Nothing Is Negotiable (23 page)

As the elevator began to descend, Bonnie started to tremble. They said Dr. Owens would be out for at least an hour. But she was not out and from the looks of things she must have put up a fight, for she had a red bruise on one side of her face. If the elevator had gotten there ten seconds earlier, they would have met in the corridor, face to face.

Now it was a race against the clock. If she didn’t get out of the hospital with Olivia, they’d kill Luke and come after her, too.

While Bonnie tried to stay calm the boys on the other side of the elevator started to argue. One wanted to eat at Taco Bell, the other at Pizza Hut. One reached over and pushed the button to stop on the first floor.

Bonnie rubbed her hands across her face and tried to settle her nerves. She checked the illuminated number above the door. It changed from three to two.

A falling feather would move faster than this elevator.

Finally it changed to one. When it stopped the boys got off. Bonnie jabbed the button to close the door three times. Two seconds later, it started down and slowed to a stop in the basement.

She cautiously peered out as the metal doors opened. Everything appeared normal so she pushed the stroller out and fell in behind two men who were walking toward the visitors’ parking lot.

Ahead she saw several directional signs attached to the wall. One sign pointed to the parking lot, the other two signs pointed to the left—one for the employee parking lot and the other to the service elevator. Another sign pointed to the right to a small alcove where she saw a door with a small window and a sign above it that said,
Stairs.

She turned left toward the employee parking lot and picked up her pace.

Behind her a door slammed, echoing down the empty corridor. Without thinking, she looked over her shoulder and saw a man entering the stairwell. He wore dark blue pants, a white shirt, and a black holster with a gun on his belt. It didn’t take but half a second to know it was Rocky Giovino, the security guard.

She walked faster.

“Excuse me, Dr. Owens?” the guard called out.

“What is it, Rocky?” she said without turning or slowing down.

“Doc, could you hold on a minute? There’s been some kind of problem upstairs and they told me to stop you.”

Rocky was good-looking, about five-ten and built like a brick wall. She remembered the information on him. About a year ago he had gotten out of the army after a two-year tour in Iraq. He was married with a two-year-old son. At the hospital, he was the closest thing there was to a war hero.

He came up behind her and grabbed her by the bicep.

Jerking her arm free, she turned to face him. “Rocky, I’m really in a big hurry,” she said tersely, averting her eyes. “Could you tell them to call me on my cell phone? I don’t have time right now.”

She glanced back at him and saw a look of confusion cross his face. “They said the person who took Olivia wasn’t you, Dr. Owens.”

“You can see it’s me, okay?” she said curtly. “I really need to be going.”

Bonnie turned to push the stroller, but Rocky grabbed it by the handle, preventing her from leaving. His jaw locked and all signs of friendliness were gone. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but they told me not to let Olivia out of the building.”

“Rocky, please. I don’t have time for this.”

He grabbed the stroller by the handle and pulled it away from her. She looked from side to side, avoiding his eyes. His expression slowly changed from being confused to being perplexed. “You... aren’t Dr. Owens, are you?”

“Of course I am,” she snapped.

Rocky leaned a little closer and looked her up and down, even more confused. “I’m sorry, Dr. Owens, but I can’t let you go.”

She reached and grabbed the handle and pulled it, but he wouldn’t let it go. Bonnie looked away, toward the door at the end of the hallway, then the other way. Finally, she looked back at him with pleading eyes. “Rocky, please.”

He held his position and looked deep into her eyes.

This was exactly what she feared. She couldn’t lie any more. She sighed loudly and said, “Okay, I’m not Dr. Owens. But I only did this because some men are holding my husband hostage and said if I didn’t kidnap Olivia, they’d kill him.”

Rocky’s eyes narrowed and he leaned his head forward, as if he was trying to understand. “What did you say?”

Bonnie didn’t know what else to do. Talking faster than before, she said, “I know it’s hard to believe but this is what happened: these guys abducted me and my husband. Then they said that since I looked just like that doctor, I had to impersonate her, kidnap this little girl and then turn her over to them. If I didn’t do what they said, they were going to kill me and my husband. And they’ll even kill Olivia.”

“Ma’am, I think you need to come upstairs with me,” Rocky said as he took her arm.

She jerked away. “I know this sounds unbelievable but it’s the truth. You have to believe me. There’re about four or five of them. Even one of the nurses is in on it.”

“Ma’am, please drop your purse and step back and face the wall,” he said, now not so friendly. He reached down, pulled a small radio off his belt and toggled a switch on a microphone. “Base, this is Giovino, come in.”

A garbled squelch came back over the radio.

“I have the child and the woman impersonating Dr. Owens. I’m on my way up.”

Bonnie hesitated briefly but didn’t turn away. “So I did what I had to do. You’ve got to believe me. Call the cops and send them to that parking lot.” She pointed toward the basement. “That’s where I was supposed to meet them and turn Olivia over to them. They’re in a white van that says White Swan—”

“Shut up, you whore.”

Bonnie and Rocky jerked their heads around to see a stocky man in a brown leather jacket. He had a trimmed mustache, aviator sunglasses, and a San Francisco 49ers cap pulled low on his head. As he raised his right arm Bonnie recognized the unmistakable form of a chrome pistol, but the end of the barrel had an extension that wasn’t chrome. She’d seen enough cop shows on TV to know the gun had a silencer.

The gun leveled on Bonnie, she instinctively dove across the hall just before he fired.

Pfft. Pfft.
The sheetrock wall exploded where she had been standing.

Rocky reacted with the speed of a combat soldier, pulling his weapon to return fire. But the gunman was ahead of him, firing before Rocky could get his gun up.

The shot missed and Rocky pointed his gun and pulled the trigger at the same time the gunman fired again.

Rocky’s gun was not silenced and the noise sounded like a bomb exploding in the narrow hallway. The sleeping baby came awake and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The gunman’s shot hit Rocky high on the chest. The shot spun him around and his gun fell and clattered across the floor.

But Rocky’s shot found its target too, hitting the shooter in his left arm.

“Son of a bitch,” the man growled as he twisted with the impact of the bullet.

Bonnie could see Rocky’s pained expression as he bent down and picked up his gun, but as he raised it to shoot again, Bonnie heard another shot from the silenced pistol. Rocky grunted, grabbed his gut, and fell to the floor.

She twisted around and saw the gunman coming at her. His breathing was rapid and shallow. “Where do you think you’re going? We told you we’d be watching and I’d kill you if you fucked up.”

The fury in his voice told her he intended to carry out his promise. He stopped beside the stroller and glanced at Olivia who was wailing at the top of her lungs. He looked down at Bonnie, who was on her hands and knees, and raised his pistol.

Bonnie’s legs felt glued to the floor. At this range he couldn’t miss.

“And you fucked up.”

But before he could shoot, a cry of terror came from behind him.

The man spun around to see a woman in a blue business suit standing in an open doorway. She had probably stepped out of her office to investigate the noise.

The man turned and pulled off two rapid shots; both hit the woman in the torso. Her scream was cut off as she flew back against the wall and crumpled to the floor. Bonnie stared as a red puddle of blood began spreading around her body.

The shooter’s attention remained on the fallen woman. This was Bonnie’s only chance. She scooted forward and snagged Rocky’s gun.

It was a semi-automatic, similar to a pistol of Luke’s she had shot before. Before she could aim the gun, the gunman turned and aimed his gun at her. Without thought she tensed and squinted as he pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. He jerked on the trigger again and still nothing happened. He turned the gun sideways and checked the chamber. Something was wrong. He tried to pull back the slide mechanism on top of the pistol, but it wouldn’t budge.

Bonnie knew what happened: it was jammed. The empty shell casing had not ejected fully and was wedged half in and half out.

She got to her knees and raised Rocky’s gun, holding it outstretched in both hands. The thought of shooting someone had never crossed her mind, but now it seemed as natural as slapping a pesky mosquito.

“Drop it or I’ll shoot.”

He held his hands up, as if surrendering. But then he blurted out, “You won’t shoot me.”

“The hell I won’t,” she said through gritted teeth.

Then in one slick move, he yanked Olivia from her stroller and held her in front of him, against his chest. Any shot she had at him was now blocked.

She glared at him and noticed something—a scab on his chin about the size of a dime. She remembered him.

“I know who you are. You’re a guard at the border crossing.”

For an instant he was taken aback. He swallowed hard. “You don’t know shit.”

She pointed the gun at his face. “I fell over some chairs and they thought Luke hit me. They yelled and you came in. Y’all scuffled and your chin got scraped.”

His hand went to his chin and he eyed her with a smirk. He started to back up.

“I’ll go to the police.”

“You go to the police and your husband’s dead. I’ll promise you that.”

He took a couple more steps backwards then disappeared around the corner, carrying Olivia.

Bonnie got to her feet and started to follow, but heard Rocky moan. She looked at him and saw blood oozing from the wound. Crouching beside him she said, “Rocky. Can you hear me?”

His eyes fluttered, and then opened. “Yeah.”

“Hold on. I’ll go for help.”

“No time,” he said weakly. “Help me to the service elevator.”

She dropped the gun and helped him into a sitting position. Wrapping his bloody arm over her shoulder, she helped him to his feet and they limped around the corner to the elevator. She pressed the up button and pulled the radio from his belt. “Rocky’s been shot and needs help. Repeat: Rocky’s been shot. He’s coming to the first floor in the service elevator.”

The elevator door opened and she helped him inside and he leaned against the wall. She pushed the first floor button and stepped out.

Barely conscious, he raised his eyes to hers. “Where are you going?”

“To save my husband. They forced me to do this and they’re holding my husband hostage.”

“But you were taking Olivia.”

“You must believe me. If I go to the police, they’ll kill my husband and Olivia.”

As the elevator door closed Bonnie backed away, and looked down the hallway. The woman in the puddle of blood, appeared to be dead. Closer to her she saw Dr. Owens’s purse and Rocky’s pistol and a trail of blood leading to the elevator.

She grabbed the purse and reached for the gun, but her hand stopped short.
I’m in enough trouble already,
she thought.

Her only choice now was to run. She dashed out into the employee parking lot where Lauren’s Suburban waited with the back door open. As she dove inside, Lauren’s eyes widened at the sight of the blood on Bonnie’s blouse and arm.

“What the—” Lauren asked.

“Just get out of here,” she said, slamming the car door. “And don’t draw any attention. There’ll be cops everywhere within a minute.”

As they headed toward the highway, Bonnie wiped her bloody hands on her blouse and thought about the gunman. She could identify him and he knew it.

Luke still had a chance. But what about Olivia?

Lauren pulled out of the parking lot and merged with the eastbound traffic. “Are you hurt?” she asked.

“No.”

“Where do you want me to go?”

“I don’t care, anywhere I can get this blood off of me,” Bonnie exclaimed. Half a mile down the road, three cop cars with sirens blaring passed them heading toward the hospital. Bonnie sunk lower onto the floor of the backseat. The right sleeve of her blouse was covered with dark, sticky blood. It repulsed her to think about what had happened.

“We’ll go to the motel. I’ve got some extra clothes there,” Lauren said. “What happened back there?”

“Everything went wrong. A security guard stopped me and knew I wasn’t Dr. Owens. He was going to take me in but they must have been watching because this guy with a gun came out of nowhere. He and the guard started shooting at each other. The guard got shot and so did some woman who stepped into the hallway. He tried to shoot me, too, but his gun jammed. Then he grabbed Olivia and hauled ass.”

“Thank God you got away.”

“I think I recognized him.”

“Who is it?”

“He was one of the agents at the border crossing south of Cardston.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. When Luke and I came across the border Tuesday, they took us inside and questioned us. They gave us a bunch of crap and Luke got so pissed off they had to restrain him. In the process there was a scuffle, and one of the agents got his chin scraped. This guy has a scab on his chin in exactly the same place and he looks exactly the same size. It has to be the same person.”

“Why don’t you call them and tell them you’ll go to the police unless they release Luke?” Lauren said.

“Yeah, but they know I won’t do that. As long as they have Luke, they know I won’t go to the police.”

“It’s all we have at this point. It will give us the advantage and some time.”

Bonnie thought about it for a few seconds then said, “You’re right.”

She pulled out the phone and pressed the speed-dial button. When no one answered, it went to voice mail. “Okay, I did what you told me and now you have Olivia. So now it’s time for you to let my husband go. If you don’t I’ll go to the police and tell them I know who you are. I remember you from the Chief Mountain border crossing. Your name is Coley. Call me or I’m going to the police.”

A few minutes later they pulled into a motel parking lot.

“Pull off your bloody blouse and put on that parka,” Lauren said motioning to a blue windbreaker on the backseat.

Bonnie stripped down to her bra and used the clean part of the blouse to wipe away the blood on her arm. She pulled on the parka as Lauren pulled into a parking space. Bonnie followed her into the motel room, hiding the bloody blouse.

***

Pete Coley sat on the back seat, holding Olivia like a sack of potatoes with his good arm. Ever since they left the hospital, she’d been crying at the top of her lungs.

“This squalling is driving me crazy. How much farther?” Pete asked.

“We’re here,” Sonny said as he turned into a parking lot. Immediately after Bonnie left for the hospital, they moved the Winnebago to the edge of town where they had found a small unoccupied warehouse that was unoccupied and for sale. Sonny drove around behind the metal building and parked next to the motor home. Beside it sat the black Jeep which Rita had driven back from the hospital.

Just as Sonny parked the van Rita stepped out of the motor home. She took Olivia and Sonny helped Pete out of the van.

There was a lot of blood on the seat where he had been sitting. That concerned Sonny because there were no provisions in the plan for injuries. Everyone had a part and everyone was needed. And Pete knew that.

“How are you doing?” Sonny asked.

“It’s not that bad,” Pete said, grimacing as he walked past Sonny, into the RV.

Once inside, he sat at the table. Sonny looked toward the back bedroom and saw Rita put Olivia into the playpen. When she came back she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a baby bottle.

“Give this to Olivia and I’ll take care of Pete,” she said handing it to Sonny.

He took it as if she were handing him a dirty diaper. Sonny didn’t like children, especially when they were crying. But Rita was already turning to Pete.

Olivia was sitting in the crib. Her screaming had turned to whimpering and now she clutched a small stuffed bear in one hand and sucked her thumb on the other.

This was the first time Sonny had gotten a good look at her. As soon as her blue eyes connected with him, he winced. The scowl on his face frightened her and her crying returned.

He lowered the bottle in front of her face and wiggled it around.

“Hey. Here’s your bottle,” Sonny said as if she was ignoring him intentionally.

His harsh tone startled her and she squeezed her eyes closed and wailed even louder.

“Goddamit, here,” he said and pushed the nipple into her lips. She turned away and buried her head in her blanket. “For crying out loud, you fucking baby.” Sonny dropped the bottle in her bed and stomped off.

Rita gave him a disapproving look when he walked past her and scowled.

“You do it,” he quipped. “I’ll help Pete.”

Rita rolled her eyes, went back to the bedroom. A minute later the cries subsided and she returned. Sonny brought Rita the first aid kit. Inside were bandages, gauze, bottles of medicine, tweezers, and all kinds of other medical supplies. She pulled out a bottle of alcohol and poured some on a gauze bandage, then began to dab at the wound.

“How bad is it?” Sonny asked.

“Can’t tell yet,” she told him. She tossed the blood-soaked bandage into a waste basket and grabbed another. He watched until she doused a cotton swab with alcohol and stuck it into the bullet hole in Pete’s arm.

Sonny closed his eyes and looked away and said, “I’m going to clean up the van.”

He opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a bottle of cleanser and roll of paper towels.

“We’ve got to ditch the van,” Pete said. “I heard her tell the security guard we had a white van that said White Swan Paint Company on the side of it.”

“Okay, then we’ll have to use the Jeep,” Sonny said.

Rita glanced at Sonny. “I don’t like the idea of using that Jeep. Don’t you think the cops will be looking for it?”

“No one other than Bonnie knows about it and she hasn’t talked to anyone,” Sonny said. Changing the subject, he said, “Have you talked to Rosemary yet?”

“Just before you got here. She said the guard is still in the ER and unconscious, so at this point no one knows anything about the van either.”

“What else did she say?”

“She said the cops are questioning everyone. She told them she was scheduled to be off for three days and they said that was no problem. Her shift ended at three, so as soon as the police give her permission, she’ll go home.”

“Did she say anything about Bonnie?”

“Nothing, other than she got away.”

Sonny noticed a red flashing light on Pete’s cell phone on the table. Rita followed his stare and said, “We have a voice mail. Bonnie probably called and left a message.”

Sonny grabbed the phone. He listened for a few seconds and his eyes went wild.

“Holy crap!” Sonny’s expression hardened and he shot Pete a sideways glance. “Bonnie said she recognizes you from the border crossing. You didn’t tell me she saw you there?”

Pete took a deep breath “I told you that when they came across the border, Luke caused some kind of problem and Driver called me in there to help out. I was only in there a minute and I didn’t know she would remember me.”

“We told you they were going to be crossing the border that morning. You should have stayed clear.”

“Don’t give me that shit. It’s my job. How was I supposed to avoid it?” he said defensively. “How about you? You got into an argument with her in your store.”

“That’s different. How in the hell was I supposed to know she was going to come into my store?”

“Hey,” Rita screamed. “You guys settle down. There’s nothing we can do about it now.” She looked as Sonny. “What’d her message say?”

“She said she recognized you because of that scab on your chin. She even knows your name is Coley. What the hell happened?”

He looked from Sonny to Rita. “I was trying to restrain Luke when Sharp ran into me. That’s how I scraped my chin. Sharp called me by name several times and I had to take Luke out and put him in another room. I was in the room for less than a minute.”

“This really screws things up,” Rita said.

“You should have killed her at the hospital when you had the chance.” Sonny said.

“I tried, but my gun jammed.”

“What else did she say?” Rita asked.

“She said she wants her husband released or she’s going to the police.”

“Bullshit,” Pete blurted out. “She won’t go to the police. Not as long as we have Luke.”

“You think that’ll stop her?” Rita protested.

“Hell yes. So far she’s done everything we told her because she knows we’ll kill Luke if she doesn’t. She won’t go to the police.”

Sonny folded his arms and leaned back against the kitchen sink.

Rita turned to him and said, “We can’t chance it. Bonnie’s bound to be pretty freaked out right now. I don’t think she can take it much longer.”

Sonny watched her toss the bloody cotton swab into the wastebasket. She pulled out a cotton ball and soaked it in alcohol. “When she goes to the police, and she will, the first thing she’ll tell them is Pete’s name. They’ll go to Cardston and everyone there knows you and Pete are good friends. They’ll come looking for you next. And that will lead straight to me. Everyone at the clinic knows I worked at the hospital in Kalispell before I went to Cardston. Over here, everyone knows Rosemary and I were roommates. And everyone at the hospital knows that Dr. Owens and Kim got me fired.”

The room fell silent and Rita went back to Pete’s wound. Sonny rubbed the stubble on his chin and considered what Rita said. He exchanged glances with Pete. They knew she was right. They couldn’t leave Bonnie out there any longer.

“She doesn’t trust us, so how are we going to get her to come out of hiding?” Rita asked as she wrapped bandages around Pete’s arm.

“With the one thing she wants.” He looked from Rita to Pete. “Luke.”