Punish the Deed (30 page)

Fifty-Eight

Over the objections of medical personnel, Jake listened to Lucinda. She begged him not to send her into surgery that far from home. She wanted to be in familiar territory with a doctor she knew and trusted. Paramedics loaded her into the same state trooper helicopter that had originally brought them to the scene. While medical personnel bandaged her up and filled her with painkillers, Lucinda feverishly explained to Jake what needed to be done upon their return.

She kept talking as the helicopter rose into the air but soon she was lost in a pharmaceutical fog. When she slipped away, Jake made sure that Dr. Rambo Burns would be waiting when they landed on a heliport of a hospital just seven blocks from Lucinda’s apartment.

As soon as Lucinda rolled safely into surgery, Jake hailed a cab and headed for Lucinda’s apartment to check on Chester. Lucinda’s gray tabby was standoffish at first but when Jake opened a can of tuna feast, Chester became an instant friend, rubbing on his shins and purring loudly.

Jake then traveled to the Justice Center where he updated Captain Holland on Lucinda’s condition. Holland said, “The mayor’s called a meeting for the vote on the monocular-vision policy this morning. No matter how successful Pierce’s surgery, she may end up permanently on desk duty.”

“That’s not right, Captain. I’ll see what I can do. But before I go, what’s the situation with Ellen Branson?”

“After her husband and I sat down with the District Attorney, we made arrangements for her care. She left lock-up last night to go to a mental-health facility for an evaluation.”

“What about the charges? Lucinda was adamant that they be dropped.”

“They are, sort of. The D.A. agreed to drop them but retained the option of reinstating them at a later date pending the outcome of her treatment.”

“Good. Lucinda will be pleased. She was chastising herself for forgetting about Ellen’s situation yesterday.”

“But she was in the middle of a hostage negotiation yesterday,” Captain Holland objected.

“And your point is?”

The captain sighed. “Right, we are talking about Pierce. How am I going to keep her at home resting until she heals?”

“I’ll try to help. I’ll be spending a lot of time around here. We’ll be forming a task force to coordinate all of the investigations and make decisions about which jurisdiction gets a piece of Charles Sinclair Murphy first. I’ll bring Lucinda into the loop via conference call. That should keep her off her feet for a little while.”

“Probably not long enough. It’s a shame she didn’t put a bullet in his head,” Holland said.

“It would make the job easier but that’s not a burden I’d want her to bear. The thought of killing another person really gnawed at her.”

“I know. I didn’t really mean that. But you know . . .”

“Yes, I do. See you later, Captain. It’s time for me to annoy the mayor.” Jake walked up the street to City Hall. He breezed past the mayor”s secretary and into his conference room, flashing his badge every step of the way. He opened a door to a dozen startled faces. “Monocular-vision policy task force meeting?” he asked.

“Yes,” said the mayor from the head of the table. “Who are you?”

“Special Agent Jake Lovett, Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“And you are interrupting our meeting, because . . .?” the Mayor asked incredulously.

“As someone who works in Washington, D.C., the most policy-and rule-laden capital of the free world, I wanted to make sure you understood that policies and rules sometimes have unintended consequences. I don’t know if you are considering these restrictions on monocular officers because of some intra-office political storm I don’t know about or because of fear of liability or because of a lack of information. Whatever your reasons, you will suffer a great loss if you craft a policy that will leave Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce shackled to a desk.”

“But who could rely on her in the field? Her vision is impaired,” the mayor objected.

“I relied on her in the field – as did sixteen hostages of a psychopath – including seven children. One hostage died, shot to death before Lieutenant Pierce inserted herself into the situation. The others are alive because she was there. The last life she saved by exercising her expert marksmanship skills. She fired a shot into the elbow of the perpetrator from a long distance. She may only have one eye, ladies and gentlemen, but she’s a better shot than a lot of full-sighted officers in the field.

“Some of you might be thinking that Officer Pierce is the exception to the rule – that you can vote in a policy and make an exception for her and any others with her proficiency. But I’ll bet if you ask your City Attorney, he’ll tell you that exceptions expose you to the most liability.

“So, if you want to punish a heroic officer who willingly puts her life on the line for citizens every day, you go ahead and vote in this policy. But before you do, think about her and think about the loss this city will suffer if you do.”

Jake turned and walked out, hailing another taxi to take him to the hospital. When he walked through the lobby, he saw a young girl arguing with a volunteer at the front desk. When he overheard Lucinda’s name, he stopped and entered the fray.

Jake stepped into the room assigned to Lucinda after her surgery. She opened her eyes at his approach and gave him a weak smile. “Hey,” she said.

“Guess what I found in the lobby?” He stepped to one side and revealed Charley.

Charley tore across the room. “Lucy, Lucy, are you okay?” She skidded to a stop beside the bed, her exuberance intimidated by the IV tube.

“Yeah, Charley, I’m just fine. C’mon, c’mon, get up on the bed.”

Charley eased up beside her. “Lucy, you gotta get better.”

“I will, Charley. But how did you get here?”

“I saw the news about the bad man you caught and, instead of getting on the school bus, I got on the city bus and came here.”

“Does your dad know where you are?”

“I called him,” Jake said. “He wasn’t real happy about her independent decision to head over here on her own but he was glad to know where she was.”

“Oh, he’ll get over it,” Charley said with a roll of her eyes.

Affection swelled up in Lucinda’s chest. If there had ever been time for a child in her life, here was the one she would want. She sighed at the thought.

“Did I hurt you, Lucy?” Charley said in response.

“No, Charley. Not at all.”

“I’m going to go get a cup of coffee and let you two have some time alone.”

They listened to Jake’s footsteps go down the hall. “Lucy?” Charley asked.

“Yeah?”

“I was scared when I saw the news. They showed the stretcher putting you into the helicopter.”

“I’m fine, Charley.”

“I know. But I can’t lose you, too, Lucy.”

Lucinda grabbed the little girl’s hand and squeezed. “I’m still here.”

“Sometimes I make believe that you are really my mommy and that you live with me.”

“You had a wonderful mommy, Charley.”

“Oh, I know. I’ll never forget her. But sometimes I pretend that you marry Daddy and become my second mommy.”

“Well, that’s a pretty complicated situation.”

“You don’t want to live with me?”

Lucinda ached. As much as it would complicate things, having this child in her life, in her home, every day, would be the answer to a long-forgotten dream. “Oh, Charley, it’s not about you. I would love to live with you.”

“You don’t like my daddy?”

“It’s not that either, Charley. It’s just that your dad needs to have some time to grieve for your mom and put his life back in order before he makes a decision about another wife. He just hasn’t had enough time.”

“I think he likes you.”

“Yes, he does and I like him. But that is not enough. You can’t rush these kinds of decisions. There needs to be something deeper than just liking each other. If you don’t take care, a lot of people can get hurt.”

“Do you think you’ll marry my daddy one day?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. It’s not going to happen any time soon if it ever does. But what happens between your daddy and me doesn’t matter. You will always be a part of my life – even if your daddy marries someone else.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“I think that Special Agent man likes you, too.”

“Jake?”

“Yes. We had a long talk while we waited for you to wake up.”

“You think he likes me?”

“Yes. Will you marry him?”

“Charley, I just met him a couple of days ago.”

“Oh. There’s that time thing again. It’s not easy being a woman is it?”

Lucinda’s career and relationship choices ran through her head – and with them, the realization that neither had gone the way she’d planned.

“No, girlfriend. It certainly is not.”