Hide'n Go Seek (29 page)

Kali shifted, her butt noticing the long stretch in that position. "Sorry, where's Shiloh?"

"I took her and your Jeep home, then came here with Thomas. I'll head over there and feed her in a bit."

His words pinched. Shiloh was hers. She'd been the only one to feed her - ever. Stupid. She should be grateful that Grant was capable of caring for her.

"Grant." Kali stopped.

"What?"

"If you're going to my house anyway, would you mind bringing my art stuff?"

Stefan sat up. He and Grant exchanged glances. "Are you picking up on something?" Grant asked hopefully.

Not wanting to get his hopes up, she compromised. "I'm not sure. My dreams...wow! But the drugs are problematic. Are they putting the pictures in or have they opened my mind up further?"

"It could be either or both." Stefan said, his liquid chocolate voice soothing her doubts. "We'll get you a sketchbook. Once you get the images down, we can take a look. When your mind is overwhelmed with images, it's hard to separate real from imaginary."

"Exactly." She stared at him in delight. He understood. Stefan smiled as they shared a conspiratorial look. Flashing Grant a look, Kali found his gaze narrowed on them both. She rolled her eyes.

"We'll head there now." Pushing his chair back, Grant stood, prepared to leave. At the end of the bed he stopped. "I have to ask, are these images related to Julie?"

Stefan had reached the door, but at the question he stopped to hear her answer.

"I can't be certain until I've drawn it," Kali said soberly. "Maybe."

"Back in forty minutes." He started for the door.

Stefan winked at her before walking out of the room.

"Grant."

Almost at the door, he pivoted and raised one eyebrow in question.

Crooking her finger, she motioned him closer. When he stood at her bedside, she reached up and tugged him to her level. Staring him in the eye, she said, "Your friend
is
gorgeous. That does not mean I'm nuts over him. Okay?"

A fine flush worked over his face, highlighting his strong features. "Ouch. I'm that obvious?"

"I understand, really I do. I'm sure women fall all over him. However, get this straight, I am not other women."

His eyes warmed. Grant bent and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back soon."

Kali listened as his footsteps faded away. Time for help. She reached for the call button.

A nurse arrived within minutes. "How's the pain, dearie?"

"Liveable. But I have to go to the bathroom."

"Good." With efficient practice, the nurse pulled the blanket back and tucked it over the bed. "Now, on your feet, and let's see how steady you are."

Kali wasn't as steady as she'd hoped. Eventually she weaved her way back to her bed with the nurse's help. The bone weary exhaustion invaded her limbs.

The bed loomed in front of them. Three full steps and one baby step more. Climbing up onto the bed, she collapsed onto her belly, then buried her face in the pillow. Oh God, she hurt. Flames burned along her shoulders, tremors vibrated along her limbs. There'd be no more lifting her head. "Ohhh," she moaned against the crackling hospital pillow.

"Painkillers?"

Kali twisted her head sideways. "No thanks. Do you know when I can leave?"

"Nope, but I can tell you that going to the bathroom on your own is a definite requirement."

"Right. Failed that one." Kali closed her eyes and waited for her breathing to calm down.

She woke up an hour later and felt so much better; it was hard to understand how. Had she missed Grant? She frowned, searching her room. There was no sign of her sketchbook. A hospital tray waited for her with a large dome hiding its contents.

Kali pushed herself up and attempted to drop her legs over the side of the hospital bed. Awkward, ungainly and painful, but it worked. Kali sighed with relief as she settled into a more comfortable sitting position, her legs swinging over the bed. The blankets reached the floor when she tucked them around her lower body. The over the bed table was accessible, too. Perfect.

The largest of the plastic domes held a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Cold and greasy. Kali shuddered, dropping the lid. A small salad and a bowl of jello or possibly plastic wobbled in a small bowl at the back. Well, that wasn't happening.

Depressed and hungry, she tried to shift back onto the bed when Grant walked in, sketchbook in hand.

"It's good to see you moving about."

Kali glowered. "You may enter if you brought real coffee. Can't say a muffin, sandwich or equally light would go amiss, either. It's supposed to be dinner time, but the meal here can't be classified as food. No Stefan?"

His lips quirked, his gaze switching from the tray to her, as his eyes lit with amusement. "Stefan will stop by later, if he can. Here are your sketchbook and pencils, and I'll find you something to eat." He dumped his armload on the bed, dropped a quick kiss on her cheek, and left.

Kali stared after him, shock rippling along her spine, her fingers pressed against the ghost of his kiss. He was getting very comfortable with those. She kinda liked it.

To take her mind off her hunger and Grant's behavior, Kali opened her sketchbook to a clean page. Julie had been missing for a full day now. Depending on her condition and the amount of oxygen available, her time was running out. Kali's thoughts turned dark and dreary. Depressed, she worried on how to end this mess. Her mind flipped from one possibility to another as she doodled. What if she went on TV and publicly admitted this killer had her beat hands down? It wasn't as if her ego cared. His ego needed the satisfaction. TV? Newspapers? Radio? Hmmm. She would mention it to Grant. Kali's hand moved aimlessly as her mind pondered the problems.

"That's a face to photograph, and here I am, without my camera."

Kali looked up as Grant entered the room, carrying two take-out coffees and a paper bag.

"Oh yeah, food and coffee." Kali threw her sketchbook to one side and tossed her pencil on top. "The table is cleared and ready." She shifted to sit with her legs over the edge again, taking her blanket with her. "What did you bring?"

Her mouth salivated at the rich aromas wafting from the bag. Opening it, she pulled out two warm oversized muffins and below it, a small container of fruit salad followed by two large Kaiser bun sandwiches. "Perfect. Thank you." She broke off a piece of the muffin and popped it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned as the fresh banana nut flavor filled her mouth. After several more bites and a long sip of her fresh coffee, Kali knew she'd survive. She turned her attention to Grant.

"Bring me up-to-date on the progress with the case. Did you talk to Jarl?" In-between mouthfuls, Kali listened, but her hope quickly sank to despair. For all the legwork, phone work, and man-hours, they hadn't found much. No idea who'd shot her. No sign of Jarl. And no leads on locating Julie.

Not great dinner conversation. Pushing the table away, she leaned back and massaged her belly. "Okay. I'll survive a little longer. What about the police sketch, any luck identifying it?"

"Your sketch you mean?" Grant dropped his muffin wrapper to the table, then reached for one of the two sandwiches he'd brought.

"Nope, the credit goes to the police artist. Her skill dragged the information out of Brenda. I translated the answers to paper."

"So did the police artist, but your picture hit the mark. We showed it to several people at the center and he's been tentatively ID'd as Christian LeFleure. No one seems to know much about him. The team is running a background check on him."

Kali tilted her head. "Christian. Hmmm. Sounds familiar, but I can't place him. Stan will know him. We can ask him when he wakes up." A yawn worked up from deep inside. The warm food and drink, not to mention the drugs, were making her sleepy.

"Mind if I go through your sketchbook again?"

Kali glanced to the book at the end of the bed. "I did a bit of doodling while you were gone, but not much." Shifting slightly, she stretched out on her left side, tugging the blanket up to her shoulder. With the pillow crunching under her head, Kali felt lethargy taking over. "I need to close my eyes for a just a moment," she murmured.

With eyes drooping closed, she watched as Grant picked up her sketchbook and started flicking through the pages. Snuggling deeper, she drifted off to sleep.

Kali's 'doodle' socked him in the gut. It also didn't make sense. He turned it sideways and still couldn't get the clarity he needed. "Kali? What's-" Catching sight of her, he smiled gently. She slept, curled up like a child, her breathing slow and regular. One blanket rested precariously on her shoulders with a second crumpled at her feet. Grant laid down the sketchbook, stepped over and spread the second blanket over her prone body. Walking to the other side, he straightened the gown up to her shoulders. The gauze bandage gaped, showing the string of black stitches surrounded by red puffy tissue.

"Shit." Grant whispered softly, his heart aching at the damage. The good doctor had spoken true. She was damn lucky.

His gaze dropped to her sketch.

Kali had incredible talents, whether she believed it or not. Both as a psychic and an artist. Sitting again, he took his time to study the two sketches. The first one of Julie that had led them to David and he presumed the second was of her as well, but he didn't know that.

They needed something useful, landmarks, terrain, to lead them to her location.

Frustrated, he studied the sketch. The close-up showed only the underground hell with little to no above ground markings. He had the weird sense of missing something important. "Damn it. What's the missing link? Where the hell are you, Julie?"

"She's there."

Grant turned to face Kali. "Did I wake you? Sorry."

Kali's soft voice had an odd flatness to it. "Julie's so scared."

Grant studied her face. She appeared half asleep, half awake. Studying her face, he whispered, "Kali? Do you know the location in your sketch? It looks odd and I can't quite figure it out."

"What sketch?" she murmured, her eyes still closed.

"Kali, this is important. Open your eyes." Grant leaned closer, holding the sketchbook above her face.

She blinked several times, struggling to focus. With a big yawn, she shifted slightly and looked at the picture in front of her. "That's an underground stream."

"Underground stream? Huh?" Grant stared at the picture. With her explanation, he could identify the lines depicting water a distance beneath the body.

"Roystan Park. It's well known for the underground stream running through the length of it. Julie has to be at Roystan Park."

Grant wasn't familiar with the area, had never been to the park and knew nothing about underground streams. One thing he did understand, underground waterways like above-ground ones usually ran for miles. "That's a lot of territory to cover, Kali. Can you narrow it further?"

Kali didn't answer, her eyes drifted closed. She needed her rest, but he needed answers and Julie needed help.

He sharpened his voice. "Kali."

"What?" she answered, her voice groggy, her eyes flickering open briefly.

"Where on the underground stream is Julie?"

"Look at the tree from the first picture. There's a recently disturbed hill."

Snatching up the sketchbook, Grant flipped to the first Julie picture. The first picture showed a unique tree. Christ. "I need to borrow your sketch book, Kali. I need to copy these pictures.”

Kali yawned, her eyes drooping closed. "Nurses' station."

"Back in a minute." Grant bent over, dropped a hard kiss on her forehead, only to hear her slow even breathing. She was asleep.

K
ali shifted her position gently, wincing at the tugs on her shoulders and spine. Hospital beds weren't comfy to begin with, but for the injured, they really sucked. Opening her eyes, she watched the long shadows stretch across the room. She yawned. The afternoon had long disappeared. With a sense of relaxation permeating her soul, Kali realized for all the aches and soreness, she felt better. Less like she'd been hit by a bus.

The table and her sketchbook slid into focus. Tidbits of conversation with Grant came back to her. Her curiosity spiked.

Shuffling upright, she stretched out a hand for the pad, flipping to the last picture she'd done. Bold stark lines stared at her. What had she said? Roystan Park. Kali bolted upright, moaning at the sudden movement. Damn it. Then she caught sight of her cell phone. Her pain forgotten, she reached for it. Yeah, connected again. She dialed Grant's number.

"Why aren't you asleep?" he growled.

"Hi, how are you doing? Nice of you to call," she snapped, throwing back the blankets.

"Sorry, how nice of you to call. Niceties done, why the hell aren't you asleep?"

Kali slid off the side of the bed and walked over to the window. "Because I woke up. Cut the attitude and tell me what's going on. I remember something about Roystan Park."

"That's where we are right now."

"Good, which handlers have you called in?"

Silence filled the phone.

Kali's heart sank and she closed her eyes. "You didn't call any, did you?" Kali couldn't believe it. "Jesus, Grant. You need a canine team and preferably more than one. You'll never find her otherwise."

"I didn't know whom to trust," he said simply.

She paused and closed her eyes in acquiescence. What a nightmare.

"There are forty men here. I'll call you when we find her. Bye."

Frustrated, Kali stared at the dead phone in her hand. He was wrong to believe men, regardless of how many, made up for the lack of a canine unit. She lived that world. She understood just what these dogs could do. Yet he was also right. Whom could they trust? She doubted everyone and no longer trusted those she knew.

Who could help?

Shiloh. And therefore Kali.

Grant would never let her...if he knew. But...was she capable of going out and searching? If she couldn't physically do the job, she'd slow them down - or worse, take valuable man-hours away from the search for Julie. She rolled her shoulders, testing them. A few tugs and a few pulls - and actually it wasn't that bad. Okay, she was lying. Still, she felt so much better than she expected. Amazing what a paradigm shift could do.