Impulsive (30 page)

"Did he prescribe anything for Gabe?" Jess asked
excitedly.

"No, he just advised us to do the usual—pump fluids, rest,
take aspirin for the aches and pains." Corey's shoulders slumped, and
suddenly straightened again. "Wait! He did give Gabe some special stuff a
while back to treat athlete's foot. He claimed it was ten times better than
anything Gabe could buy over the counter, but Gabe isn't convinced it was
working all that well. Actually, his feet have gotten worse since he's been
using it."

"For how long?" Jess inquired. "How long since Gabe
began using it?"

Corey fluttered her hands, anxiously trying to recall the time
frame. "I don't know, precisely. About six weeks or so."

Ty leapt to his feet. "Where is this stuff? Did the police
confiscate it, or could it still be here?"

"It wasn't here at all, I don't think," Corey informed
him. "There's only one bottle, and Gabe kept it in his gym bag, so he'd
have it both at home and at practice. On weekends, he'd bring the bag home, but
through the week he left it in his locker. Since he expected to be back at
practice on Saturday morning, I imagine it's still there."

"Can you look, just to be sure?" Ty asked eagerly.

"Yes, but this medication is applied topically, not taken
internally," she stressed, "so I can't see how..."

"The doctor said it could be something that Gabe is absorbing
through his skin," Ty reminded her. "It doesn't have to be in
something he's drinking or eating."

Corey trotted off to the bedroom, with Jess and Ty close behind.
"It's not here," Corey said moments later. "He always puts his
bag on the closet shelf. Of course, with the police throwing everything hither
and yon, it could still be here someplace, I suppose. That, or they might have
taken it with the other things."

"I didn't see any sign of a duffel bag when I straightened
the house," Jess put in.

"Then either the police have it or it's still in Gabe's
locker." Ty headed toward the hall. "I'm going to the stadium, and if
the bag's there, I'll bring it back."

Jess ran after him. "Wait! Shouldn't we call the police and
have them look? Or phone Corey's attorney? You don't want to get arrested for
tampering with evidence, or—God forbid— have them think you planted the stuff
there."

Ty considered this. "I suppose you could call and have them
meet me there. But I'm leaving now, before that bottle mysteriously turns up
missing, if it hasn't already. Besides, we're working solely on our own theory
here, and the police might not put much stock in it. Chances are, they'll think
we're sending them on a wild goose chase, just to throw them off Corey's
trail."

"It's a clear bottle, filled with some god-awful smelly green
liquid," Corey clarified. "It looks just about like that name-brand
liniment Gabe used to buy for sore muscles, only it's not labeled."

Jess flat-out refused to stay in the car while Ty went into the
locker room. "I'm too antsy to sit out here and wait. Besides, it's spooky
out here in the dark."

It was no less spooky inside. First, the night watchman was
nowhere to be found, and the entry gate, which was supposed to be locked,
wasn't. "Fred must be making his rounds on the outer perimeter," Ty
presumed. "He'll lock up again on his way back through. This sure made it
easy to get in, though."

"Yeah, but just as easy for anyone else to do the same, with
no one the wiser," Jess pointed out.

Then, Ty couldn't find the switch for the hall lights. "I
have no idea where the main panel is. They probably put it in some oblique
location, so John Q. Public doesn't have ready access to it," he
submitted, "which is smart in one aspect, but not terribly convenient at
the moment. Good thing I always carry a flashlight in the glove
compartment."

"So you can play cat burglar?" she mocked.

"No, in case of emergency. You never know when it'll come in
handy."

Their footsteps echoed eerily in the long, empty concrete corridors.
Jess shivered. "This is downright creepy at night. Especially with only a
dim beam to guide the way. You really ought to check your batteries more often,
James."

"Sort of like touring the haunted house at Halloween, isn't
it?" he said, shining the light in his face as he aped a wicked
expression. "Or a mausoleum at the stroke of midnight."

She smacked his arm. "Knock it off, Ty. You're not funny. Oh,
shoot!"

"What?"

"I have to pee. When I get nervous, my bladder kicks
in."

Ty laughed, a sinister sound as it reverberated back, magnified in
volume. "You mean when you're scared spitless."

"Then, too," she admitted. "Ty, I really do have to
visit the ladies' room."

"Surely you can hang on until we reach the locker room?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm not exactly equipped to
use a urinal, Ty."

"No joke," he rebutted. "We have regular toilets,
too, you know, in addition to those."

"Okay, but I hope the janitor has cleaned in there
recently."

He took her by the hand and quickened the pace. Jess was glad to
reach the locker room, where the light switch was handy. She scurried off to
the rest room area, flipping that light on as well. "Don't start without
me. I'm supposed to be your witness, remember?"

"So hurry already, will you? I don't need wet car seats."

Jess was out of the stall, still tucking her shirttail into her
jeans, when the lights outside the rest room went off. "All right,
Ty," she called out irritably. "Enough with the trick or treat
routine."

The only response was a muffled thump, followed by a dull thud and
a metallic clang. Jess hastened to the doorway and peered cautiously around the
corner. "Ty? Ty, if this is some sort of prank..."

Her voice trailed off uncertainly, leaving a silence so deep that
she could hear her own heartbeat—no, not her heart... but footsteps, as someone
ran from the locker area into the outer hall and beyond.

"Ty?" she called again, almost ill with dread as
instinct told her that something was drastically wrong. "Please answer me.
Are you all right?"

When he failed to reply, Jess glanced quickly around in search of
anything she could use to defend herself if need be. The only thing immediately
at hand was a dusty old toilet plunger that looked as if it might have come
over on Noah's Ark, but it was better than nothing. Hoisting it before her like
a spear, she advanced into the dark room, inching her way toward the hall entry
and the light switch—all the while, wondering if Ty had gone running out,
perhaps chasing someone, or if those footsteps she'd heard had belonged to
another party entirely.

She was still several feet from the door, her path only slightly
illuminated by the faint light from the rest room behind her, when she caught
the sound of more footsteps, these rapidly approaching from the corridor. There
was no way to know if they belonged to friend or foe. Galvanized into action by
pure fear and adrenaline, Jess, in one huge bound, leapt behind a row of
lockers. She hunkered down in the shadows, hardly daring to breathe as she
clung shakily to her puny weapon.

Seconds later, the lights came on, the contrast nearly blinding
her. "Anyone here?" a male voice boomed. When no one answered, the
man said, "You sure you heard something, Mr. Nelson?"

"I could have sworn I did, Fred," her godfather replied.

Jess heaved a relieved sigh, which promptly turned into a panicked
shriek as she turned her head and saw Ty lying facedown on the floor a mere
yard from where she was crouched. His long, limp form was sprawled awkwardly in
the space between the bench and the stand of metal lockers, his eyes closed.
But what alarmed Jess most was the stream of blood trickling across the cement
from beneath him.

Her scream was still reverberating through the room as Tom and the
guard, his gun drawn, rounded the corner into the aisle. "Jessie?"
Tom queried anxiously. Then he spotted Ty's unconscious body. "Oh, my God!
What has happened?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" Jess wailed. On hands and
knees, she crawled toward Ty. "Oh, please don't be dead! Please! Tommy,
help him!"

"Fred, call 911. Have them send an ambulance," Tom
barked, taking charge. "No, Jess. Don't move him. We have no way of
knowing the extent of his injuries. You could do more harm than good." He
scooted the bench out of the way and knelt down to feel behind Ty's ear for a
pulse. "Calm down, Jess. He's alive. Help will be here soon."

Ignoring Tom's advice, Jess carefully wedged her knee beneath Ty's
head, cushioning it as she stroked his hair away from his pale face with
trembling fingers. "Th-the police should be on their way anyway," she
stammered. "Corey called them before we left her house and told them to
meet us here."

Tom blinked in surprise. "Why? What's going on?"

"It has to do with Gabe. We needed to get something from his
locker."

"And it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Before she could say more, Ty let out a groan. "I think he's
coming to," Jess said unnecessarily. She bent over him, crooning softly in
an effort to comfort him. "It's okay, Ty. I'm here. Help is near,
darling."

His lashes fluttered, but his lids remained closed.

To Tom, Jess whispered frantically, "Shouldn't we at least
try to find out where he's bleeding from and stem the flow? He's losing an
awful lot of blood."

"I think it's his head, Jessie. Maybe toward the back. Do
you... do you think he could have been shot?"

"No, thank God. I was in the rest room when the lights in
here went out. I heard some noise, but nothing like gunfire."

"Good, good. Then maybe he's not hurt too badly after all. I
have heard that head wounds, even slight ones, bleed more profusely."

The metallic jingle of keys and handcuffs preceded the arrival of
two police officers. "We got a message to meet a Tyler James here, and
then a call about an injured party?"

"That's Tyler," Tom said, inclining his head.

"What happened to him?"

"We're not sure, but I'm so glad you're here," Jess
answered. "Is the ambulance on the way?"

"Yes, ma'am. And you are?"

"Jess Myers."

Ty moaned again, and started to stir fitfully. Jess tried to calm
him. "Stay still, Ty. You've been hurt."

One of the officers nudged Tom aside and took his place beside Ty.
"Move your hand, Miss Myers. Let me see if I can ascertain how badly he's
injured."

"We think it's his head. Can you stop the bleeding?"

From a packet concealed in his hat, the policeman removed a pair of
sanitary rubber gloves. After donning them, he leaned forward and gently ran
his fingers across Ty's skull. "Kenny, give me a little more light here,
will you?"

His partner aimed his flashlight beam at the back of Ty's head as
the first man continued to probe through Ty's blood-soaked hair. "Whoa!
He's got a goose egg and a half back here! I'd guess a nice concussion to go
with it, too."

"No bullet wound?" Ken asked.

"Nah. I'd say he either hit the concrete floor, or someone
bashed him a good one."

Kenny's gaze roved from Fred to Jess to Tom, then lit on the
toilet plunger lying on the floor next to Jess. "Any of you know anything
about this?"

A trio of "no"s resounded. Only Jess added an
explanation to the denial. "As I told Tom, I was in the rest room when the
lights out here went off and I heard noises. A couple of thumps or thuds, then
footsteps running away. When Ty didn't answer me, I didn't know if he'd left,
or if something had happened to him. Just to be safe, I grabbed the toilet
plunger and came out to investigate. That's when Tom and Fred arrived, flipped
on the lights, and we found Ty lying on the floor."

"We haven't touched anything, or moved Tyler, except for
scooting the bench aside and supporting his head," Tom put in quickly.

"How'd you get in?" the officer inquired of Jess.
"Isn't this area usually locked?"

"It wasn't tonight," Jess informed him. "Neither
was the front gate. Ty figured Fred was checking the outer perimeter and would
lock it when he was done."

Ty groaned again, gaining everyone's attention.

"Is he coming to, Dan?" Kenny questioned.

"I think so. Hey, buddy, can you hear me?" he asked of
Ty.

Ty replied with a protracted moan, before trying to grab for his
throbbing head. "Oh, geez it hurts! What happened?"

Dan caught his hand in midair and brought it away from the wound.
"That's what we'd like to know," he told Ty. "For now, just lie
still. Does anything hurt besides your head?"

Ty opened his eyes to mere slits. "Jess? That you?"