Ashley’s room was checked for forensics as both the knife and letter were being inspected. As Aldon and Hunter went back downstairs to the FBI offices, Tracy immediately went to the medical wing of the hospital, where Ashley was now being kept. Aldon assured her they had a medical unit there that was as well-equipped as any small hospital on the outside would be.
When Tracy arrived, Ashley seemed to be sleeping comfortably in her bed. An officer outside was guarding the room and Tracy went in and took a seat beside her. She did not want to leave Ashley there alone. There was no way of knowing that the killer would not find some way to sneak in here and finish the job.
“I’m here, Ashley,” Tracy murmured softly, as she looked closely at her face.
Although Ashley’s eyelids blinked slightly, her eyes did not open and she had nothing to say.
Tracy decided to stay there until Ashley woke up, or until a nurse or doctor came in and gave Tracy the assurance that Ashley would be safe. Ashley had been right; she’d been in danger and Tracy hadn’t taken it seriously enough. She hadn’t prevented this from happening. She felt full of sorrow and guilt.
In a few minutes the same doctor Tracy had seen in Ashley’s room came in.
“I heard you were sitting here,” he said in a soft tone, coming over to Tracy.
“I’m worried about her,” Tracy remarked.
“She’s doing fine, I promise,” he replied. “We have her on pain meds, antibiotics, fluids, and also sedation. Rest is good for her now, but as soon as she wakes up, she’ll be sent back to her room. There’s been no damage to any vital organs. This is just a bad cut on her left arm. She’ll be better soon.”
“She’s lucky,” said Tracy.
The doctor looked over at Ashley. “Lucky?” he murmured, as if that were the last way he’d describe this patient. “None of them are lucky,” he said.
“She’s lucky it wasn’t much worse,” Tracy added.
“I suppose you could say that,” he agreed.
“Have you contacted Ashley’s family yet?” asked Tracy.
“In a few minutes,” he replied. “Please be assured, this is not serious. We don’t want to alarm them, or anyone.”
“What about Ashley’s safety?” Tracy was quick to ask. “The killer could find her and strike again.”
The doctor looked startled. “There are armed guards outside the medical unit right now,” he responded. “When Ashley’s discharged they’ll accompany her back to her room and stand guard outside it. No one will be let in.”
“What about her roommate, Kaylna?” asked Tracy, wondering if this doctor was aware of the details of the case.
“We heard that her roommate is being kept elsewhere for now,” the doctor responded quietly. “Just routine precaution, of course.”
“Of course,” Tracy murmured.
“Why don’t you come back to see her in a couple of hours when she’s up and about?” the doctor continued. “It looks like you could use some downtime yourself.”
It was a good idea, thought Tracy, as she slowly stood up. She was hungry and also shaken to the core. Thank goodness Ashley was still alive and would recover quickly. Tracy still had a chance to make things right in Ashley’s life.
*
When Tracy walked out of the medical unit, she realized that her phone had several messages on them. There hadn’t been any phone service in the medical unit, so Tracy hadn’t been able to respond. Now she could.
“Where are you, Tracy?” One message was from Hunter. He sounded unnerved. “Aldon is going crazy looking for you.”
Tracy didn’t know who to call back first, Hunter or Aldon. But she didn’t have to wait long to decide. Just as she was about to respond, a text came in from Hunter.
Where are you? Answer immediately.
Just came out of the medical unit, Tracy responded. I was sitting with Ashley. Where are you?
Stay where you are, he replied. I’ll come and get you.
In a few moments Hunter arrived and Tracy rushed toward him, thrilled to have him there.
“My God, you gave us a scare,” he murmured.
“I’m sorry,” said Tracy. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. Just wanted to check in on Ashley.”
“Of course, it makes sense,” said Hunter. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and get a bite now.”
Tracy wanted to ask where Aldon was, but stopped herself. There was an undercurrent of strain between him and Hunter and she didn’t want to add to it.
“It’s wonderful having you with us on the case,” Tracy said instead, as Hunter led her out of the medical unit to the cafeteria.
*
Fortunately, the cafeteria was half empty and Tracy and Hunter could pick up some food and then sit in the staff’s section and have a chance to catch up.
“You look exhausted,” was the first thing Hunter said, as Tracy began drinking the warm bowl of vegetable soup she’d gotten.
“Ashley gave me a real scare,” Tracy said. “I thought we had another killing.”
“She gave all of us a scare,” remarked Hunter. “They’re checking the knife and letter as we speak. At least we finally have something.”
“Finally,” Tracy breathed. “And I’m determined not to let anything else happen to her, either. You know that Ashley’s been begging me to help her get out of here! I didn’t do it. I wasn’t able to protect her. It was entirely possible that she could have died.”
“I’m sorry about this,” said Hunter. “You can’t blame yourself, though. You did all you could.”
“Maybe I didn’t,” Tracy protested. “But now I will. And I need help doing it, too.”
“I’ll help you with her,” said Hunter, readily, without hesitation.
“You will?” Tracy was moved.
“Absolutely,” said Hunter.
“Thank you so much for that, Hunter,” said Tracy. “You have no idea how much that means.”
“Tracy, you’re wonderful.” Hunter suddenly put his hand over hers. “You’re spectacular, it’s fantastic working with you again.”
Tracy was startled. “What did I do to deserve this?” she exclaimed.
“You did everything. You got this lead from Sam. We all talked to Sam several times and he never told any of us about the secret files. Where would we be without that information?” It was unlike Hunter to be so effusive, but Tracy was enjoying every moment of it.
“Thanks, Hunter,” she replied.
“How are you doing?” he went on. “How’s your life? Are you still with that boyfriend I didn’t like?”
Tracy couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually, my relationship with Wess just ended yesterday,” she remarked.
“Yesterday? And you’re laughing about it? You’re fine?” Hunter was surprised.
Tracy checked a minute and smiled. “I’m perfectly fine,” she reported.
“You actually seem relieved,” Hunter commented.
Once again, Hunter was right. “It’s better to be alone than with the wrong person, always trying to make the relationship right,” she commented.
“Don’t I know it,” he said sadly.
“I’m sorry you’re having a rough time with your wife again,” Tracy added.
“We had to try once more,” Hunter replied. “It’s hard to believe it when things aren’t working. You blame yourself. You think if you try one more time things will work out differently.”
“Don’t I know it,” Tracy commiserated.
“But they don’t work out differently,” Hunter went on. “It’s always the same old stuff, again and again.”
That had certainly been Tracy’s experience with Wess, as well. “Same with me and Wess,” she added.
“I’m sorry I didn’t stay in touch as I promised, after the last job we were on,” Hunter continued. “I thought about you a lot though. You made a real impression on me the last time in Boston. I thought about your boyfriend, too. Actually, I wasn’t sure whether or not you were available.”
Tracy felt uneasy, not knowing what was coming next.
“Looks like we’re both in the same boat now.” Hunter’s voice got softer, as they both suddenly looked up and saw Aldon standing there, staring at them.
“Oh, hi, Aldon.” Hunter tried to sound natural.
“You guys were so involved talking you didn’t even see me standing here watching you,” Aldon remarked, put off.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to catch up,” Hunter remarked lightly.
“Looks like you’ve got a lot to catch up on,” said Aldon.
Tracy felt Aldon’s upset and wanted to smooth things over, put it all on an official basis.
“Hunter and I have worked together in the past,” Tracy remarked. “We’ve enjoyed it.”
Aldon nodded and pulled out a chair to join them.
“Any news yet?” asked Hunter.
“Any minute,” said Aldon and then turned to Tracy. “How’s Ashley doing?”
“She’s going to be fine,” Tracy reported. “Just a bad cut on her left arm.”
“Damn lucky,” said Aldon. “Her attack was completely different than the others.”
“Yes, it was,” Hunter agreed. “But let’s not speculate about anything until forensics comes in.”
Aldon relaxed a little and smiled at Tracy Hunter. “God, your soup looks delicious. I’m going to go and get myself a bowl, too.”
Aldon left to get lunch and Hunter pulled back slightly. “I hope I didn’t say anything to upset you, Tracy,” he said.
“Not at all,” she assured him, as she tried to move the conversation in a different direction. “I can’t wait to hear from forensics,” she said. “Aldon should get the news any minute.”
“We’ll probably all hear from forensics at the same moment,” Hunter mused.
Aldon returned to the table with a large bowl of soup, crackers, and small salad.
“Okay, this is what I have so far,” he started as he sat down. “The two main suspects for now are Kaylna and Enid. Sam is ruled out and so is Jarnow.”
Kaylna and Enid were obvious choices, but Tracy felt uneasy about both of them. “How come you ruled out Jarnow so fast?” she asked.
“He’s a patsy,” said Aldon, looking a bit scornful. “Information from Anguilla tells us that he did a fine job, but left the minute Enid was fired. Looks like he couldn’t stand to be parted from her.”
“Does that make him a patsy?” asked Hunter.
“Makes him a weak guy,” Aldon repeated.
“Because he loves a woman?” asked Hunter.
“Not because he loves her,” said Aldon, “but because he follows her blindly. Looks like he can’t stand up for himself in any way.”
“That’s quite an assumption to make,” said Tracy.
“It’s all over the files when you look carefully.” Aldon felt clear about it. “It makes more sense to focus on Kaylna and Enid. Kaylna started talking a blue streak after we told her what happened to Ashley. She said that Ashley’s been upsetting her, getting her mad. She also said that Ashley is not as nice as she pretends to be. Late at night, Kaylna hears her mumbling all kinds of terrible things.”
“Kaylna’s an unreliable witness,” Tracy interrupted. “Who knows what she’s really hearing?” “Irrelevant,” said Aldon. “Whether or not she actually heard Ashley mumbling, we know that Kaylna’s been upset with her. She could be building a case against Ashley, which points to motive.”
Tracy felt agitated. “Kaylna’s not well enough organized to have committed these murders.” Tracy wasn’t buying it.
“Kaylna has a lot of influence upon the patients here,” Aldon continued. “She could also have convinced someone else to do it, have an accomplice hidden in the wings.”
None of it sat well with Tracy. “The nature of these killings says that the killer wanted personal contact with the victim. There was one slash to the jugular, followed by immediate success and gratification. This isn’t the work of an accomplice.”
“At this point we don’t have to speculate,” Hunter joined in. “Once we hear from forensics our questions will be answered.”
At that moment Aldon’s phone rang and the three of them stopped talking instantly. This could be the call we’ve been waiting for, thought Tracy, as she slid to the edge of her seat.
Aldon picked up immediately and zeroed in. “Oh my God,” he finally murmured.
“What? What?” Tracy was beside herself.
Aldon held up his hand. “Okay,” he said back into the phone. “I’ll be waiting for that call, as well.” Then he hung up.
Both Hunter and Tracy were riveted to Aldon.
“The handwriting on the letter has been matched,” Aldon started.
A dead silence followed.
“It was written by Enid,” Aldon went on.
“Enid?” Tracy was startled. That was the last thing she expected.
“Enid wrote the letter, sent it to Jarnow, and then obviously hid it in her file,” Aldon said.
“Why would she do that?” Hunter was fascinated.
“Looks like she was enjoying the upset and commotion,” murmured Aldon.
Tracy struggled to get her mind around it. It didn’t make sense. “Killers often give warnings,” Tracy started thinking out loud. “Could be Enid was trying to warn Jarnow of what she was doing? Then she stopped herself, stashed the letter away.”
“Do killers always leave warnings because they want to be stopped?” asked Aldon.
“Part of them might want that,” said Tracy. “But part of them also enjoys the chase. The warning ups the ante, makes it more dangerous. It intensifies the killer’s pleasure outwitting the cops.”
“But this time was different.” Aldon was all over it. “This time they left the weapon behind. And they didn’t actually kill Ashley.”
“They might have tried to get to the jugular,” said Hunter, “but she stopped them.”
“There’s no sign of struggle,” Aldon disagreed.
“Ashley might have been on the alert and pushed the killer back,” Hunter continued. “The killer managed to slash her arm instead of the jugular. Shocked by the turn of events, the killer dropped the knife and ran.”
“If that scenario has any truth to it, the killer’s fingerprints will be on the knife,” said Tracy.
“I’m sure they will,” said Aldon, as he got up from his chair and ran his hands over his face. “And I’m sure we’ve got the killer now. If you want my opinion, we have more than enough evidence to take Enid in.”
“We just need one more call about the knife to clinch it,” said Hunter as Aldon’s phone rang again. That was the call they needed and everyone knew it.
Aldon picked it up slowly. “Yeah?” he said.
Tracy watched Aldon’s face flush.
“Fantastic, amazing! Great work,” Aldon yelled. Then he turned to Tracy and Hunter.
“Enid’s fingerprints are all over the knife,” he muttered. “Case closed! We’re done!”
Hunter ran to Aldon and the two of them hugged. “Great work!” they congratulated each other.
Tracy couldn’t bring herself to feel excited. Despite the evidence, it didn’t add up. All she could think of now was going to see how Ashley was doing. Ashley hadn’t been totally unconscious when Tracy’d found her. Was it possible that Ashley had actually seen her attacker? Would she remember when she was up and about? If so, she could corroborate their findings. Or was there something else completely unexpected that Ashley could add?
“I’m going to run down to the medical unit and speak to Ashley,” Tracy said quickly. “I want to tell her the killer’s been found.”