goodness they were together.  They could support each other.  Mac knew without a doubt, if he’d been alone, he’d be looking for a bar right now.  The thought of Jade dying was too much to bear.

“Angus, I can’t use my cell phone in here.  I’ve got to go outside to wait for a call.  You gonna be okay?”

“No need to be frettin’ about me.  Do what you need to do, laddie.”  The old man’s voice was thin.

Mac gave Angus’s shoulder a squeeze and then moved into the brisk outdoors.  Almost immediately, his cell phone rang.

CHAPTER 10

“Mac, its Captain Kincaid.  I got a call from the Watch Commander saying something about Jade Donovan being in a Las Vegas hospital and you’re there with her.  What’s going on?”

Outside the entrance to the hospital, Mac shifted his cell phone to the other ear as an ambulance approached.  Lieutenant Ryan must have the captain on speed-dial, Mac thought.  It had only been about twenty minutes since Mac had hung up from the Watch Commander.

The captain’s voice was full of professional understanding.  However, below the surface, Mac heard an edge - an edge of controlled panic.  The captain, no doubt, was afraid the situation was going to explode, possibly ruining his chance for promotion - or worse.  Many a department commanding officer had his or her career stalled over a misstep by a subordinate.

“Jade and I are in Vegas to attend her father’s wedding.  We got here earlier this morning.  Her son is with us too.  We saw some sights, ate with her father and his fiancée, and then returned to her room.  Jade began having severe abdominal pains.  I thought she might have food poisoning, so I called paramedics.  Now we’re at the hospital - and captain, it doesn’t look good.”

“Hmmm.  I see.”

“Uh, but there’s more,” Mac added.

“Go on.”  This time there was a definite bite to his tone.

“Someone is stalking Jade.  He’s been sending her dead flowers for about a week and a half.  He must be following her, because on our way up here, he left a box on top of her truck in Barstow while we were eating.  He sent flowers last week to the station, too.”

“Do you think the stalker is responsible for her illness?”

“It’s too soon to tell.”

“Why didn’t she notify somebody?” the captain barked.

“She did, but Lieutenant Lasko wasn’t interested, so Jade decided to handle it herself.”

“Sounds like she may have handled herself right into the grave.”  He gave an irritated sigh.  “Okay, I’ve got to call the bureau and let the deputy chief know what’s going on.  I’m going to see if I can get the department plane, but if not, I’ll catch the first commercial flight I can.  Is there anything else I should know?” he said sarcastically.

“I was hoping you’d be able to call Vegas Metro P.D. and get some uniformed officers to stand guard over Jade while she’s here in the hospital.  I know for a fact this nut followed us to Barstow, and now he’s probably in Vegas.”

“You know, Mac, since you’ve returned to the department I’ve been in your corner, but you’ve put me in a bad position.  You’re on probation socializing with your training officer, you’ve been sucked into her stalker problems, and now you’re across state lines asking for protection from an outside agency.  How do you think that’s going to sound to the Chief of Police?  How is that going to make
me
look?  I’ll do what I can, but you’d better prepare yourself to fight for your job again.  I’ll suggest to the deputy chief we might get Vegas P.D. involved, but I’m not promising.  These multi-jurisdiction cases can get very messy.”

“Fair enough,” Mac replied.  “And captain?  Jade and I are just friends.”

“Uh huh, and when I went to bed tonight I was lying awake hoping I’d get called with some cluster-fuck.  I’ll see you as soon as I can get there.”  The line went dead.  Mac shivered in the cold and returned to the hospital lobby.

Angus looked up at Mac with hound-dog eyes.

“I was just talking to my boss,” Mac said.

“Well, what’d he have to say?”

“He isn’t happy, he’s on his way, and I’ll probably lose my job.”

“Not an ounce of concern for my Jade in there dyin’?”  The old man shook his head in disbelief.

“Oh no, Angus.  That’s why the captain’s coming.  Jade is part of the LAPD family, and every captain is kind of like a father to all the people who work under him.  He’s very worried about Jade.”

Angus shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest.  “Aye, lad.  And later on, I’ll be meetin’ up with the Pope in a strip club down the road.”

About an hour and half later, both Mac and Angus rose from their chairs as the doctor approached them in the waiting room.  Mac scanned the physician’s face for any clue as to the kind of news he was coming to deliver.  A quick glance at Angus revealed his face pale, and his features set in hard lines as if he was about to take a blow.

The doctor stopped in front of them and gave a small smile.  “Mr. Donovan, you can go see your daughter now.  I’m guardedly optimistic, and I think we’ve got the problem identified.”

“What is it?” Mac asked.

“Arsenic poisoning.  After we pumped her stomach we had the contents analyzed and it appears she ate some chocolate laced with arsenic.”

A chill engulfed Mac’s body, but was quickly replaced by rage.

“Poisoning?” Angus said, “Who’d want to poison my little Jade?”

The doctor led them past quiet groups waiting in huddles for word of their loved ones.  He punched a silver plate on the wall and wide double doors whooshed open to the treatment area.  He turned to Mac.

“You gave her something to coat her stomach, right?  You probably saved her life.  It started to bind the arsenic right away.  She’ll need to stay in the hospital for a day, maybe two, but she should fully recover.”

The doctor pointed to a door at the end of the hall.  “She’s in room eight.”  He started to walk away, but stopped.  “Oh, because of the circumstances, I’ve notified the police.  That’s our protocol.”  The physician turned and jogged to a gurney being wheeled in by paramedics.

Mac led Angus into the treatment room.  Machines monitoring Jade’s vital signs beeped rhythmically while a redheaded nurse adjusted the flow of an I.V. connected to Jade’s arm.  The R.N. smiled as they entered.

“We’re going to be moving her as soon as we get a room ready.  She’s a lucky girl.  We got her stomach pumped and she’s responding very well.”

Angus moved over to the bed.  Jade’s usually porcelain skin was blotchy.  Dark circles beneath her closed eyes stood stark against her paleness.   He took his daughter’s hand.

“Hey, darlin’.  Your dad is here.”

Ever so slowly, Jade opened her eyes.  She winced at the glare of the florescent lights.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” she whispered.  “Heck of a way to start off a wedding celebration.”

Angus waved his hand in the air.  “Hush now, I won’t be hearin’ that kind of talk.”

Mac moved forward to the other side of the bed.  “How are you feeling?” he asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

Jade grimaced.  “Like I got hit by a truck.  At least I’m not nauseous anymore.  What happened to me?”

“They didn’t tell you?” he asked.

Jade gave him a weak smile.  “I don’t know.  I was out of it most of the time.”

Mac took her other hand in his.  “You were poisoned.  There was arsenic in the chocolate you ate.”

Jade frowned.  “But Donnie could have eaten the chocolate.  I was going to save some for him.”  Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.  “Who is this monster?  Why is he doing this?”

Angus spoke up.  “What are you two talking about?  What’s going on?”

Mac looked at Jade for approval before he began.  At her slight nod, he recited the events leading to the poisoning.

“Ah lassie, I’ve always told you your Irish pride would get you into trouble.  You should have made your boss listen when it first started.  No matter now.  We’ll all watch over you until this barbarian is caught.  You go to sleep now.”

Angus sat in a chair by Jade’s bed holding her hand while as she drifted off to sleep.  Mac slipped away and confirmed Malcolm’s story with one of the Emergency Room doctors that there was, in fact, a medical seminar in town.

Next Mac telephoned the hotel where Malcolm said he was staying.  When the line was connected to Malcolm’s room, the doctor’s voice came through loud and clear.

“Who the hell is it?  Don’t you know what time it is?”

Mac disconnected the call and returned to Jade’s room.  Angus was stretched out on the bed next to his daughter’s, softly snoring.  Mac settled into the chair next to Jade.

He must have dozed off, too, because when he awakened, the beginnings of daylight filtered through the blinds.

“Are you Officer Stryker?” the nurse whispered.

Mac nodded.

“There’s a Captain Kincaid here for you.  He’s waiting in the break room.  It’s down the hall, first door on your left.”

Jade stirred and opened her eyes.  “Did you have to call him?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Mac stood and took Jade’s hand in his.  “You almost died.  It’s time for the department to get involved.”  Mac gently placed Jade’s hand on the bed.  “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Mac, wait.  I’ve got to talk to you.”

Angus stirred and opened his eyes.

Mac rubbed Jade’s shoulder.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.  The captain was annoyed when I called and told him what happened.  I don’t want to make matters worse by having him cool his heels in a hospital break room.”

“But it’s important,” she said.

“I promise, I’ll be right back.”

Angus slipped his shoes on.  “Wait for me, laddie.  I want to know what this Captain Kincaid is going to do to protect my little girl.”

Jade’s gaze moved to her father’s as if seeing him for the first time.

“Dad, be nice.  Don’t let your temper get the best of you.”  She gave her father a weak smile.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” groused the elderly man stepping into the hallway.

Mac led the way.  Glancing at his watch, he frowned.  Over six hours had passed since he’d talked to Kincaid.  The captain had sure taken his time.  When they got to the break room, it was empty.

“That’s odd.  I wonder where he is,” Mac said.

“Maybe he’s in the men’s room,” Angus answered.

After waiting for ten minutes, they returned to Jade’s room.  She’d fallen back to sleep.  Captain Kincaid stood at the foot of the bed.

“Captain,” Mac whispered, motioning for his boss to step in the hallway.

Kincaid looked professional and in complete control.  He wore a fitted navy suit displaying his broad shoulders and trim build.  His gaze shot to Mac, then swept over Angus.  The captain extended his hand.

“Captain Douglas Kincaid, and you are…?”

Angus wiped his clean hand on his pants before taking the captain’s hand.  “I’m Angus Donovan, Jade’s father.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Donovan.”  He turned his attention to Mac.

“So, Stryker, what can you tell me?”

Mac apprised the captain of the poisoning and the fact Jade was on her way to recovery.  “What did the deputy chief say about getting Vegas P.D. to assign some uniformed officers here to guard Jade?”

Kincaid shook his head.  “At this time, he doesn’t want to involve an outside agency.”

Mac felt his ears start to burn.  “Captain, they’re already involved.  The doctor already notified them of the murder attempt on Jade.”

The Captain’s look was stony.  “We don’t know what happened.  It could have been a bad batch of chocolate.”

“Excuse me, laddie, but the doctor just told us.  Jade was poisoned.  Somebody tried to kill my daughter and my grandson.  Are you tellin’ me you won’t be looking into it?”

Kincaid faced Angus, his expression forming a mask of concern.

“No, I’m not saying that at all.  I’m just saying our department wants to get all the facts straight.”

Angus started to open his mouth, but closed it when Mac placed a cautioning hand on his arm.

“I’ll be telling the whole story to the Vegas P.D. investigators as soon as they get here,” Mac advised.

The captain regarded him with a hard look.  “I expect you to fully cooperate with the investigators from
both
departments.  Detectives from our Internal Affairs and Robbery Homicide Division are driving up as we speak.  Since the doctor notified Vegas P.D., I’d better meet with their brass.  Then, I get the pleasure of calling our chief and letting him know what’s going on.”  The captain took a roll of antacid tablets out of his suit pocket and popped one in his mouth.  “I’ll be back here in a few hours to see how Jade is doing.”  Kincaid nodded curtly and walked down the hall.