Her assailant glared at Lee. “I ain’t talking.”
“That’s your prerogative.”
Dazed by all that had happened, Heidi dug her teeth into her lower lip and studied the man. His icy gaze nipped at what little composure she had left. If she could remember, she might know if he was someone she knew—had a reason to try and kill her. But she couldn’t answer that. There was nothing about him that seemed familiar except his eyes. Should she say something to Lee about that?
She glanced at her rescuer and as long as she kept her gaze on his face she was all right, but when she looked down at his badge and dark blue uniform, her throat closed, her stomach clinched. Frustration swamped her. She had reactions to certain things and didn’t understand where they came from. Did she have something against the police?
“Still doing okay?” Lee asked, his gaze trained on Gus Zoller.
“Yes. Thank you for being here.” Her voice still quavered, but she was regaining her composure.
“I’m not sure if I’m glad I was late or not. If I had come earlier, he might not have attacked you.”
“But he would have waited until later. He’s been in here before.”
“Other than yesterday morning?”
“Yes, yesterday evening.”
Lee’s glare drilled into the man. “What happened?”
“I woke up from a bad dream, and he was hovering over my bed. I panicked and pushed the call button.”
“Obviously a good thing you did. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She gestured toward Gus. “Because he said I was thrashing around and he claimed that he was putting up my railing. I woke up punching the air, so I thought he was right.”
“That must have been some dream.”
“You know how dreams are. Often weird with strange things happening.” She hoped that was the case because her nightmare had scared her. Not knowing what was real or not real only heightened that feeling.
The door swung open and a patrol officer came inside. “Is that the suspect you want me to take down to the station?”
“Yes. I’ll be down later to have a little word with him. Book him on assault, for starters.”
“Will do.” The officer grabbed hold of the man and pulled him to his feet.
When her assailant left, some of the tension in Heidi drained away. She dropped her head and inhaled a deep breath. “I wanted to ask him why he was trying to kill me. What have I done to have someone after me?”
“That’s a good question. One I intend to find the answer to. I’ll be asking the man later and will see if I can’t convince him to tell me why.”
“Please do. It may help me figure out who I am.” Even if she discovered something bad, this not knowing was driving her crazy.
“I’m going to talk to the staff and personnel about the suspect. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Please...don’t leave me alone.”
Lee gave her a reassuring look. “You aren’t alone.” He walked to the door and motioned for someone to come into the room. “This officer will be standing guard. While I’m gone, I’ll have the doctor make sure you’re still all right to leave the hospital.”
“Thanks.” She lay back against her reclined bed and closed her eyes, trying to picture anyone from her past.
The same dark screen mocked her. She’d never felt so alone in her life. She didn’t have to remember her past to know that was true.
* * *
After paying human resources and hospital security a visit, Lee caught his friend Gail in the hallway coming from the room where there had been a code blue earlier. “What happened?”
“Someone unplugged that man’s life support, and he crashed, but thankfully we revived him and he’s fine now.”
How convenient for Gus that everyone was in Room 253. Planned or a coincidence?
The nurse looked around him. “Why is an officer standing outside Heidi’s room?”
“One of your custodians assaulted her.”
Alarmed, Gail pushed forward. “Is she all right?”
Lee stopped his friend. “She’s fine. Just confused and scared. I asked her doctor to check her out before she’s discharged from the hospital.”
“Who was it?”
“Gus Zoller. What can you tell me about him? Any reason you can think of why he would do this?”
Her forehead creased, and she slowly shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense. He’s new here. He started in January. But he always did his job and was pleasant to the patients when he interacted with them.”
“Was he friendly with anyone? Another staff member?”
“No, come to think about it. He kept to himself. Did his job and went home.”
Lee nodded. “If you think of anything else that might explain why he went after Heidi, call me.”
He continued toward Heidi’s room with the information he’d received on Gus from human resources. Later tonight after he interviewed the suspect, he intended to check his apartment out.
When he entered the room, he found Heidi lying on her bed, staring at the wall. “Are you sure you’re all right?” Lee brushed his gaze over her cheeks, which were still drained of color. He couldn’t blame her for being jittery with anyone she saw. She didn’t know what happened to land her in the hospital. Who was a friend? Who was a foe? Her aching despair spiked his protective instincts.
Heidi nodded slowly.
“Did Gail tell you I found a place for you to stay?”
“Yes.”
“I live in a Victorian boarding house run by Molly Givens. She lives on the bottom floor and another police officer lives on the second floor in an apartment across from me. Molly has wanted to open up her third floor for another tenant. It doesn’t require a lot of work so a group of my friends are going to put the finishing touches on it over the next several nights.”
“The doctor said I could still leave today,” she informed him. “And after what just happened, I want to get out of here.”
“I don’t blame you. I can keep an eye on you at the house so there isn’t a repeat of this afternoon. Molly has a spare bedroom downstairs for you to use. Your place should be ready for you to move into in two days. Are you okay with that?”
“Are you sure Molly is all right with it?”
“Meet Molly. You’ll see she’s fine about you staying. Like I said, I’ll feel better if you’re nearby.” He smiled gently. “Mark, my neighbor, works the graveyard shift. He’ll be around while I’m working if you run into a problem. I’ll be there at night.”
Her eyebrows slashed downward. “I hate not knowing what’s going on. I don’t feel like I’m the kind of person who made someone angry enough to want me dead.”
“This has to be hard on you, but I’ll help you find answers. I know you feel alone, but you aren’t now.” He couldn’t shake from his mind the haunted look he glimpsed a few times on her face.
Tears glistened in Heidi’s eyes. “Why are you doing this for me?”
“Several reasons. First off, I’m a cop. I became one to help others in trouble. And you’re most definitely in dire straits. Also, I want you to remember. You might be able to help us with what’s been going on here in Sagebrush.”
“What’s going on?”
“Last month Captain Slade McNeal’s father was almost beaten to death. He’s still in this hospital. Like you, he slipped into a coma. My captain’s K-9 dog was stolen at that time. Brady, the seven-year-old who lives down the road from Slade, was kidnapped because he witnessed both the beating and Rio’s abduction. I know how I’d feel if something happened to Kip. My dog is my partner. We’ve been through a lot together.”
“I think I like dogs.”
The vulnerability in her expression chipped away at his declaration he was through with women after Alexa. “In a while you’ll find out. There’ll be two dogs at Molly’s. Besides Kip, Mark’s pet is an ex-K-9 dog—Eliza, a Malinois.”
“Why would someone take your captain�
�s dog?”
“We’re working on that,” Lee said, not wanting to reveal to Heidi what Pauly Keevers had told them—that Rio was taken to find something valuable in the Lost Woods. “In addition to Slade’s father being hurt, his dog stolen and young Brady Billows being kidnapped, a number of lowlifes have disappeared. One turned up dead in the Lost Woods the other day.
“Who?”
“Ned Adams? Have you ever heard that name, seen him?” Lee showed her a photo of the dead man.
She shook her head. “Was he a criminal?”
“Yes, he was dealing drugs and working for another man we have jailed and awaiting trial. He was shot execution style. Someone is making a point. Something big is going on here, and no one is talking.”
“But you said you’ve checked around here and I’m not from here. At least you don’t think so.”
“True, but you may know something about what happened in the Lost Woods that can help us.”
“You think that’s why that man came after me?”
“Maybe, especially since you woke up and could possibly remember and talk. Speaking of which...do you know a man named William Peterson?
“You found another dead body in the woods?”
“No, but we found Peterson’s car wrecked at the edge of the woods, not far from the highway. He lives in San Antonio, but his neighbors said he left on business weeks ago and wasn’t expected back for a few more days.” He cleared his throat. “SAPD checked with his employer, and he never showed up to see any of his business clients. He’s a sales rep for a manufacturer. When his daughter hadn’t heard from him, she filed a missing-person’s report.”
“You think I know him?”
“It could explain your injuries.” He showed her a driver’s license photo of Peterson, a fifty-two-year-old with balding dark hair and a plain face.
She examined it for a long moment then scrubbed her hands down her face. “I don’t know. The name doesn’t sound familiar at all. Nor does his picture look familiar.” Frustration, mixed with concern, marked her features.
“Don’t worry. It might not have anything to do with you.” He wanted to touch her and comfort her, take the strain from her expression. He kept his arms at his sides. “I’ll go see if the doctor has signed your discharge papers while you get dressed.”
“Speaking of clothes, I need to go by a store and pick up some extra items. What you found me in is all I have.”
“There’s a Super Mart not too far from here. We’ll stop there, then maybe Molly or Gail can take you shopping when you get settled in.”
* * *
“I can’t believe all these people came to help fix up this place for me,” Heidi said, standing back from the group painting and preparing the hardwood flooring to be refinished. “I should be helping.”
“Didn’t anyone tell you that you just got out of the hospital a few hours ago? You’re to rest. Isn’t that right, Gail?”
Lee’s friend stopped taping the floorboard and looked up at Heidi and him. “I’d better not see you lifting a finger tonight. Consider this your welcome-to-Sagebrush greeting. It’s got to be better than the first one.”
“Yes. Hands down.”
Heidi’s laughter floated across the room, drawing a couple of his friends’ attention. Lee liked the sound, light with a musical quality. He hadn’t seen her smile and certainly not heard her laugh much in the short time he had known her, but for some reason he wanted to make that his mission, to see and hear more of that.
“I thought you were resting downstairs.” Lee touched her elbow and led her toward the exit to the three-room apartment.
“I was getting bored. Resting is all I’ve done for the past few weeks.” Heidi leaned closer to him, her fresh scent of apples and cinnamon instantly reminding him of his childhood home at Christmas. “Molly went into the kitchen to make some sweet tea for y’all and see to her chocolate chip cookies. I snuck up here when she left.”
“You said y’all. Maybe you’re from the South. You have a faint accent.”
She cocked her head and stared off into space for a long moment. “I don’t know. I like the sound of cold sweet tea even though it’s the first of February.”
“I can’t say it gets that cold here in southwest Texas in the winter.” He guided her toward the third-floor landing. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love for you to join us. I just don’t want you to overdo it.”
“I have to admit I’m tired. You would think after resting and sleeping so much I wouldn’t be. My body isn’t wanting to cooperate with my mind, which would like to be upstairs with y’all pitching in, especially with how nice Molly has been.”
He descended the stairs with Heidi next to him. “Tell you what. Come join us about seven when the pizza is being delivered. Until then, take a nap.”
“All I can promise is I’ll rest. I’m tired, not sleepy.” At the bottom of the steps on the first floor, she turned toward him. “I can find my own way back to Molly’s spare bedroom after I see her in the kitchen.”
“You’re going to go in there and help her?”
She pointed to herself innocently. “Who, me?”
“Don’t answer. I don’t want to know you aren’t resting. See you at seven, and I’ll introduce you to the folks you don’t know.”
She headed for the kitchen while he went back upstairs. He hadn’t had a chance to talk with Gail. She’d gotten off work late and arrived here as soon as her shift ended. Not three minutes afterward, Heidi had come into the room. He didn’t want her involved at this time.
“Is she going to behave herself and take it easy?” Gail asked when he entered the first room in the new apartment.
“Probably not. She may not know it, but I have a feeling she has a stubborn streak.”
“I call it determination. She went through an ordeal and is alive. Someone wanted her dead in the woods attacked her earlier today.” Gail pursed her lips. “I can’t believe Gus Zoller tried to hurt her. On my floor. Bold. Desperate, maybe. So why go after Heidi unless she knows something?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. I’ve talked to everyone but his supervisor in housekeeping. She had already left for the day, and I wanted to bring Heidi here.”
“Mrs. Hanson is a tough one, but all you have to do is flash that great smile of yours and that badge, and you won’t have any problems.”
“Mrs. Markham, are you flirting with my friend?” Gail’s husband joined them, with beige paint in splotches all over his clothing.
Looking her husband up and down, Gail fisted her hand and planted it on her waist. “Harry Markham, I declare I’ve never seen a man so messy except when it comes to the dogs. Everything has to be neat and precise with them.”
Harry flicked his brush at his wife.
Her eyes grew round when she saw the paint spatter her shirt. “Good thing for you this is an old blouse.” But as Gail said that, she pushed the brush he held upward into his face.
“I’ll leave you two to work this out,” Lee said and crossed the room to continue painting the far wall with Mark and Slade.
“I don’t get it. I would have thought by now we would have a flood of leads to run down with Dante Frears coming forward and offering $25,000 for any information on the whereabouts of Rio and the person responsible for my father’s beating.” Slade finished his section and moved to the next one.
Lee picked up his brush and dipped it into the paint. “Give it time, Captain. I can’t imagine someone passing up that kind of cash for long. Someone’s gonna come forward. We’re going to find your dog and get the person who hurt your dad.”
“The criminals in town are scared and keeping their mouths shut, especially with Keevers’s disappearance. And now that we found Adams’s body in the woods, they are even more nervous. Who has them so afraid?” Slade applied his long strokes to the wall. “You would think we’d be aware of some criminal with that kind of power.”
“Maybe it’s a cop, and he’s got all the bad guys qu
aking in their boots,” Mark said with a chuckle.
Slade laughed. “Yeah, I’d like to be able to make the criminal element in Sagebrush quake with fear.”
Was that the person that had Heidi so frightened? Lee thought back to her reaction a couple of times when she looked at his police badge on his shirt. She’d tensed. Did she know more than she was letting on? His gut told him no, but he’d been all wrong about a beautiful woman before and ended up hurt.
Mark Moore, his neighbor across the hall, glanced toward him. “I think you’re smart, Calloway, keeping our mystery lady close. Easier to keep an eye on her. She could be involved in all of this.”
“Why do you think that?” Lee’s hand tightened about the brush. “Someone tried to kill her today.”
“She was in the woods that day the police found Brady. She could be part of the crime syndicate. Others have gone missing. Ned Adams, a petty criminal connected to Charles Ritter—one of the three middle managers in this crime syndicate—ended up dead. Maybe he angered The Boss. Maybe The Boss is cleaning up loose ends. The only others found in the Lost Woods were the two kidnappers. What was she doing?”
Lee bit back his response, Running for her life. There was a slim possibility she was involved, but he didn’t doubt she had amnesia. It would be hard to fake that lost look or the scared vibes pouring off her. Someone was after her. He wasn’t convinced it was someone in the crime syndicate. Besides, she wasn’t from around here. “She’s in trouble. I think a crime was committed against her, not the other way around.”
“If not the kidnapping, then what about the wrecked car and the missing man?” Mark retorted. “Maybe she had something to do with William Peterson, instead.”
Lee’s protective instinct welled up in him. “Haven’t you heard of innocent until proven guilty? I’m counting on you, Moore, keeping an eye out for her while I’m at work.”
His neighbor attacked his section with angry strokes. “Sure. But I get to tell you I told you so if she proves to be involved.”
Lee ground his teeth together and again kept his mouth shut. It was a good thing he and Moore worked on different shifts.
Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 4