RAINEY DAYS

by Bradshaw, R. E.

  “Good thing,” the big man rumbled. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. By the way, how did they find me so fast? There were hundreds of houses out there,” Rainey asked.

  Mackie smiled a wide-open grin, “Ernie,” was all he said.

  Rainey was befuddled, “How could Ernie have known where I was?”

  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.”

  Rainey smiled at the nurse. “We might just have to do that. Thanks for the advice.”

  The nurse laughed again, “The advice is free, but that divorce is gonna cost you.”

  Rainey half smiled, “I’ll bet it does.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  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.

  Before they left the emerge
ncy room, Katie was lucid enough to tell the nurses that Rainey could have access to her medical information. All Katie did was nod her head in agreement, as it was explained to her by the nurse. She managed to get out, “Rainey, stay with me,” when she understood they were trying to make that possible, because Rainey was not family, and Katie had to say it was okay. That was enough for the nurse, who told off JW, and had witnessed the two women’s affection for each other. Confidentiality was waved for Rainey and she was then informed of the medical decisions being made concerning Katie’s recovery.

  Rainey hugged the nurse that had been so helpful, thanking her for all she had done for them, before she stepped on the elevator. A few minutes later, she was introducing herself to a new nursing staff, explaining that she was Katie’s bodyguard, as well as her best friend. Rainey did not know if Katie was ready to let the cat out of the bag, so she kept their true relationship from the nurses. There was a recliner by Katie’s bed, so Rainey plopped down and watched the new batch of nurses hover over Katie.

  Rainey was told that Katie was now going to be assigned to a Critical Care Physician named Dr. Henry P. Marsden, III. He specialized in trauma and care of critically ill patients. Dr. Marsden came in about five minutes later. He introduced himself to Rainey, who in turn explained who she was and why she was there, almost. Dr. Marsden told Rainey that Katie was still not all the way out of trouble. The combination of the amount and the kinds of drugs, Katie had been given, were slowing the effects of the Narcon, a chemical, which counteracts the effects of barbiturates and opium based drugs. Katie had been given all the Narcon she could have, for her body weight, at this time. The lunatic, in the farmhouse, had given Katie enough barbiturate alone to kill her, nearly seventeen parts per million, an amount that could have been lethal, not to mention the other two narcotics. Katie was very lucky.

  Dr. Marsden explained that Katie was being given Sodium Bicarbonate intravenously, two bags, wide open. This fluid therapy would help her body get rid of the drugs through elimination from the bladder. In other words, Rainey thought, it would make Katie pee like a racehorse. The medical staff had inserted a catheter, during Katie’s stay in the trauma room. The doctor told Rainey that the more she filled up the bag hanging under her bed, the better Katie would feel. They were monitoring Katie’s breathing, in case it became necessary to hook her to a ventilator to assist her lungs, since the drugs she was given, by the assailant, depressed the respiratory and central nervous systems. So far, she was doing okay with just the oxygen mask.

  Dr. Marsden was a little older than Rainey, but not by much, she guessed. He was about five foot three inches tall and wore red canvas, Converse tennis shoes. He looked like Peter Pan in his green scrubs. He was cute, funny, and serious about his job. Dr. Marsden put Rainey at ease immediately. The staff respected him and his bedside manner was charming. He checked Katie’s x-rays and looked at the swelling on her face. He agreed Katie would heal nicely. She may have a few small scars, but they would fade with time. Luckily, when the bastard had hammered Katie with his fist, he had not split her skin open too badly. The deeper cuts had been closed with butterfly bandages or medical glue, in the Emergency Room. Dr. Marsden told her that they had done an excellent job downstairs and he thought Katie would be happy with the final results. The plastic surgeon would still look at her in the morning.

  Dr. Marsden said, “We’re going to take care of her physical injuries first. Then we will address the emotional trauma of the kidnapping and rape. That may be harder to deal with, and will be a much longer and slower process. We need to make sure she is physically well enough, for the coming emotional challenges.” He smiled at Rainey, reassuring her, “We’ll take good care of her.”

  Dr. Marsden skipped off to another patient. Now, only one nurse remained. She told Rainey her name was Janet and if Rainey had any questions at all, she could ask her. Janet was there to help and she was enthusiastic about it. Rainey was glad when Janet left her and Katie alone for a few minutes. Katie slept the whole time, but Rainey was glad to hear just Katie’s breathing, between the beeps on the monitors. Rainey held Katie’s hand and read the News and Observer someone had left on the tray table.

  All of the feeds from Katie’s monitors sent signals to a bank of monitors at the nurses’ station, still, every few minutes, Janet came in to check on them personally. She began to grow on Rainey, the tender way Janet handled Katie and the coke and cup of ice she brought Rainey did not hurt. Janet must have been able to tell that Rainey needed sustenance. The next time she came into the room, she brought a cup of fruit and some crackers, silently setting them on the tray table, a cue to Rainey that she needed to eat. Rainey followed nurse’s orders and ate the fruit. She started feeling better right away. She had not noticed how much energy the stress had taken from her.

  Rainey read the Monday morning paper, finding a Y-man article just under the fold on the front page. He had been knocked from the major headline by an article about misconduct in the state police. Still, there he was on the front page. The article basically rehashed everything from the weekend editions. Rainey could only imagine what the headlines would look like tomorrow morning. FBI loses killer for the second time, former agent involved.

  Janet came in to tell Rainey someone was waiting outside to talk to her. It was Danny. Rainey hesitated to leave. She did not want Katie to wake up and not find Rainey beside her.

  Janet, sensing Rainey’s reservations said, “You go ahead. I’ll stay with her until you come back, okay?”

  Rainey thanked Janet and went to talk with Danny, in the hall outside of Katie’s room. Danny was standing there looking worried and stressed. He was running the fingers of one hand through his thick red hair, the other hand resting on his hip. His back was to Rainey, and she could see from his posture that the pressure of being the lead agent on this case was bending him at the waist. Rainey knew from experience that Danny carried his stress in his lower back. He was probably in excruciating pain from the tension in his muscles.

  “Danny,” Rainey said, to get his attention.

  He turned to her and forced a weak smile, “Are you okay? How is Katie?”

  “I’m fine. Katie has another twenty four hours, before she’s out of the woods, but she’s stable.”

  “Rainey, I think we got a break this time,” Danny said. “Katie’s sexual assault kit came back positive for sperm, and if she wasn’t having sex with her husband, then it has to be our guy.”

  Rainey answered quickly, “She wasn’t. I understand she hasn’t had sex with JW in months.”

  “Okay then, now, we need a suspect.” He looked at Rainey’s jacket and hat. He smiled and said, “That hat looks good on you.”

  “It opens doors,” Rainey said.

  “How about we reinstate you for the time being, clear up any gray lines, in case we need you in the investigation officially?”

  Rainey thought about it. If she had to use her gun, there would be less paperwork. She said, “Okay, temporarily though. I’m not back. Do you understand that?”

  Danny asked her every time he called when she was coming back on active duty. He really wanted her back. Rainey figured it would ease his guilt if she resumed her normal life, but her normal life had become Mackie and Ernie, and she did not think she wanted to go back to the Bureau, not now especially.

  Danny nodded, “Yeah, you’re on active duty, temporarily. I’ll make the call.”

  Danny took out a pad and pen. This was an investigation, Rainey reminded herself. He was about to question her in his official capacity. It felt violating to Rainey, one of the reasons she did not think she could go back on active duty and do the job. She would feel the violation every time she had to question a victim or a grieving family member. Rainey did not want to answer Danny’s questions, but she knew he had to do it.

  He began, “Mackie gave me all the information up until you left him on the side of the road. Can you go over what happened after that?”

  Rainey gave
Danny what he wanted. Every detail of what had happened was clear and sharp in Rainey’s mind. The only detail she did not have was what the kidnapper looked like. She had only seen him for a brief second, and that was when she caught him in the shadows, just out of the beam of her flashlight. He had told her his name was Johnny, but she knew nothing that could help them identify this man, nothing.

  Danny wrote it all down. “The jeep was stolen, so it was a dead end,” he said. “We’re tracing the ownership of the property. It’s been abandoned for years.”

  Rainey offered, “He wasn’t set up there, like the other house. I think it was a place of opportunity, but he was familiar enough with the property to feel safe there, and he did know about the trap door.”

  “He doesn’t do things without a reason. There has to be a reason he picked that place. He was familiar enough with it to have the escape route planned,” Danny said.

  Rainey had an idea, “Talk to the local cops. It had the feel of a hangout. Maybe they have caught some teenagers out there. It might be worth looking in to.”

  Danny wrote on his pad and then looked back at Rainey. “We are tracing the Bose CD player. That’s a pretty high end item. It should lead somewhere, if it doesn’t come up stolen. I sent the CD to the lab boys. See what they can make of it.”

  “Fingerprints?” Rainey asked.

  “No, nothing yet. There are tons of prints in the house, but we’re pretty sure he wore gloves. There were only the owner’s prints on the jeep. It was stolen a week ago from campus.”

  “I left my car unlocked, on the street outside the Wilson’s, Friday night. That must have been when he put the camera in my car,” Rainey said. “He knew I would have to come by the farmhouse, if I was headed to Katie’s school. He kidnapped her to get to me. He didn’t count on Ernie knowing how to find me so fast.”