Ernie squeezed Rainey’s arm. “I’ve heard him lately, too. There’s trouble.”
Rainey knew Ernie talked to her dead father, often hearing her carry on whole conversations with him in the office. They were very close friends, more like brother and sister than employee and employer. Rainey was not sure to what extent her father’s spirit participated in Ernie’s conversations with him, but Ernie did credit Billy with finding lost objects on occasion. This was new. Ernie had never passed along a warning from the beyond before. Rainey attributed the messages from her father to her own mind associating him with her instinctual knowledge. Because Billy Bell spent so much time telling his daughter to listen to her inner voice, she was not at all surprised it sounded like him. But for her and Ernie to receive the same message, now that was freaky weird.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Rainey asked.
Junior turned back to look for Rainey. She saw him and motioned him to go ahead.
Ernie was usually very direct, but she was a little hesitant to speak. She finally said, “Well, you were so happy, not moping, not paranoid, not looking over your shoulder all the time. I didn’t want to threaten that with just a feeling. I don’t know if it’s Billy talking to me, or just the memory of his voice, but it’s been strong lately. Something is just not right and I cannot put my finger on it.”
“How long have you had this feeling?”
Ernie thought about it and answered, “About four months now.”
Rainey nodded her head. “I’ve had it too. I thought it was all the talk of you retiring, Mackie getting older, me being so busy and tired all the time. There’s also my track record. Things were going too well. Something was bound to go wrong. Then tonight happened and I thought maybe this was the bad thing, and we made it through it, but –”
“But you still have that feeling in your gut,” Ernie finished for her, and then added, “I think your instincts are awake now. Mackie going down woke them up. That voice is telling you to watch your back.”
“Funny, but that’s exactly what Dad said.”
“Then listen to him,” Ernie pleaded.
“Always.”
#
An hour later, Dr. John Herndon sat across from Rainey and the rest of Mackie’s friends and family gathered in the waiting room. John was Rainey’s stepfather and a highly respected heart surgeon. Though they were not close for most of Rainey’s adult life, she liked him. When the triplets were born, John was instrumental in repairing Rainey’s relationship with her mother, and they both became doting grandparents. After the trauma physician came out to tell them Mackie’s problems were multiplying due to heart complications, Rainey called Katie to tell her what was happening. It was at her suggestion that Rainey then called John. He came without hesitation. John Herndon loved his stepdaughter and knew Mackie personally, but he came because he was a great doctor and a better man.
Silver-haired and handsome, John patted Rainey’s knee and gave them the news. He addressed Thelma first. “Mackie is in stable condition, so you can relax for the time being. That said, he has a long recovery ahead. It was actually opportune that he was shot this evening. The trauma impact caused a hemothorax—bleeding between the chest wall and the lung. The bleeding depressed his breathing and put pressure on his heart. He was stabilized here in the ER by the removal of some of the fluids through needle aspiration and later a tube was placed to remove the rest. The two broken ribs and the soft tissue injuries from the impact, though painful, are not a worry at this time. That’s the good news.”
Rainey swallowed against the fear rising in her throat.
John took a breath, his tone more serious when he continued. “He experienced a cardiac arrest from an acute coronary thrombosis, probably due to the trauma. In layman’s terms, Mackie’s heart stopped. The trauma team was able to restart the heart in a reasonable amount of time, but with some difficulty. Further examination uncovered major blockage in four coronary arteries. I’m waiting for his primary physician’s files, but I’m sure he has discussed Mackie’s high cholesterol and risk for atherosclerosis with him, though it appears he did not heed the warnings. Mackie was well on his way to a heart attack before tonight. Fortunately, he had that episode here. Had it occurred elsewhere, I’m not sure he would have survived. As soon as we feel he is ready, we’ll be doing a quadruple bypass. Our friend Mackie is going to have to undergo some serious lifestyle changes, if he wants to live.”
“He will survive the surgery, right?” Junior asked.
Rainey admired John and the way he handled his answer, honestly and directly. “There are no guarantees, it’s major surgery with risks. Mackie is strong and motivated. I see no reason why he would not do well and recover without complications. We will work for that result and deal with any problems, should they arise. That’s the best promise I can give you.”
“May I talk to him?” Thelma asked.
“He’s a little groggy, but I’ll walk you back,” John offered, rising to his feet.
“Thank you, John,” Rainey said, standing, and then uncharacteristically initiated a hug between the two of them.
He hugged her close and whispered, “He’ll be fine, Rainey. I’ll take care of him.”
She gave him one more squeeze and whispered back, “I know you will,” before letting him go.
He smiled and turned to Thelma. “Let’s go see how your husband is feeling.”
She had taken a few steps with John, before Thelma turned back to Rainey. “You come, too. He’ll want to see you.”
She waited outside in the hall, while Thelma spoke to Mackie. Theirs was a childless marriage, so it had been just the two of them for over thirty years. They spread their love among nieces and nephews, and of course Rainey and Billy Bell, and Ernie, too. They were all one conglomerated family, but the love was strong. Rainey hugged Thelma when she came out of the room. She reassured her that Mackie would make the changes in his life to keep him around for a long time, at gunpoint if necessary. Rainey knew this day was coming. The playful sparring she did with Mackie about his eating habits and lack of exercise were rooted in true concern for his wellbeing. There would be no more joking.
John walked Thelma back to the waiting area, while Rainey slipped into Mackie’s room for her moment with him. A pretty little nurse smiled and excused herself to check on another patient, leaving Rainey and Mackie alone. Upon stepping up to his bedside, Rainey was struck by how fragile and vulnerable Mackie appeared. It was the first time in her life she perceived him as anything other than invincible. Monitors blipped and bleeped, tubes and IVs extended from his body, which was barely contained on the trauma gurney. His eyes were closed, and she hesitated to wake him, but she was haunted by a memory that would not allow her to let him sleep.
Rainey was never able to tell her father good-bye. He was there one day and gone the next, no warning, no chance for her to say, “Hey Dad, thank you for loving me. Thank you for believing in me.” Her father knew she loved him, but she never told him how much his fighting for her had meant. She was never able to tell him that he saved her. It was the will to live he instilled in her that got her through the darkest days of her life. Mackie had been there, too. Rainey would not let the moment pass this time.
“Hey, big man,” she said softly.
Mackie’s eyes fluttered open. A breathy, “Hey,” rumbled from his chest.
“Don’t try to talk, just listen. You are going to come through this, just like every other near death experience you’ve faced.” She smiled down at him. “I guess you went about as near death as you’d care to, so you and I are going to start running the trails again, out at the lake. Like we used to when I first moved out there with Dad.”
Mackie coughed, about to say something, but Rainey stopped him.
“Shh, we will walk them at first, but you’re getting healthy again, no arguments—and no more fried food, period.”
“Rain—” he started to say.
“Stop trying to talk.
Let me say this. I love you. You have always been there for me. Always. I could have given up a few years ago, but you wouldn’t let me. I’m going to be here for you now. You are very important to me, Katie, the kids, but mostly me.” Rainey smiled and sniffled, unaware that she had started to cry. She laughed to cover the emotion, and said, “Unfortunately, your job watching my back is a long-term contract and I think you owe me a few more years—fifty will do.”
A nurse entered the room. Rainey recognized him from the trauma team earlier. He nodded and proceeded to check monitors, tubes, and drips. Rainey felt Mackie’s hand against her side and refocused on him.
With some difficulty, he tried to speak again, “Rainey, I saw some—”
His eyes fluttered shut. Rainey looked over at the nurse with concern.
“It’s the meds,” he answered her unspoken question. “He’ll go in and out. He’s fine. They should be moving him to the cardiac unit soon. They’ll monitor him there until he’s ready for the bypass. Your friend is lucky. He was a walking dead man. Dr. Herndon is one of the best in the field. Mr. McKinney here will be back on his feet shortly.”
Rainey looked down at Mackie, who was now breathing slowly, in a deep sleep.
“He’s your stepfather, right?”
The question startled her. Her head snapped around to face the nurse. “Excuse me?”
“Dr. Herndon. The word at the front desk is he’s your stepfather.”
That was not common knowledge. Rainey went to great pains to protect her extended family members from the attention she attracted, for both privacy and security reasons.
The nurse kept talking. “We knew there had to be a family member or somebody important involved for Dr. Herndon to personally oversee treatment in the ER. He just doesn’t do that. One of his residents maybe, but not Dr. Herndon.”
Rainey avoided a direct answer. “Mr. McKinney and Dr. Herndon are acquainted.”
The nurse tilted his head, a questioning expression on his face. “You are the one they call Agent Sexy, right?”
Rainey bristled. “What did you just say?”
The nurse threw his hands up in surrender. “Hey look, I’m just warning you. Someone just posted a picture on a blog of you hugging Dr. Herndon in the waiting area. The caption said he was your stepfather and called you Agent Sexy. One of the clerks at the desk was showing everyone. I’m just giving you a heads up.”
“I’ll give you a heads up,” Rainey said. “Don’t call me Agent anything.”
The waiting room was full of people. Anyone of them could be the person stalking her family. She leaned down to kiss Mackie on the forehead, whispering, “I love you, big man,” and then started for the door. Rainey wanted to get a picture of everyone in the waiting room, look at security tapes, whatever it took. This was her first break in the hunt for the Triangle Lesbian Blogger.
The nurse called after her, “Hey, Cookie Kutter is out there now. If you decide to plant that microphone up her ass, please wait until my shift ends in an hour.”
Rainey emerged from Mackie’s room fully intent on taking out her frustrations on a bleached-blond reporter with boundary issues. Junior was waiting for her, both arms out, like the defensive end he used to be, attempting to contain a running quarterback.
“Rainey, just walk away. No good can come of you talking to that woman again.”
Rainey ignored his pleas and kept moving forward, while issuing requests that sounded a lot like orders. “Find security. I want copies of the camera feeds in the waiting area since we’ve been here, and get the emergency room entrance too.”
“We’re not law enforcement. They’re not going to hand that over to me,” Junior said, still trying to slow Rainey’s progress toward the waiting room.
Rainey took out her cellphone, noted the time was midnight, and dialed the number anyway.
“Rainey, are you okay? Is Mackie all right?” Molly asked, as soon as she answered.
“I guess you saw the news.”
Rainey imagined most people had, as the “Breaking News” casts flooded the airwaves. She could tell by the looks she was receiving from some of the people in the hospital that they had watched the scene unfold in vivid color.
“I’m fine. Mackie is recovering from the gunshot to the vest, but he has to have a quadruple bypass as soon as possible. He was lucky he was in the hospital when his heart stopped.”
“I’ll keep him in my thoughts, and you,” Molly said, with the sincere concern of a friend. Then, in a tone more in line with her role as Rainey’s lawyer, she added, “Leslie came in the office and told me turn on Cookie’s feed. You know, if you’re going to knock her lights out, just do it, but try to refrain from threatening her in public. It makes it harder for me to argue no premeditation, when you do finally lose it.”
“Well, that might have been the last public threat, because I’m about to physically remove her from this hospital if I have to. She’s posting pictures from the waiting room on that blog now.”
“Rainey, until we have proof, as much as I respect your instincts, we cannot accuse her of running that blog.”
“I’ll have the proof,” Rainey argued, “if you will get a subpoena for the security tapes of the lobby and waiting room for the last couple of hours.”
“Okay, I’ll work on that, but until we have the evidence, don’t do anything I can’t get you out of.”
“I’ll take that under advisement, counselor,” Rainey said, now able to see Cookie at the end of the hallway.
“Rainey, call Katie. Let her talk you down. I can hear it in your voice. You are about to make a monumental mistake,” Molly pleaded.
“I’ve had enough, Molly. This stops now.”
“All right. Just call me when they schedule the bail hearing. But you might want to think twice about making your public downfall on television with strained peas in your hair.”
Rainey stopped walking and laughed. “How did you know what it was?”
“Katie called Leslie.”
Katie and Molly’s girlfriend, Leslie, were thick as thieves. They formed an instant bond upon meeting and spent a lot of time together. Leslie, a psychologist, volunteered at Katie’s women’s shelter, loved kids, and thought Molly and Rainey were way too serious, all things that endeared her to Rainey’s wife.
“Katie didn’t mention the peas when I talked to her,” Rainey said, momentarily losing her desire to strangle Cookie.
Molly chuckled. “Leslie said Katie didn’t have the heart to tell you that your menacing threat to Cookie was somehow diminished by the baby food in your hair, which was prominently framed in the shot.”
Molly had accomplished her goal. She had calmed Rainey sufficiently.
“I guess I should go home and take a shower.”
Sounding relieved, Molly said, “Yes, I think that would be a good idea. I’ll work on getting access to the security data. I know it’s not as enticing as punching Cookie in the mouth, but it’s the best way. If she’s involved, we’ll get her, Rainey. Just be patient.”
“Thanks, Molly. Always the voice of reason. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Rainey. Get some rest.”
Rainey hung up the phone and slipped it back in her pocket. Junior, who had relaxed while Rainey talked on the phone, sprang back into defensive mode.
“It’s okay, Junior. I’m not going to talk to her. Someone posted a picture of me with my stepfather on that damn blog, but they are probably gone now anyway. I’m going to find Gunny, see if she retrieved my weapon, and then I’m going to go home and wash the peas out of my hair.”
“Is that what that is?” Junior asked, smiling and pleased she was under control.
“That little girl of mine has quite the arm,” Rainey said with pride.
“A natural athlete like her momma,” Junior said, slipping an arm around Rainey’s shoulder and ushering her in the opposite direction from Cookie, toward another exit. “Okay, you go home. I’ll stay here with Thelma a
nd Ernie. Gunny left your Glock in the Escalade. She took the Expedition and the other guys back to the office. She said call if you need anything. I’ll walk out with you.”
“I’ll be back after I help Katie with the kids’ breakfast. I’m not sure exactly what time that will be, other than shortly after sunrise.”
“Still can’t get them to sleep later, huh?”
“No, but I’m thinking of putting blackout curtains in their room,” Rainey said, and then out of curiosity asked, “Did you hear what went on between Mackie and Detective King, before I got here?”
Junior opened the door and they exited the building into the parking lot, while he answered her question.
“I only heard the last part, before I asked that asshole to leave. Mackie shouted at him, ‘You should tell her before she figures it out on her own.’ King yelled back that it ‘would be a cold day in hell.’ That’s all I got.”
“Hum, I wonder if the ‘she’ is me,” Rainey pondered aloud.
“Mackie said he had to tell you something earlier. Maybe when he’s feeling better you should ask him what that was.”
“I will,” Rainey answered, remembering that Mackie was trying to tell her he saw something.
They reached the Escalade, where Junior opened the back gate and leaned in to unlock the gun safe secreted beneath the floor mat. Rainey saw an evidence box, like the ones used to secure weapons before trials.
“What’s in the evidence box?” She asked.
Junior pulled two Glocks from the safe, his and Rainey’s. Most of the law enforcement people Rainey knew carried the same model. It was a durable weapon, and very reliable, an important factor when your life depended on it. Junior answered Rainey’s question, while he tried to determine which weapon was hers. “King gave your Glock back completely disassembled and in that box. I thought I’d save you the trouble and put it back together.”
“What a dick! I’m not sure what I did to piss Rex King off, but he sure has a problem with my existence.”
Junior nodded in agreement. “He’s like a dog with a bone over that Chambers thing.”
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