Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(28)

WILL STEPPED OUT OF HIS CAR and grabbed a light jacket as a cold wind blew down Beale Street. He scanned the area for Andi. He’d barely had time to brief Brad about the trip to Nashville when she called and asked him to come to Handy Park. He certainly hadn’t expected to find a crime scene with a half dozen policemen milling around. A uniformed cop double-timed it toward him.

“Andi Hollister is right over here,” the officer said. “She wouldn’t let me call her brother.”

“What happened?”

“Drive-by shooting. Teenage girl took a bullet to the chest. A bullet grazed Andi’s arm. And her friend Treece Rogers has a possible broken arm.”

“Andi was shot?” His heart nearly stopped. How could all this possibly have happened when he left her only two hours ago? How did anyone get into this much trouble that fast? And what were Andi and Treece doing on East Beale? He’d left her at the TV station.

“She’s fine. Bullet barely grazed her arm, and she refused to go to the hospital in an ambulance. Treece is already being treated at the Med. I heard the paramedic say she would be okay. The teenager, though . . . It took a little longer to get her stabilized to transport.” Shaking his head, the patrolman turned.

Will followed his gaze to where paramedics loaded a gurney into one of the waiting ambulances.

“It doesn’t look good for her.”

Will took out his cell and dialed Brad, wasting no time when he answered. “You need to get over to Handy Park. Andi’s been shot.”

Brad groaned. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.” A hundred yards away, a paramedic bandaged Andi’s wound. “I see her now, and she’s upright. Treece is at the Med with a possible broken arm. Would you let her family know?” He hesitated. “I’ll call Reggie.”

“Yeah. See you as soon as I can get there.”

Will pocketed his phone and trudged toward Andi, still trying to wrap his mind around how all this could happen. And why she made his heart do crazy things. He’d almost kissed her earlier.

He masked a grin at the face she made when she saw him coming.

“Thanks for coming. I guess by now you’ve called Brad.”

“You know the answer to that. He’ll call Treece’s family, and now that I know you’re okay, excuse me a minute while I call Reggie.” He nodded to the paramedic, one he’d often seen at crime scenes, then dialed Treece’s boyfriend and told him what had happened. “She’s in the ER at the Med.”

“I sure wish you’d marry that girl before she gets Treece killed,” Reggie said.

“Yeah, right.” Will cut his eyes toward Andi.

“Tell him I’m sorry,” she called out. “And to get himself over to the hospital ASAP.”

“Did you hear that?” Will asked.

“Yeah. Do you think Treece would kick me out?”

“I think she’ll be glad to see you.” He ended the call and turned back to Andi, who was rolling her shoulder.

“Did you find anything at Lacey’s house?” she asked.

“Didn’t have time to do anything but brief Brad before you called. Does it hurt much?”

“What do you think?”

Gunshot wounds hurt, even when it was just a graze.

“I was just trying to help someone.” Her gaze followed the ambulance as it pulled away with the siren going full blast. “That girl is not going to die. She can’t.”

So much power in such a tiny package. He ordered his heart to slow down. “You can’t dictate life and death. What were you doing here, anyway?”

“The girl, Chloe . . .” Andi glanced toward the paramedic putting away his equipment. “Did you get her last name?” she asked him.

“Afraid not. She never came to,” the paramedic said. “The ambulance is waiting to take you to the ER. You’ll need IV antibiotics.”

“I’ll drive myself—I’m not riding in that wagon. Last time I did, it nearly killed my back.”

The paramedic flashed a plea to Will. “Can you do something with her?”

“Sergeant Hollister will be here in a minute. He’ll take care of his sister.”

She punched his arm. “I really wish you hadn’t called him.”

This time he allowed the grin to surface. “I’d like to live to reach retirement.”

“Cops,” she muttered. “You stick together, no matter what.”

“You got it. Now, do you want to tell me what happened, or should I guess?”

He almost missed her slight shrug.

“I got a call from this runaway last night, and I thought she’d be around eighteen, nineteen. Had no idea she was just a girl. Do you know her pimp was putting her out on the street? A child! If I get my hands on that—”

“Let us handle it—it’s our job.” Sometimes following Andi’s train of thought was like watching a pinball bounce from one obstacle to another. “What did she say when she called?”

“She wanted to get away from him, except she was afraid. She would only tell me her first name, Chloe, and that she was a runaway. He promised her all sorts of things—she thought he would get her a modeling job. Instead, he put her on the street after two days. That was a month ago. Last night, she caught my news segment on runaways and called the station, and they gave her my cell number.”