by C. M. Sutter
“Yes, Doctor? Do you have news for me?”
“I do, and I’m happy to say that Jane opened her eyes ten minutes ago. We’ve been running brain scans on her, but I think it’s okay if you sit in her room for a bit. Just don’t press her to answer questions. This is a slow process, and her brain has to reboot, so to speak.”
“Thank you, and I’ll be there in a minute. I was already on my way.” I could barely contain my excitement. We were inching closer to finding out names and locations. We would finally learn Jane’s real name, too, so we could start calling her by it, which should unnerve Mr. Motorcycle Shooter. I was sure that in his mind, as long as nobody knew names, he was safe. I had news for that punk—he would never be safe as long as Renz and I were in Montana. We wouldn’t go home until everyone involved in the killings—and whatever else was going on—was brought to justice. I planned to make sure of it.
I reached the nurses’ station where Dr. Barnes was waiting for me.
He smiled. “Ready to meet Jane?”
I gave him my widest grin. “I’m more than ready.”
We stopped just outside her door, and the doctor updated me. “Her brain scans show activity but not at the normal levels yet. Like I said, it’ll take time and patience. She may try to talk or maybe not. If she does, her speech may sound slurred, as if she’s had a stroke. It’s too early to know what the outcome will be. She may come back one hundred percent”—he looked at the floor—“or maybe she’ll never come back at all.”
“You mean like in a vegetative state?”
“Possibly, but each day and each hour we notice improvement means she’s headed in the right direction.” He opened the slider and moved aside the curtain. “I’ll give you some time alone with her.”
I quietly crossed the dimly lit room and moved the chair next to her bed. I sat down and gave her the best, most reassuring smile I could muster. I felt like squeezing her and crying, but I knew she was in a fragile state, and I had to remain calm.
“Hello. I’m Jade. I’m so happy you’re awake.”
She stared at me and blinked a few times but said nothing. It was as if she’d forgotten how to use language. I reminded myself of what the doctor had said—don’t press her.
“You’re in the hospital in White Sulphur Springs, Montana.” I stood, turned the blinds slightly, and looked out the window. “This is such a pretty state. I bet you’ve lived here all your life. You’re a lucky young lady.” I was startled when a tear ran down her cheek. I was sure she understood me, but she couldn’t respond. I did my best to talk in a soothing manner. “The mountains are beautiful, and the trails through the national forest look so inviting. I imagine there’s abundant wildlife there too.” I checked her expression, and although it wasn’t blank, she didn’t seem to be fully engaged in what I was saying either. I continued on. “I live outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and we don’t have mountains there, but the area is beautiful, nonetheless. We have Lake Michigan, which is wonderful, many other lakes and forested areas, a lot of deer, and in some areas, even black bear. People love to snowmobile and drive the state park trails on four-wheelers. I remember—”
Her grunt caught me off guard. I moved in closer and looked deep into her eyes. If I wasn’t mistaken, her expression looked like fear. So as not to upset her, I changed the subject and spoke of our cat back home, Spaz. Because I didn’t know Jane or anything about her life, and I assumed she might have lived as a prisoner, I needed to keep it light.
“My sister, Amber—”
Her speech was garbled, and I couldn’t understand her. I continued, “Amber and I have a crazy cat named Spaz.” I checked her expression again. More tears flowed down her cheeks. I needed to hear her story even though I was afraid to ask, and I had to watch my words. “I only have one sibling, Amber, but I always wished for more.”
Her voice cracked, and a slight whisper came out. “Jolie.”
I gritted my teeth and looked at the machines she was hooked up to. Her heart rate had increased. I had to stop before I upset her further. I reached for her hand, and she flinched. I pulled back and wondered what was going through her mind. Would she be able to tell us, or would her thoughts be locked up in her head forever? Would she be free of the people she’d escaped from only to be a prisoner of her own mind? I sat back in the chair, sighed, and watched her. My heart was breaking, and I didn’t want to leave her—ever.
I had silenced my phone before I walked in, and it vibrated in my pocket. I took a look, and a text had come in from Sheriff Burke. The message was only four words long, but those important words tied everyone together—brand on left hip.
Even though I didn’t want to, I had to leave. I returned to Jane’s bedside, sat next to her, and spoke softly.
“I’ll be back later, honey. Maybe you can share things about Jolie with me then, and I’ll share more about Amber. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I slowly reached for her hand. That time, she didn’t pull away. I wiped my eyes, gave her my best smile, and left the room.
Dr. Barnes was in the hallway, and I told him what she’d done. As far as I was concerned, her acknowledgment of anything I’d said meant her brain was functioning, and hopefully, with every visit, it would get better and better.
“She flinched when I touched her hand. That says she isn’t used to a gentle touch, or she’s just fearful of people touching her in general. I saw a tear slip down her cheek when I mentioned how beautiful Montana was. I said she was a lucky young lady.” I shook my head. “That in itself is telling, and when I described Wisconsin to her and mentioned snowmobiling and riding the trails on four-wheelers, she grunted, almost fearfully.”
The doctor wrote that down. “That’s definitely a strange reaction. Everyone in these parts has snowmobiles and four-wheelers. I’ve never met anyone who was afraid of them.”
“The best part of all, though, is that she said a name.”
The doctor raised his brows. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a sound?”
“Nope. She said the word Jolie after I said I have a sister named Amber.”
“Then maybe she has a sister somewhere.”
“There’s that chance, and it means there’s also the chance that Jolie, if she’s even a real person, is in danger too. May I visit Jane again later? I think the more I talk to her and gain her trust, the more she might come around.”
Dr. Barnes agreed. “Give her a few hours to rest, and we’ll try again. I’ll call you when I think the time is right.”
“Thank you. I’ll be in the hospital or possibly at the sheriff’s office. No matter what, I won’t be far away.”
I rushed down the hall and through the ICU’s double doors. Renz was next on my list, and by then, I was sure he would be fully awake. At the nurses’ station, I asked if I could see Agent DeLeon. I was directed to the third room on the left in the outpatient post-surgery area. Each room was nothing more than a cubicle separated by curtains. I pulled aside the curtain slightly to make sure I had the right room, and Renz was sitting up in bed. I walked in and let out a relieved breath.
“So you made it out alive,” I joked.
“Yep, and I’m not feeling any pain—yet.” He reached for the prescription on the table next to the bed. “But if I need something, this prescription for painkillers should do the trick.”
“So will a stiff drink, but either way, I don’t want a partner who’s impaired on the job.” I took a seat next to him. “When are they releasing you?”
“As soon as the doctor signs everything and gives me my walking papers. Within the hour, I’d imagine.”
“I have good news, Renz.”
“You solved the case and we can fly home tonight?”
“Not quite, but Jane is awake.”
“No shit. Has she told you anything?”
“Not in so many words, but her actions spoke volumes.”
Chapter 53
It was another forty-five minutes and a handful of signed papers before Renz was free to go. His shou
lder was stitched and bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. He was told to rest that arm since it needed a good six weeks of healing time, but he would never obey those orders.
He folded the post-surgery instructions and handed them to me. “Put these in your purse for now. Maybe I’ll read them when we’re flying home.”
I chuckled. “That could be tomorrow or in two weeks. The case isn’t solved yet. There is one thing I forgot to tell you, though.”
He frowned. “You forgot to tell me something? Jade Monroe, the woman whose mind never takes a break?”
I swatted the air. “You’re lucky you have a bum wing. I nearly swatted it by mistake.”
He chuckled. “It’s still numb. I wouldn’t have felt it anyway. So, tell me what you forgot to say.”
“Okay. I asked the sheriff to check and see if the motorcycle maniac had a brand on his left hip when he had to change into his jumpsuit.”
“And?”
“He does.”
Renz scratched his chin with his left hand. “So that makes all the dumped teens, Jane, that Malcolm character, and now the idiot who shot me?”
“Yep.”
“Are they all part of some crazy commune like how the Tate-LaBianca murderers carved X’s in their foreheads?”
“No clue, but my gut says the kids didn’t willingly agree to be branded. I think it’s more like a sign of ownership.”
“No different than the cattle?”
“Exactly, and the owner has to be Full Circle Enterprises. But since that company is based in the Caymans, I don’t know how we’ll find out who the man behind the name is.”
“So what we need to find is the actual location of the ranch. Nothing in the plat books shows that corporation name, but we know where Jane was found. There’s no way she could have walked for days on end from the point of origin. That ranch has to be within a twenty-mile radius of where she was located, so we need to compare current-day maps with current-day plat books to see what we can find.”
“That sounds easy enough, but without probable cause and warrants for said probable cause, Taft won’t let us bombard every ranch in that twenty-mile radius without a legal reason to be there.”
“Then Jane or the motorcycle maniac has to give us the reason.” Renz jerked his head toward the next hallway. “We need to speak to Tara too.”
I checked the time. By then, she had to be awake and coherent enough to talk. It was time to see if Tara could give us some of the answers we so desperately needed.
With permission from Dr. Ramsey, I knocked, then Renz and I entered Tara’s room. Her room was meant to be a double, but she was there alone. I was thankful since that meant we wouldn’t have to whisper our questions.
“Tara?”
“Agents DeLeon and Monroe. Thank God you’re here.” She frowned at Renz. “What on earth happened to you?”
“Let’s just say your assailant wasn’t done with his mission.”
“Did you get them? Please tell me you did.”
“He’s still breathing, but he’s in custody.”
“You said he? There were two of them, Agent Monroe.”
“We know, honey, and one of them is still at large. Tara, as painful as this will be for you, and you have our deepest condolences, we still need to know everything about the ambush as you and Byron were driving home.”
Tara’s voice caught in her throat. “I don’t know how to go on. Byron and my baby are gone.” She openly sobbed. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t told Byron to stop so I could pee, he and our baby would be alive today.”
That was true, and trying to minimize her feelings would be insulting. “Tara, you saved a life by being in the woods at the exact time Jane and the man with the rifle walked through.”
She nodded. “But at the cost of my own family.” She reached for a tissue from the box on the nightstand.
We had to give her a minute to compose herself. The last thing I wanted to do was cause her more anguish. We pulled two chairs closer to her bed and sat down.
“Just tell us what you remember. We need as much information as possible if we ever intend to capture the person or people responsible for the horrific crimes they’ve committed,” I said.
We waited, and after several deep breaths, she began. “We were just driving, minding our own business, you know?”
Renz tipped his head.
“I don’t remember anyone speeding up on us or trying to run us off the road. I heard a pop, and then Byron’s head snapped, and the car swerved left. There were more pops, and we were all over the road.”
“Did you get a glimpse of the vehicle? You said there were two people inside, so it had to be close to your car. Was it that dark truck you saw the day you found Jane?”
“No, no, no.” She shook her head. “It was a van, a red van.”
“You’re sure? It wasn’t an SUV? It was a van?”
“Yes, I’m positive. It had black-tinted windows too.”
“Did you see the man who was in the woods that day?”
“No, but I caught a glimpse of the shooter, and it wasn’t him.”
I looked at Renz. Her story confirmed that the man we had in custody wasn’t the shooter, but he was most likely the driver and the same man she’d described.
“Here’s the man we have in custody, Tara. Is he the man you saw in the woods?” On my phone, I pulled up the arrest photo for the motorcycle shooter and showed it to her.
She nodded. “That’s him. I’m sure of it.”
“And he’s the same man who shot at us and winged Agent DeLeon. Tell me this if you can. Does the name Jolie mean anything to you? Did you hear that name come from Jane or the man in the woods that day?”
She wrinkled her forehead as if trying to remember. “No, sorry. The only name that was mentioned was Malcolm.”
Renz took over. “Okay, going back to the crash. The shooter kept shooting as your car was barreling out of control down the highway. Did the van stop at any time?”
“No. They shot both of us numerous times, the car was everywhere, and then I think I passed out. I don’t remember anything else after that until now. What hospital am I in? Somebody needs to contact my family.” She wiped her eyes again. “And Byron’s.”
“We’ve already taken care of that, and your mom and dad will be here tomorrow. You’re at Mountainview Medical Center in White Sulphur Springs, and you’ll probably be here for at least another week.”
“What? How? We were around Clyde Park when the accident happened.”
“Tara”—I squeezed her hand—“that wasn’t and will never be considered an accident. Those people will pay. I promise you. You were transferred here so we could keep an eye on you and Jane at the same hospital.”
“Jane? How is she? Is she awake yet?”
I smiled. “She is, and little by little as she remembers things, I believe she can solve this case for us. My question to you is how would you feel about Jane being your roommate?”
“Really? You would do that for me—for us?”
“Absolutely, as long as both doctors agree it’s okay. I believe as Jane’s brain repairs itself, and we have you here to help her remember, this case will be solved in a matter of days.”
“I’ll do whatever I can. From the second I saw her with that horrible man, and then when he nearly killed her right in front of me, I knew I’d never forget her. She’d be in my heart forever.”
“Well, maybe we can arrange it so she can be in your room too.”
Chapter 54
Renz and I left Tara and promised to return later, hopefully with Jane as a roommate.
“So we’ve got a dark truck and now a red van to look for. It shouldn’t be too hard, Renz. We’ll go to every ranch in that twenty-five mile radius under the guise of looking for some fictitious person and scan the surroundings. If we see a red van or a dark-colored truck, we’ll check off that place and dig deeper into the residents living there. It’ll be a process of elimination.”
> “I guess that could work.”
“Of course it could, and we need to make progress. We have to get Jane talking too. I’ll pull up a map of the area on my laptop, show Jane where she was found, and see if she can tell us where she started from. We have to do something productive.”
“I agree, and the sooner the better. Let’s grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria then see if we can talk to Jane again.”
“We need to do something else first. Come on.” We crossed the parking lot, and I remembered we didn’t have a windshield. “Damn it. Are you okay going three blocks without the windshield or a passenger window?”
“Of course, but when are they getting replaced?”
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it. I suppose we need to call the rental agency and have them send someone out to do that.”
“And the sooner the better in case we need to take off at a moment’s notice. Or better yet, have them bring us a different car.”
I helped Renz into the rental and climbed in behind the wheel. “Hand me the rental agreement from the glove box. I’ll make the call right now.”
With that taken care of and a different vehicle scheduled to arrive by nine a.m. tomorrow, we were good to go. I drove to the sheriff’s office, and we got out.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“There are two things I think will unnerve Mr. Motorcycle Maniac. One, to let that ass know you aren’t dead, meaning he failed to carry out his own plans or what the top dog told him to do.”
“And the other?”
“To tell him we have Jolie.”
“What is that going to do?”
“I don’t know, but Jane seemed very upset when I mentioned that I had a sister. That’s when she said the only word that came out of her mouth—Jolie. Either somebody with that name is missing, or she’s at the ranch. Regardless, he won’t know for sure what I’m talking about since I’m going to be vague about it. All I want to do is check his reaction. I need to know if Jolie is a real person. When I said the name Malcolm, he went white. Maybe saying Jolie’s name will be enough to make him think we’re on the verge of finding out everything. It might get him talking.”