Pure Dynamite (9 page)

"It doesn't have to hit a vital organ to prove fatal." Renata moved her stethoscope around on his thin, hairless chest. "Are you allergic to any medications? Penicillin or other antibiotics?"

The man took a shallow breath. "No. I'm not allergic to pain medication either."

"Our narcotics are taken to the hospital each night. Too many break-ins."

"Great." He coughed, looked at Adam. "What now?"

Adam glanced at her. "What's the course of treatment?" "If we were at a hospital, I'd order X-rays, blood work, and ship him to the OR for surgery to repair that vein."

"Yeah, well, we're not at the hospital, are we?" The injured man interrupted. "What can you do besides bandage me up?"

"Not much."

"That's what I figured."

She realized she may have spoken too soon again. If there was nothing more she could do, would they get rid of her?

"Actually, I was going to add an antibiotic to the IV to help fight infection," she rushed on. "You're definitely at a greater risk for that."

"How long before he's stable?" Adam asked.

She swallowed the urge to lie, to tell them he was fine so they'd leave. "I'm not sure. He'll need at least another liter of saline intravenously. And the bleeding has stopped for the moment, but that could change if he moves too much. With the amount of blood he's lost he could go into shock rapidly."

The two men exchanged glances. Lyle shook his head. "Get on with it then."

She grabbed a bag of antibiotics and moved to connect it to the IV She fingered the control, realized her hands were shaking.

"Don't do anything stupid, Renata." Adam was right behind her. She hadn't even heard him move. "Once he's stable enough to travel, we'll leave. You won't be harmed."

"What guarantee do I have of that?"

"My word. Now finish up."

His word? Oh, that made a big difference.
Biting back a retort, Renata turned to the injured man.

Uncovering his wound, she began cleaning it with
saline. When she examined it more closely she saw bits of threads protruding. There were probably pieces of cloth inside the wound that needed to be removed as well. Her probing would start the bleeding again. There was also a jagged piece of flesh that needed to be cut away to ward off complications and promote healing. Both would also be extremely painful. Typically a patient was heavily sedated first.

She opened the drawer, grabbed several small forceps and disposable scalpels. Adam hovered close, watching.

"This will hurt." She picked up a scalpel.

"I'm already in pain, lady." The man curled his lip back. "It can't get much worse."

"It will."

"That's just fucking great."

She leaned close to offer an alternative. "If I call an ambulance, they'll have morphine—"

Without warning, the man grabbed her hand bent it backwards and snatched the scalpel. Renata screamed at the intense pain.

"If I hear you say ambulance or hospital one more time, I swear I'll take this scalpel to your face and—-"

Adam knocked the younger man's hand aside, breaking his grasp. "She got the message."

For long seconds, Renata stared at the floor, fighting for composure. If Adam hadn't interfered the man would have broken her wrist. Or worse. The thought of what he might have done with the scalpel terrified her.

It also fanned her anger, made her want to shout every vulgarity she could think of. More, she wanted to turn and walk out, refuse to treat him further. Except ... she didn't have a choice. They were armed. And they had a physical advantage. The unfairness of the situation only incensed her further.

She picked up another scalpel and straightened before staring coldly at the man on the table. "Touch me again and I'll—"

"You'll what?"

Adam stepped between the two. "Enough. We're going out to the lobby while you try to get hold of your brother again. When we come back, she's going to finish dressing this wound. And you're going to let her."

Renata noticed the younger man didn't question Adam's authority though she sensed he wanted to.

"We need a closer meeting point." Adam handed him a cell phone, then tugged her out of the exam room.

He steered her toward the front lobby where MTV still roared. The only source of light, from the television, cast the waiting room in flickering shadow.

"Sit there." He pointed to the chair closest to the set. "What station has eleven o'clock news? Local stuff?"

His question was unexpected. She was also surprised to realize the men had been there less than an hour. It felt like a week. "Channel six is local. So is twenty-two."

"Just find one. And turn it down."

She grabbed the remote and nervously lowered the volume. From the corner of her eye she saw Adam glance down the hall. What had he meant about a closer rendezvous spot? Were they really planning to leave soon?

She heard Lyle murmuring on the phone, but couldn't make out what was being said. She shifted sideways.

Adam caught her eavesdropping and scowled. "Hurry up."

Straightening, she punched the remote again. Since he was so concerned about her overhearing the phone call, maybe he did intend to leave her unharmed.

It wasn't quite eleven o'clock, so the credits for one of the popular reality series scrolled. Trying to calm her nerves, she sank deeper into the chair.

The headache she'd tried to ward off earlier had landed like a Harrier jet, and throbbed with each beat of her heart.
I have to get away.
She peeked toward the front door, wondered how many steps to reach it? How long it would take to get it open?

She glanced toward Adam, wondering if at any point she would be left alone. Ten seconds was all she needed.

Just then the news came on, the screen emblazoned with the words PRISON ESCAPE. Beneath it were two mug shots. It felt as if she were being smothered as the camera panned from the mug shots to the serious-faced anchorman.

"A door-to-door search is underway in Durham County as police search for two armed and dangerous convicts."

Renata stared at the mug shots, recognizing the injured man immediately. Lyle McEdwin. The name rang a bell.

But she had to look twice at the second photo. It barely resembled Adam. The photo showed him with a full beard and shorter hair, which made him look sinister. Ruthless.

"Four prisoners fled a road gang earlier today, after overpowering guards in a daring escape," the anchorman continued. "Police in Alamance County quickly apprehended two of the inmates but the other two remain at large."

Renata recalled Janet reassuring Mrs. Bolton the prisoners had been captured. Clearly she hadn't realized not all had been caught.

The screen blinked as they replayed the video of an earlier Department of Corrections news conference. "Inmate Adam Duval was serving a five-year sentence for possession of stolen property. The second man, Lyle McEdwin, was serving time for armed robbery and assault."

Renata felt a shudder creep up her side. It wasn't hard to imagine Lyle assaulting someone. By comparison, Adam's crime seemed tame.
Except...
he was the one who kept flashing the gun.

"McEdwin is the youngest son of Willy McEdwin, who is wanted by the FBI in connection with bombings in Omaha, Chicago, and Des Moines."

Hope faded as she realized why Lyle's name had sounded familiar. The McEdwins were notorious criminals.

Like most of the country, she could recall their saga. Years ago, Willy McEdwin had joined an antigovernment group after losing his farm. He ended up imprisoned for the murder of his own wife—who died in an explosion prosecutors claimed Willy had rigged to take out a federal marshal serving a warrant.

In a shameful twist, Willy's sentence was overturned ten years later when new evidence surfaced proving two police officers had actually rigged the explosives in an attempt to prevent him from testifying in court. Willy and his wife had both been victims.

Once his name had been cleared, Willy was released from prison and eventually realized millions from wrongful death and false imprisonment suits. He was lauded as a folk hero when he promised to testify about government extortion regarding farmlands, but then he and his three eldest sons disappeared.

Overnight, the public's sympathy turned to outrage as a string of explosions in the Midwest were linked to the McEdwins.

Renata's hands trembled as she continued to watch the grim television report.

"There are unconfirmed reports that one of the prison guards was taken hostage. And in what may be a related case, Durham police are investigating a shooting that occurred this evening involving an off- duty deputy."

The deputy's photo flashed on the screen. "Sheriff's Deputy Jim Acton is currently in surgery at Duke
Medical Center. No word on his condition. It is believed Acton was shot at a commercial storage facility trying to apprehend the two fugitives. Police are mounting a massive manhunt—"

She lurched to her feet. "Oh, God! Not Jim."

"A friend of yours?"

She barely nodded. "He's engaged to one of the nurses at the hospital." She covered her mouth. "Poor Mary-Ellen."

Adam's gut tightened over the news that the man Lyle had shot was indeed a law enforcement officer. Equally alarming was the mention of the missing guard. Wallace? Or the driver?

While he hadn't been fond of either guard he hadn't wanted them harmed. He thought back to their escape. Had one of the other prisoners returned after Adam and Lyle fled? The handcuffed guards would have been easy prey.

What should have been a precisely executed prison break was spinning out of control. Lyle had been shot, a deputy had been shot, a guard was missing and they'd broken into a clinic, forced a doctor to treat Lyle. It couldn't get much worse.

The news coverage switched to the flooding, the backdrop changing to a montage of water-covered roads and dire predictions of more rain. Adam yanked the plug from the wall, killing the broadcast.

Renata spun to face him. She jabbed a finger in the direction of the exam room. "That slimy bastard in there shot Jim, didn't he?"

Adam didn't bother to deny the obvious.

"And what about the missing guard? Did he shoot him too?" She made a strangled sound. "Please tell me you didn't leave that poor guard to bleed to death
somewhere? You miserable—" She broke off when he made a move toward her.

"Both guards were alive and unharmed when I last saw them," he said.

Lyle interrupted calling out.