by Terri Reid
“Are you sure?” Kevin pushed. “Really, you need to take care of yourself.”
“Hey, Kevin, why don’t we get back to the station and see if we can’t find the guy who shot Bradley,” Sean interrupted. “That’ll make Mary feel better than a cheeseburger from the Billy Goat.”
He turned to Mary and whispered, “Now, at least try and sleep while you watch over your man.”
“Thanks, Sean,” she said. “Let me know if there are any more updates.”
He kissed her on the top of her head. “I promise,” he said.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Mary bent her head and leaned it against the mattress. “Dear Heavenly Father,” she prayed, “I know you have better view of things from where you are and I’m praying Bradley getting better is part of your plan. If it’s not, could you please consider altering your plan a bit? I need him, Father. I know this is a selfish prayer, but it’s from deep in my heart. Please, Father, please. Amen.”
She wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. Sean was right, she needed to get a little sleep or she’d be no good to anyone. She looked around the room; anyplace that looked comfortable was too far away. She looked at Bradley lying motionless on the bed and made up her mind. She slipped onto the side of the bed, placed her head on his good shoulder and laid his arm around her. She pulled the extra blanket over both of them, hugged him to her and closed her eyes.
She woke a little while later. The lights from the hall were dimmed and the only light in the room was shining from the monitor next to bed. Something had disturbed her. She lifted her head and scanned the room. A woman was standing just inside the door staring at them. Mary could see the door through the translucent figure. “Can I help you?” she asked.
The ghost met her eyes with a sad smile, placed her finger over her lips, as if to shush Mary, and faded into the night.
She laid her head back on Bradley’s shoulder and started to close her eyes when she felt his arm tighten around her. “Why is it that whenever I work a case with you, I end up getting shot?” he asked, his voice dry and hoarse.
Joy and relief coursed through her. She turned her head to look at him. His eyes were clear and he was smiled down at her. “Just lucky, I guess,” she responded, tears running down her face.
“Careful with those tears,” he admonished lightly. “If this warming blanket is electric, you could shock us both.”
She smiled. “Welcome back, Bradley.”
“Back? Hell, I was just taking a well-deserved nap,” he said.
*****
Chapter Twenty
”Who shot me?” Bradley was sitting up against the back of the hospital bed, two days after he woke from his coma. He was feeling like his old self and he wanted answers. His question was directed to Sean, who sat in a chair next to Mary.
“I have no idea,” Sean said. “It could have been anyone.”
“When there’s a shooting, there’s generally a motive,” Mary said. “We have to consider motive.”
Kevin, standing against the door jamb, straightened and shrugged. “Could have been the kidnappers’ accomplice,” he suggested. “He was probably pissed you messed up his gig.”
Mary shook her head. “If that was the case, I should have been the one who was shot,” she said. “Standing on the dock I made a much better target than Bradley.”
“Got any enemies?” Sean asked.
Bradley thought about it for a moment, shrugged and winced. His neck and shoulder still hurt like hell. “I can think of about a dozen people who aren’t really happy with me,” he said. “Maybe six who’d like to see me dead. But they’re better shots than whoever did this.”
Sean laughed. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, “Any residuals from the case last month?”
Mary shook her head. “No, we got the bad guy and he’s in prison right now, awaiting a trial.”
“Okay, prison,” Bradley said, “just before we left I got a call that a fellow I put away for awhile got out and he still held a grudge. But he’d be looking for me in DeKalb - not Freeport or Chicago.”
“And there’s your friend from the hotel lobby,” Mary reminded him.
“You think Lily shot me?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “No, but Eddie Batolli might have found out you were in town.”
“Batolli?” Sean asked, “Why is he gunning for you?”
Bradley started to shrug and thought better of it. “I put him away when he was a tough kid punk,” he said. “He hasn’t forgiven me either.”
“So, who haven’t you pissed off?” Kevin asked, rolling his eyes. “Look, maybe it was just a random kook deciding he wanted to shoot the guy in the river. Maybe that’s all there is to it.”
Bradley nodded. “I’ve got to say that makes the most sense,” he agreed. “I think it was purely random. I just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Sean turned sharply and met Bradley’s eyes. “There is no such thing.”
Bradley nodded. “Yeah, well, maybe this time there is. And I’m a little tired of sitting on my butt in a hospital bed.”
“You’re forgetting that someone called the kidnappers and let them know it was a set up,” Mary said. “Who would have had that kind of information?”
“Anyone working on the case,” Sean said, “Damn, I hate having to suspect one of my guys.”
“It doesn’t have to be someone on the force,” Kevin said. “Someone could have been keeping an eye on the Martins and figured us out.”
Bradley nodded. “Yeah, that’s a possibility, too. And I’m not helping anyone by sitting here in the hospital.”
“The doctor wanted to monitor you,” Mary said, “He said your body received quite a lot of trauma and they need to be sure you are fully recovered.”
“I know exactly what my body went through; I was there,” he argued, “And I’m feeling fine now.”
Sean put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not until we can either confirm the shooting was random or get a better idea of who we are dealing with. Get comfortable Alden.”
“You realize you’re not my commanding officer,” Bradley responded.
“You realize I can arrest you,” Sean countered.
“For what?”
“It’s illegal to go diving in the Chicago River,” he smirked. “Stay put, Alden. Mary, come out to the hall with me, I’ve got to talk with you.”
Kevin walked closer to the bed after Sean and Mary left the room. “I did a little checking on you,” he said. “Sorry about your wife, that must have been hard.”
Bradley stiffened. “Why the hell did you think checking up on me was a good thing to do?”
He put his foot on one of the chairs and leaned forward. “Mary is like the kid sister I never had,” he said, “Just looking out for her.”
“Funny, you don’t seem to be treating her like a kid sister.”
Kevin laughed. “Yeah, you’re right; I’m not feeling brotherly towards her at all. Maybe I wanted to check out the competition.”
“And you’re telling me this because…”
“Cut her loose, Alden,” he said. “You’re not ready to give up on your wife and you’re stringing Mary along. What kind of life is that? She deserves more than being an afterthought.”
“She’s not an afterthought,” Bradley growled.
Sean and Mary entered the room. “Just think about what I’ve said,” Kevin said.
He moved back to the door. “I’m going to follow up on some leads,” he said to Sean. “I’ll be at the station.”
He took Mary’s hand and brought it to his lips. “Now that your friend is feeling better, how about dinner tonight? Just the two of us. I know a place… soft lights, good food and the best jazz in the city. ”
Mary shook her head. “Sorry, Kevin, it sounds wonderful, but not tonight. Thanks.”
She gently pulled her hand out of his grasp.
“Yeah, okay, maybe another time,” he said.
“That’d be nice. Rain check.”
Kevin nodded and walked out of the room.
“I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings,” she said.
“He’ll get over it, I’m sure,” Bradley said. “So what’s up between the two of you?”
“We’ve got a plan,” Sean said.
*****
Chapter Twenty-one
”Are you really sure you are up to this?” Mary quietly asked Bradley as they moved down the hospital corridor to the freight elevator. “You’re a little big for me to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back.”
“As I recall, you’ve already done that,” he said with a grin.
“Well, it was either that or our friendly neighborhood serial killer was going to do away with you then and there,” she said. “Besides, it was only from the cab to the back of his pick-up. Only a couple of feet.”
She stopped moving and looked back at him. “How did you know about that? You were drugged.”
He shrugged. “Occasionally I get a flash of memory about that episode. Some are more interesting than others.”
She blushed. “Don’t rely on drug-induced flashbacks, they can be faulty.”
He chuckled softly. “Or highly…stimulating.”
“Are we going to sneak you out or stand here in the hospital and chat?” she asked.
“Hey, you were the one who stopped,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just the innocent victim. I don’t know why we just didn’t sign me out the normal way.”
“Sean thought if the leak was internal, it would be safer sneaking you out,” she said.
They moved further down the hall, Bradley holding on to Mary’s shoulder. “Well, crap,” Bradley whispered.
“What?” Mary asked.
He sighed deeply. “The nice old guy in 204, Mr. Watermann, just walked by and waved good-bye to me,” he said.
She looked around, confused. “Where?”
“He was a ghost. You couldn’t see him because you’re standing next to me,” Bradley reminded her. “Damn, he was such a nice old guy.”
“How did you meet him?” she asked, turning to him.
“I got bored this afternoon and started visiting the neighbors,” he replied. “He served in World War II - he was amazing.”
“Was he very sick?” Mary asked.
Bradley nodded. “Yeah, he was. And he missed his wife. She died three years ago.”
He watched the ghost move slowly down the corridor past the nurses’ station. Suddenly, the room alert started ringing. “Code Blue, Mr. Watermann’s room,” a nurse called.
Mary and Bradley hid in a doorway while the team rushed to Mr. Watermann’s room. “Can they bring him back?” Bradley asked.
“Only if he really wants to come,” Mary said. “But it sounds like he was ready to go.”
He looked back down the corridor and saw Mr. Watermann, still taking his time walking slowly away. Then he saw another figure come forward. At first all he could see was a grey mist, but soon it took form and moved quickly toward Mr. Watermann. Bradley could see the smile on his face and watched as he spread his arms out and hugged the woman before him. They embraced and kissed, and with his arm around her shoulders, slowly continued down the darkened hallway.
“He’s not coming back,” he said, his throat a little tight. “He’s where he belongs.”
Mary smiled. “She came for him, right?”
He nodded. “How did you know?”
“True love lasts beyond death,” she said simply.
They continued down the corridor and to the freight elevator. Mary leaned forward and punched in the key code, the large doors slid open. “How did you get that code?” Bradley asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Mary replied with a grin.
The doors closed and Bradley turned to Mary. “Yeah, I really do want to know.”
Mary shrugged, “Well, the new security guard is young and single and very virile,” she said with a sigh. “And you know what men like that want?”
“It had better be fifty bucks,” he responded.
She grinned. “Nah, I got it for thirty. I told him I was undercover, showed him my old badge.”
“Brilliant,” he said.
The doors slid open and they walked out onto the loading docks behind the hospital into the freezing night air. They walked the half-block to Bradley’s waiting car. Mary climbed into the driver’s seat. She glanced over at Bradley’s attire of a thick robe, hospital gown and boots. “First stop, the hotel room, so you can slip into something more comfortable.”
“Good idea,” he said, pulling the hem of the gown down over his knees, “I’m feeling a little exposed. “
She giggled. “Well, at least you have the legs to pull off an outfit like that.”
“Shut up and drive,” he growled.
In fifteen minutes they were parked at the hotel and scurrying up the back elevator.
Mary unlocked the door to the hotel room. Sean was sitting on the couch looking out the window. “We’ve got a bigger problem than we thought,” he said without turning around.
“What happened?” Bradley asked.
Sean turned and faced them. “There was a Code Blue,” he said.
Mary and Bradley nodded. “We were there when it happened,” Mary said.
“Where were you?”
“We were sneaking out through the freight elevator about then,” Bradley admitted. “Why?”
“Because while the nurses were involved in the Code Blue, someone was able to slip something into your I.V., the one you should have been wearing,” he said, “if you hadn’t slipped out.”
“What was in the I.V.?” Mary asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Sean said. “They have it at the lab and will call me with results.”
“How could they tell?” Bradley asked.
“Dawn, one of the nurses we work with regularly, knew about the plan to sneak Bradley out,” Sean said. “She was going to cause a diversion if anything went wrong. She went into his room and saw the I.V. levels were higher than they should have been. She checked for tampering. Not a very professional job. Once she detected the puncture mark in the line, she sealed the room and called us immediately.”
Bradley sat down on the couch. “Well, we know one thing for sure,” he said, “the shooting wasn’t random.”
*****
Chapter Twenty-two
”It makes perfect sense,” Mary argued. “We go back to Freeport. It’s our turf. Anyone who doesn’t belong will be found out quick enough.”
“I don’t like it,” Bradley said.
“Because you’re not staying and fighting?” she asked, “Because after you’ve been shot and nearly poisoned, you’d like to give them another chance?”
Bradley ran his hand through his hair. “I can see how you might think that,” he said. “And in a way, maybe that is part of the motivation. But mostly it’s because this is where the clues are, this is where everything happened and this is where we can find whoever wants me dead.”
“I prefer letting Sean find him and not giving whoever another shot at you.”
The ringing of Sean’s cell phone ended the conversation. Both Mary and Bradley watched as Sean stood up and paced around the hotel room.
“Okay,” he said. “That’s it. That’s all they found? Could it have been a mistake? Okay. You’re sure. Well, I appreciate it. Thanks.”
Sean hung up the phone and shook his head. “Maybe this all was a big coincidence after all,” he said. “The lab said the only thing they found in the IV that shouldn’t have been there was penicillin. No one dies from penicillin.”
Bradley took a deep breath. “They do if they are allergic to it,” he said.
“You’re allergic to penicillin?” Sean asked.
“Allergic enough that a small dose, administered intravenously, would have stopped my heart,” he said. “So, they’
ve got access to my medical records too.”
Mary stood up and walked to the window. “This is crazy,” she said. “Sean, Bradley was supposed to be in a secure area, with police officers guarding his room. How the hell did someone slip through?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve already started an investigation.”