RAINEY DAYS (27 page)

There was no further argument. Katie was not going anywhere without Rainey. When the paramedics were ready for transport to Memorial Hospital, Rainey let go of Katie’s hand just long enough to reach back inside the Charger, retrieving the pistol she dropped earlier on the floor, behind the passenger seat, her FBI identification, in case she needed a way into Katie’s treatment room, and her car keys. She took the pistol and placed it in her waistband, checked to make sure she had an extra clip and then locked the car. She handed the keys to the trooper still guarding the car, even though no one was in it now. They would need to process the car for any evidence that could have fallen off of Katie or Rainey.

There was still a killer running loose out there and she was not going anywhere unarmed. The only reason she did not bring the shotgun was because she probably would not get into the hospital with it. She found her jacket being stuffed into an evidence-bag, and borrowed one from another agent. She slid it on to conceal the weapon poking out of her pants. Rainey took Katie’s hand back in hers, and walked with the gurney toward the back of the waiting ambulance.

Rainey had not had time to cry, but the let down from the adrenaline spike she had just experienced was making it hard to fight back the tears. She was relieved to have Katie alive, but the wretchedness of what she had been through enveloped Rainey, sending waves of throbbing pain across her chest.

Rainey heard Danny calling her name. He was running after them, shouting for her to stop. She did not care and kept walking. He could take her statement later. Rainey was taking Katie to the hospital. Katie was her only priority. The FBI could go fuck itself for all she cared. Katie was safe with her now, and Rainey would remain by her side, forever watching over her, giving her time to heal. If she had ever doubted it, she knew now that Katie was the love of her life and the only thing that would ever matter to her, for the rest of Rainey’s days.

 

Rainey had no trouble following Katie into the treatment room. When she told the nurses the attacker was still at large, they were more than happy to have someone with FBI emblazoned on a hat and jacket there to guard them, as well. Katie was whisked into a trauma room and quickly surrounded by doctors and nurses, buzzing about her body, like bees in a hive. The pace in the room was almost hectic. Rainey stood back, out of the way, as the doctor, who seemed to be in charge, called out orders that were quickly followed by the people around him. A pretty African American nurse, about Rainey’s age, must have realized what the agonized expression on Rainey’s face meant. This was not just an agent guarding a victim.

She touched Rainey’s arm gently and said, “She’s going to be okay. She’s turned the corner already. Her vitals are getting better.”

Rainey could stop fretting over whether Katie was going to die of an overdose or shock and start thinking about Katie’s recovery. The constant activity slowed down and the doctor declared Katie stable and ready to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit, but first they had to do the sexual assault examination. Rainey stepped out of the trauma room while that was being done. Rainey knew how humiliating the process was, and she did not want to see it happening to Katie. She waited outside until the procedure was over and then went back inside.

Katie’s body was worn out from fighting the drugs and the insane man, who held her captive. She would rest comfortably in the trauma room until the bed in ICU was ready. The doctor, who had been barking orders, came back in, checked Katie’s vitals again, and then talked to Rainey. He told her, once Katie was moved upstairs; she would be monitored through the night and probably two to four days after, depending on her progression. They wanted her to rest and give her body the time it needed to expel the drugs. In the morning, a plastic surgeon would look at her face, but the doctor told Rainey that the x-rays showed no broken bones, as far as he could see. Only the cartilage in her nose had been displaced, and he had already popped it back in place. He thought that once the swelling went down, there would likely be no permanent disfiguration.

After the doctor left the room, a lone nurse, the one who had spoken to Rainey earlier, stayed behind, watching Katie’s vital signs, hovering over the bed. Rainey did not pay any attention to the nurse’s presence. She sat by Katie’s bed, talking softly to her, even though she was asleep now. Rainey told Katie about how, when she was released from the hospital, Rainey was taking her home with her to the cottage. She promised never to leave Katie alone until this maniac was caught, and even then, she might never want to let Katie out of her sight. Tears rolled down Rainey’s cheeks, as she tenderly stroked Katie’s hair and told her how she had fallen so very deeply in love with her.

She was shocked when Katie did not open her eyes, but said in a quiet whisper, “I love you, too.”

The nurse looked over at Rainey, from across the bed. She winked and said, “See, I told you she was going to be alright.” She smiled and tucked the covers around Katie, once again. “You need to let her rest now. Go get a soda or something. You look as though you could fall out yourself.” The nurse saw Rainey’s expression of protest and said quickly, “I promise I’ll come and get you if she wakes up, but I really think she’s going to sleep for awhile.”

Rainey reluctantly walked out into the hallway, just as Mackie showed up at the hospital. He had been at the farmhouse scene, but could not get to Rainey, because the cops would not let him through. He did not get across the barricade until Danny saw him and let him pass. Mackie saw Rainey get in the ambulance with Katie and after talking with Danny, came to check on them. Rainey collapsed on a chair outside the trauma room, suddenly drained of all her energy. Mackie remained standing next to her, while they talked.

Mackie beamed with pride at what Ernie had done, on her own, without being asked. “She loaded that tracking system software, from the office, on her home computer. She’s been watching our every move for days. When she saw us take off, flying down the highway, she knew something had happened.”

Rainey smiled at Mackie, because she knew what Ernie had done, but she let Mackie continue with his story.

“So, when she saw the two phones separate, she knew that wasn’t good and then you stopped out in the woods, from what she could tell. Ernie called me right away, but couldn’t get me, because I was talking to Danny and some other people.”

Mackie did not have call waiting, because he considered it rude, and hung up on anyone who tried to put him on hold to catch another call. “When she finally got through, she was hopping mad and worried sick, but she had a GPS signal from you and told us almost exactly where to find you.”

“God I love that woman,” Rainey said. “Remind me to buy her a year’s worth of spa treatments when this is over.”

Mackie was enjoying telling the story, only because nobody was dead, and that was a happy ending to Mackie. He knew Katie was scarred, at least emotionally, but they were both alive. That deserved an Amen and Hallelujah, as far as Mackie was concerned.

He continued, “We had a little trouble at first, because the coordinates are only good to within one hundred meters of the phone. We made the mistake of looking in the neighborhood, south of the trees from where you really were. Nobody saw the house on any of the maps. No one noticed the gravel side road until we pulled up a satellite image of the area, and then a trooper found your shoulder holster. Nice play, by the way.”

“Thank you. I was trying to leave a large bread crumb for you to find.”

Mackie had a sudden thought that brought his mood from happy to angry in a flash. “I can’t believe you went in that house alone.”

Rainey was sure she had done the right thing, and she told him so, “I didn’t have much choice, now did I?”

Mackie grumbled, “I still can’t believe it,” but conceded.

They remained quiet for a moment. Rainey stood up and walked to the window in the trauma room door, so she could look at Katie. She did not turn around when she asked, “Did they find him?”

There was a pause, followed by a deep bass, “No.”

The nurse was still hovering and watching Katie, while Rainey was out of the room. She turned back to face Mackie, satisfied that Katie was in good hands.

“Tell me,” she said.

“He must have seen us coming. He dropped down an old emergency trap door, in the closet upstairs, landing below you. That’s where you must have shot at him, at least that’s what Danny said, after coming out of the house.”

Rainey added, “That must have been the loud noise I heard, him slamming the trap door open.”

“From what I gathered, the asshole took off down a path in the woods. They found his jeep parked in the community center parking lot on the other side of that patch of woods, to the north. He must have had another car waiting there, because he vanished.”

“Goddamnit!” Rainey said, loud enough to draw attention from the people down the hall. She said it a second time under her breath and stared down at the floor. What could they do now? The suspect was in the wind, and the last time this happened, he did not surface for over a year. Rainey could not face another year of looking over her shoulder. This had to end soon.

At that moment, a loud argument erupted at the nurses’ station. It was JW demanding to see his wife immediately. He spotted Rainey and charged down the hall toward her. He was enraged and she was his target. Mackie stepped in front of him, before he could reach Rainey. Still, he reached around Mackie, pointing a finger directly at Rainey.

“This is your fault,” JW shouted. “I should have known better than to hire an ex-FBI agent, who was stupid enough to get caught by a serial killer. Now, look what you’ve done!”

Rainey backed away from JW, while Mackie restrained him. She did not know what to say. She knew nothing she could say would ease the rage JW was feeling. His fury had to have an outlet and Rainey had become his choice. Yet, his words rang true and hurt Rainey terribly, because she felt the guilt, already. Never mind the guy was stalking Katie before Rainey ever got involved. It was because of her presence that the stalking had escalated into attempted murder, and Katie had become the bait to lure Rainey.

“Get her the hell away from my wife,” JW was shouting at Mackie.

Mackie could not and would not be bullied by JW, he said, “I think that’s up to Katie and she wants Rainey here.”

How was Mackie so sure he was right? Rainey had not said anything to him about promising Katie she would stay with her. The big, rough man had a tender heart and he evidently saw how much Katie meant to Rainey and vice versa. He understood what was going on between them, without being told, and he was protecting Rainey, knowing it would kill her to have to leave Katie alone.

“Get her the hell out of here, or I will sue this goddamn hospital into the stone ages. You won’t have a bed pan to piss in when I’m through,” JW shouted at the Emergency room staff in the halls.

The nurse came out of Katie’s room. She looked JW up and down and sized him up right there, a privileged pretty boy with anger issues. She started by saying, “Mr. Wilson, calm down. You are disturbing my patient. She needs to rest.”

JW turned his attention to her, “Is she awake? Can I see her?”

“No, you may not. She just now told me, and I quote, ‘Don’t let that asshole in here.’ According to the HIPAA privacy act, I must respect my patient’s wishes and ask you to leave.”

By that time, two very large security guards, almost as big as Mackie, but leaner, appeared behind JW. The future senator was livid. He took one more shot at Rainey, “You’ll pay for this, Rainey. I swear you will. This isn’t over.”

The hospital cops asked JW to leave and he complied, though not happy about it.

The nurse turned to Rainey and patted her on the arm. She whispered conspiratorially, “Katie woke up and said, ‘Asshole,’ when she heard his voice. With all that raging he was doing, I put two and two together and knew exactly what she meant. That white boy has some problems and that child in there doesn’t want him around.”

“Well you hit that one on the head,” Rainey said. “They’re getting a divorce.”

The nurse whispered, so only Rainey could hear, “It’s a good thing, girl. Bad as you got it for that woman in there; she’s going to need that divorce real soon.” She laughed and added, “Ya’ll ought to just go on out to Reno and get that done, get the hell away from that man.”

 

Almost an hour after JW left the hospital, Katie was moved up to the ICU. Rainey followed the rolling bed into the elevator, while Mackie walked to the waiting room located on the second floor of the Pavilion. Mackie hated elevators. Rainey was sure it had to do with his size and the amount of weight he calculated in his brain, every time he saw people getting on the elevator. He just could not take the risk, he once told Rainey. So, he walked to the waiting room, where someone would come and get him if Rainey needed him. She told him to go home and get some sleep, but she knew he was not leaving. Mackie would be passed out in the waiting room, but he would still be at the hospital if she needed him.