Where Angels Tread (13 page)

After finishing her breakfast, she hurried to the bedroom to change while Zachary shoved his books and homework into his backpack. “Go outside and wait for me,” she called while she rummaged through the pile of clean laundry she had neglected to fold in search of her scrubs. She finally located a rather wrinkled set, and dressed as quickly as she could.

As she was adding a dab of makeup to her pale cheeks, Zachary’s voice floated in from outside. “Mom! There’s something on the porch.”

The last time Zachary had said those very same words, she remembered, was when her neighbor’s cat had left a particularly unpleasant gift on their sidewalk. Heidi had donned a pair of latex gloves and cleaned up the dead bunny while Zachary hovered over her shoulder, trying his best not to cry.

Grabbing the box of latex gloves and a garbage bag, she rushed to the front door. “I don’t have time for this right now,” she said grumpily. “Was it Sprinkles again? I swear to God if I find that cat lurking around here one more time…” She pushed open the door and looked around. “Well? Where is it?” Zachary pointed to the ground below the stairs, just out of her sight.

Steeling herself for the mess, she stepped down tentatively and pinched her nose closed with her fingers. Zachary cocked his head and stared at her with a puzzled expression. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she snapped, then stopped short when she saw what her son was pointing to.

It was a single long-stemmed red rose.

“What are you smiling about?” Jaime asked, hitching her purse over her shoulder and peering at Shane suspiciously.

“What are you doing here?” Shane gave a start and gazed around the foyer of the police station. He was supposed to be manning the front desk, as usual, but instead was staring into space with a smile on his face. By now, Heidi would have found the surprise he left for her. He hadn’t left a card or any indication who it was from, but Shane decided to hedge his bets that Heidi didn’t have more than one eager suitor. At least, he certainly hoped not.

“I was in the neighborhood having a breakfast meeting with one of my authors, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.” She gazed around the room with a confused look on her face. “Who were you smiling at?”

“No one.” Shane grinned, and his sister’s expression changed to one of alarm.

“Are you okay?” She stuck out a hand to feel his forehead, and he knocked it away impatiently.

“I’m fine. Just thinking about something, that’s all.”

“Something, or someone?” Jaime dragged one of the plastic chairs across the floor, ignoring the curious stares of the officers passing through, and sat down directly in front of Shane. “Tell me everything.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Shane tried to arrange his face into a more casual expression, but Jaime wasn’t easily tricked. She crossed her legs and raised her eyebrows at him. “Fine. I was thinking about a woman I met. But I’m not saying anything about her yet, because I don’t want to jinx it. Are you happy now?”

“Not really. When do we get to meet this mystery lady?” Jaime’s blue eyes, so like his own, shone with excitement. “Mom’s going to flip out when she finds out you’re finally dating again. I’m pretty sure she’s been praying every night for a nice girl to fall out of the sky and directly into your lap.”

“I’m not dating anyone,” Shane said stubbornly. “And please, for the love of God, don’t mention anything to Mom. You know she’ll just ask a million questions.”

Jaime drew a cross over her heart. “I won’t, I swear.”

“Good. Now what about you? Now that you know about my love life, I’d like to know a little something about yours.”

Shane thought he saw a shadow flit across Jaime’s face, but a moment later it was gone. Before he could ask her anything else, she stood up and flashed him a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I gotta run. I have another meeting in a few minutes. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

His eyes following his sister’s back as she hurried to her car, Shane wondered whether there was something she wasn’t telling him. Jaime was a great girl; she had looks, personality, and brains. Any guy would be lucky to have her, but as far as he knew, she hadn’t dated anyone since college, and even then it wasn’t serious. When Jaime taught for a year at an English-speaking university in Rome, their mother wondered aloud incessantly whether she would bring home a “nice Italian boy,” as she put it. To her disappointment, Jaime had returned home empty-handed, brushing off any questions that didn’t relate to her work.

But, Shane thought, he didn’t have the time to ponder over his younger sister’s love life. He had to worry about his own first. He slid his cell phone out from his pocket and glanced at the screen, hoping to find a missed call or a text from Heidi, but there were no new messages. That’s okay, he thought with a grin. He had waited this long. A few more hours couldn’t hurt.

“Tell me again why you’re mad?” Josie stared at Heidi, who was pacing around the nurses’ station in agitation. “If a guy left an anonymous rose on my doorstep, I’d be putty in his hands. Even if he was old and bald.”

“Because he practically ran out of the house last night instead of kissing me. Talk about humiliating.”

“But you just told me you rejected him first!”

Heidi waved Josie’s words away irritably; as far as she was concerned, that was a minor technicality. She was furious at Shane Kensington. Who did he think he was, she fumed, playing with her emotions like that? First, he wanted to take her out on a date. Then, he didn’t want to kiss her. Now, he was acting like some kind of sappy lead actor in a romantic movie, leaving a rose by her front door as an apology. Well she wasn’t going to stand for that. Did he take her for some kind of sucker?

She glared at the rose, sitting innocently in a paper cup filled with water. When she first found it, she had been touched at the sweet gesture, even bringing it into work to show it off to her fellow nurses. But after having a chance to think it over, she decided that it was a pity present, a little token to make up for that fact that he had humiliated her. And Heidi wasn’t someone to be pitied.

Josie stroked one of the petals of the rose, which was beginning to bloom spectacularly. Heidi threw it another dirty look and flounced away from the station, eager to get back to the chaos of the emergency room. At least then her thoughts wouldn’t be on Shane, and how upset she was with him.

When she pushed through the heavy double doors leading to the emergency room, she was greeted with even more noise than usual. Nurses scurried this way and that, pushing trays filled with medical supplies. Dr. Conway stood in the middle of the hallway, barking orders at anyone who could hear him. Heidi rushed to his side. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve got two shooting victims. A couple of police officers. Someone ambushed them during a routine disturbance call.”

Heidi’s blood froze. “What are their names?” she asked faintly.

“I don’t know yet,” the doctor said curtly. “We’ve got to get them into surgery immediately.”

As he jogged away from her, his white coat billowing behind him, Heidi noticed a hum of activity centered around one of the examining rooms. After taking a few deep, calming breaths, she walked slowly toward it, clutching her clipboard to her chest in fear. If it was Shane lying in there…no, she didn’t want to think about that.

She pushed passed the crowd of nurses, and after closing her eyes tightly and whispering a silent prayer, she stared down at the faces of the two officers, lying side by side on identical stretchers. Heidi gasped; their sickeningly pale faces were covered with bright red blood, and they both appeared to be unconscious. Though their faces were swollen almost beyond recognition, Heidi could tell from their fair hair that neither of them was Shane. Her body was shaking with relief. “What happened?” she whispered to Josie, who had now appeared at her side.

“Shot and then beat in the head with the butt of the gun, from what I heard.”

Heidi gazed down at them in horror. Her father had been an accountant in a long line of accountants, so she never gave a second thought to what it would be like to feel the pulsating terror that came with knowing that someone she cared about was out on the street, risking his or her life every single day. She had spent many sleepless nights worrying about John, who had enjoyed a relatively safe career as a local fisherman.

Josie leaned in toward Heidi. “Their wives are in the waiting room. Do you want to go and talk to them?” Taking a step back, Heidi shook her head emphatically. “I can’t. There’s no way. I have no idea what to say.”

Josie squeezed Heidi’s hand in understanding. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll go.”

Shane slumped in his chair, watching the pale, drawn faces of the other officers. They were gathered in the conference room, waiting for Chief Palen to come in and brief them on the situation. There were a lot of rumors flying around, and Shane wasn’t sure what to believe. All he knew was that Nick, the rookie cop who brought Zachary in, and his partner Kevin had been badly injured in an ambush. Next to Shane, Buddy drummed his fingers against the table in agitation. “What’s taking so long?” he growled under his breath.

The door to the conference room swung open and an uneasy hush hung over the room. Chief Palen, looking much older than he had the last time Shane saw him this close, pulled out a chair at the head of the table and sat down heavily. All eyes were on him as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this, because you officers deserve to know the truth. Nick and Kevin are in critical condition at Saint Andrew’s Hospital, and their families have been notified.” He swallowed. “We haven’t received the reports yet from the hospital, but I spoke to one of the doctors and he seems optimistic that they’ll both have a chance at a full recovery.” The officers gathered around the table began to cheer, but Palen held up his hand for silence.

“The more pressing issue,” he continued once the room had quieted down, “is that the person or persons responsible for this is on the loose. Now, we don’t know if this was a one-time deal, or if this guy’s got some kind of grudge he’s holding. If it’s the latter, he’s extremely dangerous. I’m going to need all of you to be on your guard at all times.” As the officers sat, stony-faced, Chief Palen went over a few more details before dismissing them.

“Kensington.” As Shane got up to leave, Palen put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” He waited until everyone had filed out of the room, still muttering under their breath about the shootings of their fellow officers. When the last man exited, Palen crossed to the other side of the room to close the door, then leaned against it, observing Shane with a serious expression on his face.

“Now that Nick and Kevin are down for the count for the time being, I’m short two officers.” Shane, understanding where the conversation was headed, raised his chin and looked Chief Palen squarely in the eye. “Now I’ve been watching you for the past couple of months, as promised, and I’ve seen a change in you. You’re more involved, less mopey. A good sign. But I don’t want to rush you, so I have to ask: do you think you’re ready to get back in the cruiser?”