“How in the hell did he slip by Milliman?”
“I don’t know yet. And for all we know, he could still be in the building. Where are you?”
“We’re in a small examination room in the ER. Where are you?”
“I just parked in the ER lot. Captain Tomie is parking in the first row, third from the end, in Cori’s car.”
“Cori Deprez’s? The receptionist?”
“Yeah. It was the best I could do this quickly. So, you know it? Dark blue sedan.”
“Yes.”
“Tomie is going to leave the keys and a burner phone in the car, so get out of there and disappear. Tomie will watch until you are safely out of the parking lot. I’m going to Milbourne’s room to sort out this mess. And Cap?”
“Yeah.”
“Be careful and stay safe.”
Slowly, Cap opened the exam room door and peeked down the hallway. All clear. He shouldered the duffel bags, then latched onto one of Emma’s hands, and readied his other in case he needed to pull his pistol quickly.
At the entrance doors to the emergency room, he halted and scanned the parking lot through the glass. Other than Tomie, dressed in plain clothes, sitting on a bench, nobody milled around the lot.
“It’s clear. Let’s go. I know your feet are sore, but we need to move quickly.”
“I will,” Emma whispered.
Cap shifted his gaze around the parking lot as he bee-lined for the blue sedan. He climbed into the driver’s seat and tossed the duffel bags into the back seat. Emma’s passenger door had hardly closed before he pulled out of the stall.
He breathed a sigh of relief once he exited the parking lot. Another wave of relief washed through him when he pulled into traffic on the highway and headed south. He studied the rearview mirror. There was a string of cars behind him, but they’d already been on the highway. Nobody appeared to follow him from the hospital.
Emma sat rigidly in the passenger seat. She hadn’t spoken since they got in the car.
“Talk to me, sweetheart.”
She shook her head. “I’m trying to keep it together.”
“You’re allowed not to.”
“They got to him. Jonathan’s dead, isn’t he?” Her voice shook.
She turned her head and looked out the passenger window.
She’d only heard his side of the phone conversation with Chief Mertz, but between that and his actions, he wasn’t surprised she figured it out.
Cap’s grip tightened around the steering wheel, causing his aching hands to hurt even more, yet he still held on tightly.
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
“And the officer?”
“They killed him, too.”
She whimpered.
After checking the traffic in the rearview mirror and seeing nothing other than the same cars he noticed before, he flipped on his blinker and hung a left into the industrial park. Traffic buzzed at this time of day with people heading to work. He’d blend in. At the end of the first block, he tucked into the parking lot behind a building and cut the engine. He shifted the car into park and turned toward her.
“Emma. What happened to Jonathan and Officer Milliman isn’t your fault.”
