“Did you at least get the honey?”
“Honey?”
“The table you were looking at in the market. You had honey in your hand. Not sure you had time to pay.”
She grinned. “I actually stole it by accident. I didn’t even realize I was still clutching it until I got to the emergency room.”
“And here I thought you wanted to lead the straight life...”
The smile on her face made me feel better than any of the shit they were feeding me through the IVs.
“We should get going soon,” Eddie said to Juliette.
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“The boss said—”
“Save your breath, Eddie. I’m not leaving. Tell my father I’m home safe if that’ll get him off your ass. But Wes nearly died for me. I’m going to sit here and make sure he is well taken care of.”
It shocked the shit out of me that Eddie gave in so easily. But I guess arguing with the boss’s daughter wasn’t the smartest thing to do either. Since there was only one way to enter the ICU, Eddie decided to change his post from on top of me to guarding the entrance. Though a few minutes later, we got new guests. Two guys in suits that I immediately clocked as cops.
“How you doing, Mr. Callahan?” one of them asked. “I’m Detective Olson, and this is my partner, Detective Barkley. The doctor said it was okay for me to talk to you for a few minutes. We also need to take your girlfriend’s statement, and we’d like to do that in the waiting room just outside the ICU.”
“Now?” Juliette asked. “Can’t it wait?”
“It’s best to take witness statements while things are fresh in their mind.”
“Can I at least stay here to give mine?”
Detective Olson shook his head. “It’s standard procedure to take statements separately. Sometimes what one person says can unintentionally influence another witness’s memory.”
Juliette looked at me. I nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
She hesitated but went with Detective Barkley. Once they were out of earshot, the other detective closed the glass door.
“I’m actually the chief of Ds, Wes. I’ve been briefed on your situation by your captain in New York. We don’t want to put you at risk unnecessarily, so no one else from my team knows you’re undercover. The entireLAPD thinks you’re an ex-cop who works for the Ginocassi family.”
I nodded. “Good. Thanks.”
“I have a uniformed officer parked at the entrance to the ICU, right next to Eddie Guiliano. He’ll make sure no one comes into the unit while I’m in here, so we should be able to talk freely.”
“Do you have my gun?”
Chief Olson nodded. “The officers on scene brought it in. I’ll make sure you get it back before you leave here.”
“Thanks.”
“Your boss wants to talk to you.” He took out his cell and pressed some buttons. “Going to have her join us on a quick video call.”
Captain Rourke appeared on the screen, along with New York District Attorney Ben Winston.
“This could be a good turn of events,” she said. “Vince will be indebted to you for saving his daughter.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I scoffed. “I’m feeling fine, Captain.”
“I know you, Callahan. You wouldn’t admit it if you were feeling like crap, so I skipped the bullshit because we don’t want Chief Olson in there with you for too long. You’re supposed to be telling the cops you didn’t see anything and zipping your mouth. Wouldn’t want one of Vince’s guys to let him know you talked to the cops for twenty minutes.”
I guess she had a point, but still. “Do you know who shot me?”
