Soul Possession(38)

Leaving the others to secure the crime scene, Truitt and Rick barreled through the trees and traveled the remaining distance to where the staging area for the search was formed.

As they broke through into the clearing, another round of cheers rose into the air. Two paramedics ran to take Jessie from Truitt and he reluctantly allowed them to take her and lay her on a waiting stretcher.

“ETA on the chopper is two minutes,” one of the paramedics called out.

Rick and Truitt hovered over Jessie as the two medics cleaned some of the blood and mud off her arm so they could start an IV.

The chief came up behind them and pulled them both away. “What the hell went on out there? Are you really trying to tell me that Kim was some f**king serial killer? She’s a good cop. She couldn’t be responsible for these killings. Surely we would have known.”

Truitt’s face darkened. “She tried to shoot Jessie. After Rick had already disarmed her. There was no threat. But she went for her backup piece and she would have killed Jessie and Rick both if I hadn’t taken the shot.”

“Son of a bitch,” the chief swore. “This doesn’t make any goddamn sense.”

“Kim was the one who pointed us to the area where Jessie was hiding,” Rick said tightly. “Jessie was able to evade her last night when Kim went hunting for her. My guess is that Kim came back to look for her, hoping she’d find her before we did so she could finish the job.”

The chief wiped a hand over his face and then shoved it over his hair. “It just doesn’t make any goddamn sense,” he repeated again.

Anger and bewilderment was etched on the chief’s face and every wrinkle and line was even more predominant. They’d all gone without sleep and no one was happy that the person they’d been after for months, a maniac responsible for the gruesome murders of so many women, was one of their own.

The sound of the helicopter approaching made the men turn. The paramedics on the ground were already lifting the backboard from the stretcher and hurrying toward the landing area. Jessie was secured with two IV bags lying on her body as they transported her.

“Go,” the chief said. “We’ll sort this out later. I know you two will want to be with her.”

The two men took off at a run, but when they got to the helicopter where Jessie was being loaded, they were told there wasn’t room for even one of them.

Frustrated but not wanting to delay Jessie’s departure to the hospital even for a second, they backed away.

“Come on, I’ll drive,” Rick said as he grabbed Truitt’s arm.

Chapter 17

Truitt paced the floor in the emergency room waiting area and checked his watch for the umpteenth time. It had been several hours and no one had been out to give them an update on Jessie.

Kirsten was at the desk demanding news right now and one of the receptionists was attempting to calm her down. Not that Kirsten seemed to care. She was ferocious. Truitt had to admire her loyalty and devotion to Jessie.

Rick was slouched in a chair by the window, his face locked in stone.

Finally one of the nurses came out and called for family of Jessie Callahan.

Rick surged from his seat and Kirsten ran from the reception desk.

They followed the nurse back and she halted outside one of the rooms that had an actual door rather than the portioned off cubicles that only had a curtain separating them from others.

“Wait here for the doctor,” the nurse said. “He’ll be out to speak to you in just a moment.”

The nurse let herself in and Truitt rose up on tiptoe to see inside. He only got a brief glimpse of Jessie lying on a stretcher. She was surrounded by medical personnel so he couldn’t even see if she was conscious or not.

Kirsten blew out her breath and leaned against the wall.

“You okay, doll?” Rick asked.

Kirsten nodded and then hastily wiped at a tear that rolled down her cheek. “She’s already been through so much. The car accident was devastating. They weren’t even sure she’d ever be able to walk without a cane. And now this. First she’s accused of murder. Then she’s kidnapped by a murderer. When does it stop? She’s never done anything to anyone. She works hard. She’s the best person in the world. She’s just…good. And it’s like fate is determined to shit on her.”

Truitt squeezed her shoulder. “She’s awfully lucky to have a friend like you. I don’t want you to worry. She has us now. Rick and I are going to take good care of her. We’ll see her through this. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Kirsten turned her tear-ravaged face up to Truitt. “You promise? I just want her to be happy.”

Rick put his hand on her other shoulder. “We promise.”

The door opened and a doctor, who looked to be in his forties, looked between Rick, Truitt, and Kirsten. Then he stuck his hand out to Truitt.

“I’m Dr. Anderson, the on-call orthopedic surgeon.”

“Truitt Cavanaugh,” Truitt said. “This is my partner Rick Broughman and Jessie’s friend Kirsten. How is Jessie?”

He couldn’t keep the anxiety or the impatience from his voice.

After the doctor shook Rick’s and Kirsten’s hands, he folded his arms over his clipboard and leaned against the wall next to the door.

“The ER physician is finishing stitching her wounds now. She lost a lot of blood but the cuts weren’t deep enough to cause internal damage. What is of concern is her knee, which was already damaged by an earlier accident. To be honest with you I don’t know how she managed to evade a killer. She shouldn’t have been able to walk, much less run. Her kneecap is shattered. She’ll be going up to surgery in a moment and we’re going to try to reconstruct the bone. If that’s not possible we’ll have to do a full replacement.”