The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8 (30 page)

When Billy and
I first got together, being a P.I. was fun, exciting, and adventurous, but now,
it had become scary and dangerous. Our cases always seemed to find a way into
our private life, our home, our family. The fun had worn thin a while ago, and
the danger had grown too vast. Had I gotten old, or had reality finally set in?

An event was
about to unfold that would put my doubts to rest. Danger had arrived, and it
was knocking on our door.

Chapter 15

Eddie was in the ER at
UVA
Hospital
, and the doctors were still running tests
on him when we got there. Mom was standing in the hallway, waiting to hear
something, her eyes red and teary. Shark stood by her side, his big arm wrapped
around her tiny shoulders.

“I don’t know
what happened. One minute he was fine, and the next, he was on the floor
clutching his chest. Oh, Jesse, he can’t die. He just can’t! I don’t know what
I’d do without him.”

“He’s going to
be fine, Mom. I’m sure. He’s getting the best care possible. The doctors know
what they’re doing. He’ll be sitting up smiling at you in no time.”

“You think so,
Jesse? You think he’ll be all right?”

“I’m sure he
will. Let’s go sit in the waiting room, Mom. There’s nothing you can do until
the doctor finishes. By then, we’ll know more about Eddie’s condition and what
they’re going to do to fix it.”

I wasn’t sure
about anything, but I wasn’t about to tell my mother that. She was already
worried out of her mind, and I wasn’t going to add to her worries by saying I
had no idea what was going to happen to Eddie. She needed my encouragement, so
I stood by her side, and kept my fingers crossed.

We sat in the
waiting area as the minutes slowly ticked by. An hour passed, and we were still
waiting as other patients came and went. There wasn’t as much chaos as there
was earlier today, so when I noticed the police scrounging the hallways, I asked
Billy if something was happening.

“Look, Billy,
the cops are everywhere. What’s going on? They act like they’re searching for
someone. Maybe there’s a patient on the loose. As big as this hospital is, I
wouldn’t be surprised if they lost someone.”

“I think
calling in the cops would be a last resort… unless the patient that’s missing
was one who was in custody and had escaped.”

We glared at
each other.

“You don’t
think Dakota Stone escaped, do you? I mean, she’s handcuffed to the bed. How
could she get loose?”

Billy shook his
head. “Nah, it’s not her. There’s no way she could’ve gotten out of those
cuffs. Not unless she’s Houdini. It’s probably nothing, Jesse. The hospital’s
always busy and it’s not unusual to see a lot of cops hanging around, filling
out reports or the like.”

“Look over
there, Billy.” I pointed to the entrance. The cops are checking everyone out as
they leave. I’m telling you, something’s going on. I have a bad feeling about
this.”

Shark stood.
“I’ll check around. See what all the fuss is.” He walked down the hall, turned
the corner, and then disappeared. A few minutes later, he returned. “Some kid
wandered off from his mother, but they found him.”

Mom dabbed her
eyes with a tissue. “That explains why there’re so many cops here. When a child
goes missing, they jump right on it. When little kids get lost, they can’t find
their way back like adults can. They might’ve thought the child had been
abducted.”

Finally, after
waiting for almost two hours, an intern walked out of the ER and called Mom’s last
name. He talked and looked at his laptop at the same time. “Mr. Wilson had an
anxiety attack, but he’s going to be fine. He’s been given a mild sedative, and
Dr. Bryant has written a prescription for Diazepam. Your husband has the
paperwork. Please make sure he reads and follows the instructions. If you have
any questions, call your family physician, or if his symptoms worsen, bring him
back to the hospital.”

“You’re sure he
didn’t have a heart attack? He had really bad chest pains.”

“An anxiety
attack mimics a heart attack in some cases. You were right to bring him to the
hospital. Chest pain shouldn’t be ignored. Mr. Wilson should be out shortly.”
The intern turned and walked back through the ER doors.

“Well, I was
going to tell him we were already here when it happened, but he didn’t give me
a chance. I guess it really doesn’t matter as long…”

The ER doors
swung open and Eddie walked out, carrying a hand full of folded up paperwork.
Mom ran up and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re all right. I was
worried sick. I thought you were going to die.”

“I feel so
silly.”

I walked over
and hugged Eddie. “No, no, don’t say that. There’s nothing silly about chest
pain. Mom thought you were having a heart attack. I’m just glad you were
already at the hospital.” I smiled, and then winked at Eddie. “If you fall out
in the hospital, there’s no waiting line.”

Mom grinned. “That’s
true. You should’ve seen how fast they reacted when Eddie went down. I said he
had chest pain, and before you know it, they had him up on a stretcher and were
pushing him down the hall. I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me go with him.”

Billy touched
Mom’s hand. “Chest pain isn’t like getting a cut stitched up, Minnie. Something
could go wrong, and you’d just be in the way. No offense, but family members
have a tendency to get loony when they think their loved one is going to die. See,
if you got all crazy on them, they’d have to sedate you, and that would take
time away from their patient. It’s a good policy.”

“Yeah, I guess
you’re right, Billy. I never thought of it that way.” She looked back at Eddie.
“You ready to go? I know I am”

“What about
Savannah
? I thought you wanted to see her.” Eddie took her hand.
“I’m doing good. It wasn’t a heart attack, and the doctor said I’m fit as a
fiddle, so if you want to go see her, I’m willing.” He chuckled. “We’re already
here.”

Mom glanced
around at us with a questioning look on her face.

Shark walked
over and smiled down at Mom. “If you want to go see your friend and Eddie feels
up to it, I’ll go with you, Minnie. It’s the least I can do before hitting the
road. My job here is almost done. They got that bad woman locked up, and
everybody’s safe now. This one’s over, and you won’t need me much longer.”

“I’ll hate to
see you leave, Shark.” Eddie held out his hand. “I liked having you around. It’s
been interesting, to say the least. Oh, and thanks for being there when we
needed you. You’ve been a big comfort to Minnie throughout all this, and I’m
not just talking about what happened to me here.” He leaned over and whispered.
“I think she has a crush on you, but that’s okay. I know who she really loves.”

It was nice to
see two men joke and carry on over my mom. The attention was just what she
needed. The stress lines faded from her face, and the laugh lines took their
rightful place.

“Well, he’s not
leaving yet, Eddie. You act as if he’s leaving right this minute and this is
goodbye.” Mom looked back at Shark. “You ready to take us to see
Savannah
?”

“Your wish is
my command.”

Mom took the
papers from Eddie and handed them to me. “Would you get Eddie’s prescription
filled? He’ll probably need one when we get home. We use the Wal-Mart pharmacy.”

“Sure, I’ll
take care of it, Mom. You said
home
. Does that mean you’re going back to
your house or our house?”

“Our house is
your house.” She beamed as she grabbed Eddie and Shark by the hand and walked
off. She glanced back and said, “See you later, alligator.”

Billy and I
hugged each other, smiling about how easily Mom could bounce back, change her
tune, and then take control of the situation.

“She’s a
keeper.”

“Yes, she is. I
would say she’s come out of her shell since we all hooked up with the
Blackhawks, but the truth is, I don’t think she ever was in a shell. She’s just
been reserved about her actions. She and my father never experienced the kind
of life she’s living now. Situations change and I think she’s done a fine job
of keeping up with the changes. Well… shall we go home, or see if we can get in
to see Dakota?”

“Like Eddie
told your mother—we’re already here. Let’s give it a shot. We got nothing to
lose. Besides, we know what floor she’s on. All we have to do is snoop around
to find her room.”

I knew
something was wrong the minute we stepped out of the elevator and saw Sheriff
Hudson and Captain Trainum standing in the hallway, surrounded by their men.

“Oh, my God! She’s
escaped, Billy!” I started walking towards them in a hurry. “She’s gone, isn’t
she? You said you had everything under control, but now she’s gone.”

Three deputies
stepped out in front of us, stopping our approach, and then one of them said, “You
can’t be here. You’re going to have to leave.”

Waving his men
off, Sheriff Hudson walked over. Captain Trainum followed.

“Go home,
Billy. We’ll find her. There’s no way she could’ve gotten out of the hospital.
Our guys are stationed at every entrance and exit. They have been since last
night. She’s not leaving this hospital.”

Captain Trainum
added his input. “This is a matter for the police. There’s nothing you can do,
so let us do our job. Do what the sheriff said and go home.”

“She got out of
her handcuffs!” I was furious. “You let her slip through your fingers, and now
she’s gone. How long has it been?”

“That’s not
important.”

“It most
certainly is! How long?”

“About two
hours.”

I looked at Billy.
“Two hours! Oh, Lord, she’s been gone for two hours! She could be anywhere by
now. You know where she’s headed, Billy. She’s going to our house. She blames
me for Olivia Swales’ death and wants revenge, and she’s not running until she
gets it.” I looked back at the sheriff. “How did she get out of the handcuffs?”

“I can’t
discuss this with you right now, Jesse. Just go home.”

“Did one of
your men help her? Is that how she escaped? Did she pick the cuffs with a
hairpin? What? I want to know!”

“If you must
know, the deputy took the cuffs off so she could use the bathroom, and when she
came out, she grabbed the telephone and hit him over the head.”

“Who was the
deputy? I want to know who to blame after she kills one of us.”

“Don’t be
ridiculous. It wasn’t his fault. He was just doing his job.”

“You actually
think she’s still in the hospital somewhere? You’re nuts. She’s gone. If I were
her, the first thing I’d do would be to find the locker room, break into a
locker, and steal some clothes and car keys.”

Sheriff Hudson
glared at me. “We checked the locker room. No one is missing anything.”

“As far as you
know. What about the workers you couldn’t talk to? Like doctors or nurses who
might be in surgery. It’s been two hours. Your men have combed this hospital for
two hours and come up with nothing, and you still think she’s still here? I
gave you more credit than that, Sheriff Hudson.” I turned to Billy, “Let’s get
out of here. These guys got nothing.”

Billy and I turned
and fast-tracked it to the elevator.

“Stay out of
this, Blackhawk!” the sheriff yelled.

We didn’t pay
attention to the sheriff’s demand; instead, we got into the elevator and waited
for the doors to close.

“As soon as we
get out of this elevator, I’ll call Shark and tell him to get Minnie and Eddie
out of the hospital and take them to Jonathan’s house. I don’t want them going
to our house just in case the Stone woman shows up.”

The second we
exited the elevator, heading to the entrance door of the hospital, Billy pulled
out his cell phone and called Shark. Their conversation was brief. “Grab Minnie
and Eddie and leave right now. Meet us at the entrance. We’ll be waiting.”

Five minutes
later, the elevator door opened and Shark hustled Mom and Eddie out.

“What’s all the
hurry?” We heard her ask him. “I didn’t get to see
Savannah
.”

“Billy said to
leave, so we’re leaving. There he is, ask him.”

Billy explained
as we walked to the parking garage. “Dakota Stone escaped, and Jesse and I
think she might be headed to our house. We can’t be sure, but we’re not taking
any chances. I want you and Eddie to follow Shark to Jonathan’s.”

Mom stopped in
the middle of the crosswalk. “Are you serious? They let her get away?” Snow was
blowing in her face, but that wasn’t going to stop her rant. “You mean to tell
me that a hundred cops couldn’t keep their eyes on one little woman? How hard
could it be? She’s only one person. Incompetents, that’s what they are!”

“Come on, Mom.”
I grabbed her hand. “We don’t know where she is. She could be hiding in the
parking garage for all we know. We need to get to our cars and get outta here.
I’m going to call Helene and tell her to grab the kids and head to Jonathan’s
house. I don’t want them at the house in case she shows up.”