NADINE CAME THROUGH SURGERY and was in recovery before Luke felt he could leave the hospital. The doctor’s report was encouraging. He’d stopped her bleeding, set the worst fractures, and there was no indication of debilitating brain injury. She had a lot of healing to do and would probably need some plastic surgery, but her youth and strength gave her very good odds of a full recovery. Her mother was encouraged and was at Nadine’s bedside, waiting for her to wake up.
Bill’s wife, Gail, was a nurse at Memorial, so she’d stayed with Glynnis while Bill went with Abby when she left to file her report. Luke had hung in until about eight but wanted to go home and get some sleep.
“Is there anything else I can do?” Luke asked Glynnis before he left.
“Please, bring Gage to the hospital later. He’s going to a friend’s house right after school, but he’ll want to see his sister.” Gage was Nadine’s little brother.
“No problem. What time should I pick him up?”
“Around three.” She gave him a piece of paper with the address and the phone number for Gage’s friend. “Thank you for everything, Luke.”
“Just glad she’s back.” He placed an arm around her shoulders. “And happy to help my friends.” Luke left the hospital relieved he’d have time for a nap. He was beat. But Nadine was alive and the prognosis was good.
His mother was already in the loop because of the prayer team, and when he got home, she was making arrangements to take a shift at the hospital to spend time with Glynnis.
Once in his room, he kicked his shoes off and fell into bed. When he closed his eyes, he thought of Abby Hart. A sliver of guilt snaked through him as his thoughts left Glynnis and Nadine and focused on Hart. So cool, so strong. He knew she’d find the person responsible for Nadine’s condition. But the more he saw her, the more he wanted to see her and learn more about Abigail Hart off duty. A pang twisted in his chest as he remembered her engagement and knew he’d never get closer, even though he hoped to keep a connection to her through the Triple Seven investigation. Between the two of them, they’d solve the murders, he was sure.
Luke was up and ready for a run after ninety minutes of sleep. He’d perfected power naps in the service and was glad they still worked for him. He called Grace for an update.
“How are things?”
“Nadine is showing signs of waking up, but she hasn’t opened her eyes yet. Glynnis finally closed her eyes, so I hope she gets some rest.”
“Do you need me to bring anything besides Gage?”
“No, we’re well stocked with prayers, love, and food.”
Luke smiled as he hung up. Glynnis and Nadine had an army praying for them, which had to help.
He changed into running clothes. Madison was with a homeschool group visiting a museum today. He saw a text from her, so he returned it before he left on his run.
He set the phone down, and it immediately buzzed with an incoming call. The screen showed the number as unavailable. Luke guessed it was the PD, but the familiar voice disarmed him.
“Bullet, is that you?”
Luke smiled at the sound of the old nickname. “Ice Age? The tanning booth hasn’t melted you yet?” Todd Orson had gotten the nickname Ice Age because of his pale complexion. But since Orson had joined the bureau, Luke had heard a rumor that he’d developed an addiction to tanning booths and his new nickname there was Agent Orange.
“Ha. Sharp wit as ever.”
“Great to hear from you. It’s been too long.”
“Didn’t you get my e-mail?”
“I did, but life has been crazy lately. I confess I let it go to the back of the brain.”
“I’ve been promoted in a way, and that’s why I sent the e-mail and why I’m on the phone with you. I’ll be in your neck of the woods soon. Can you squeeze me into your schedule sometime soon?”
Luke sighed and wondered when he’d fit his friend in. “Are you in town now?”
“I’ll be there by the weekend. You too busy?”
“Not for an old friend, but a lot is going on right now. Call me when you get into town and we’ll make arrangements.”
“Roger that. Take care, Bullet.”
“You too. Good to hear from you.”
Luke shoved the curiosity down deep and left for his run. He lived close to a bike path that paralleled a concrete riverbed, or flood control channel, and eventually led to Serenity Park. At the park there was a challenging exercise course, but today he didn’t think he had time for it. He’d just travel out and back.
The San Gabriel River stretched from the foothills to the beach, emptying into the ocean between Seal Beach and Long Beach. When Luke hit the trail, the water was a thin ribbon in the center of a concrete basin. The flow increased in size and strength as it neared the ocean. It reached peak depth and width about a mile and a half from the park. Huge, uneven rocks lined both sides of the channel, so this was not a river one slid down the bank and swam in. Boaters could chug upriver for a bit if they entered from the ocean, and often on his run Luke would see water-skiers. It was more common that he shared the asphalt path with other joggers and bike riders.
Within a few minutes he was running at a good pace and enjoying the opportunity to work off the stress from the night before. He thought about the big guy spotted in Nadine’s hotel room and knew it was the same guy he and Bill had seen following them.
How did Nadine cross paths with such a man except at Crunchers?
What does Sanders know that he’s been keeping back?
How could he withhold information that would have helped Nadine, his daughter’s friend?
Does the security video tell the whole story?
The more questions raised by the situation, the angrier Luke got. His pace picked up, and he had generated a healthy sweat by the time he reached the last underpass before the branch to the park. When Luke took the right branch to cross over the channel, he’d end up in Long Beach at Serenity Park.
He’d crossed under several bridges along the way, and every so often homeless people set up camps beneath them. Luke wasn’t surprised to see a person moving around under the bridge near the branch that would take him to his destination.
But what did surprise him was that there were two men. They weren’t homeless, and they both acted as if they were waiting for him.
Breathing hard, he shortened his stride and prepared to stop a safe distance from the pair. They could be brothers. Hard-looking men, ex-military, he guessed, but older and before his time.
“You Murphy?” the one on Luke’s left asked. He wore a plaid shirt open over a gray T-shirt. The other had on a dark-blue hoodie.
Luke stopped short of the pair, just under the bridge, and swallowed, working to regulate his breathing. At this point the path dipped down nearly even with the water. When there was a lot of rain and the flood control ran high, water splashed across the path. But it was summer now and the path was dry while the water level licked just below.
“Who’s asking?” Luke asked, hands on hips, breathing slowing.
Plaid Shirt stepped forward. There was a bulge on the man’s right side barely concealed by the open shirt, and Luke knew the man was armed.
“Consider me a friend. A friend with a friendly warning.” He raised a hand and pointed an index finger. “Back off the Triple Seven. You have too much to lose.”
Luke felt his face flush with anger. “Friends don’t threaten friends.”
“It’s a warning.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. When he unfolded it, Luke saw that it was a computer printout of a picture of Maddie and Olivia playing basketball in the driveway of his home.
Luke saw red. He felt as though he’d been kicked in the stomach. His nickname, Bullet, came from his temper; when he lost it, he went off like a shot fired. He lunged for the man, hitting him hard with a roundhouse left punch. Plaid Shirt was surprised by the move and put up no defense. He stumbled back and tripped on the rocks. His arms windmilled as he fell backward into the water of the flood control.
From the corner of his eye Luke saw motion in the direction of the other man and knew he had to move. He dove into the water after the first man even as he heard the crack of a gunshot.