by J. D. Faver
“Open the door, Cassie. It’s Luther Franks! He’s got Sky.”
A stab of fear slashed through her. Franks is here.
Cassie looked around and didn’t see any way to open the door. She was standing on the sensor pad and the door should have opened. She knew there was a locking mechanism that engaged automatically after ten pm. There was a button at the Emergency Room admitting desk. She searched the desk, feeling around for the button and found it with the wires hanging loose.
She returned to Zach and shook her head, holding her palms up in a helpless gesture.
Cassie ran to the exam room and tried to gain entrance, but the doors were locked tight. She kicked at the doors but they didn’t budge. She peered inside through the reinforced glass inset windows. She saw Sky with her arms around Chloe. She seemed to be supporting her. Lacy was sitting on the floor, red-faced and howling at the top of her lungs.
The man who was a janitor or maintenance worker stood nearby holding a knife. He came toward the door and moved a folding screen to cover the windows.
Cassie shrieked in anger. She hammered on the doors, feeling just as ineffectual as Zach must have felt.
Sky was trapped with the stalker. And her kick-ass sister was locked outside.
~*~
Sky’s heart hammered in her ears. Chloe slouched heavily against her.
“Shut that kid up, will you?” Luther returned to where she was standing, gesturing with the knife.
Sky struggled to keep her voice steady. “Please, Mister Franks, don’t hurt them. It’s me you’re angry with. They had nothing to do with your wife’s death. They’re completely innocent.”
He squinted at her, a sceptical expression on his face. He swept his gaze over Chloe and then looked down at Lacy.
This is not a rational human being I’m dealing with. Sky cleared her throat. “Your son, didn’t he ever get scared? You wouldn’t want someone to frighten him, would you?”
Luther pointed the knife blade at Sky, its tip glinting close to her face. “You do not talk about my son!”
Prickles of fear skittered over Sky’s flesh. Suppressing a shudder, she nodded as she tried to keep Chloe upright. “This woman is in labor. She needs to lie down.”
Another facial tic close to his eye. “Alright, but make the kid shut up.”
Sky led Chloe to one of the cubicles and helped her onto the examination table. She put up the side rails and returned to scoop Lacy up off the floor.
Lacy fastened her little arms around Sky’s neck, hanging on with a death grip. The young girl was hot, her damp face red and contorted, although her shrieks had become more like a high keening.
Sky looked at her captor. “If you’ll open the door for a moment I’ll hand Lacy to my sister. She can take care of her.”
Luther let out an explosive laugh. A single derisive syllable. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? I open the door and then you make a break for it. I don’t think so.”
Sky held onto Lacy, trying to soothe her. She returned to the cubicle where Chloe lay. She looked pale, her fingers wrapped around the metal side rails, white-knuckled.
“Who is this guy?” she demanded.
Sky shivered, holding Lacy close. “He’s my stalker,” she whispered.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God! What does he want?”
“Me. He wants to kill me.”
~*~
Cassie paced outside the examination room door. She gave it a shot with her foot every time she went by.
Panic clutched at her chest. She inhaled, drawing a deep breath as she tried to clear her head.
Javi. I need Javi.
Cassie thrust her hands deep in her pockets, her fingers making contact with the lighter. Drawing it out, she stared at the object in her palm as though it had been delivered from a distant planet.
She raised her gaze to the sprinkler system overhead.
Cassie rifled through the drawers of the admitting desk and gathered a sheaf of papers, rolling them into a tube. She took the chair from behind the desk and dragged it to the center of the corridor, situating it under one of the sprinkler heads. She climbed onto the seat, praying that Ted hadn’t discarded the lighter because it no longer worked. She flipped the lighter and a long flame spiraled upward.
Cassie felt like leaping for joy, but instead held the flame to the edge of the papers and watched the blaze quickly spread. Holding the smoking makeshift torch up to the sprinkler head, she was instantly rewarded with the scream of an alarm as the sprinkler doused her with cold water.
“Yes!” She jumped off the chair and danced around in a circle, the flaming paper in her hand immediately extinguished by the deluge.
The sound of sirens in the distance was like music to her ears.
“Come on Javi. Come save my sister.”
~*~
The high-pitched sound of an alarm came from inside the hospital, raising the hair on the back of Zach’s neck. Within seconds, the eerie alarm shriek was joined by a corresponding scream of sirens, coming on fast.
He ran toward the sheriff’s cars, waving his arms.
Rafael screeched to a stop and threw the door open, stepping out . “Where is Chloe? Is Lacy with her?”
The second Sheriff’s Department vehicle pulled in close behind, disgorging Adriano Esquivel and Zach’s sister, Darla. She wore body armor, an M14 slung over her shoulder and a bag of extra magazines dangling from her hand.
The sight of Darla, so matter-of-factly ready to blow someone away, made Zach’s flesh crawl. The deadly reality of the situation hit him like a fist.
He swallowed convulsively. “Yes, they’re inside. He’s jammed the doors. I can’t get in. He’s got Sky and Chloe. Cassie is in the hospital, but not with Sky.”
Rafael’s face was grim and set. He reached inside his cruiser and pulled the microphone out of its cradle. A high-pitched squeal emanated from the front of his vehicle.
Rafael’s deep voice boomed through the vehicles speaker system. “Luther Franks, this is Sheriff Solis. You cannot escape from the hospital. All exits to the building have been blocked. Release the hostages and come out with your hands in the air and you will not be harmed.”
There was no response from inside the building, except for the sound of the alarm droning on.
“What’s going to happen, Rafael?” Zach tried to keep the desperation out of his voice.
Rafael shook his head. “Not good. We have a crazy with hostages.”
Adriano hailed Rafael from the other side of the loading dock. “Here’s another set of doors!”
“Open them!” Rafael yelled.
Adriano took a sledgehammer from the trunk of his vehicle and hit the doorknob, knocking it completely off with one blow. He jerked the doors open and turned back to Rafael. “They don’t go anywhere.”
Zach followed close behind Rafael to look inside.
“Mechanical closet. It houses the telephone system and electrical in case it needs to be worked on.”
Zach looked at the bank of circuitry and wires contained within the small space.
Rafael and Adriano turned away, but Zach remained, staring up at the ceiling. Ductwork led from somewhere within the hospital to spill cool air into this tiny space. A large air vent was set into the ductwork.
Zach slipped out of his shoes and stepped onto the small table. He hoisted himself up to examine the vent.
~*~
The wind coming off the water buffeted Javier’s truck. He gripped the wheel, driving slow enough to maintain control over the vehicle even though he wanted to be racing to the hospital. The island was deserted. Desolate. It was as if the island was holding its breath, waiting for whatever was to come.
Javier hadn’t been able to reach Cassie on her cell. He knew she couldn’t make or receive calls inside the hospital, but he couldn’t understand why she didn’t check her messages and step outside to return his calls. She had to know he would be worried.
He was on break, determined
to drive to the hospital to see her. He heard sirens coming up behind him. Lights flashing, both fire trucks and an ambulance were visible in his rear view mirror.
He sighed. Cassie would have to wait. He pulled over to see which way they were going so he could follow and don his protective equipment on site. He fell in line behind the second unit.
A growing apprehension gripped him as he realized the trucks were headed for the hospital.
Javier gunned the motor of his truck and overtook the units, giving a wave as he passed them. His gut clenched when he saw the flashing lights of sheriff’s department cars already on site at the ambulance bay.
Please be safe, baby. Please be safe.
He made a hard right and braked between the two cruisers. Even from a distance, he could read the anguish written on Rafael’s face.
Javier ran to join the gathering.
Rafael’s expression painted a portrait of seething anger overlaid with worry. “They’re inside.”
“What’s going on with Cassie and Sky?”
“The guy who’s been stalking Sky is holding them hostage. Chloe is in there too.”
A heavy weight settled upon Javier, rendering him incapable of speech; incapable of thought. He stood, like a statue, listening to Rafael, as though from a distance.
Rafael rubbed the back of his neck. “From what Zach tells me, several people have gone missing. Doctor Marcos, the other nurse and the orderlies seem to have vanished.”
Javier tried to swallow, his throat dry as parchment. “You mean the women are alone with this nut job?
“Yeah, that about sums it up. He’s shut down the only entrance and barricaded himself in the examination area with Chloe and Sky.” Rafael’s face crumbled, but he quickly got hold of himself. “Lacy and Sybil are in there with them.” His voice broke.
“Cassie? Where’s Cassie in all this?”
Rafael straightened his shoulders. “Cassie seems to be locked in the hospital, but locked out of the exam room. She’s roaming the halls and not in any immediate danger.”
Javier frowned. “I don’t understand. Is there a fire?”
One side of Rafael’s mouth turned up in a semblance of a smile. “No. Your girlfriend set off the sprinkler system to alert you that she was in trouble. So now, the nut job is wet as well as crazy.”
Javier considered what he’d just learned. Cassie had triggered the alarm to bring him here. She believed that he could save her. He straightened his shoulders.
Better get to it, then.
~*~
I can never catch a break.
Luther Franks gritted his teeth together as the overhead sprinklers doused him with cold water. He should have taken care of the other woman. The baby sister set off the sprinklers.
A little water isn’t going to stop me. I have to carry out my mission. I have to avenge my family.
“Mister Franks,” Sky said. The water had drenched her too. “The baby is coming, but there’s a problem.”
“You’re the problem,” he snapped.
A flash of anger crossed her face. That’s it! Show me some spirit.
“No, you’re the problem. This woman needs a doctor. The baby has turned sideways and it’s presenting breech.”
He spoke quietly and deliberately. “You’re not going to live long enough to worry about her problems.”
She frowned again. The spark of anger. “I don’t understand. Your wife was speeding with your son in the car when she ran into me. How can you possibly blame me for their deaths?”
“Because you were there.”
The pregnant woman let out a groan, pulling herself up using the side-rails. She pointed an accusing finger at him. “You should be blaming your wife. What kind of mother drives fast with her kid in the car?”
A cold rage settled in his stomach, like a pot simmering, ready to boil over given more heat. “You shut up! Don’t say a word about my Kira. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t understand.”
“What didn’t she understand?” Sky asked.
The sprinklers suddenly turned off.
He turned around in a slow circle.
Several inches of water stood on the floor and more water dripped rhythmically from the sprinkler heads.
“What didn’t your wife understand?” Sky repeated.
Luther focused his gaze on Sky. “Kira thought I was angry with her. She didn’t understand that I just wanted her to come home with me.”
A knowing expression crossed her face. “You had a fight with your wife the night of the accident? I can see why you would blame yourself, but why do you blame me?”
“I saw you. When they pulled you out of the wreckage you were out of it. The cops were saying that you were under the influence.”
Sky sucked in a breath, her eyes wide. “You were there! You were chasing her! That’s why she was speeding. She was trying to get away from you.”
The rage in his gut spilled over. He slapped her with the back of his hand, sending her lurching into a cart and then onto the floor, splashing in the standing water.
The pregnant woman groaned again and the one on the floor glared up at him, accusation in her eyes.
“Chloe is going to have her baby very soon and she needs help. If I don’t help her, she might die and the baby will surely die. You don’t want to be responsible for the loss of two more innocent lives, do you?”
Innocent? He stared at the pregnant woman, writhing in pain. He didn’t want the innocents to die. Only the guilty. Only her.
He turned back to Sky. She had climbed to her feet, one side of her face reddened by his blow. “I want to help Chloe have this baby. After that, you can do whatever you want with me. Just let me help her now.”
He regarded her through narrowed eyes. “You do your thing and when you’re done, I’m going to slit your throat.”
The large blue eyes widened even more. She swallowed hard. “All right then, let me get to it.”
He followed Sky to the cubicle where the pregnant woman lay. If looks could kill he would have been a dead man.
The pregnant woman, the sheriff’s wife gave him a venomous glare. “Get away from me! You do not get to look at my private parts while I’m giving birth.”
Luther let out an exasperated snort. “Look, lady...”
She pointed the finger again. “My husband is the sheriff and he is going to shoot you in the head.”
Luther smirked at her. “He doesn’t have to. After you squirt out this kid I’m going to kill your friend and then I’m going to join my sweet wife in heaven,”
“As if,” the pregnant woman snarled. “You can’t get to go to heaven if you murder someone. Thou shalt not kill. Did you forget that one?”
Sky reached for the cubicle curtain and made as if to close it. “Please don’t upset her. Her blood pressure is already way too high.”
“Don’t close the curtains,” Luther said.
Sky glared at him. “We’re not going anywhere. Don’t you think she deserves a little bit of privacy?” She closed the curtains in his face.
~*~
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Collision
Javier tried to stay calm. He didn’t feel calm. He took his cue from his friend, the sheriff.
Rafael’s pregnant wife and little girl were being held prisoner by a deranged man. He had to be feeling the effects of stress, but, other than an unusually grim set to his jaw, you wouldn’t know that he was personally involved. He held a terse conference with his deputies and they quickly disbursed, Darla to take a position on a stairway with a view overlooking the barricaded door. Adriano took a position in the other direction, ready to rush the door if it opened.
Javier didn’t see any signs of the door opening any time soon. He paced to the end of the loading dock, peering out into the blowing wind. The palm trees planted around the outer parking lot were blowing at an angle. The wind smelled like the Gulf, tangy and dank.
The last he’d heard, the hurricane stalled about
seventy miles offshore. Its visible effects included blowing sand coming off the beach.
Javier ached to see Cassie. His fear that she could be injured or killed was offset by his feeling of impotence. Powerless to rescue her, he cast about for a solution to the problem.
He needed to open the door in order to reach Cassie. She was depending on him.