The Fallen (Amos Decker #4)(28)

“I don’t have a concussion,” said Decker. “At least not a bad one.”

Jamison admonished, “Decker, you stopped breathing. So you’re going to the hospital. I’ll ride with you in the ambulance.”

As they drove off, Decker lay back on the gurney with a bloody bandage wrapped around his head. Jamison had wiped her dirty face and tried to get some stains off her clothes with a clean wet cloth that one of the EMTs had given her.

“I’m going to have to get some new clothes. When packing for this trip, I didn’t account for being nearly drowned in a monsoon and then almost blown up.” She leaned back against the interior wall of the ambulance and closed her eyes while Decker stared at her from the gurney.

Decker said quietly, “So, Alex, are you enjoying it?”

She opened her eyes and gave him a bewildered look. “Enjoying what?”

“Your vacation.”





Chapter 17



GREEN SAID, “HE had a metal plate put in his head from an industrial accident.”

Decker was in the process of being discharged from the hospital. Despite his protests to the contrary, he had suffered a concussion. They had determined that his heart had stopped due to a combination of the blow to the head and smoke inhalation. In lieu of sutures they had glued his scalp back together, and consequently his hair stuck up like a cockatoo’s feathers. He also had on dark glasses because of the concussion.

“I feel like I have a metal plate in my head,” groused Decker.

Green was walking beside the wheelchair taking Decker to a new rental truck Jamison had arranged. She was behind the wheelchair pushing Decker along.

“So Toby Babbot’s disability was brain-related?” asked Jamison.

“Appears to be. His employment history had been spotty since then. A few menial jobs. Living on unemployment. When that ran out he got on partial disability. But it didn’t pay much.”

“And where did he live before he moved to the trailer?” asked Decker.

“He shared a house with a woman, Betsy O’Connor. Strictly platonic, at least that’s what she claimed when I talked to her last week.”

“What was the connection?” asked Jamison.

“They knew each other. Both fell on hard times. They couldn’t afford the place separately, but they could together. It actually happens a lot here.”

“So why did he move out?” asked Decker.

“Couldn’t keep a job, and while O’Connor worked a number of jobs, her salary alone couldn’t cover the rent and utilities. They lost the house and had to split up. She lives in an apartment on the east side of town with two other roommates. And Babbot apparently found that abandoned trailer in the woods and moved in there. Not sure if he lived anywhere else in between residing with O’Connor and then at the trailer.”

“Did he have a car?”

“He did. But he lost it to the bank.”

“So how’d he get around?” asked Jamison.

“I don’t know.”

“How do you think he got to the house where he was found dead with Joyce Tanner?” asked Jamison.

“Maybe his killer took him there.”

As they reached the new rental, Decker stood up, though he was still a bit shaky. Green put a supportive arm around him.

“You sure you’re okay? Maybe you should spend the night in the hospital.”

“I’m good. I’m actually hungry. I’ll be fine after I eat.”

“I can recommend a place over on Baron Square. The Little Eatery. Good food and not pricey. Not that we really have pricey here.”

“Baron Square, huh?” said Jamison. “You just can’t get away from the name, can you?”

“I’d have to move,” said Green, smiling. “Oh, and I had our arson guy check out the trailer. Don’t know what was used to lock you both in, that’s long since gone. But he found remnants of something like a Molotov cocktail and a pile of dry wood under the trailer that showed evidence of being the point of origin of the fire. Even with all the rain we had, that wood would have gone up in an instant. And that trailer was really old. Doubt it would pass fire code these days.”

Jamison drove them to her sister’s house, where they cleaned up and regrouped downstairs about thirty minutes later. Even though it was nearly nine, Frank Mitchell was still at work and Amber and Zoe were at a school event. Jamison had not told her sister what had happened to them. She checked her watch. “It’s getting late. I hope they’re still serving.”

As they headed to the truck, she noted that he had taken his glasses off. “The doctor said for you to keep the glasses on.”

“He also told me to sit in a dark room in complete quiet. I’ve had concussions before, Alex. This one is no big deal.”

“Okay,” she said, not looking convinced. They drove along in silence for a few minutes. “Decker, with all the years you played football, do you ever worry about…?”

“What, CTE, dementia?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Every game I played I came out of it feeling like I’d been in a car accident. Every play helmets would smack together. It is what it is. I can’t do anything about what might be coming for me.”