Death and Deceit (30 page)

Kent’s shoulders slumped. There was no use trying to convince Davis. Only
Alvarez could do that. And by the looks of him now, it was probably too late.

Liz paced the corridor. What was going on in that room? She almost wished a nurse or someone would enter so she could peek in.

“What are you doing here, Liz?” Jessie came up behind her and Liz
jumped like someone had pinched her. Now she’d have to come clean. Alan and Jessie both gaped at her for an explanation.

“Kent wanted to see Alvarez, so I was covering for him, but —”

“He’s in there?” Alan’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

“Oh, yeah.” Liz scratched her head nervously. “And Davis just went into
the room.”

Jessie started towards the door of Ricardo’s room, but a passing nurse stopped her. “You can’t go in there, Miss. Mr. Alvarez is very ill. No visitors.”

Jessie stopped in her tracks just as the door burst open and Kent walked out. The look on his face told Liz he had failed.

Chief Davis followed behind Kent and caught the nurse’s arm. “I think he’s
lost consciousness again, nurse. It doesn’t look good at all in there.” The nurse entered the room with Davis behind her.

The door closed and Alan asked, “What’s going on, Kent?”

Kent walked back to the waiting area and the others followed him. They
all sat while he explained.

“So Alvarez actually talked to you?” Liz asked excitedly.

“He said the words,
Jessica’s innocent.
But I can’t prove that. He looks
real bad. If I had to place a bet, it wouldn’t be on his survival.”

“Oh, God,” Jessie moaned. “I wanted so much to speak to him.”

“If only he’d hung on another few minutes,” Kent said. “Davis walked in
right on cue, but Alvarez couldn’t wait. Damn.” Kent rubbed a hand over his face and drew a deep breath then expounded.

The group sat in utter silence until Liz broke the quiet. “What happened at
the police station?”

Alan glanced at Jessie before answering Liz. “Attempted murder charge. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

“What? Are you defending her, Alan?”

“No. Of course not. I’m not a criminal lawyer, you know that. But Sam Bent is the best around here.” He rose. “There’s no sense hanging around. Why don’t we go back to the house and figure out what to do next?”

Jessie felt Kent’s arm on her shoulder and reached up to squeeze his hand
.
She looked into his eyes. “Thanks for trying,” she said. “Maybe Ricardo will speak again. If he talked to you, Kent, then he has a conscience. I always knew there was good in him. He just had a tough life and it warped him.”

Kent watched Jessie’s eyes brim with tears as she spoke. He loved her more
each minute, and the thought of losing her to a prison cell almost killed him. But he couldn’t let that feeling, that pain, overcome him now. She was trying to be strong, and she needed him more than ever before.
“You’re a good person, Jessie. That’s why I love you so much. But I can’t
leave here right now. And I don’t think we should go until we see Davis. He’s still in the room. Maybe Alvarez is talking.”

They all sat down again and waited in silence. Fifteen minutes passed and
the nurse came out of Ricardo’s room. All four of them stood, like soldiers on watch duty and marched towards her.

“How is he?” Jessie asked.

The nurse looked them over. “Who are you people anyway? Are any of
you relatives?”

“Look,” Kent spoke up quickly. “It’s important to us to know if he’s regained consciousness or not. Please tell us.”

The nurse looked leery but replied, “No. I’m afraid he hasn’t.”

The elevator door slid open and Dr. Farley stepped into the corridor. He
walked with his head bent forward, as if he had to force each step. He looked preoccupied when the nurse caught his attention. “Chief Davis is with Mr. Alvarez, Doctor. He said he wanted to stay...until the end.”

“That’s good, Jean. Everyone needs someone.” He glanced briefly at the
group by the nurse but moved on to the policeman’s room without speaking to any of them.

The nurse turned to leave, but Jessie caught up with her. “Nurse, it sounds bad. Is there any chance at all for him?”

Nurse Jean must have caught the glimpse of sadness in Jessie’s face, for she
softened her stance and touched Jessie’s shoulder. “There’s always a chance.” She smiled. “But I would be extremely surprised if this one makes it. We suspect a blood clot. If so, he could go quickly, or linger. It’s unpredictable.”

“Thank you,” Jessie whispered. She felt her legs buckle and sat in the nearest chair. Ricardo was dying, now Chief Davis would be determined to nail her for murder. If she could walk on her jelly legs, she’d sprint from this hospital and flee as far away as those legs could take her. Then she remembered Davis’s words.
Don’t leave town, Miss
. She was a captive already. She just didn’t have the leg irons on yet.

****

Dr. Farley gave Davis a grave look. He adjusted the stethoscope around his neck for something to do. Davis had watched his every move. When he’d shone the small light into his patient’s eyes, Davis had peered closely, as if he were helping in some way by being there. “He’s slipping into a coma, but he seems reluctant.”

“How’s that, Doc? You mean he can control it?”

“He’s trying. He doesn’t want to go. He’s a real fighter.”

“He was a tough kid, Doc.”

“I know,” Dr. Farley replied. “I fixed him up a few times when he was a
teenager. That family all had it rough. You know as well as I do what went on in
that shack out there. This young man was a victim, just like his mother and sister.”

“I’d like to stay with him, Doc, if it’s all right with you.”

Farley arched his brows thoughtfully. The chief was actually asking something for a change instead of demanding. What had happened to the steel-nosed cop who thought he had all the rights and all the answers?

A humble Alton Davis hung his head and kept a vigil beside the bedside of his dead lover’s son.
Dr. Farley slipped out the door and closed it quietly behind him.
Davis pulled a hanky from his pocket and dabbed at his eyes. “Damn, boy,” he said. “You’re too young to die. And that missy who shot you is waiting for you to help her out. Now I know you got yourself into a lot of trouble when you were a young fella, but hell, I thought you’d straightened out. So, if you really did kidnap that girl, and I don’t wanna believe you did, but I’m beginning to have my doubts, then you need to tell me. I was proud of yah when you decided to be a cop. I wish your dear mother had had the strength to stay on earth a little longer. The day she died I wanted to comfort you. I wanted to tell you what she meant to me, and how I was feeling the pain you were. But you wouldn’t let anyone near you, and I thought it best to keep my thoughts to myself.”
Davis sniffed and blew his nose. “Damn, boy. You were like a son to me.
I never had a son. I never even wanted to marry anyone except your mother. I waited for her, you know. But even after he left, she kept saying he’d be back. She wouldn’t even have me then. I know she cared about me once, but that was before he came along. She loved him through it all.”

“She should have loved you.”

Davis cocked his head around, as if he was listening real hard, but couldn’t
believe he’d heard something...someone speak. He was on his feet now, agitated
and animated. “Ricardo? Hell, you did speak didn’t you? Speak, boy. Do it again.”

****

Jessie turned to her brother. “I think you’re right, Alan. We might as well
go home. There’s no sense sitting around here.”

She could barely get the words out, and Kent’s heart hurt like a bad tooth
ache. She was so vulnerable now. Her future hung on Alvarez’s recovery, or at
least on his dying words. Maybe if Alan got her a really good lawyer, she would be
all right. Maybe. But all the maybes in the world might not be enough to keep Jessie with him.

Jessie spotted the doctor first. But he went straight behind the desk and started talking with the nurse there. She rose, hoping she could catch him before he left the floor. He seemed like such a busy man, and he looked so tired she hated to bother him, but she wanted to know about Ricardo. She hoped, if he was agreeable, she might go in the room and see for herself. Maybe if she spoke to Ricardo, he might hear her, and she could tell him she was sorry for shooting him. At least she would have said the words. It would help her feel better if she just —

Davis shoved through the doorway and called out. “Doc, come quick, he’s
awake.”

Jessie’s heart soared, but it caught in her throat and she couldn’t breathe
properly. She felt the thump of her heart and watched as the doctor hurried into Ricardo’s room with Davis hot on his heels.

Ringing her hands now, Jessie wished she were in the room. He would talk
to her, she knew he would. “I need to go in there,” she said.

Kent was at her side. “They won’t let you, Jessie. Come here.” She turned and folded into his arms, and he could feel her tremble. This was the moment of truth. Ricardo’s words or lack of them might now decide the fate of Jessie’s life.

He felt himself tremble too, but drew on all his karate knowledge to shake off the feeling. When he held her, he wanted her to feel his strength, his love, and to know that no matter what happened in the next few, crucial minutes, he would always be there for her...forever.

Alan got up and stood beside Jessie. “I hate to break up your little intimate
moment here,” he said, “but I thought you wanted to go home, Jessie?”

Jessie pulled away from Kent’s arms. “Yes, I know,” she said to Alan. “But
Ricardo’s awake they said. We can’t leave now.”

“Look, Jessie...” Kent hesitated as if he wondered if he would say the right
thing. “I think Alan’s right. We’ve been here long enough. This waiting is wearing on all of us. What say we go back to the house, clean up and get something to eat. As soon as we get there, we’ll check with the hospital. If anything’s changed, we’ll turn right around and come back.”

“But, it might be —”

“Jessie, Kent’s right,” Alan agreed. “I need a break from this place.”

“Then you go.” Jessie walked over by Liz and sat down. She folded her
arms stubbornly.

The door flew open again, and Davis raced towards Jessie. “He said your
name.” Jessie and Davis disappeared into Ricardo’s room. Kent and Alan took seats again by Liz.

Jessie was overwhelmed by the display of paraphernalia around Ricardo, as she drew closer to the bedside. The doctor stood to her left, and Davis stood beside her at Ricardo’s head. The doctor motioned to him, and Davis pushed past her and sat down. Jessie slid up closer still and spoke softly. “Ricardo. It’s Jessie.”

His eyes fluttered then opened to gaze into hers. He made a pitiful effort to
move his hand, and Jessie caught the motion. She clasped it in her own and squeezed his clammy fingers. “Ricardo, I’m sorry. I never meant it to happen. I don’t know why I took the gun. All I really wanted was to get away from you. If I’d left the gun and run...I know you wouldn’t have shot me, but what you tried to do to me. You invaded...you tried to....” She stopped and looked over at the doctor. He was checking Ricardo’s blood pressure and pretending not to listen. But Jessie found it embarrassing and finished up quickly. “I’m sorry I shot you...really sorry.”

She had said what she came for, so she stopped talking and watched his eyes. He still stared at her, as if he wanted to speak but didn’t have the strength or will.

“Blood pressure’s dropping,” Dr. Farley mumbled.

Davis rose then and came round to the doctor’s side of the bed. “What’s
happening, Doc?”

“All this exertion is making him weaker. He needs to rest.”

“I...was just leaving,” Jessie said. “I’ve said what I came to say.”

“But, he called for you,” Davis said.

Farley monitored Ricardo’s pulse but spoke to Davis. “Let her go, Alton,
he’s too weak to talk. And her presence is driving his pulse crazy.”

Jessie rushed from the room and into Kent’s arms. “I told him,” she said, breathlessly between sobs. “I said I was sorry, and he just stared at me.” She buried her head into Kent’s chest and heaved hysterically.

Liz shook her head and wished they’d all get out of there. The hospital waiting was getting on her nerves. She wished Alan and Kent would convince Jessie to go home, but they just stood by helplessly, watching her cry her heart out. Liz felt she had to do something.

“Why don’t we take Jessie home now? She just said she told him she was sorry. She did what she came for. Let’s go.”

Kent patted Jessie’s back and gave Liz an accusing glare. “Was he still
conscious, Jessie, when you left him? Didn’t he say
anything
to you?”