But in the end – after the SWAT guy returns and takes a sample of Emma’s blood, after Carter arrives with questions – the EMTs load Emma onto a gurney, and it’s Reyes who’s tasked with traveling with her to the hospital.
Travis can argue all he wants, but he’s not a full-fledged agent yet. He can’t protect her, and it eats him up all the way to UPMC Mercy.
‘It was Rohypnol,’ Carter says. ‘He’s drugging them with Rohypnol.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Travis scrubs a hand through his hair. ‘The doctor told me. He said it wasn’t a dangerous dose, and they could give her flumazenil or pump her stomach to get it out, but it was probably easiest on her if they just let her sleep it off.’
Travis can see Emma in her hospital bed through the plate-glass window. She looks small, half-buried under the white sheets and blankets. They’ve got her on IV fluids, with an antiemetic to help with the nausea. A Hecla bar heater above the bed casts her room in a dim orange glow.
Out here, in the hospital corridor, the temperature is cooler.Travis is still in his dark shirt and trousers, his shiny shoes, no jacket. Next to Carter, he feels chilled and grimy.
Carter has divested himself of the tactical vest. ‘Were you able to get any more information from her about the target?’
Travis can still taste aluminum in the back of his throat, from the flash-bang smoke. Carter’s question about more information pisses him off, but this is why Emma went into Paradise in the first place.
‘She gave a full description – hair, eyes, build.’ Travis thinks of Emma’s pulse beating fast in her neck, the way she held his hand after they finished hooking her up to the IV. The way she said,I saw him, Travis. I talked with him. I know him now.
‘That’s great news,’ Carter says.
‘She said she’ll work with the sketch artist tomorrow to get a composite.’ Travis catches himself. It’s three o’clock in the morning. ‘I mean, today.’
‘Do they know what time she’ll be out of sedation?’
Again, a flash of resentment, burning like magnesium. ‘They don’t know exactly. Look, she’s drugged up, exhausted …’ Travis gets a better grip on his temper. ‘Give her some hours. Were you able to bring that paperwork about the Huxton case?’
Carter pauses. ‘Miss Gutmunsson found it for me.’ He passes over Travis’s satchel full of notes. ‘Got something stuck in your craw, Mr Bell?’
Travis slings his satchel strap over his shoulder, not meeting Carter’s eyes. ‘You didn’t have to send her in. We didn’t have to do that.’
‘She volunteered. And it worked.’
‘That’s not—’ Travis reins himself firmly so he can make this clear. ‘Emma’sdrivento do this stuff. She’d tell you to shoot her to the moon, if she thought it’d help catch this guy.’
Carter nods slowly. ‘She and Miss Gutmunsson are both highly motivated, especially in this case.’
‘Of course they are.’ Travis rubs a hand over his mouth. ‘But you can’t take advantage of that. You can’t treat the girls like agents. They’re not agents. And they both have complicated history. They deserve respect.’
‘You have complicated history too,’ Carter points out.
‘I signed up for this. They didn’t.’
Carter thinks, nods. ‘Understood.’
For the first time, Travis wonders if that means Carter really understands or whether it’s just a stock phrase, meant to placate. The idea makes him cold.
Carter takes off his suit jacket and settles it over the crook of his arm. ‘You going to stay here tonight? Francks is on duty, and you look like you could do with some rest.’
‘I’m gonna …’ The satchel on Travis’s shoulder suddenly feels like an anvil weight. He rubs his mouth again. ‘I’ll stay awhile. I want to be here when she wakes up. And she got some information from Simon Gutmunsson that I want to chase, something about a camera tripod at the Huxton crime scene. I need to go through the old evidence logs and find out what it means.’
‘All right.’ Carter ponders. ‘Listen, we didn’t catch our man tonight. But we got closer than we’ve ever been, and now we have crucial information about him.’
Travis just nods.
Carter claps him once, gently, on the back. ‘You did well. It was a tough situation, and you did everything right.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Travis feels numb.
‘I know the parents of the victims would give you their appreciation if they could. Wewillcatch this guy. And when we find him—’
