Tessa's Treasures (12 page)

A nurse who could be the Dallas Cowboy’s next linebacker entered the room. “Mr. Raven, you must leave now. Doctor’s orders. Ms. Jordan can’t have visitors for longer than fifteen minutes at a time.”

Lucas stood, then bent and kissed Tessa. “I’ll be back later tonight, honey. Get some sleep.” He turned to the nurse. “Will you see she gets something else to eat besides vegetables?”

The nurse drew herself up, her chin pointed at him. “Ms. Jordan gets the food she requests. Now if you will please let her get some rest, I would appreciate it.”

He grinned despite his annoyance at being ordered from her room. “Will charges be filed if I bring her a cheeseburger?”

A sense of humor was not the nurse’s strong suit. She merely sniffed and pointed to the door. He made his way down the hallway and entered the waiting elevator. As he stepped into the early evening sunlight, the cell in his pocket vibrated, announcing a text from Mason.

“
where r u?
”

Lucas quickly typed “
lvng hospital
”

“
meet me @ flanagans
”

Lucas flipped the cell phone closed and hopped into the Jeep.

Glad Mason had picked a bar not far from the hospital, Lucas parked in front of Flanagan’s, on the corner of Main and Seventh. The day had caught up to him and even his bones were tired. He wanted to talk to Mason, but at the same time, he preferred to go home and relax until he made his last visit for the night to see Tessa.

The bar remained a favorite hangout of the police and fire departments. A small red brick building, it had housed generations of uniforms. As he opened the heavy door, he inhaled the odor of stale cigarette smoke and beer, probably there for ages. He and Mason used to sneak in through the back door when they were teens to get beer from Ralph, whose father owned the place. Now Ralph ran it, and since he had teenagers of his own, Lucas doubted he was giving away free beer out the back door anymore.

Even in the dim light, he spotted Mason at a table in the corner. His friend slouched in his chair and stared at his hands. His fingers moved up and down the outside of a beer bottle, before he raised it to his lips and took a gulp.

“Ralph, give me what Mason has.” Lucas leaned on the bar, tossing a couple bills on the scratched, worn wood. Beer in hand, he joined Mason, flipped a chair around to straddle it before taking a long pull.

“We have some info on Phillips.” Mason studied the file sitting on the table. “One of our guys found the motel he stayed at.”

His fingers gripped the bottle, his knuckles white. “Stayed at? You mean he’s gone?”

Mason nodded. “He checked out yesterday morning from some sleaze motel on the highway between here and Lawton. The kind of place usually rented by the hour. But we have other information that will really bust your balls.” Mason dragged his hand down his face and for the first time Lucas saw his stress. Deep lines ran along his forehead and the edges of his eyes. More than tired, his friend wore worry like a sheen of sweat.

“What?” Voice raw, he prepared for bad news.

“Phillips was across the street from Tessa’s store when it caught fire yesterday.”

“Shit!” I knew that bastard was involved.” He jerked back and slammed his bottle on the table. “Goddammit! He was right there and we missed him?”

“Now hold on, buddy. We have no proof he had anything to do with the fire. It seems a newspaper photographer took pictures, and passed them along to the fire department to help with their investigation. We got a hold of the pictures and sure enough, there he stood, leaning against the building across the street, watching the whole thing.” Mason’s lips thinned. “Damn bastard wore a crooked grin and looked relaxed as hell.”

Lucas vaulted out of the chair and headed to the bar. He looked back at Mason. “You want one?” The other man nodded.

After setting the two bottles on the table, he scrubbed his face with his hand. “All right, this has to stop. Tessa’s in the hospital on heavy duty meds and she doesn’t even know Phillips is in town. I gotta get her away from here.”

Mason stared at his bottle, peeling the label in slow strips.

Lucas downed the beer in a couple of gulps. “I’m going to outfit my boat and after she’s discharged, we’ll head to Corpus Christi and sail away.”

Mason rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. “You don’t have a sailboat.”

“I’m not joking. We’re outta here the minute the doctor clears her.”

“Use your head. You gonna spend the rest of your life on a boat?” His smile didn’t quite make it. “Since when does Lucas Raven run from trouble?”

“Since I’ve fallen in love with your sister, and will do anything to protect her.” He rotated his neck. “Come on, you know he’s not here for any good reason. What—you think he found religion in prison and now he wants to ask forgiveness? Sure.”

“No, I don’t and you know that. What I do think is you should pull yourself together. Man, you’re outta control here.”

Lucas tapped stiff fingers on the table. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t fight something I can’t see. What about these accidents she’s been having? He could be at the bottom of them all. Dammit, I spent twenty-five years solving other people’s crimes, and now that I need to do something to protect the woman who means the world to me, I feel helpless.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with a thumb and forefinger.

“Because of his parole violation, and the fact that he’s been spotted here, we have an APB out on him. We’ll get him but it might take some time. You keep your eye on Tessa, and let us get the bastard.” Mason took the last swallow of his beer and stood. “Be grateful she’s safe in the hospital.”

****

Tessa sensed the presence of the orderly before she opened her eyes. The light over her bed had been turned off, and in the dimness of the evening, and the sliver of light from the hallway she could only make out his white uniform. He pushed a gurney into her room.

“What’s that for?” Still a bit fuzzy from her medication, the words didn’t sound right to her ears.

He kept his back to her as he fussed with the sheet on the gurney. “Tests.”

“What kind of tests? I didn’t know the doctor ordered any.” Through the haze of drugs, a small kernel of fear settled in her stomach. Something about the shape of the orderly and the voice bothered her. “Can you call the nurse for me? I want to ask her about whatever tests the doctor ordered.”

The man continued to show his back as his hands fumbled with something. A strange odor drifted to her nostrils, stinging her eyes. She rose on one elbow. Fear exploded as her suspicions grew. “Can you please call the nurse now?”

Dean turned around, a broad smile on his face. He held a white cloth in his hand. “I’m afraid not.”

Tessa opened her mouth to scream as the cloth descended over her nose and mouth.

****

Dean lifted her limp body from the bed and placed her on the gurney. He pulled the sheet to her neck, and then raced to the door. Through the crack, he watched the nurse for a few minutes. It would only be a matter of time before she’d be summoned from her station. Five minutes later, she rose and headed down the hall.
Bingo!

He opened the door wide, rolled Tessa out and sped down the hall. Most of the doors were closed, at least partially, although the sight of an orderly pushing a patient wouldn’t raise questions anyway. The elevator dinged, and when the doors slid open, he shoved her inside. He pressed the button for the basement and the elevator descended.

So far, so good.

The walk down the hallway drew no attention since only the boiler rooms and dietary kitchen occupied the space. With no meals being prepared, and the employees gone for the day, the rooms stood dark and quiet.

Dean reached the back exit, lifted her in his arms, and walked out. The rented car sat where he’d left it. He pushed the button on the key fob, unlocking the doors. He opened the rear door, dropped her on the seat, tossing the sheet on top. The chloroform should last a couple of hours. Plenty of time to get to the plane and take off.

When you wake up, little Tessa, you’ll be so surprised. I’ll bet you can’t wait.

His laughter echoed off the walls of the red brick building as he sped out, making a left turn into light traffic.

Chapter Ten

After Patty’s lengthy battle with breast cancer, hospitals always unnerved Lucas. Now late at night, as he walked the quiet halls, his nostrils twitching with the odor of illness, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He’d told Tessa he would see her one more time tonight, and had no intention of breaking that promise. It took a bit of charming the old dragon downstairs to get him this far.

He pushed open the heavy door and faced an empty bed. He frowned, glanced around the room and then tapped on the bathroom door. Silence, and no light shining from underneath. Maybe she fell. Frantic, and silently apologizing for invading her privacy, he nudged the door open. His stomach dropped to his feet. Where the hell was she?

After checking a few rooms, he located the nurse on duty. “Where is Ms. Jordan?” No time for niceties, panic mode had reared its ugly head.

“In her room, where else would she be?” she whispered as she nudged him out of the sleeping patient’s room.

Blood pounded in his head. “You tell me, lady, because she’s not in her room.”

The nurse’s face paled. “Maybe she went for a walk.”

They both left to search each room on the floor, even checking the utility closet and nurse’s break area.

“This is most distressing. I can’t imagine where she’s gone to.”

Lucas flipped open his cell phone and hit the speed dial. “She’s gone.”

“What do you mean,
gone
?” Mason shouted.

“As in not here in the hospital. I’d bet my life Phillips has her.” He turned to the nurse. “You have surveillance cameras?”

She wiped sweat from her upper lip. “Yes, at every entrance and exit.”

“Have security block them all in case she’s still here. Next get someone to show me the surveillance tapes.” His stomach knotted as the adrenaline hit and he barked into the phone, “I’ll be looking at security tapes, Mason. You better get down here.”

“I’m on my way.” The line went dead.

Lucas took in gulps of air. He had to get himself under control or he would do Tessa no good. The thought of that maniac’s hands on her boiled his blood. She’d be terrified, and God knows she’d already been through enough.

The nurse, still pale and now shaking, disconnected the phone. “Security is checking all the exits. Someone will meet you shortly at the security office on Level A, where you can view the tapes.” He didn’t have time to reassure her, so he merely nodded and raced to the elevator.

****

He’d been going through tapes for about fifteen minutes when Mason entered the cramped security room with monitors lining the walls. Lucas was hunched over one screen, the security guard busy with another.

Mason took the chair alongside Lucas. “Anything?”

“No. This friggin’ hospital has too many ways to get out.” He choked down another wave of rage, his eyes still on the screen. The knots in his stomach coiled like a spring. “Wait. Here, check this out.” Lucas gestured to Mason, who looked over his shoulder.

The video showed a man carrying something wrapped in a sheet. The time on the tape registered forty-five minutes earlier.

“That’s him,” Mason croaked. “My God, he does have her. I didn’t want to believe it.”

“Can you zoom in? I want to get the tag number.” Lucas’s voice brooked no nonsense as he tapped the security guard on his shoulder. With a few clicks the tag became visible. Lucas repeated the plate number as Mason called it into the police station.

“Damn, I wished I smoked.” Lucas paced in front of the monitors while they waited for a return call. “What the hell’s taking them so long?” He ran shaky fingers through his hair. At this rate he’d be bald by morning. Every minute wasted here was another one Tessa spent in the clutches of Dean Phillips. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.

“Relax, Lucas.” Mason’s voice and gray pallor belied his advice. His cell rang. He flipped it open. “Jordan.” He listened for a minute and closed the phone. “It’s a rental, no surprise there. The rental company has GPSs in all their cars. They’re tracking down his location. We should have information in a minute.

The silence in the room had a voice of its own. Lucas wiped sweat from his forehead while taking deep breaths. Mason didn’t appear to be in any better shape.

Within minutes, the cell buzzed again. Mason answered, and with a terse reply, flipped the phone closed, and stood. “The bastard’s on his way to Fort Sill Airport in Lawton. Let’s go.”

****

Dean let out a stream of curses. A forty-minute ride had turned into an hour, and he still had a ways to go. Something had traffic tied up, and only one lane of cars moved in each direction on Route Seven.

Every once in a while, he glanced in the rear view mirror, but Tessa slept, dead to the world. He snorted. Close up, the bitch looked awful. Skinny, pale, it’s a wonder the black-haired dude wanted anything to do with her. Fucking her must be a real thrill with all those bones poking him. Well, he’d fatten her up, and then use her for his pleasure. Might even make a few bucks passing her around to his business partners.

This time, there’d be no whining to big brother. He’d let her know who was boss. He punched the button on the radio and tried to calm himself with the music, but all he could get was wailing country shit. Once on the plane, he would snort a line of coke, but no point in getting in trouble while stuck in traffic.

He flipped off the driver tying to edge his way in front of him, and then rolled down the passenger’s side window. “Fuck you, asshole.”

****

“Fuck you, asshole.”

The voice reverberated in her ears. Tessa awoke with a start. The shout from the front seat brought her to full consciousness. Still fuzzy from the medication, it took her a while to focus on where she was, and why. She’d been in the hospital with an orderly who wanted to take her for tests. Before she could make sense of that, the man had turned into Dean, and placed a white cloth over her face.