At the automatic doors, Chip and Mrs. T exited together. Mr. T parked the car out front. Daniel waved to the trio as they drove off.
A bulb flickered in the fluorescent light overhead. The tube popped. The rest of the lights on the floor darkened. Then every machine beeped and booped as a hazy red light illuminated the floor. The emergency system came online.
A nurse pushed past him.
Daniel stood in the corridor, scanning up and down the long hall as doctors and nurses scrambled to help patients. He strode back to Owen’s room, not wanting to impede any of the caregivers but needing to be present.
At the door, he heard the too loud continuous beep of the heart monitor. Owen coded.
Daniel crunched glass under his shoes. The window had been shot out? Was Emma safe? He darted his gaze into the room. She stood at Owen’s side, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Are you okay?” he shouted.
“Yes,” she answered.
But Owen wasn’t. Daniel strode down the hall, scanning for any suspicious behavior.
A nurse glanced over their shoulder, fully masked like they should be in an operating room but wearing dirty shoes.
“Hey, wait!” Daniel shouted at the retreating figure.
The out of place nurse broke into a run, something tucked into the back waistband. A firearm?
Daniel tore off after the figure, scratch that, suspect. He couldn’t be sure if the slight person was a man or a woman, but they moved with speed and precision. Like they’d planned and practiced this event.
“Dispatch. I’m in pursuit an armed suspect up the south stairwell of the hospital,” Daniel yelled into his radio. “Requesting backup.”
He needed to lock down the building. Nothing could be done for Owen. Emma was in danger. Was she okay? Had she been the target of the shot through the glass?
Daniel focused on the chase. He burst through the door to the stairs and followed the clattering footsteps echoing from above. He raced to the top, panting heavily. On the fifth floor, the top, he came upon nothing. Still under renovation, the level better resembled a construction site.
Drawing his weapon, Daniel prowled, pulling aside every plastic curtain, peering into every corner, and finding nothing.
“Sheriff, this is dispatch,” a voice called over the radio. “Deputy Jones is en route. Hospital security has been alerted.”
“I lost the suspect,” he radioed back. “We have an armed and dangerous killer on the loose.”
“Description?”
“Approximately five foot three inches. White. Possibly connected with the red sedan from the hit and run.” He sighed and holstered his weapon. Yep, in this case the description of bumbling country law enforcement fit him. If he could find the car, he’d be that much closer to answers. With so many undeveloped patches of land, and no traffic cameras, he couldn’t have eyes on every inch of his patch. Could this all be to draw attention and protection off Margaux? “Dispatch, alert Deputy Wells. Tell him to stick close to the congressman’s wife.”
“Got it.”
Daniel needed to focus and eliminate the distractions. Get to what was really happening. Determine the motive and stop following three steps behind the killer. He grabbed his phone and called the new contact. He wasn’t too proud to call in help, and he was in over his head here, dealing with a level of pre-meditation and sophistication he hadn’t fathomed.
“Agent Reynolds.”
“Hello, this is Sheriff Daniel Goodwin in Shaunitoc, Wisconsin,” Daniel said.
“Good morning, Sheriff. What may I do for you?”
Daniel bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t sure if the voice held an edge of sarcasm or if he was projecting his insecurity outward. “I need to contact someone about a threatening note targeting the wife of a senatorial candidate. Can you put me in touch with the proper authority?”
“Of course. Who is the wife?”
“Margaux Simmons of South Carolina.”
Silence stretched across the line.
Daniel pulled the phone away from his ear. The call hadn’t disconnected with poor reception. “She’s…” He didn’t know how to finish the sentence. “I need assistance. My office doesn’t deal with this sort of thing.”
