“He’s definitely not the good Samaritan type.”
“Will someone with Quinlan Moynahan please come to the nurses’ station,” a voice over the PA system said.
Grimm stood. He took a deep breath and looked back at Burrows. “You want to come too?”
“Sure. For moral support. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone,” he said.
They walked to the station and Grimm explained they were with Quinn. “Please go over to the door marked Doctor Consult Room and wait. He will be in there in just a few moments.”
The room was small with just a few comfortable chairs, a side table with a box of tissue on it, and a potted green plant. The walls were painted a pale color. They awkwardly sat, waiting.
Burrows tapped his fingers on his knee. Grimm rubbed his chin and stared at the door willing it to open. It finally did and the doctor nodded at them.
“Quinlan Moynahan’s family?”
They nodded.
“She was lucky. That knife didn’t hit any vital organs. It only cost her several stitches and the loss of a lot of blood. She’ll be weak because of that, but we gave her a transfusion to help replenish her supply. She should be as good as new in a few days. I want to keep her here for at least a day for observation, but if she is improving without complications she could go home sooner. She’ll be in recovery for most of the night. You should go home and rest. Visiting hours will prevent you from seeing her until morning.”
“She’ll be kept safe?” Grimm asked. “She’s a reporter and the matter she’s been covering has caused her to start getting death threats in Altoona, and then we came here, this happened. We were obviously followed. I can’t risk leaving and allowing something else to happen to her.”
“I understand. I can move her to the ICU if there is a bed there for observation until morning. And then we can move her to a private room,” the doctor said. “I can even see if hospital security can keep a close watch on who goes in and out of her room.”
“Yes, thank you. If I can’t stay with her tonight, that would make me feel better.”
“We’re not that old of a facility so we have newer technological capabilities. We won’t let anything happen to her if we can prevent it,” the doctor said.
“Come on son, let’s go get your jeep,” Burrows said, laying a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
Grimm smiled at the man calling him son. He knew the PI had done it out of concern for his worry over Quinn. It made him think of his own dad and how he hadn’t spoken to him in a few months. He needed to give his parents a call soon.
The two of them headed out of the hospital to the parking lot. “Where did you park your jeep?” Burrows asked.
“Off of Main Street in the public parking area.”
“I think we should check under your vehicle to make sure you don’t have a tracking device planted. If you didn’t notice anyone following you from Altoona that may be the reason. They wouldn’t have to because they had you on radar the whole time.”
“Damn. You’re right. I didn’t even consider that possibility,” Grimm said. “I was too focused on getting away to think about that.”
“Sometimes we are too close to a situation to see outside the box,” Burrows said.
He took a side street to the highway and headed across town to Main Street.
“You act like you know your way around here,” Grimm said.
“My family is from these parts. I have a cabin just outside of town. That’s where I’m staying. It’s not rustic, but it isn’t one of those modern jobs either. It’s got running water and all the amenities you could want. You’re more than welcome to check out of the hotel and crash there to save money. Not sure what kind of salary Kenneally pays these days on jobs, but I know our line of work isn’t cheap.”
He grinned. “Thanks. I think staying at a cabin sounds better than a hotel any day.”
“I’m not sure that Quinn will agree when she gets out of the hospital,” Burrows said. “But there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so she will have her privacy until you are ready to leave.”
“How often do you come out this way?” Grimm asked.
“It’s where I live. My PI business takes me all over from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, to Philadelphia, and Altoona.” He pulled into the public parking lot and stopped behind the jeep, getting out to go take a look.
Burrows laid down and crawled underneath the front of the jeep while Grimm walked around the side looking up into the wheel wells.
“I found it,” Burrows called.
