“All right.” She could do that. She’d elevate her alertness to make sure she didn’t do anything dumb. “There’s the nurses’ station outside the ICU. I think a nurse is stationed there all night.”
“I’d feel better if you were in the ICU where Jon is.”
“The off-duty officer?”
“Yes. He can keep an eye on you.”
“But Dani and Brianna can’t go back there. I won’t leave them out here.” Not when they didn’t know where the killer was. “It’s not safe.”
“We can send them home.”
“We won’t know if he’s the Uber driver.”
There was a pause. “Wow. That’s distrustful.”
“I’ve been attacked twice in twenty-four hours. I’ve earned the right to be protective of my friends.”
“I guess so.” There was a mumbled conversation, then Todd came back. “Caleb will come get Dani and Brianna, while I go find our witness.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. “Should you do that alone?”
“We have to pick and choose. You make a valid point about not knowing where the killer will show up, so Caleb will protect his family, and I’ll go with officers to find our witness.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will, but I need to know you’re safe. You’re all that Eliza has, so she needs you to do everything you can to stay protected. That’s why I want you with Jon the whole time.”
“Does that mean you confirmed her parents. . .”
“Are gone? Unfortunately yes.”
She could hear the sorrow in his voice but also knew she didn’t have time to linger on that. “Okay, you go do what you need to.”
“And that means from the moment Caleb gets there, I want you behind the ICU door.”
“Yes, sir.” She could do that. And she’d pray that this time, the killer stayed on the other side.
CHAPTER 19
Todd climbed in his car and turned on the lights as he sped across town. A police cruiser met him a block from Rosie’s. He pulled up next to it and rolled down his window so he could talk to the driver. The driver was Officer Lance Drane, someone he recognized but didn’t know well.
“We’ll turn off our lights and sirens. I don’t know that Travis is still around, but I don’t want to scare him or anyone he’s with away if they are.”
Officer Drane nodded. “Anywhere you’d like us to station?”
“Just off the alley. I’ll go in the front door. That way you’re in position if he or anyone else is flushed out the back door.”
“Give us a few minutes head start.” The officer put his car in drive and pulled away.
After a minute, Todd turned his vehicle around and pulled into Rosie’s parking lot. He secured the vehicle, then headed into the bar.
The waitress nodded at him. “Doris will be glad to see you. She’s told us we can’t take the trash out.”
Todd frowned. “That’s odd.”
“Very. She doesn’t like to do that anymore, but she’s insisting she’ll handle that after we all go home tonight.”
“Where is she?”
