As she ran after her mother, Molly pulled out the walkie talkie Hustle had provided her with. Each of the spotters had one, and she sent out a message. “Hustle, subject is spotted. He was just in the park not far from me, and he’s heading Northeast.”
The response came not from Hustle, but from Bri. “What?!” The girl was nearly squeaking in surprise.
“Focus, Bri. He should be heading your way, and he just took two shots at a bunch of school children.”
“WHAT?!”
Molly didn’t hide the anger in her voice. “Do you see him?! Report in yes or no! Do it!”
“I… Ye-No! No, I can’t see anything.”
Hustle had a built in microphone in his mask. His voice came through clearly as Molly rounded the corner. “I thought I saw him just a second ago disappearing around one of the buildings. In pursuit.”
Molly had expected to have a footrace of her own to deal with, but her mother had not gone far. In horror, Molly realized that, while she had seen the boy fall after the second gunshot, she hadn’t registered what had happened after the first one.
Her mother had her hands firmly planted against the boy on the ground, doing her best to stop the bleeding welling up from his side. Molly threw herself down next to the child and shouted for help in a voice that cut through the chatter of the people still in the park.
Lydia’s hands were covered in blood as Chief Willowbrook ran to them with a first aid kit in hand. He muttered under his breath. “I hit the bastard. I know I did.”
Molly ignored him and snatched for the gauze pad. She was no medic, but she could see what had happened to the boy. There was no exit wound, so it was likely the bullet had gone in at a steep enough angle to stop at the boy’s pelvis. Whether it was lodged inside the bone, or had cracked or shattered it, Molly couldn’t say.
“Where’s the ambulance?” she demanded of the police chief.
“Three minutes.”
Molly grimaced. She shared a look with her mother. Three minutes wasn’t bad timing for an ambulance, but it was three minutes of uncertainty. Eric, she knew the boy’s name from school, needed as little uncertainty as possible.
She spared a glance around her and spotted a chance at hope. Tony Archer was among the crowd surrounding the other boy. Hadn’t he said he was studying to be an EMT? It was more training than she had. She pushed the policeman’s hands onto the boy’s wound to take her place and headed to the young man.
“Tony!” she ran to him and grabbed his arm, uncaring about her bloodied hands. “Shot to the abdomen. Eric needs you more than Lucas.” As if to prove her point, Lucas loudly and clearly asked for a coat or something to sit on since the ground was so cold. His right pant leg was bloody, but Molly had seen much worse.
Tony shot a glance up into the sky. He looked disturbed. Molly gave him no time to worry about another attack from on high and dragged him over to where Eric lay. Without a word, Tony shucked his coat to give his arms more maneuverability and got to work cutting the clothing away from the wound while making sure Lydia kept a steady pressure on the bleeding.
When the ambulance arrived and Eric’s breathing was still steady, Molly knew she’d made the right choice.
✽✽✽
A home should be a sanctuary. As she drove there, Molly steeled herself for the inevitable fact that hers would not be.
Her door was unlocked, and Fathi stood as they came in. Molly waved him back to his seat, choosing to focus on her mother. “Shower,” she instructed. “Use as much of my hot water as you want. Leave your shirt outside the door, and I’ll see if it’s salvageable.”
She was not an expert cleaner, but she knew how to get bloodstains out of a garment.
Lydia tried to object, but Molly shook her head and pointed to the upstairs bathroom. “Trust me. It’ll help.”
Her mother had not made it up five steps before Molly turned to Fathi. “Are you willing to make a supply run for me?”
Fathi nodded once, and Molly held up a finger asking for one moment. She pulled out her cell and punched in Heather’s number.
“Hi, something of a clothing emergency just popped up. Can you put together a couple outfits and a winter coat for my mother? She’s about my height and build. I’ve been stealing her clothes since I was sixteen.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you. I’m going to send my friend Fathi over to pick it up. You’ll recognize him as the guy with the broken jaw. Can this go on my tab?”
“Yes. I’ll see if I have something on clearance in your size.”
“Thank you. And Heather, is there any way you can disconnect yourself from the gossip hotline for a few hours?”
“I know all about it. I could hear the gunshots from inside the shop.”
Damn. “How are you holding up?”
“I think I dodged a… I mean I think I avoided trouble before it really got to me. Turns out I was kind of crushing on a psychopath.” Heather’s words were brave, but Molly heard the strain in her voice.
“You want to swing by after work? It’s a madhouse here, but you know you’re welcome.”
“I’ll let you know. I have painkillers at home that will knock me out. It’s tempting.”
“All right. Fathi should be there in about ten or fifteen. Stay safe, and call me if you need anything.”
She disconnected and turned to Fathi. “The shop is La Belle Dame. It’s a block east of the park in town square.” She handed him her keys since Wulfric had not yet returned with the rental car. “Thank you.”
He nodded politely, then reached out and took her hand. He looked at the blood stains on her hand and the edges of her sleeves, then shot her a questioning glance.
“Not mine,” she reported. “The Aerialist has gone over the edge. He took some pot shots and put two kids in the hospital. The EMT’s think they’re going to be all right, but finding him just became a much bigger priority.”
Fathi nodded. He pointed to himself, then down at the floor, then to his wrist-watch. The message was fairly clear. “I’ll be back soon.”
As Fathi left, Molly sent Hustle a text asking for his ETA, then stripped off her own shirt and washed her hands quickly in her downstairs bathroom. She followed it up with some hand sanitizer, then dashed up to her bedroom to grab another shirt. She scooped her mother’s discarded clothing into a laundry hamper and had just made it downstairs before her doorbell rang.
It was sooner than she expected, but not by much. “Come in, Sean.”
Sean, Sandra, and Erasmus all came in while Molly took the clothes downstairs. She didn’t need bloodstains as a topic of distraction while she dealt with the important issues.
“Molly?” Sean’s voice carried a shade of impatience. She was unsurprised.
“Thirty seconds, please.” She deposited the clothes on top of the washer, checked her hands again to be sure, and then went up the stairs. She’d pre-treat later.
She came to the top of the stairs and let everyone stare at her. She knew it was coming and didn’t object. Sean scanned her body in a completely diagnostic manner, and the tension in his body went from knife-edge to dull knife-edge.
“You’re unhurt.”
She smiled genuinely. “Mom too. We were the caregivers, not the victims.”
“So I heard. I also understand you’re trying for overtime on this consultant business.”
“I told you at the hospital I was going to keep looking for him.”
“Yes you did. You didn’t, however, keep me in the loop regarding your methodology until after the fact.”
Sandra, standing behind Sean, gave Molly a sympathetic glance. Sending her lawyer to tell Sean about the spotting she and the rest of her crew had done had been a necessary evil.
“I knew you had a full plate, Sean. Also, since I was working with some capes, it needed a certain amount of distance from the official channels.”
She could see the professional part of his brain arguing with the “protect the womenfolk
at all costs” part of his brain. Sean gave one of his customary slow blinks, took a deep breath, and took the path of least resistance. “What have you got for me?”
Molly held up one finger, pulled her cell phone out and checked for a text. There was one, and she subtracted the time Hustle provided from the current time. “Forty-five seconds.”
Sean raised a quizzical eyebrow, but Hustle was early. He knocked at the back door. Molly went to her kitchen, followed by the rest of the crew.
Hustle and Sean locked eyes for a full ten seconds until they realized Molly was rolling hers. She pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator, tossed it to Hustle, then pointed to the remaining bottles on the door shelf. “Everyone else, grab one if you’d like. I want to take this into the living room.”
She marched past them all, then sat in her recliner. It was as close to a power position as one could find in her living room. Erasmus, Sandra, and Hustle all took positions on the couch. Sean made as though he would stand, but Molly pointed to the dining room. “Grab a chair, would you, Sean?”
When he returned, she dove in before he had finished sitting. “You got my call?”
Sean nodded. “Hustle, I gather, is the one who tracked him to the State Park?”
Hustle smiled. “Yup. I think he saw me coming and took cover in the trees. I lost him somewhere in there.”
“It’s a big area. It’ll take some time for me to put together a search team.”
“This might help.” Hustle pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sean.
“And this is?”
“The license plate number of every car parked in the lots at the park until your men arrived. If they left before that, I circled the plate number.”
Sean’s eyebrows went up. “That’s… very helpful. Thank you. How did you…”
“I circled the park until the police cruiser arrived. Figure five seconds between laps.”
“Can you use it?” Molly decided it was for the best if she kept Sean’s focus on her.
“It has the same validity as an anonymous tip. I can’t build a case on it, but it can get me started.” Sean looked at Erasmus. “Are we good with your agency?”
Erasmus nodded. “No red flags on my end.”
“Sounds like a plan then.” He stood. “I’ll assign an officer to the legwork, but I need to get going now. There’s possibly a break in the case.”
“Oh?” Sandra looked professionally interested.
“Yes. Stomper’s vitals are improving. The doctors think he might wake up. Trouble is it might happen in an hour or in a week. I’m taking the first shift and hoping to catch a break.” He shrugged. “I have a pile of paperwork to catch up on, so I won’t be too bored if he doesn’t wake up.”
“So you’re playing hurry up and wait?” Hustle kept his tone mostly neutral.
Sean didn’t rise to the bait. “It’s called police work. By the way, Molly, Jack Willowbrook is stealing your idea for the lookout positions. My department is helping him, so there’s no manpower shortage. I’d stay off building roofs for the foreseeable future.” He nodded to the company at large and left.
Hustle flashed Molly a grin. “What’s next, oh captain, my captain?”
She shook her head. “With the police doing the spotting, anything I did along those lines would probably be considered interfering with the investigation.” She glanced at Sandra for confirmation. Both Erasmus and Sandra nodded. “I suspect I’m going to be talking my mother down for a few hours, and possibly Heather after that. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re off the clock.”
His smile became a shade grimmer. “Okay. Walk me out?”
She nodded and took him to her back door. It was easier for him to disappear that way without attracting the attention of the neighbors. He put his hands on her shoulders and regarded her. “You seem to be holding together. Is this a front?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve had a lot of adrenaline spikes in the past few days, and I think my body is getting used to it. A lot’s coming at me at once, but I think I’m mostly staying on top of it.”
He smiled and gave her a hug. “I’d ask to stay, but you’re packed to the rooftops here. Besides, there’s still an hour or two of daylight.”
“For what?”
“I have some thoughts, but I’m not sharing them. Since I’m not helping you, the VAA leash is off me.”
She pulled him into another embrace and whispered into his ear. “This bastard shot two kids today. If you find him, do whatever you want to him.”
He kissed her on the forehead and disappeared out her door.
Chapter Fourteen
“Why would anyone turn down your help?”
Wulfric eased off the brake and continued driving. “It’s not uncommon, Molly. Faith healing doesn’t exactly have the best reputation in this age.”
“Hm.” She had never really thought of what The Hospitaller did as faith healing, but it was the right terminology.
“Nevertheless, we need to offer. It is our duty.”
She hadn’t planned to go with them to the hospital, but she wasn’t as tied down as she’d expected to be. The cold of the day and the adrenaline had caught up with her mother, and Lydia had gone straight to bed after her shower. Clothes had been washed and stood a decent chance of being wearable again.
Heather wasn’t likely to need the pain killers. Fathi had shaken her hand after picking up the bag of clothes, and had healed her broken bone with his powers. That had been an interesting phone call, trying to explain to Heather what was happening. She suspected that her friend would not allow the lack of pain to prevent her from escaping to unconsciousness by taking the pills.
Sandra hadn’t been happy to get Molly’s call asking her to come to the hospital. She had been on her way to her hotel, and the fact that she was sharing the room with Erasmus probably didn’t improve her mood. Molly had been apologetic, but she knew this was the best use of her time.
She left Wulfric and Fathi at the information desk and went straight to Hunter Baxter’s room. Sandra and Erasmus met her just outside. “I’ll try to be brief,” she promised, “and then you two can call it a night.”
“We’re here now.” Sandra sounded a little grumpy, but not overly so.
The door to Hunter’s room was open, and when Molly came in, he was fully dressed and standing beside his bed. In addition to Beth, two other children were also in the room. Molly thought she recognized the first one as TJ, Beth’s cousin, though she had only seen him once before, and then after he’d been beaten pretty severely by a drug dealer.
The younger girl, she’d never seen, but there was no doubt she was looking at Beth’s sister. The heart shaped face and the green eyes were evidently a family trait among the girls of the Baxter family.
Molly knocked on the doorframe and entered the room. “Looks like I caught you before you were leaving.”
Eight eyes tracked her way. Only Beth’s face looked remotely welcoming.
“Miss Martin.” Hunter nodded his head in acknowledgement of her presence. “I’m waiting for the nurse to give me my discharge papers, but don’t worry. You’ll still have a chance to chat with me. I’ve been asked not to leave town.”
There was bitterness in his voice that Molly could only assume was what a cop sounds like when he’s a suspect in a crime. Also, she knew the family wasn’t all that well-off financially. An indefinite stay at a hotel could not be particularly appealing. She counted heads and dismissed her next idea. For Beth’s sake, she would have offered to let the family stay with her, but Casa de Molly was already over-full with guests.
“Was there something you wanted?”
Beth gave Hunter a look of frustration. The tone of his voice had clearly said “ask your question and get out.”
Molly was therefore direct. “Tell me about your sidearm.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve answered this a half dozen times already. I was knocked to the ground. When I woke up, my gun
was gone. The police found it under one of the chairs in the trailer.” He shrugged. “Anything else?”
“I hope you’re feeling better.” She smiled sweetly, hoping to deflect some of his belligerence, and turned to go. She didn’t get far.
Behind her attorney and her handler, Molly saw another woman coming in. She was dressed absolutely impeccably in a black tailored suit. The black was somehow ominous, like the woman was going to a funeral.
“Excuse me, please.” She said it in a tone that assumed no one would argue the point and walked straight through Molly and her entourage. “Mister Baxter?”
Hunter’s spine straightened, and Molly could feel his tension. Beth likewise seemed to take a defensive stance. The other children just seemed confused. Sandra and Erasmus were heading out the door, but Molly hung back to hear the woman continue.
“My name is Mariah Nelson. You tried to save my husband’s life.”
“Yes, ma’am. I know who you are. I’m sorry about what happened to your husband.”
She nodded perfunctorily, then continued in the same even tone. “I heard that you’re being asked to stay in the area as the police apparently still need you for questioning. I know staying at a hotel probably isn’t in your budget, so I brought you your paycheck from my husband’s campaign.” She pulled a crisply folded envelope from the inside of a designer purse. “I really do appreciate what you tried to do. There’s a substantial bonus included in the check. You can call it hazard pay, or just a gift from a grateful widow, whatever you’re more comfortable with.”
Hunter froze and seemed reluctant to take the check, but Mariah extended it with an assertive hand. She left no doubt that she would continue to stand there until Ragnarok came down upon them all. Hunter took the check and mumbled his thanks. Mariah lifted her lips in a shallow smile, turned, and left the room with a portentous tapping of her high-heeled shoes.
Molly followed her out of the room and tugged on Sandra’s sleeve. “I have absolutely no reason to go talk to that woman, do I?” she whispered.
Ex-Cape | Book 2 | Ex-Cape From A Small Town Page 20