Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (57 page)

There was an eerie feeling in the air as more and more people crowded the small waiting area with no one speaking above a whisper. Jamie flashed back to waiting by her mother’s bedside. The hardest part for her was the knowledge that there was nothing she could do. Silently she joined Maria in prayer.

“Emma.” Jamie cleared her throat when Ricky and Emma returned. Normally, after a hearty cup of hot chocolate, Emma would be skipping. Emma’s somber shuffle spoke volumes. She climbed onto her mother’s lap and hugged Stevie tightly. She crawled off of her mother’s lap, apparently not caring who she was stepping on, and made her way into Jamie’s arms.

Stevie sat there bouncing her knee. For almost twenty years, she lived in fear of reliving the worst moment in her life. Now it happened again, and this time things were far worse. She felt a need to comfort Jamie, all the while she needed someone to comfort her. Someone to remind her that Caitlin was a fighter. Having her mother sitting beside her only made her more anxious. Her body relaxed slightly, when Val sat down beside her.

“Stevie…” her mother cautiously began to say.

“Don’t.”

“I was just going to say that your daughter is beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Stevie was still unable to look at her mother.

“No husband?” Maria sounded mystified.

“Oh for the love of—” Val’s hand caressed her thigh and effectively cut off the harsh comment that was forthcoming.

Stevie glared at her mother, who wisely chose to look down at her rosary beads. Every time a door opened or someone new appeared, Stevie jumped, anxious to hear something. She knew it could be hours before they knew anything. Jamie cast a weary look at her, and Stevie tried to smile in an effort to comfort her worried sister in-law.

Time clicked by slowly. Emma went from comforting to whiny. Hours had passed since CC had been wheeled into surgery. Jamie yearned to go up to the theatre and watch. Rudy had made it clear that his team would feel uneasy with her observing. All she could do was sit and wait.

Finally the doors swooshed open and Rudy emerged, covered with blood and looking as if he had aged ten years. Jamie bolted out of the hard plastic chair before he was noticed by the others.

“She’s going to be okay, Jamie.”

Jamie wanted to thank him. Instead, she burst into tears, not caring who was watching as she hugged him.

“Jameson, people will talk,” he teased, hugging her tighter. “Take a few moments and catch your breath, and I’ll take you down to recovery.”

“No complications?”

“None. It was pretty routine. I’ll go over the grisly details later.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. When she turned, Stevie, Leigh, and a half-dozen other people were hovering around her. “She’s fine. I’m going down to recovery. It will be a few more hours before they settle her into a room and she’s ready for visitors. Good God, Max. Put a robe on.”

“Do you know how hard it was for me to break out of that penthouse you locked me up in? So excuse my attire.”

“It isn’t your attire that disturbs me,” Jamie choked out, shielding her eyes. “It’s your flag flapping in the wind.”

“Sorry.” He blushed and tugged his hospital gown tighter around his rotund body. Ricky took pity on him and found him a blanket to wrap around his waist. “Thanks. How’s the kid?”

“She’s going to be fine. I’m on my way to see her. Stevie, she should be zonked out for a while. Why don’t you take Emma home and get some rest? I’ll call you when Caitlin is settled into a room.” Stevie blew out a heavy sigh. She thanked Jamie, gave her a quick kiss, and gathered up Emma and Ricky. Jamie endured everyone wishing her well before they left her with only Max, Maria, and Val. Jamie sensed that neither Maria nor Val had anywhere else to go.

“I’ll go in first when she’s responsive. You’ll have to go in one at a time.”

“I appreciate that, James,” Max said. “I don’t want to cut in on your time with her. I just want to see her to make sure she really is okay.”

“No worries, Max.”

*   *  *

CC was running. Distorted clowns were chasing her through a misty maze. Someone was singing
Ring around the Rosy.
The song eerily echoed from loud speakers. She had to get back and find her way home. Jamie needed her. She screamed Jamie’s name over and over again. Her screams were drowned out by a maniacal cackle and sadistic nursery rhymes. The mist swirled around her and made her legs feel heavy. Unseen hands clawed at her ankles. She fought to keep moving to find Jamie.

“Caitlin, I’m right here.”

“Where? Where?” Her search turned desperate as fun house mirrors appeared in the mist. The mirrors faded, and the mist turned to a calming fog. The sun came out. Somewhere in the distance she could hear the Beatles singing
Long and Winding Road.

“Shall we skip the light fantastic?”

CC was more than a little surprised to see Helen Mirren standing before her in a simple, black, ball gown with the mist growing heavier.

“Okay.” She stepped into Helen’s open arms.

“I’m right here,” Helen promised as they danced around the low-lying fog. “Caitlin? Caitlin?” she repeated, her voice not sounding the same. It sounded husky, a hint of a southern accent. It sounded the way Jamie sounded when she was tired or stressed.

“Where’s Jamie?”

“Right here, baby.”

CC struggled to open her eyes. When they finally gave way, a misty-eyed Jamie was staring back at her. “Jamie?”

“I’m right here. I won’t leave you.” Jamie placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. I can skip the light fantastic if the clowns don’t get me.”

“Okay, you’re stoned.”

“Thirsty.”

“Here.” Jamie fed her some ice chips. “The surgery went well.”

“Surgery?” CC still felt adrift. “The crazy lawyer shot me.”

“Yes.” Jamie sighed, sounding relieved.

“Where am I?” CC fought not to go back to sleep.

“Hospital.”

“I feel like Monday morning in hell,” she choked out. Her throat felt raw.

“Do you remember?”

“Yeah, kind of. Cock…”

“Excuse me?” Jamie squealed with a wide-eyed expression.

“Eunice Cockburn.” CC struggled to speak. She fidgeted a bit and realized her left arm was restrained. “She…”

“Simon’s lawyer.”

“Did they…” CC felt lost. “They got her, right?”

“It worries me that was a question. Yes, they got her.”

“Brown, right?”

“Yes.” Jamie smiled briefly, and tears filled her eyes. “Don’t ever do this to me again.”

“I’ll try not to. Why can’t I move my arm?”

“It is in a sling. Hopefully, that will keep you from ripping your stitches out.”

“I love you, James.”

“I love you, Caitlin.”

“Have you slept? How long have I been out of it?” Panic suddenly seized CC. The last time something like this happened, she was in a coma for weeks. The thought of losing that much time and having her loved ones suffer through it terrified her.

“It happened last night.” Jamie’s voice was soft and reassuring. Her hand caressing CC’s thigh put the normally stoic policewoman at ease. “I have never been so frightened in my life.”

“Sorry, baby. It wasn’t planned.”

“I hope not.”

“She got me from behind.”

“I know. Caitlin, I don’t want to hear the gory details. I just want to look into your baby blues.”

“Hey, can I come in? They’re trying to drag me back up to the penthouse.” Max barged in, completely disrupting the moment.

“Why are you wearing a toga? He is, isn’t he?” CC wasn’t certain that the drugs weren’t still messing with her mind.

“It’s a blanket,” Max grumbled. “Apparently your wife isn’t fond of seeing my stunning masculine form.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He came down to the waiting area in one of those skimpy johnnies.”

“Eww. My wife doesn’t need to be seeing that.”

“How are you?” Max’s jovial tone dropped. “You gonna be okay, kid?”

“So they tell me. Right, honey?”

“She’s going to be just fine after some time off.”

“What?” CC tried to sit up in order to protest, only to have her movements halted by Jamie’s gentle touch.

“Oh, did I forget to tell you that you, my lovely wife, are grounded?”

CC gaped at her, fully ready to protest, until Jamie held up her hand. CC understood by the cold gleam in Jamie’s eyes that she needed to tread carefully.

“Need I remind you,” Jamie said before CC had the chance to voice her objections, “that you were shot by a crazed lunatic?”

“Which means I have work to do,” CC said.

“It means you are going to rest and relax until I say otherwise.”

Max laughed. “I can see that things are back to normal. I’ll just give you some peace and quiet.”

“Don’t go yet.” There was something CC needed to know. “Is our ever-friendly deputy wandering around?”

“I’ll get her,” Max left the room.

“You can thank her later,” Jamie said.

“I’m not going to thank her,” CC wearily explained. “I need to ask her some questions.”

“Did you miss the part where I said you are grounded?”

“James?”

“No arguments. Two seconds ago, you were afraid that the clowns were going to get you. All I’m asking is that you put your feet up for a couple of days or weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“Caitlin, I’m not going to waste my breath arguing with you. The department isn’t going to clear you for active duty. Just suck it up and learn how to relax.”

“How about some coffee?”

“Good heavens, woman, you just got out of surgery.”

*   *  *

Val paced nervously. She had to get out of this town. Nothing about Boston made any sense to her. The roads, the plethora of Dunkin Donuts stores, and the women. She was convinced there was something hinky in the water. Nothing short of germ warfare could explain the drivers in this city or the way they move the letter
R
around willy-nilly. Standing there listening to Maria ramble on and on about nothing was the icing on the cake. The crazy old bat couldn’t decide if she should love her children unconditionally or pray for their salvation.

Val was ready to bolt, fully prepared to leave Maria on her own to face the uncertainty of public transportation. Her heart skipped a beat when she turned and faced the real reason she wanted to get out of Boston. Emma skipped merrily down the hallway while holding her mother’s hand. The shy smile Stevie offered melted her heart.
This is ridiculous. I should be out hunting down some scumbag who
thinks eighteen months behind bars is an inconvenience
, her mind shouted in an effort to drown out the rapid beating of her heart.

“Stevie?” Maria sniffed.

“Great.” Stevie rolled her dark brown eyes and offered Val a wistful smile. “Val, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Val just nodded her head, fearful her voice would betray her. Reluctantly, Stevie instructed Emma to sit with Maria.

“Good Lord, I hope she doesn’t try to brainwash her,” Stevie said once they had made their way around the corner. “I just wanted to thank you. From what I’ve heard, you saved my sister’s life.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Thank you for doing it extremely well. I also wanted to say that I’m sorry. I wish things could be different.”

“They could.”

“Val,” Stevie said quickly. “I get it. I truly do get it. I just can’t handle knowing that the chances of sitting outside an operating room again are high. Every morning, I get up thankful that I didn’t get a call in the middle of the night. My biggest fear is that someday I’ll have to sit my daughter down and tell her that Auntie Caitlin isn’t ever coming home because she died a hero.”

“You don’t think that she is?”

“Val, when you and your team bust down some door, not knowing what dangers are on the other side, are you the first one through the door?”

“Usually.” Val frowned, completely mystified by the turn in the conversation.

“Just like my big sister. You lead the way because it’s the right thing to do. You will do anything to protect the people behind you. And you’ll do anything to protect the world from the evil waiting on the other side of that door. Caitlin is the same way. Both of you seem to have a blind spot. You forget that the people who love you are sitting up, pacing the floor, terrified that they will never see you again. I would never ask my sister, or any woman, to change who they are. Especially when who they are is a remarkable person who has the strength to put others’ lives ahead of their own. Yes, I think my sister is a hero. As proud as I am of her, I do not want that to be her epitaph.”

“I get it.” Val accepted Stevie’s words despite feeling her heart was being ripped out of her chest.

“You hate me?”

“Never. Come on. You should get back before your mother corrupts your daughter.”

“Deputy?” she heard Max Sampson call out to her. “Calloway wants to talk to you.”

*   *  *

CC knew that Jamie was beyond angry when Max and Val entered the room. She wished she could just heed her wife’s advice, but there was something bothering her that went beyond dancing with a movie star and psycho clowns chasing her.

“How are you holding up?” Val asked.

“I’ve been better. I have to make this quick before my wife strangles me. First, thanks for saving my life.”

“Just doing my job.”

“I know.” CC respected Val’s humility. “Look, there’s something bugging me. Maybe it’s nothing more than the drugs screwing with me, but there’s something I need to ask you and I need to do it with Max here.”

“Because you trust him.” Val scowled.

“CC?” Jamie gasped. “The woman saved your life.”

“She’s just doing her job,” Val said. “What do you want to know?”

“How?” CC managed to utter, still struggling with her voice.

“How, what?” Val asked.

“How did she know where to find me?”