Body of Lies (11 page)

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Authors: Deirdre Savoy

Tags: #Romance

BOOK: Body of Lies
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But for now it was over. He relaxed his rigid posture, then shook himself like a mongrel. He slipped through the shifting crowd until he emerged on the other side.
A heavy voice called out from behind him. “Hey, kid, where do you think you're going?”
He glanced back over his shoulder to see the heavyset uniformed sergeant looking back at him. “Gotta water the plants,” he called back.
The sergeant nodded and turned away, obviously disgusted with any officer who couldn't hold his bladder better but unwilling to stop him.
He turned away, heading left at the corner. All the noise, the flashing lights, the activity seemed to be swallowed up by the surrounding buildings so that none of it touched him here. He liked that. The car he'd boosted was less than a block away. He smiled to himself as he walked the rest of the way through the still, black night.
Twelve
“How are you doing over there?”
At the sound of Zach's voice, Alex turned her head in his direction. She'd spent the last five minutes of the ten-minute ride to Jacobi Hospital pretending to be fascinated by the view outside her window. In truth, she hadn't known what to say to him, so she'd remained silent. While they were surrounded by others it had been easy, though she was sure he'd noticed she'd avoided eye contact with him. Now that they were alone, she needed to deal with how they'd left things. She'd been putting it off, part of the reason she'd declined a lift to the scene from him. That wasn't like her. She'd learned the art of confrontation from a master.
For a moment, she studied his profile. His posture and facial expression appeared relaxed, but she knew better. Underneath he was as driven and intense as he used to complain about his brother's being; he was only able to camouflage it better. She knew he was worried about this case and that that girl neither of them knew would wake up to tell them something they could use.
They were alike in that way. Devon had accused her of being able to hide behind a clinician's detached pose, her own brand of mask. He hadn't been wrong. That bit of emotional armor had served her well when everything fell apart. Yet, she'd lost it earlier that evening and shown him a vulnerability she hadn't intended. Then she'd taken it out on him when he'd noticed. He deserved an explanation from her, even though she dreaded giving one.
She exhaled slowly, turning her gaze to the road in front of her. “I shouldn't have come down so hard on you before. I know why you did what you did. I've always known. I shouldn't have said what I did.”
“Then why did you?”
“You kept pushing. I pushed back. I know that for you, seeing each other is like some stroll down memory lane. I know how much you loved my father. But for me, it was one of the worst times of my life—a time I'd rather forget.”
It was in her mind to add that his presence in her life had been the only thing that made it bearable, but that would defeat her purpose. She wanted distance from him. She wanted her safe life back, the one she'd had before she walked into McKay's conference room. She wanted the sleeping dog of the past to remain dormant, and it never would if she allowed him to keep poking at it.
For good measure she added, “We knew each other once, briefly. It doesn't have anything to do with what we are trying to do here or who we are today.”
He said nothing for a long while, but she noticed his jaw tightened and his grip on the steering wheel clenched. Damn. She'd hurt him again, but hopefully it would be the last time. Maybe he'd back off for good.
He turned onto Pelham Parkway. She could see the hospital from there. They'd need to head up to Williams-bridge Road to make a U-turn and double back on the other side of the road. The parking lot was tiny and under construction. They parked on the street at a broken meter.
Once they were on the path leading to the emergency room, he said, “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
Alex swallowed. Was this what she'd reduced him to—feeling the need to check with her before speaking? “Go ahead.”
“What were you looking for when I left you alone at the car?”
She hadn't expected that, but she'd take it. “I think I was getting paranoid for a moment there. I had the feeling someone was watching me. I looked around, but I didn't see anyone.”
“You thought it might be Thorpe?”
“I don't know. As I said, I was just being paranoid. I'm sure your officers were briefed on Thorpe. His picture was all over the news. If he'd been there, I'm sure someone would have spotted him.”
Zach shrugged, but she knew better than to interpret his nonchalance as not caring.
Once inside, they were informed that the girl was still in surgery, that she had suffered a wound to the back of her head that had caused a blood clot and swelling. Being right about the girl's condition didn't offer Alex any solace. The doctor suggested they wait in the small doctors' lounge across from the elevators on the surgical floor, though he left them little hope she'd be waking up any time soon.
 
 
Zach lounged in one of the wood and fabric hospital chairs, his feet stretched out and crossed at the ankles, his arms folded, his eyes closed except for a thin slit through which he watched Alex watch a small television set hung from the ceiling by a long metal arm. He adopted the posture mainly because most people left him alone long enough for him to think. Alex was no exception.
He doubted she noticed he watched her or cared if he did. Her entire concern was for the fate of the girl. He wished his focus was as singular, but it wasn't. His mind kept drifting back to what she'd said in the car. He'd known back then that Alex was having a tough time of it. Sammy hadn't been blind to Alex's wishes; he simply dismissed them as being unimportant compared to his own. Though Zach had loved Sammy, he had been aware of his faults. He hadn't wanted to be like Sammy or even the same kind of cop Sammy was. Sammy hadn't been a crooked cop, but he hadn't been quite clean either. He survived by having more dirt on others than they had on him.
If she thought his sole purpose in coming around was to be with Sammy she was mistaken. Until she'd spoken, he imagined she remembered him as a friend, someone she'd looked up to until the night he'd gone and ruined that. He hadn't considered she regarded him as one big reminder of a time she'd rather forget.
We knew each other once. It doesn't have anything to do with ... who we are today.
Did she really mean that or was that something to say to back him off? He couldn't speak for her, but the night they'd spent together had changed him. It had stripped him of even the pretense of being an honorable man, made him question himself and wonder if his brothers hadn't been right about him from the get go. He'd lost himself for a while—until he met Sherry, the first woman in a long time to interest him in more than a temporary way. He'd married her because it seemed to be the next step in the logical course of events, but in his heart he knew he'd screw that up, too. It hadn't taken him long to prove himself right.
And now here they were again. She was wrong about him, though. He didn't view seeing her again as a stroll down memory lane, rather a chance to redeem himself a little in her eyes. But he'd give her what she wanted. He'd back off. The last thing he wanted was to cause her any more distress than he already had.
The television was tuned to a cable station flashing local news stories. An Asian woman with big hair spoke while a helicopter's eye view of the scene showed a CSU tow truck removing the car. The sound was too low for him to hear what was said, but there was McKay being interviewed by another woman. He was really beginning to hate that bastard.
He refocused his gaze on Alex, wondering what she was thinking. She seemed utterly calm, the slight movement of her left foot the only clue to any distress. She shifted, recrossing her legs. “I would really love to know what that man has against me.”
Zach wanted to know the same thing. He knew McKay believed she'd been in contact with Thorpe or rather that he'd tried to contact her. A dump of her phone records confirmed that he'd called, but not that she'd spoken to him or that Thorpe had even identified himself. For all anyone knew Thorpe had breathed heavy a few times and hung up. The calls were too brief for much more than that.
Aside from that, he suspected McKay had some personal stake in the outcome of this case, though Zach would be damned if he knew what it was. From what he understood, McKay pretty much kept to himself, having few friends on the force in whom he might confide. Truthfully, though, Zach didn't really care what McKay's problem was as long as he kept it to himself. Alex didn't need or deserve any shit from him right now. And with the crime scene wrapping, the others would start showing up soon. No one would want to be left out of the loop. Zach only hoped he made it through the night without having to go at it with McKay.
Smitty was the first to show up, bearing a tray from Dunkin' Donuts. “So what did I miss?”
Zach stood as did Alex. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Enjoying that visit with the in-laws in Connecticut I told you about. Real shame to cut it short,” he said with a roll of his eyes that said it was anything but. To Alex he said, “Help yourself. They're all light and sweet.”
Alex took one of the cups. “Thank you.” She returned to the seat she'd occupied and crossed her legs.
Zach turned back to Smitty. He'd forgotten about Smitty's trip and the day off he planned to take tomorrow. Zach took a cup from the tray. “Thanks.”
Smitty took the remaining cup from the tray and tossed the tray in the garbage pail by the door. “You got a minute?” He nodded toward the doorway.
“Sure.” Alex glanced at him as he walked toward the door, but said nothing. A pair of uniformed officers stood in the hall. Each of them cast a look at him and Smitty before returning to their conversation.
Zach leaned his shoulder against the wall, facing Smitty. “What's up?”
“I heard on the way over here. They ran the girl's prints. No hits.”
So they still didn't know her identity. “What about missing persons?”
“They're checking. So far nothing. Nothing in the car either.”
“Shame,” Zach said. The girl deserved to have whatever family she possessed here pulling for her. But so far, Smitty hadn't told him anything he couldn't have said in front of Alex, nothing he wouldn't tell her himself in another minute. “Anything else?”
“How's she holding up?”
Zach almost laughed. Smitty was worried about Alex? What was it about her that seemed to bring out the protective instincts of every man who met her, with the exception of McKay and her own father? Especially since she'd never appreciated any attempts at coddling her. “Careful, Smitty, your paternalism is showing.”
“I can't help it if she reminds me of my own kid. I wouldn't want her involved in this mess either.”
Zach said nothing to that. Smitty's daughter taught high school English in a school in Hunts Point. She was probably a lot tougher than her old man gave her credit for.
The double doors leading to the surgical suites opened, drawing Zach's attention. A single grim-faced doctor in green scrubs came through, the man he'd spoken to before but whose name he didn't remember without consulting what he'd written down.
Zach straightened, expecting to hear bad news. That might be his cynicism showing, but that's what he'd expected from the beginning.
“What is it, Doctor?”
The doctor brushed his hand over his head removing his cap to reveal a shock of salt-and-pepper hair. “I wish I had better news for you. We got the young lady stabilized, but she hasn't regained consciousness. We're hoping once the swelling in her brain comes down.”
“Where is she now?”
“They'll be transferring her to the ICU in a minute. The SARS nurse is finishing up. I'm sorry, but we couldn't get to it before now.”
Zach nodded. The SARS nurse was trained in evidence and information collection following a rape. Sooner was better than later when it came to evidence collection, but saving the girl's life was the priority. They'd have to live with any contamination or loss of evidence.
“Is there any family?”
“We're still trying to figure out who she is.”
“She'll be admitted as a JD, then.”
Zach extended his hand toward the doctor. “Thank you.”
Sighing, the doctor shook his hand. “As I said, I wish I had better news.”
The doctor turned to walk away.
“Can we see her?”
That came from Alex. Once he'd found out the girl's condition, Zach had planned to take Alex home. Smitty could handle getting any other information that was needed and he was feeling a bit protective of Alex himself at the moment. But he could tell by the steel in her expression and the fact that she didn't look at him that she wouldn't back down.
“If you wait until they bring her down to the ICU.”
It took nearly an hour before a pair of orderlies flanked by a pair of uniforms brought her downstairs. If it weren't for the coffee Smitty had brought, Zach was sure he'd be snoring in a chair by now. But Alex seemed filled with a sort of nervous energy unattributable to the effects of caffeine. He wished he could pull her into his arms and soothe her, but she'd made it plain she didn't want that from him. So he simply stood beside her watching through the broad windows as the staff worked to hook the girl up to several monitors as well as a breathing machine, the hiss of which he could hear even through the room's closed door.
Alex rocked back on her heels, her arms crossed in front of her. “Good God, Zach, she's such a baby.”

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