I reached St. Mary’s Hospital on the east side of Milwaukee at nine thirty. I was told during a phone call to the nurses’ station that J.T. had just finished his breakfast of a vitamin shake. I was sure he had gone through four days of pure hell, and now he’d have that reminder for weeks to come. I rode the elevator to the third floor and walked the glistening white halls to room 302. I felt nervous for J.T. I didn’t know what he had gone through, only that it was bad, but we needed to start that conversation so we could capture Carden Vetcher.
I knocked on J.T.’s door. I heard the TV volume go down then a muffled “Come in.” I pushed the door open and slowly slid the privacy curtain to the side. With no idea what to expect, I hoped I’d be able to contain my emotions. J.T. was the toughest guy I knew, other than my old partner, Jack, and my dad, before his death. I was afraid of what I’d see on the other side of the curtain.
“Hey, partner, it’s me.” With a brave face, I slid the curtain completely open.
J.T. was unrecognizable, and I’m sure my expression showed my shock. His face was so swollen that it looked as if it would burst. He was also cut, scuffed, and black and blue. Stitches covered a two-inch space above his left brow. I took in a deep breath and sat on the chair next to his bed.
“J.T., my God. I can’t imagine.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
He tried to force a smile but couldn’t—his face was too swollen.
“Does it hurt to talk?”
“No. Nothing moves except my lips. Can you understand me?”
“Yeah, well enough. What did they say about your ribs?”
“Bruised but not broken.”
“That’s a relief.”
He reached out and squeezed my hand. “Have you seen Julie yet?”
I nodded. “I stopped in her room yesterday when you and Cam were getting X-rays. She’s scuffed up but physically okay. I don’t know what kind of emotional toll this will have on her, J.T. This isn’t what she deals with on a daily basis. She’s a caregiver, for Pete’s sake.”
“I’m worried about her, Jade.”
“I know. She may need counseling. Maria is here too. She caught a rifle graze to the calf. I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Damn it. The team is going to be down three agents.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. We can report to the downtown office until all of you are back to work. We need your statement, J.T. Sorry it’s so soon, but we have to apprehend Carden Vetcher.”
“He got away?”
“We did our best to catch him, but he carjacked a woman and sped off while we were still trudging through the woods after him. We were no match against his AK. What was going on with that, anyway?”
“The part where I was standing in the road?”
“Yeah, with an assault rifle pointed at us.”
“It was empty. I didn’t have a vest on, either, and this huge goon, Antonio, was hiding in the brush with his AR-22 pointed at my head.”
“The Pirelli brothers, Anthony and Antonio.”
“Pirelli? As in the crime family based in Chicago?”
“None other.”
J.T. reached for the cup of ice water and pressed the straw against his teeth. He took in an awkward suck and dribbled water down the sides of his mouth. “Damn wired teeth.”
I handed him a tissue. “Were you guys transported Friday night?”
“I think so, but I lost track of the day of the week. We were either traveling or handcuffed in rooms by ourselves. For a while, I was in a cage of sorts next to Curt—”
“We know about Curt, and Hopkins took care of going to Waukegan to inform his mom. His brother is flying in from Omaha to help with the arrangements.” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, J.T.” I paused to think of the sadness that had to be taking over the hearts of the Belmont family. I continued. “At any time were you in a house?”
“Yeah, that much I remember. I was chained to a beam in the basement, and it was definitely a house, but I have no idea of who it belonged to or where we were.”
“Do you remember how long it took to get from Portage to that house?”
“We stopped for a while, maybe an hour or two, then continued on. I know we pulled into a garage that was big enough for the van Julie was in and her car. I heard one voice I didn’t recognize, so it must have been the homeowner.”
“Good.” I wrote down everything J.T. said. “Do you remember hearing anybody say the name Zack?”
“Not that I recall, but I don’t recall a lot, anyway.”
“Okay, I’m going to step out for a minute, update Spelling, and grab a coffee in the cafeteria. I’d offer to get you something, but you’re on a liquid diet.”
“Yeah, but I’ll take a chocolate milk.”
I grinned. “At least your humor is intact. I’ll be back in ten minutes with two chocolate milks. That sounds way better than coffee.” I peeked out the door and saw the guard enter the men’s room at the end of the hall. I turned back to J.T. “The officer at the door should be back any minute. Looks like he just went to relieve himself.” I handed J.T. the remote. “I think your favorite soap is on.” I gave him a wink and walked out.