Fractured (27 page)

Grasso muttered, “I don't know. She's surely not going to kill him in her car.”

She normally wouldn't think so, but Georgia's call was in the back of her mind. Lauren perfectly matched the description of a patient who was so unstable and unpredictable Dr. Lukens had taken the time to point her out against all standards of her chosen profession.

Not something to ignore.

“Yeah, let's not count on her good manners. I'm going in.” Ellie was already out of the car, wondering if she was going to blow the whole thing, if he'd maybe dropped something on the floor and was looking for it, and if that was the case, he'd give her grief for ruining his cover.

Raft of shit
. In his own words.

So be it.

Her shoes hit slush in the gutter first, and she cleared the first lane, but a car honked from the second and narrowly missed her, careening into the other lane, and she said a bad word and tugged at her gun.

Closing at a hundred feet, maybe a little more, she still couldn't see her partner in the vehicle, but knew he hadn't been dropped off anywhere. Besides, Lauren, seemed to be talking to the passenger side of the vehicle.

Ellie reached the driver's side window in time to see Santiago half-sprawled against the seat and door opposite, Lauren fumbling in a small duffle bag. His eyes were half-closed.

She rapped on the window. “Police! Open your door.”

Lauren paid no attention, still talking to what appeared to be an only partially conscious man until she found what she'd been looking for.

The knife gleamed as she lifted it.

Talk about an oh-shit moment.

Not even two seconds to decide. Ellie knew if she fired through the window from this angle, she might hit Santiago as well, so she took four steps to the back of the vehicle and fired through the rear window, using the silhouette as a target.

Glass shattered, her ears started to ring, and she stepped back two more steps.

Got her?

There was a moment where the world drifted in the surreal aftermath. She could hear Lauren screaming.

Then the car lurched backward, tires squealing, sliding on the ice and Ellie dived out of the way, not quite fast enough, the collision of vehicle and flesh and bone brought home by a suspension of the world as she knew it.

It hurt, and she hit the ground hard, sliding across the ice, her face stinging. The car roared backward and she was aware she should crawl out of the way, but there wasn't time and the bumper brushed her hip before the vehicle surged forward and fishtailed toward the exit to the street.

With one hand she shoved herself up and winced just as the passenger side door to the vehicle opened and a body spilled out onto the street. The door swinging, the black car left her line of vision, but she'd bumped her head pretty hard on the icy concrete when the car had hit her and she went down, so her eyesight was not really all that clear anyway.

Body.

Santiago.

He was facedown in the gutter, literally, as the car sped off. Grasso ran across the lanes of traffic and then kneeled next to him as she sat up, and to her relief, her partner also sat up and shook his head.
Cars are stopping on the street … people getting out
 …

Still alive
. They both were, but that had been close. Relief washed through her even as she figured out her right leg hurt like hell.

Their suspect was on the run.

As Santiago staggered to his feet and Grasso ran toward her she was already saying, “Go, go, go! Follow Rays. I'm okay, I'm okay. She's the one. Get her.”

If he was one thing, Grasso wasn't indecisive. He turned back toward his car and said something to Santiago as he passed, just a word, and then sprinted through the confusion of traffic and was in his expensive car, pulling away.

Ellie found that trying to stand was not an option. She'd dropped her weapon and crawled toward it, mainly because she didn't want anyone else to touch it, and realized not only did her right leg hurt, but it didn't work very well. There was a claustrophobic sense of vulnerability she didn't like as people came running, both from the street and the gas station attendant emerged as well, then there was a moment when each one of them realized she had a gun and stopped cold.

“Police officer,” she identified herself, dipping into her pocket for her badge. “Can someone please call nine-one-one?”

“Hurry.” A familiar voice chimed in as Santiago elbowed his way through the crowd, weaving on his feet, his face pasty. He dropped to his knees next to her and she wasn't sure it was on purpose. “I could use some TLC myself. Ellie, you all right?”

About half a dozen people were calling from their cell phones, which was good because she didn't know exactly where they were. “Been better. At the least a sprained ankle. At the worst, broken. I'm kind of hoping for the sprain.” Her smile was probably forced. “You seem to be bleeding.”

“I am?” He looked vaguely down at his jacket and registered the blood on his sleeve and dripping from his hand, crimson droplets coloring the snow. “I guess you're right. You know, that was the worst date ever. I doubt I'm asking her out again.”

“Ah, and you looked so cute together. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Help me up. This parking lot is freezing.”

It didn't go well. Maybe broken went to probably broken in regards to her ankle. She couldn't put any weight on it, had a vague idea of the bruises she was going to have, and went down on the ice again.

In the end Santiago simply picked her up though she wasn't sure he was more capable of walking than she was, and carried her into the gas station where he promptly sank down on the floor and leaned back against a display of different types of chips, propping his back on the shelves. Ellie rested her head against his shoulder because there wasn't any way to insist they change their position and her ankle was swelling so fast she could feel it happening. With effort, she said jokingly, “At least Grasso didn't grope your knee tonight and whisper in your ear.”

“Saw that. I need to give him some pointers.”

“Um, yeah right, because you're so smooth? What happened?”

Santiago's eyes were closed, but at least his body was warm. “She Tazered the shit out of me. Three times. I want to go on record as saying that really is not the best experience on this planet. Then she tried to stab me. I think the screaming the boys heard from the school is explained. Did you hear her as she came after me?”

“I think people across the Canadian border heard her. What was she saying?”

“I vaguely remember her asking me what I did with him. None of the rest of it made any sense, not that that does either. Luckily, I didn't fasten my seat belt on purpose and was able to get the door open after you shot the back window out.”

“Sorry I missed her.” It was vehement declaration.

“If it's any consolation, that's a pretty tough shot.” His mouth grazed her temple and his arms tightened a fraction. Then he bent his head and whispered against her mouth, “Thanks.”

She would have objected, but it was an insignificant transgression compared to the events of the evening, and was over so quickly what was the point. “I couldn't use the driver's side window in case I hit you too.”

“See, I knew you cared. Thanks, since I'm not a fan of being shot. Been there, done that.”

“I'm kind of not a fan of being hit by a car either.” Her whole leg was throbbing.

“Let's just cross those off our bucket list. Deal?”

“Fine with me.”

“All this and we aren't going to be the ones to make this fucking arrest. It pisses me off.”

Ellie was in serious pain, but she had to laugh. “This is redundant. Haven't we established that everything pretty much pisses you off? Besides, don your cape. We are on the side of justice, not of glory.”

“Did Grasso get a stun gun to the neck or run over by a car? I don't think so.” His lashes lifted. “We earned the arrest. I think I hear sirens. You doing okay?”

“If you say one word to anyone about me sitting on your lap, I'll shoot you. I need a little practice and you are the perfect target.”

His arms tightened. “I'm sure if you could get up and kick my ass you would. But if you want to talk redundancy, I think my ass has already been kicked tonight.”

*   *   *

They were both
lucky.

That is if ten stitches from several knife wounds, a ruined leather jacket, and Ellie's two broken bones counted as lucky. Besides her definitely broken ankle, she'd cracked her wrist trying to break her fall, just as he'd reflexively thrown up his arm when Lauren came after him with the knife.

Damn, Jason really had liked that jacket.

Chief Metzger, no tie in sight, in creased slacks and a plaid shirt, came into the waiting area with a cardboard cup of coffee and sat down on a gray upholstered chair. “How is it I seem to visit the hospital more for you and MacIntosh than anyone else?”

The room smelled like antiseptic and Jason was tired, his arm was numb, and he was pretty scraped up in general from falling out of a moving car onto an icy street. “It's just our way of getting your attention.”

“How is she doing?”

“I am informed she'll be fine. A bit banged up, but okay. Something about a clean break that really didn't need to be reset, a fiberglass cast, and they are just about to wrap her wrist. What happened? I've tried to call Grasso twice but no answer.”

“We have her car. Lots of blood in it, some of it fresh, which I assume is yours, and some of it not so fresh. We are treating it like a crime scene and the lab guys are processing it.” The chief rubbed his jaw which had a serious five o'clock shadow. “The suspect has not been apprehended. She pulled into a parking garage evidently, and it took them a while to even locate her vehicle. So she escaped on foot. What we are hoping is that she caught a cab and we can track down where she went. Right now there are officers handling that. We do have the license and registration. Luckily we got her address because the car is still registered to her father. When officers called at her residence, no one answered the door. Shit, why does she have to be the governor's niece? This is a problem I didn't see coming down the pipe, dammit.”

Double swearing in one sentence and for once it wasn't him. Metzger was right. Once the word got out, there would probably be national media coverage.

Jason frowned. “Maybe her roommate knows where she might go.”

The chief looked interested. “MacIntosh said something about a roommate so we'll work that angle. Lauren Levine's parents live in a small town in between here and Madison. We are operating under the assumption she'll head that direction.”

“Detective?” A nurse came into the waiting area.

Jason stood abruptly and winced at a twinge in his shoulder. He'd landed solidly on it when falling from the car. There were a few parts of his anatomy that were going to take time to get back to normal. “Yes?”

“We are getting ready to release her. Go on in.”

Ellie was pale but lucid, her nice slacks cut away right at the knee because of her cast, and her arm was also in some sort of wrap. She looked irritated at the inconvenience of it all, and that was borne out by her first muttered words. “I hate this.”

“Well, it's better than a trip to the boneyard.” His tone was laconic, but that wasn't how he felt. She'd almost been killed trying to save his life. Second time. “I bet they give you some decent painkillers and if you don't use them all, we can sell them to Astin and make a decent profit, so buck up, sweetheart, and tough it out.”

“Funny. What happened? Do we have Lauren Levine in custody?”

“Nope, but we have her car. Right now she's running.” The sad thing was, Jason had to sit down, so he took the chair by the side of the bed. It felt like he'd been gone over with a baseball bat.

Metzger had followed him in. “Grasso and Rays can wrap this up. No worries. Just get some rest.”

Ellie said succinctly, “Jefferson County.”

There were circles under her eyes, but Jason thought she still looked beautiful, mostly because she was still breathing. “What about it?”

Metzger said slowly, “Her parents live in Jefferson County.”

“There's a reason she dumped the third body there. I felt that at the time, and I am sure of it now. Young was killed somewhere else and she took him there. Why? The first two she left at the scene because she was new at it. That third one … she went to more trouble. Do you know how hard it must have been for her to drag him into her car, drag him out, and then use the sled to move him? She's about my size and dead weight is dead weight. If she used ropes and leverage, she could do it, but why bother? My answer is it meant something important to her.”

“She did tell me she grew up in a small town.” Jason added, “When we find her, I'd really like to talk to this roommate. I wonder if she has a clue as to what is going on.”

“She might be in danger. We've two officers watching the condo already.” Metzger was brisk but obviously concerned. “When she comes home, we'll bring her in for questioning, but the two of you don't need to concern yourselves with it, got it?”

“Our case,” Jason objected, but it was halfhearted. He could maybe sleep for a year or two he was so tired.

“Not anymore.” Metzger walked toward the door. “You know the drill. Once you're released for full duty, let me know. MacIntosh, I don't expect to see you for about two months. Keep in touch.”

“This sucks.” Jason slouched in the chair after the chief left the room.

“I rarely agree with you, but right now I do.” Ellie sounded as tired as he felt. “Can you do me a favor and call my sister? Please tell her I'll be fine—she's pregnant and doesn't need to rush down here—and to not tell our mother who also doesn't need the anxiety. I never know what is going to make the news. My phone is in Grasso's car.”