Tactical Pursuit

by Lynette Mae

  A stout woman, probably in her mid-thirties, appeared a few moments later. She wore burgundy scrubs and a pleasant smile. A stethoscope with electric blue tubing hung around her neck. “It’s about time you woke up,” she teased as she injected something into the IV line. “You’ll feel relief fairly quickly. Once I’m sure that you’re not having any nausea, then we’ll be able to give you oral medications. Probably after dinner, if you hold that down.”

  Devon looked back at Jessie. “How long have I been here?”

  “Almost twenty-four hours.”

  “A whole day?”

  The nurse jumped in. “Nothing to be worried about. You’ve actually been in and out. You took a pretty good knock on the head. We’ve been keeping a close eye on you, in case of any swelling to the brain. So far, everything looks good. You suffered a medium-grade concussion. Now that you’re awake, that means you’re progressing very well.” She smiled and patted Devon’s shoulder. “We all hope they catch the jerk who did this. Now, you have some other visitors waiting in the hallway. One says she’s your partner, and the dark dreamy one is wearing a flight suit.” She fanned herself dramatically. “I’ll send them in if that’s okay?”

  Devon nodded. She grinned when her friends appeared in the doorway. “Come here.” She struggled to sit up further, but grimaced and sank immediately back onto the pillow.

  Stephanie and Mac stepped to the side of the bed across from Jessie. Mac gave Devon’s other hand a gentle squeeze while Jessie adjusted the pillow for her.

  “You had us a little scared, Dev,” Steph said. “Of course we knew that your head is much too hard to injure, so we figured you’d be fine...but ya, know…”

  They all laughed together, which caused Devon to cough and grab her midsection when a new round of agony hit her. She breathed haltingly waiting for the spasm to pass. “Don’t make me laugh, Steph,” she managed through gritted teeth.

  “Sorry.”

  After she recovered, Devon asked, “What happened to me?”

  “Yeah.” Mac looked at Steph seriously. “That’s what I’d like to know.”

  “Some knucklehead wasn’t watching where he was going and creamed you,” Steph said with disgust.

  “Christ,” Mac grunted.

  Jessie softly stroked her hand, and Devon concentrated on the feeling of her touch, trying to block out the pain that wracked the rest of her body. The nurse was right. The medication was already starting to work. She took a deep breath and looked down, trying to survey the damage. A sling contraption at the end of the bed held her left leg suspended about a foot, and a plaster cast encased her leg from mid-thigh. She already knew she must have at least one broken rib by the feel of it, and her head still throbbed dully. Reaching up to scratch an itch on her forehead, she discovered a bandage there as well. She frowned.

  “You have fifteen staples in your head,” Jessie said.

  “That explains the pounding.”

  “Do you remember anything that happened, Dev?” Mac’s expression was equal parts concern and anger.

  Devon shook her head carefully, not wanting to unleash a new round of throbbing. “Just that we were at an accident scene. Steph was there.”

  Stephanie picked up the conversation. “We had just secured the area after fire rescue arrived. You were setting out some more flares on the shoulder. Next thing ya know, this freakin’ nut driving a Mercedes smashes into you. I ran in that direction and tried to get the tag, but he hauled ass up onto the expressway. Then, we had to help you.” She gave Devon a dejected look.

  Jessie said, “I was driving into work and heard the alert go out for a black Mercedes SL, white male driver” Her voice wavered. “When I got to the station and found out the car had hit you.” She shuddered. “I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified. Lu brought me straight to the ER.”

  Devon tightened her grip on Jessie’s hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Mac started talking again, but the drugs were working, and Devon floated away, the sound of her friends’ voices comforting in the distance. She gave up the struggle to keep her eyes open.

  Jessie said something and then, “Rest now.”

  Devon closed her eyes and breathed slowly, feeling only a small twinge with each push of her diaphragm. Really good stuff that nurse had given her. After a few minutes, exhaustion claimed her again, and she drifted off to sleep.

  HOURS LATER, NATE poked his head through the doorway. “Can anyone join this party?”

  “Depends,” Devon said. “Did you bring beer?”

  He smacked his forehead. “Damn, I knew I forgot something.”

  “Slacker,” Devon mumbled.

  Jessie said, “Hi, Nate.” She rose gave Nate a tight hug.

  “How ya doing, sweetie?” he asked her.

  “I’m fine, just thankful she’s all right.” She glanced at Devon. “I’m going to check with the nurse about your pain meds.”

  He nodded at Mac, who stood by the window, but his grin faded to apprehension as he approached the bed. “Shit. You took a helluva beating, bud.”

  “You always know just the right thing to say.” Devon shifted her weight in the bed and groaned. Her fractured leg was competing with her ribs and head for attention. Her entire body, even the uninjured parts, hurt. She closed her eyes. Her aching leg and the clinical surroundings reminded her of the military hospital after they’d airlifted her out of Beirut to have the bullets surgically removed from her leg and arm. This time, the doctor said the injury was a clean break, and he was hopeful that it wouldn’t be complicated by the previous damage to her knee. The only question was if her knee had been re-injured, but they wouldn’t know that until the cast came off.

  The upside was that another scar on that already messed up leg wouldn’t really be noticeable.

  The downside was that she was going to be out of commission for weeks, just when they were getting somewhere on the car theft investigation and Honeycutt’s involvement. Then there was always the fear of whether this type of injury would affect her return to the SWAT team. She pushed down the knot of anxiety building inside, refusing to consider any negative outcome.

  Nate patted Devon’s arm before going across the room to the window. “How’s she doing?”

  “Better now that she’s conscious. Doc says a couple of days for observation, then she can go home.”

  “Careful talking about me, I can still hear you,” Devon said. Her friends laughed.

  “That’s good, Dev.” Nate sighed with relief. “I came by to tell you that they recovered the car.” The revelation made Devon open her eyes.

  Mac brightened. “An arrest?”

  “Not what we need. Two kids from the projects joy-riding.”

  “So, where did they get the car?” she snapped.

  “They said some white guy traded it to them for a couple of rocks.”

  Mac paced in a circle. “What the fuck, Nate? What about the tag?”

  He scrubbed the top of his head, where his hair stood up like the bristles on a shoe brush. “Nothing. No registration and the VIN plates were removed. Looked like it was professionally cloned. They towed it to the police impound lot. Sinclair will have the crime lab process it ASAP.”

  “Damn,” she said softly and then turned to Devon. “I’ve been thinking about the call in the wire room. We talked a little about this earlier before you fell asleep. I think the car that hit you is also the one that we heard Roy talking about on the wire. Remember? He told the unknown guy to pick up the black Mercedes?”

  Devon did remember that. “Yeah, that’s right. What does Kelsey think?”

  “She agrees. Problem is, we hadn’t gotten a report on one being stolen. Now with this recovery, maybe we’ll get somewhere.”

  “At least I can still help with the wire. I just need to get out of here.” Devon tried unsuccessfully to sit up.

  Mac gave her a stern look. “What you need to do is rest. We’ll keep you up to date on everything that’s going on, I p
romise. Right now, I need a cup of coffee and you need to sleep.” To Nate she said, “Steph took a walk. Let’s track her down and get Jessie and go to the cafeteria.”

  Devon thought about protesting, but the truth was, she did want to sleep. She let herself relax, only to be roused by the sound of Jessie yelling from the hallway.

  “Hey buddy! Stop! Mac, help!”

  Mac and Nate charged from the room. Devon heard the sounds of them thundering down the hall shouting as they went. She mashed the call button for the nurse, desperate to know what was happening. It seemed like an eternity before a bewildered-looking hospital security guard entered the room clutching his radio.

  “What’s going on?” Devon demanded.

  “Umm...” He stopped to listen to his walkie-talkie. The static-filled transmission indicated that a security breach had occurred.

  Before he could answer any of Devon’s questions, Mac burst back into the room with a look of barely controlled fury on her face, a panicked Jessie on her heels. Mac grabbed the security guard by the collar, shoving her badge into his face.

  “Sergeant McKinley, Tampa P.D,” she barked at him. “How many exits are on this floor?”

  “Uh…” the guard stammered, “half a dozen, at least.”

  “Damn!” She took a deep breath to gather her composure. “Listen. I want you to get all of your people to as many exits as you can. We’re looking for a white male, late twenties, brown hair, kind of scruffy looking. He’s wearing a blue work shirt. He is not to leave the building. Understood?”

  The man nodded mutely, then exited the room speaking into his radio.

  Mac punched a number into her cell phone and paced. “Nate? You got anything?” She listened, obviously irritated by what he was saying. “Tell Steph to get back here to Devon’s room. Tell her not to leave until I can get someone to assign a uniform to her. Meet me in the lobby and we’ll decide what to do next.”

  “Can somebody explain what’s going on?” Devon said impatiently.

  When the head nurse appeared in the doorway Jessie rounded on her. She pointed toward the hall. “What did that man want?” she demanded. The nurse hesitated. Jessie yelled this time. “What did he want?”

  “He wanted to know if Corporal James had any visitors.” The nurse looked at them wide-eyed. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Jessie? What’s going on?” Devon asked again.

  “The guy we fought with a couple of weeks ago. It was him. What would he be doing here?” Jessie was breathing hard, her anxiety level showing.

  “Jessie, slow down.” Mac placed a hand on her shoulder. “The guy you arrested was the one in the hall?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m positive. Vincent Honeycutt. He even had a cast on his arm.”

  Mac glanced at Devon. “That’s a problem. You didn’t tell her yet, did you?”

  “Tell me what?” Jessie asked.

  Devon sighed. “I wanted to keep you out of this. I didn’t know he would go this far.” She patted the bed next to her. “Come and sit. I’ve got some things to tell you.”

  “All right,” Mac said. “This certainly casts a whole new light on the situation. If the driver was Vincent, then we’re looking for more than just a hit-and-run driver. This is now the attempted murder of a cop. I’m going to make some more calls and see what’s going on with the search. I’ll be back after I meet Nate and we make sure this place is locked down.” Mac pulled the door closed as she left.

  Jessie sat on the bed and Devon linked their fingers together in her lap. The fear in Jessie’s eyes tore at her heart. “I’m sorry,” Devon said after a long silence.

  “For what?”

  “I should have told you about Honeycutt. It’s just that I thought—no, I hoped that I was wrong.” She remembered General Guthrie, her mentor while in the military. He’d always said, “Hope is not a course of action, Devon.” He was never wrong.

  Jessie tapped her hand gently. “Who is he?”

  Devon thought about how she could tell Jessie about Honeycutt without getting into the whole ugly mess, including Jillian and even Alex’s death. Before the SWAT school, it would have been easier to explain everything to Jessie because it was all in the past. And it was the past. Even Jillian. Only now Honeycutt was threatening all of them, not just Devon. On top of that, Jillian was here again—sort of. Obviously Mac was interested, so they were going to be seeing a lot of each other. She knew she would have to tell Jessie everything, and soon. But she didn’t have the strength for all of that today. She opted for the Cliffs Notes version.

  “Vincent Honeycutt’s father investigated my ex-lover and me when we were in the army. He ended up going a little nuts. After he was caught falsifying records to have me arrested, he was convicted and dishonorably discharged. He killed himself. It’s possible his son is on a revenge mission.”

  “You were arrested?” Jessie looked stunned.

  “Yes. For being a lesbian.” Jessie squeezed her hand, reminding Devon of the good things about her life now. “It was a horrible experience. But you don’t have to worry about that. It was a long time ago.”

  “I will always worry about whatever hurts you.”

  Devon raised their joined hands and kissed the back of Jessie’s. “Thanks. I really will tell you the details soon.”

  Twenty minutes later, the hospital was locked down and police were conducting a floor-by-floor search. A uniformed officer was posted outside of Devon’s door with instructions to let only properly identified hospital or police personnel to enter. The search took over two hours to complete.

  Mac and Nate met back at Devon’s room at the conclusion of the search. “Goddamn,” Mac groused. “How the hell did he get out of the building so fast?”

  “He had his exit planned before he even came in, more than likely,” Nate said. “He was probably in the parking lot before you and Jessie got to the lobby.”

  “You’re probably right,” Mac grudgingly agreed.

  Kelsey Sinclair strode through the door carrying a stack of flyers. “I’ve got an all-points bulletin out for Honeycutt. I’ve already got his ugly mug on flyers.” Her gaze swept the room and settled on the sight of Jessie sitting with Devon on the bed, their hands clasped tightly together. She rolled her eyes. “Nice to see you again, Officer Kilbride.”

  “Hello, Detective.”

  Devon ignored Kelsey’s sly grin. “Any sign of him, Kelse?”

  “Not yet. We’re going to hit Roy’s place with a search warrant tomorrow at first light.”

  “Have you been out to Honeycutt’s apartment?” Devon asked.

  Kelsey frowned. “Yep. We just left there. It’s empty. Not a damned trace of him.”

  “What about the car?”

  “Clean. He’s definitely not stupid.”

  “So what the hell do we have?” The frustration in Mac’s voice was mirrored on every face in the room.

  Kelsey sighed and set the flyers on a chair. “On Honeycutt? Nothing. I’m hoping the search warrant will give us something, and we’re still running the wire. I went back out to hit up my snitches in the projects, since we had a bit of a lead with the robbery vehicles. I was hoping for a break. Instead, the activists who hate the police are calling ‘Mercedes Man’ a hero for taking the murdering cop off the street when the police department refused.” Her eyes narrowed. “Apparently, the facts of the case do not matter.”

  “They never do,” Nate muttered.

  “But, IA cleared you,” Jessie protested. “It wasn’t your fault. What’s wrong with people?”

  Devon said, “It’s just the ignorant folks ranting, Jess. Don’t worry about it. It’ll all blow over.” Jessie’s bewildered expression gave Devon pause. Clearly, Jessie still maintained much of the innocence of most new officers, and Devon winced, wondering how long before the lessons of the street would harden her. In her own case Devon knew that the process had begun well before she ever entered the police academy. That virtue, that innocence, in Jessie was
a large part of her charm, and Devon hated knowing she would become jaded with each negative experience.

  “She’s right, Jessie,” Kelsey said. “And another thing, let’s not forget, Mercedes man might be their hero for the moment, but he’s not one of them. I’ll keep working my sources. Someone will talk. We’ve formally set up a wire on Roy’s business and his cell. If Vincent is his man—and I’m betting he is—he’ll call in. He’ll need cash, so he’ll need work. We just have to be patient.”

  “I want to help,” Jessie said.

  “Oh, no,” Devon told her. “There’s no way you’re getting anywhere near this.”

  Defiant, Jessie said, “Too late for that line of thinking, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Jess—”

  “Stop, you two,” Mac cut in. “Jessie, I think Devon’s right. Honeycutt already knows what you look like, so there’s no way you could help, even in plain clothes.” She eyed Devon. “Both of you let us take care of this for now. You need to get well, Dev.”

  Kelsey scooped the stack of flyers off the chair. “I agree.” She smiled at Devon and then cocked her head toward the door. “Time to go. I’ll need you for air support, McKinley. Nate, how ’bout you round up a few of your jarhead buddies for our little soirée? Let’s go show Roy an impressive display of police muscle.”

  “Let me know what you find out.” Devon said. Sitting in this hospital room while her friends were out tracking this madman would have her climbing the walls in no time. “Be safe, guys.”

  Mac winked at her. “Piece of cake.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “WHAT ARE YOU doing out here?” Mac’s tone was unmistakably harsh.

  Devon shifted the crutches to her right, carefully executing her three-point turn in the hallway to face her friend. “I had to get out of that room. I was going insane.”