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Instead, he scribbled down the name of the center, knowing that he’d make a phone call later on to determine if his father was staying there. Then he’d probably provide them with a substantial donation in which to better feed and clothe their clients. He knew the gesture would only go so far in assuaging his own guilt, but he had no desire to establish any closer reunion with his father. He had nothing to say to him, and the man had lost the right to be his father a long, long time ago. Jason would ensure he was taken care of, out of respect for his grandmother’s memory, but that was it.
He didn’t know if Eddie had told him the truth when he’d said he had nothing to do with the shooting. But he wouldn’t take him at his word. Guys like Green had learned to survive through deception. If he hadn’t been involved, Jason knew he’d piqued Eddie’s interest in the case. He also knew that the gang leader liked to perceive himself as having connections, especially if those connections were with law enforcement. He might even be thinking that if he did Jason a solid, he could one day call in the favor.
Glancing at his watch, he saw he’d been gone for almost two hours. He wished now that he’d kept the room at the Fairmont. After visiting Hunters Point, he felt like he needed a shower. The smell of Eddie’s cologne still clung to him. In a moment of panic, he angled the rearview mirror so that he could see his own reflection. Outwardly, he looked exactly the same, but Jason didn’t feel reassured. Anyone who looked closely enough would see him for what he really was.
9
CAROLINE LOOKED UP as Jason entered the hospital room. She had to resist the urge to fly into his arms, she was so happy to see him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Caroline nodded. “Yes. Did Deputy Black tell you the good news?” She looked back at her father. “He came out of the coma this afternoon and responded to the doctors.”
Jason came to stand beside her, gently squeezing her shoulder as they both looked down at the judge. “That’s great.”
Reaching up, Caroline covered his hand with her own. “He’s not out of the woods yet, and he still has a long way to go, but the doctors are optimistic that he didn’t suffer any serious brain damage.”
She heard Jason exhale a long sigh of relief. More than anything, she wanted him to wrap her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay, but she knew that he wouldn’t display any overt affection toward her in public, at least not while he was officially assigned to protect her. So she contented herself with this small contact and leaned back against him.
“He’s the strongest man I know,” Jason murmured in her ear. “If anyone can pull through, he can.”
“I agree,” she said softly. “They sedated him, but the doctors think they can move him out of intensive care in a day or so.”
“They didn’t remove his ventilator,” Jason observed.
“No.” Caroline knew he was hoping that the judge would be able to identify the shooter, enabling the FBI to make an arrest. “He only opened his eyes briefly, and he was able to squeeze the doctor’s hand on command. But he won’t be able to speak until the ventilator is removed. Then they gave him something for the pain, which pretty much knocked him out again.”
“Okay. Maybe in a day or two, he’ll be able to give us an indication of who did this to him.”
“I hope so,” she said. “But the doctors cautioned us that he may not have any memories of that night.”
They’d told Caroline and Agent Black that it wasn’t uncommon for victims to have no recollection of a traumatic event.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait,” Jason said.
“You went out to Hunters Point,” she ventured. “Did you see Eddie Green?”
Caroline thought he might deny that he’d gone out to his old neighborhood to confront the criminal, but he didn’t. Instead, he drew her away from the bedside.
“I saw Eddie,” he confirmed. “He said he had nothing to do with the shooting, but there’s no way to really know. The ballistics came back on the bullets, but we don’t have a weapon. The FBI said they only have a partial footprint from the flower bed, and there’s not enough detail to know if it belongs to the gardener or somebody else.”
“So, essentially, we still don’t know anything,” Caroline said, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
“Hey,” Jason said and pulled her into his arms for a brief, hard hug. “Your dad is improving. Let’s focus on that for now, okay?”
