Читать книгу Jack Taggart Mysteries 9-Book Bundle - Don Easton - Страница 23

The tires of Danny’s car screamed as he rounded the corner into the alley. There were no other cars in sight and he realized that the Volvo had backed out the other side.

He stopped briefly by the Dumpster and was relieved not to see Jack’s body. He jumped back in his car and continued on. At the end of the alley he saw a fresh patch of blood smeared by tire tracks. Fear ravaged his body as he slammed on the brakes and leapt from the car. His knuckles were white as he gripped his gun.

Seconds later, Jack crawled out from under a parked SUV. Danny helped him into the car, and Jack fell over on the seat and hit the switch under the dash. The siren stopped instantly. Jack yanked the light off the dash.

“What the fuck are you doing?” yelled Danny, scrambling into the driver’s seat. “You’re hurt! I’m taking you to the hospital!”

“No! I’m okay. They think I’m a rat! Let them keep thinking that.”

“You’re bleeding like a stuck pig! I’m taking you to the hospital.” Danny hit the gas and the car shot out of the alley and onto the street.

“It was Wizard and two others. I recognize their faces from the pictures but can’t remember their names. If you take me to a hospital or clinic they’re liable to finish the job. I don’t want them to know what happened to me.”

“Jesus Christ! I knew this would happen! You keep usin’ the fuckin’ alley — how am I supposed to protect you? Now you’re telling me not take you to the hospital! Goddamn it!” Danny hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. “Turn around, I’m takin’ a look!”

Danny pulled up Jack’s sweatshirt and he yelped in pain.

“You’ve been stabbed in the back!”

“Did you teach them that?”

“Jesus Christ! Your arm! Looks like a bullet hole! You’ve been shot, too!”

“Went clean through. Lucky break.”

“Yeah, you’re real fuckin’ lucky,” said Danny sarcastically. “I’m taking you in. Then I’m calling in the troops and we’re going to find Wizard.”

“The hell you are! Putting him in jail won’t help!” Jack grabbed for the cellphone.

Natasha Trovinski looked in the mirror and quickly brushed her hair. She was pleased that Jack had finally called, asking if he could drop by.

She hurried into the living room, grabbed some books from the coffee table, and replaced them on the bookshelf. Would she have time to vacuum before he arrived?

The apartment security buzzer answered her question.

Moments later, she tried to hide her disappointment. Jack hadn’t mentioned that Danny would be with him.

“What a pleasant surprise! Come on in, you two. I’ll put some coffee on.”

Natasha looked again. They’re arm in arm. Jack is staggering…. Have they been drinking? Jack’s sweatshirt — it’s stained with blood!

“My God! What happened? Get him in here!”

“I just want to make it clear that I did not fall on broken glass,” said Jack.

“He’s been shot and knifed,” said Danny, as soon as she closed the door behind them.

“You fools!” said Natasha harshly. “I’m calling an ambulance. You should have gone to the hospital!” she added, rushing to the telephone.

“No! Don’t do that! It’s not that bad,” Jack insisted. “I don’t want anyone to know I’ve been shot. At least not now. I need time to figure this —”

“A hospital or clinic might not be safe!” interjected Danny. “It might be a policeman responsible for Jack getting shot! Please! You’ve got to help him!”

Natasha stared at the two men, then hung up the phone.

“Okay, let me take a look,” she said calmly. “Sit on the kitchen chair.”

Natasha quickly retrieved a first-aid kit from her bathroom vanity. She used scissors to cut off Jack’s sweatshirt, then she examined his wounds closely.

A purplish line bored its way from near the centre of Jack’s back up across his rib cage, where it disappeared. A small puncture hole in the back of his arm looked black, but the flesh had closed in around the wound and there was little bleeding. Natasha gently raised his arm to expose an exit hole on the opposite side that was still oozing blood.

“It looks like you were only shot once. I think the bullet reflected off the left side of your rib cage before travelling up through the biceps on your arm. I take it you were bent over at the time or in a prone position?”

“I tried to make as small a target as possible, while running like hell.”

“There’s another injury, exposing part of your left shoulder blade. You were slashed with a knife.”

“That happened first. I didn’t really feel it much then, but I do now.”

“So it’s not too serious? He’s going to be okay?” asked Danny, sounding hopeful.

“Have you been coughing up or spitting up blood?” she asked, ignoring Danny.

“No, but it hurts like hell to talk. Even breathing causes pain.”

“You should be x-rayed. I’m sure you’ve got some fractured ribs. The humerus, too, but it’s your ribs I’m concerned with. A fractured rib could puncture your lung. The slice across your shoulder blade is going to require quite a few stitches. How long has it been since it happened?”

“About half an hour,” replied Danny. “It was a policeman who did this?” asked Natasha, as she cleaned the wounds in preparation for the dressings.

“Not exactly,” replied Jack. “I set up a couple of City narcs to think I was an informant. Three bikers tried to kill me, thinking I was an informant. They don’t know I’m a cop. Someone is leaking information. Could be one of the narcs, or maybe a secretary in their office. They were also dealing with our Homicide Unit, so it could be someone out of our building.”

“You should be taken in and x-rayed.”

“No. The guys who did this belong to a big organization. They’ll have every hospital and clinic covered. Even if they don’t finish the job, we’d never find out who’s behind the leak. If you will just patch me up, I’ll be on my way.”

“I have to report all gunshot wounds to the police.”

“Now you decide to talk to the police!” said Danny angrily.

“You didn’t let me finish, Danny. You’re a policeman, so consider yourself informed. I won’t inform anyone else, providing Jack stays here where I can keep an eye on him for a few days. If his condition worsens, I will call an ambulance,” she said firmly.

“I can’t do that to you. I’m sure I’ll be fine once I —”

“You’re not going anywhere until I say so! I’ll sleep on the sofa and you’ll use my room. I’m going to start you on antibiotics. Have you had a tetanus shot within the last ten years?”

“Uh, no, I guess I haven’t.”

“I’ll go to the clinic and pick up what I need. Danny, I want you to hold this compress tight to his back until I return.”

“These people are really dangerous,” said Jack. “We can’t trust anyone. I probably shouldn’t even be here. I think I should leave as soon as —”

“You’ll leave when I tell you to! Tomorrow is my day off. We’ll see how you are then.”

“I think you should listen to her,” said Danny. “It’s not safe for you to go home like this.”

Jack moved slightly, and the pain caused him to clench his teeth. “Perhaps you’re right. I don’t feel like travelling very far tonight. Sorry, Natasha. I’m sure that being a doctor on your day off wasn’t what you had in mind. Be careful. We don’t know who we can trust.”

“You said they were bikers?”

“Satans Wrath.”

Natasha arrived at her clinic twenty minutes later. She walked past a car in the parking lot parked near the front entrance. Two men were inside. The driver was drumming the steering wheel with a nervous energy. Natasha noticed the numerous rings across their fingers. Oh, shit!

She found a plastic bag in her office left over from buying a new pair of shoes. She filled it with what she needed, but her mind was still on the two men outside. She took a scalpel and held it in her jacket pocket as she walked to the car. She needn’t have worried. The two men paid her little attention and continued to stare at the front door of the clinic. She drove away from the clinic and breathed a sigh of relief when the other car remained where it was.

It was three o’clock in the morning when Natasha ushered Danny out the door.

“Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” whispered Natasha. “I gave him some medication to ease the pain and help him sleep. Say hello to Susan.”

Danny nodded solemnly and said, “I’ll drop back around noon to see how he’s doing. And Natasha … thank you!”

It was noon when Jack woke up to the aroma of fresh coffee. He groaned as he eased over to the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor.

“How’s my star patient this morning?”

Natasha stood in the doorway. She was backlit by a beam of sunlight.

“I hurt!”

“Pain is a common consequence of being shot and stabbed. Does this happen often?”

“No, I just thought it would make a good excuse to see you again.”

“Next time try phoning and inviting me out. It’s easier.”

“Thanks for the suggestion.” Jack saw a clock in the bedroom and said, “Hey, it’s late! I can’t believe I slept this long. Especially with this sling on my arm.”

“The medication helped you sleep. You needed to.”

“Well, at least I’m not spitting up blood, so my lungs must be okay. If I can borrow your phone, I’ll have Danny drop by and pick me up.”

“You’re not out of the woods yet, buster! Infection could still set in, or a fractured rib or bone fragments could still cause serious problems.”

“Well, I’ll take it easy and I’m sure I’ll be —”

“First thing I want you to do is get in the tub and I’ll give you a sponge bath. Then we’ll take a look and change those dressings again. Your sweatshirt has had it, but I’ll wash the rest of your clothes while you’re soaking in the bath.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ll phone Danny and then —”

“Just do it and quit giving me a hard time!”

“Some bedside manner you have! Are you this rude with all your patients?”

“Only those patients who think they know more than the doctor.”

Jack eased the sling off his left arm but gripped his right shoulder with his fingers as he stepped into the warm bath. Moments later, Natasha entered and used a sponge to gently wash his back. Jack hunched forward in the water, hoping not to embarrass himself, or if he did, to make sure that Natasha didn’t notice.

“Sit up straight, I’ll wash your front,” she said.

“No! That part I can do myself!”

Natasha seemed amused. “An undercover cop who’s bashful. Interesting. Okay, soak in here for a while and I’ll wash your clothes.”

Jack relaxed when Natasha left the room. He had to admit the bath did feel good, and the warm water seemed to ease the pain. He heard Danny arrive so he got out of the tub and carefully patted himself dry and replaced the sling. When he was finished, he wrapped a towel around himself and walked into the kitchen where Danny and Natasha were having coffee.

“How do you feel?” asked Danny.

“A little like they succeeded in driving over me last night, but I’ll be okay.”

“They tried to drive over you, too?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, don’t you hate nights like that?” replied Danny with a grin.

“Danny, I’m sorry. I never even thanked you last night. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be standing here. I owe you one, brother.”

Danny’s expression became sombre. “After hearing the shots and seeing the blood on the road, I figured they had taken you to either finish you off or dispose of your body. You don’t know how relieved I was to see you! I wasn’t thinking that you would use Marcie’s trick.”

“Marcie’s trick?” asked Natasha.

“He hid under a car.”

“I knew they would find me pretty fast,” said Jack. “I saw their feet as they followed the blood up to the curb. It wouldn’t have taken them long to find me.”

“You mentioned Marcie,” said Natasha. “Is this the same Marcie I treated earlier? You’ve seen her again?”

“Seen her!” said Danny. “Jack’s got her living with his sister and brother-in-law out in the Valley. We were concerned that Social Services might have a leak too.”

“She’s been there less than two days,” said Jack quietly. “I don’t know if it’ll work out.”

Natasha looked at Jack. This guy is pretty special.

Jack flinched as he eased himself into a chair.

“Pansy,” said Danny.

“I’m impressed you were able to convince her to leave her life on the street,” said Natasha. “Most street kids I’ve met are either too addicted or too caught up with the excitement of this whole new world to ever be convinced to leave.”

“Uh … well, actually, it was Danny who took a chance and talked to her. It was a shot in the dark, but it appears to have worked out well.” He turned to Danny to change the subject. “Did you talk to Louie this morning? Does he suspect anything?”

“I told him you decided to take a few days off and go fishing.”

“Fishing! God, you’re a lousy liar.”

“So I’ve been told, but he didn’t say anything.”

“I don’t think I could stand any of his lectures right now. I’ll wait a few days and then let him know we’ve got a new game plan.”

“A new game plan?” asked Danny.

“Time to take the gloves off,” said Jack. He gave Danny a hard look. Danny caught the message and didn’t pursue it.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Everyone took a sip of coffee, then Natasha got up and said, “Well, let’s take a look at you.”

Jack felt her fingers gently remove his dressings.

“The wound across your shoulder blade and the hole punched through your biceps look good, but infection could still set in. I’m still worried about damage to your rib cage. You’re definitely not going anywhere for a day or two.”

Jack waited until she finished placing clean dressings on him before standing up. He saw Danny give Natasha a knowing look.

“Well, thanks, Natasha,” said Jack. “I really appreciate what you’ve done for me, but I need to be going. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!”

“I told you he would be like this,” said Danny.

“So, if I can just have my clothes back I’ll be out of your hair. I’m sorry for the inconvenience I’ve caused. I’d like to call you in a day or two. I owe you at least one dinner, not to mention new sheets. I bled on them during the night.”

Natasha scowled and didn’t respond for a moment. Then she said, “Your clothes are in the bedroom, but you’re a fool for not listening to me!”

“I probably am,” he admitted, slowly making his way to the bedroom.

Moments later, Jack returned to the kitchen where Natasha was sitting alone.

“Did you say my clothes were in the bedroom? I couldn’t find them.”

“Danny has them.”

“Where is he?” asked Jack, glancing around.

“He’s not here. He left.”

“He left! I’m supposed to go with him!”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“What part of that statement don’t you understand?”

Jack looked down at the towel he was wearing, then back at Natasha.

“Now, I’m going to make you breakfast and then you’re going back to bed. You lost a lot of blood last night and I’m going to see to it that you get some rest.”

“But … what about my clothes?”

“If you behave yourself and do what I tell you, then I’ll let you keep the towel.”

Jack paused to think about the predicament he was in.

“Are you angry?” she asked, out of idle curiosity.

He paused, then said, “I’m being held hostage by a beautiful woman who’s stolen my clothes and is demanding I sleep in her bed. I think I can live with it for now.”

Later that afternoon, Jack wrapped a blanket around himself and plodded out to the kitchen. Natasha was preparing dinner, so he sat at the kitchen table.

Their conversation was light, which relieved him. She wasn’t the type to be nosy and ask many questions, although he knew she was probably curious as hell.

After supper they sat on the sofa and Jack talked about Marcie and how great Ben and Liz were to look after her. He said that the four of them had a long talk. Ben and Liz agreed to take her in on a trial basis. Marcie agreed to start seeing a psychologist and go to school.

He also told her about Maggie and Ben Junior. He confessed he was having nightmares where they were calling out to him for help and he all he could do was sit there, unable to move.

“Do you always have the same nightmare?”

“Lately, I do.”

“Often?”

“Quite often.”

“Does it bother you to talk about it?”

“Not with you, for some reason. Maybe because you’re a doctor. It feels good to be able to talk to someone about it.”

“You were talking in your sleep last night. You repeated the word dirty.”

“I said that?”

Natasha nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be listening in on your private dreams, but I was concerned you might be getting an infection and I was checking to see if you had a fever.”

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t realize I talked in my sleep. Dirty was what Maggie printed in the last page of her sketchbook, just before she was murdered. It’s been bothering me ever since.”

“Maybe whoever killed her was dirty or perhaps was using foul language?”

“I don’t think so. She was really talented. You should see some of the drawings she did. They’re incredible. She could really draw what she saw.”

“Meaning?”

“She was too talented just to print the word dirty. I think it has more meaning.”

The security buzzer announced Danny’s arrival, and Natasha let him in.

“Well, big guy, are you going to tear a strip off me for leaving you here this morning?” asked Danny, while placing two photo albums on the coffee table.

“I don’t know whether to yell at you or thank you.” Jack stole a quick look at Natasha and added, “But I think maybe I’ll thank you.”

“I should be home by five tomorrow,” said Natasha. “I’ll check on you then. If you’re okay, you can go, provided you take some time off and don’t go back to work for a while.”

“Maybe by then I won’t want to go.” Jack caught the sparkle in her eye and thought how good she was for him — and not just as a doctor.

“So what’s this? Your family photo albums?” asked Natasha.

“Pictures of Satans Wrath,” replied Danny. “See if Jack can put names to who did this.”

Jack opened the binder to the picture of Wizard. He knew it well but wanted to look again. After turning a few pages, he recognized another picture.

“That’s the driver. His forehead looks like someone performed a frontal lobotomy.” Jack looked at Natasha. “Your work?” he asked.

Natasha snickered and lightly squeezed his leg.

Danny took a look. “Lance Morgan. Okay, that’s two out of three. See if you can recognize fat boy.”

Jack took a few more minutes to identify him. “His name is Roland Leitch.”

Natasha went to the kitchen and Danny whispered, “We got a computer kickback on Red this afternoon. She’s dead. The landlord found her body. Looks like an accidental overdose. The needle was still hanging off her arm and there was a deck of heroin nearby.”

“That was no accident. She was a connection to them. Dig up everything you can on my three friends from the alley.”

“Will do. Also got a response on the Volvo.”

“Stolen?”

“Yup. The owner was out of town. He reported it stolen last night when he returned.”

“Speaking of returning home. Come back in the morning and bring me some clothes! It’s time I got out of here. With this blanket I’m beginning to feel like a monk!”

“Don’t give me that!” replied Danny. “I saw how you two snuggled in with each other when you were looking at the pictures! Besides, you’ve been through those pictures a dozen times. It should only have taken you seconds to find them!”

“Well … I had to make sure I picked the right person.”

“Oh? Well, I hope she is the right person,” retorted Danny.

Jack didn’t respond, so Danny asked, “What did you mean when you said the gloves were coming off?”

Jack’s face hardened. “I’ve got a plan. Might get a little violent.”

Natasha saw Danny out the door and then returned to sit with Jack on the sofa. Earlier, she had studied his face as he spoke. He seemed intense, yet he was quick with a smile. She had watched his eyes as he related his past experiences. His long, dark eyelashes made his blue eyes take on a deeper shade, but at the same time he had a boyish, wide-eyed look of innocence. The type who had freckles as a kid, she decided.

Considering his experiences, she knew he was far from naive. Briefly she felt irritated to think other women had probably fallen for his boyish charm. Still, he was compassionate. He hadn’t become hardened and callous, like so many people who deal with life and death.

Maybe it was the intensity and openness of his conversation, or the realization that they both dealt with grief and sorrow, but it occurred to her that she felt closer to this man in the short time she had known him than any other man she had ever met.

Right now, with a blanket wrapped around him, he looked cute. But earlier today, when he was wearing only a towel, she had felt aroused. There was no denying that. She had only ever kissed him once. That was in a men’s room. There was no denying what she had wanted to do then, either.

Enough fantasizing! I’m a professional. I’ve got to behave like one.

“Okay, you’re still my patient. Turn around on the couch and lower the blanket so I can have a look under those dressings again.”

Jack did as he was told. She carefully removed the dressing covering the wound across his shoulder blade. She gently ran her hand over the smooth skin on his back, lightly probing with her fingers. She felt his muscles tense under her hand and noticed he held his breath.

“I’m sorry, does it hurt?”

“No,” he replied softly, “it feels good.”

Neither spoke as Natasha put on a fresh dressing.

“Turn around and let me take a look at your arm.”

His eyes were intensely fixed on her face. She pretended not to notice as she peeled off the dressing.

“This looks fine, too! You’re really doing well.” She picked up a fresh roll of gauze and wrapped the dressing around his arm. The closer she came to the end, the slower she wrapped.

When she finished she said, “There! All done,” in a voice she hoped would sound perky.

He stared at her eyes, their faces almost touching. He didn’t move or speak. She tried to smile but felt her lip tremble and quickly looked away.

She felt his other hand on her back, guiding her toward him. She closed her eyes and felt his warm lips on hers. It was much different than their first kiss. This was long and gentle. She felt herself drawn against his naked chest, where she remained a moment before pulling away.

She cleared her throat. “Get in there and get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning before I go to work.”

“Are you going to sleep on the sofa?”

She stared at him for a moment without speaking, then answered, “Yes … but I want you to kiss me once more before you go.”