Necessary Detour (33 page)

Merilee was strangely quiet.

“What is it, Mer?” Nikki couldn’t read her expression. Her assistant was often given to bursts of moodiness.

“I have a headache. It’s a wonderful house.” She turned and went back to her work at the makeshift desk she’d set up in the room’s corner. Nikki knew that Merilee was still angry about being left in L.A. when she hid at the lake. Her assistant had all but begged to come with her but Nikki never even considered the intrusion. For one thing, Merilee was a bit of a stickler for details. Rules were to be followed. She was not someone you’d call good company. These were qualities that made her a great assistant but not a wonderful companion. “I sat around for months worrying about you!” she’d complained when they’d spoken of her being ignored.

“I’m sorry, Mer. Really, I am.” Nikki was now over-compensating by letting Merilee take over most aspects of her life.

Thing was, she’d only signed on at the beginning of the last tour when Goldy’s long-time assistant had to give up showbiz for family life, but Merilee quickly proved herself indispensable. When Goldy announced her retirement, a position was secured for Merilee with the Foundation. She’d do a fine job of keeping everyone in line over there.

“Mom. You should make an offer. It’s a perfect house for parties.” Quinn’s eyes twinkled.

“I don’t see myself throwing any parties for awhile, unless it’s a baby birthday party or you’re having friends over.” What she could imagine was pacing the nursery floor with a teething baby, changing diapers in every room in the house, and watching her son toddle from chair to chair in the sunken family room.

“Let’s offer $25,000 more than they’re asking and see if they can move out this week, Merilee.” She had a thought. “Quinn, what about doing the nursery in a boating theme?” Her time on the sailboat with Pete continued to creep into her mind.

“Good idea, Mom.”

Unless she hadn’t recalled something important, Nikki’s sailboat memories were happy ones. She and Pete had become so much more than friends. Now that she realized the intensity of their relationship, she missed him. She’d gotten very used to having Pete close, teasing her, being the man in her life.
Where the hell was he?
Being heartsick over his absence was useless. She had to accept that he hadn’t come to visit or called, and there was probably a reason. He was long gone. Probably in Mexico by now, like he said.

The offer on the new house was accepted and papers were signed, making Nikki the new owner of property on Lake Washington. Immediate occupancy was granted, and Merilee sent decorators over, as per Nikki’s instructions. Knowing that a home waited only ten miles away did more for her state of mind than anything else had recently. Except Pete.

A few days later, Nikki and Merilee were talking about Burn’s participation in the new school that the Goldy Foundation had built when Merilee’s office phone rang. It was Gateman with his report. Nikki motioned for Merilee to put him on speaker.

“Nothing new?” Merilee asked.

“Nothing.”

“That’s good, right?” Nikki called across the room.

“Yes, sometimes things just fizzle out when the celebrity is out of the spotlight. Sometimes not. It’s still an active case.”

“Don’t worry, Ted,” Nikki said. “I’m satisfied if we never hear from him again.” Truthfully, never knowing Shakespeare’s identity would leave her feeling anxious, like wearing an unzipped coat in a snowstorm.

Merilee nodded at her boss and folded her arms across her chest. “Time to move on. Soon you’ll be out of here and back in hiding.”

Nikki didn’t want to think of her new house as a hiding place. She hoped to call it a home.

The door opened, and Dr. Vogan entered with a chart in his hands.

“Gotta go, Ted. My surgeon just arrived, and I think he’s going to tell me I’m ready to leave this party.” According to the morning nurses, her level of boredom was a very good sign that she was on the road to recovery.

“If everything looks good tomorrow, I see no reason why you can’t go home.” Dr. Vogan wrote on Nikki’s chart then looked up and smiled at her. “If you promise to stay away from excitement.”

When the doctor left, Nikki nodded at Merilee “Did you hear that? Will the house be ready?”

Merilee nodded without looking up. “I’ll make sure it is.”

It would be wonderful to leave the hospital. Nikki was hungry, her appetite returning with the good news. “Can someone go get me Thai food, Mer? I’d like green curry chicken with rice.”

“I’ll send one of the bodyguards.” Merilee said.

“Has anyone named Pete called for me?” Nikki tried to sound casual but his name caught in her throat. She held her breath, waiting for a different answer from yesterday.

“No.” Merilee sounded a bit on edge and Nikki didn’t blame her. Orchestrating the purchase of the house as well as everything else from a hospital room wasn’t easy. Earlier she’d seen Merilee in a heated discussion with Dwayne Capleoni. When she’d asked, Merilee had simply said that he took too many breaks. “He’s not a good team player.” She’d sounded so stressed and Nikki made a note to not add anything more to Merilee’s plate.

The door opened and Elvis burst through the room, trailing a leash behind him. “Is that my little boy?” Nikki was excited to see him run in, hear his toenails tapping across the floor. Quinn followed with an armful of textbooks.

“I didn’t expect you tonight.” Merilee looked annoyed at the sight of Quinn.

“You all know how much I love this place.” Quinn’s cheeks were still rosy from the cold November night. “Besides, I can study just as well here as at my apartment.” She set four large text books on the chair and took off her rain coat.

Merilee crossed the room and approached the bed. “Actually, I have a secret.” She looked at the door to make sure it was shut tight. “We’re going to leave tonight.” She gazed at Nikki, wide-eyed, her grin spreading across her face.

“Tonight?” Nikki was impressed with her assistant’s sense of adventure. “But the doctor…?

“He actually gave permission this afternoon. He was playing along with my surprise.” Merilee looked more than pleased with herself. “After visiting hours, the shifts change and the hospital gets quiet. It’ll be better to do it then, fewer people and no press.” Merilee had thought this out.

Quinn grinned from the chair. “I’m in!”

“Sorry, Quinn. The fewer people, the better.” Merilee looked at her sternly.

“You can wait for me at the house,” Nikki said. She wouldn’t overrule Merilee. Being still on pain meds, Nikki couldn’t be trusted to make important decisions. Besides, Merilee looked like defiance would not be tolerated tonight.

Pete paced the floor in agitated strides. Shouldn’t he have heard from Quinn by now?

Maybe the problem was that she still blamed him after he’d let her mother get shot outside the courthouse. Did she even know that he didn’t find out for almost ten minutes? That’s why he hadn’t rushed to her side. He wanted to tell Nikki that his absence had nothing to do with his duty to the Justice Department. He’d have put her safety first if he’d known she was going to be shot. No question. And if that made him a lousy marshal, then so be it.

He positioned himself in a waiting room chair to stare at the doors that led to Nikki’s VIP suite.

Earlier, the guards had been annoyed to see his face again. “Scram,” one of them said. That guard was off duty now and the other one had been replaced by someone who did not look like he could muscle anyone out the door. He resembled a retirement village gigolo—gold chains, skinny, and over-cologned.

With only that one weak guard on duty, Pete speculated that he could make a wild run to Nikki’s room. But Dwayne Capleoni was at Nikki’s door, and he might not be so lucky in taking down the big guy a second time. Dwayne would see him coming from a long way off and would be ready with his supposed black belt moves.

The clock said eleven o’clock. The hospital was quiet. At this hour there was no one but him in the waiting room. Should he spend the night staring at the doors to Nikki’s private suite?

When an orderly walked through the double doors with an armload of what looked like sheets, Pete had an idea. The scrawny new guard didn’t know him. Pete looked around, wondering where to get some sheets. And scrubs.

****

The older guard arrived with the Thai food and when he set the bag on her hospital tray, Nikki had a feeling that she knew him from somewhere. The look in his eyes and the way his chin stuck out reminded her of someone. She asked Merilee when he left the room. “Who was that guy, Mer? Does he look familiar to you?”

“He was on tour this year. Matt or something. From the security team.” Merilee didn’t look up from her desk.

“I mean before the tour.”

“Dunno.”

“I think I recognize him from somewhere else.”

With Quinn’s help, Nikki opened her take-out box of curry chicken and dug in. Quinn had insisted on staying for the excitement of sneaking out of the hospital, despite what Merilee said.

Nikki felt badly for Merilee. She was unusually jumpy and annoyed, probably from the house sale. She’d turned down food and was riddled with nerves about escaping the hospital. “It’s okay, Mer. Even if someone sees us leave, they’ll never follow us all the way to the house. Have Dwayne drive fast and in circles. He’s good at that.”

Merilee forced a smile and checked her watch.

Quinn put down her fork and settled back in the big chair. “Wake me when you leave.”

The new plan involved Quinn and Elvis driving in her car.

“Close your eyes, sweetie.” Elvis had fallen asleep at the foot of the bed on Nikki’s legs. “Merilee, can you move Elvis for me. My feet are going to sleep.”

Merilee approached the bed but instead of moving the dog, she stood staring at Nikki. “How was your chicken, Nikki?” Merilee never called her boss by that name. Always Goldy.

Nikki surveyed her assistant’s expression. “You just called me Nikki.” As she set the empty container on her swivel tray, Nikki felt fuzzy. She tried to remember if she’d been given a sleeping pill. The chopsticks clattered to the floor. “I feel funny, Mer. Can you ask the nurse if she gave me something?”

Merilee stared at her. “Sure.” She stayed rooted, watching Nikki.

“I don’t feel right.”

“How unfortunate.”

The last thing Nikki remembered was a strange smile on Merilee’s face.

****

Dressed in green scrubs, Pete would try to get in Nikki’s room, even if it was late and she was probably asleep by now. He’d bring in fresh towels. As long as Dwayne didn’t recognize Pete’s face from Louisa Lake, he just might make it through the door. He’d found one of those beanies from surgery and hoped it hid his look. He’d been staring at the VIP wing for hours, rehearsing what he would say to make Nikki believe he was sorry for what had happened.

When Pete opened the doors, the old guard was nowhere in sight, there was no one at the nurse’s station, and Dwayne had disappeared into Nikki’s room, pushing a wheelchair. This might be much easier than he thought if Dwayne wasn’t at his post and Nikki was coming out in a wheelchair. She must be going somewhere tonight.

Pete’s intention had been to walk straight to the room but, on closer inspection he noticed that the only nurse at the desk was unconscious. He changed his plan. Shaking her arm didn’t wake her. He felt a strong pulse.

Hearing Nikki’s door open, Pete careened over the counter and hid. Angry whispers came from beyond the doorway to Nikki’s room. Then the chair wheeled out. The occupant was dressed in a long black coat with a hood over her head. Sunglasses covered her face and her chin bobbed on her chest. She was either asleep or pretending.

Dwayne maneuvered the chair through the doorway with the old guard. A middle-aged brunette stood behind Dwayne, saying something Pete couldn’t make out. The door shut behind them, leaving the woman inside Nikki’s hospital room and the gigolo guard with Dwayne outside the door.

Was Nikki in the chair or was it a double? Pete wasn’t sure until they got closer and he saw Nikki’s beautiful, long fingered hands. He’d know them anywhere. A foot fell off the footrest, and the old guard scooted around to reposition it. Nikki was not conscious.

Pete hadn’t worn a gun and regretted that decision as Dwayne pushed the wheelchair through the double doors. The elevator would take a long time to respond. He had time to check inside the room.

The first thing he saw was Elvis asleep on an empty hospital bed. Quinn was unconscious in a chair beside the bed. He stepped forward, knowing someone else was in the room. Sensing movement to his left, he quickly spun around but something jabbed him in the neck.

“Hey!” He pulled a hypodermic out of his neck and threw the body to the floor. “What the hell?” It was a small woman, middle-aged, mousy looking. She backed up to scoot under a desk. The needle was mostly empty. He had to work fast. Before he bolted out the door he took a chance she might be on Goldy’s side. “I’m a U.S. Marshal. Call the police to the main floor of the hospital.”

No one remained at the elevator. Fuck! He had to get to the lobby before they got Nikki in a car. There was no way she was awake or in on this plan.

His extremities tingled as he flew down the stairs. Could he descend six flights before he passed out? Stumbling at the second floor, he grabbed his cell phone and called the last number he’d dialed. Officer Hitchens.

“It’s Daniels. Dwayne Capleoni is abducting Goldy from the hospital. Get over here.” He didn’t wait for a reply.

Just as he crashed through to the lobby, Pete fell to the floor. His legs had lost their muscular function. His fingers too. The phone dropped on the linoleum and slid across the floor. Pete had to fight this thing. He was a big guy. He had to keep running and find Nikki before she got in a car.