Megan had to be, right?
He glanced at their door and an ominous feeling settled over him.
What if, by walking away, he’d left Megan and Ella in the sights of a crazed man? A man who’d already proved his willingness to hurt Megan—and wouldn’t think twice about inflicting more terror.
Reid stood in the doorway of the newest patient’s room, keeping a distance from the patient as he always did. Since losing Diane to cancer, no way he wanted to come face-to-face with it again. Not in an adult. Certainly not in a child. But the therapy sessions helped Jessie deal with the loss of her mother and an incident when she was abducted last year, and he would do anything to help her cope.
But now his mind was divided. An hour of therapy time had passed, and he still couldn’t let go of his thoughts of Megan. Or Ella, either. They needed help, but he wasn’t the guy to provide it, was he? Not with their history.
He could help with prayer, though. He took a moment. Asked for Megan and Ella’s safety. Selfishly asking God to help her forgive him too, when he deserved nothing. To heal Ella.
Heal the child in front of him as well. All children going through such illness.
His brave, caring Jessie helping them. She held Bandit on the bed where the young boy fired rapid questions at her about the dog. The child hadn’t stopped smiling since they arrived, revealing wide gaps where baby teeth had fallen out.
The picture cut Reid to the core. These children lost teeth, grew out of their shoes, played. Were regular kids in many ways. They just wanted to feel normal and return to their everyday lives. Their weekly visit with Bandit helped them reconnect with life outside the hospital. The visits were especially appreciated this Christmas week when children missed their homes and families even more.
Reid’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out. Jack Duger’s name appeared on the screen. Reid stepped into the hall but kept Jessie in his sight. Due to Jessie’s age, Reid was listed as the official dog handler, and their agreement with the hospital dictated he be in the room when Bandit was with a patient.
He answered the call from his former partner at the FBI. “Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.”
“Are you okay? Your message was kinda frantic.”
Frantic?He’d left a very calm and direct message, hadn’t he? Maybe the excitement after being out of this business for some time had made him sound like a rookie. Something Jack would have a field day with if Reid stayed on the subject, which he wouldn’t do.
“I could use your help.” He explained Megan’s problem, including the local police department’s inability to provide protection. “Can you get a hold of Fowler’s supervised release judgment order? He said he was staying at a local motel, but also get a current address for him so we can see if he should be here. Then talk with your office about arranging a protective detail for her?”
A hiss of air was his answer. Typical of Jack.
Reid was more of a make-snap-decisions-and-take-action kind of guy. Jack had to think things through first. Made them a good team and made Jack an invaluable friend. If Reid remembered to be patient, that was, but right now, he wanted Jack to speak.
“You there?” Reid asked.
“You think this is a good idea? Helping her, I mean.”
Ah, yes.Reid had no doubt about Jack’s reaction. His skeptical tone said it all. Wouldn’t deter Reid, though. “I don’t see a problem here.”
“I don’t know, man. You weren’t exactly objective about her. Almost cost you your job. What makes you think you can be objective now?”
What difference did it make if Reid was objective? No supervisor kept tabs on Reid now telling him it was wrong to get personally involved with a former witness. He was free to help anyone he wanted. Besides, the only help he planned to offer was passing her off to the FBI for protection. Not get personally involved in any way. Right?
Right.And Reid didn’t like Jack questioning him about it. “I’m not an agent anymore and helping her won’t hurt anyone.”
“You hope.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reid was getting testy.
“First,” Jack paused dramatically, “Megan needs support from someone who doesn’t have past baggage clouding his judgment. You do not fit that profile. Second, you said you want to return to the Bureau when Jessie is older. This is a small world and word gets around. Carmichael will get wind of it. Doesn’t help if you want back on the CARD team.”
Jack and Reid served together on the FBI’s elite Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. Jack had a point about CARD, but Reid wasn’t going to ignore Megan’s plight over fear of his old supervisor hearing about it. He loved working on the CARD team, but he wouldn’t love returning to the team if Fowler harmed Megan because Reid didn’t come to her aid. And the old baggage? So many years had passed, and Reid was sure he could keep that under control.
Now all he had to do was convince Jack to help.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to work this kind of case.” Reid used a teasing tone to keep Jack focused on the first concern.
“Funny, Maddox. Don’t think I missed your avoidance of the personal issues here. Even more proof that I’m right, but I’ll do you a solid. I’ll get the judgment order, and I should be able to get his current address. The protection detail is another story. Without Fowler having committed a crime, I doubt that will fly.”
Reid let this comment slide. “Just ask and let me know what you find out as soon as you can.”
