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Officer Swenson came over to me. "Ms. Rook, can you give me a statement as to exactly what went on here?"
Daniel looked up at him. "She needs to be transported now. I'll have her tell it all to Chief Hayes as soon as she's been taken care of. I'm sure he’ll be more than interested in what she has to say."
I raised my head a little. "Will John Collins be back at work after he leaves the hospital?"
Swenson raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "Oh, I wouldn't look for him, ma'am. I don't think any of us will be seeing him ever again."
"I’ll drive your car and follow the ambulance to the emergency room," said Daniel. He leaned down and kissed me. "Thank God you're safe, Laila."
I gave him a weak smile and closed my eyes. My nightmare was finally over.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Daniel and I left the emergency room a few hours later. I had to have some gravel picked out of my hands and face and got a tetanus booster.
Daniel asked to be relieved of EMT duties for the rest of the night. "I’ll pick up my car tomorrow," he said, "and drive you home in your car now. Thor's probably been into your refrigerator by now."
"Oh! oh, Thor!" I couldn’t believe that my poor Doberman, my best friend, had completely slipped my mind. Daniel was right; it was well past doggie dinner time.
When we arrived home, Thor greeted me briefly and then ran for the back door. Daniel let him out and then went to my refrigerator.
"Not much in there that Thor would have a feast with," I said.
Daniel opened the refrigerator door. "Hmm. You're right. Do you have any soup?"
I pointed to the pantry door and he found something that caught his eye.
I had been ordered to stay propped up on the couch. My face looked like a war zone, but the emergency room doctor had assured me that the scratches and cuts were superficial and would soon heal.
The worst of it, though, was my throat. It was still very sore and bruised from where John’s hands had squeezed my neck. I raised my hand up and touched the bruises.
Daniel saw me, and frowned. "Let’s not relive your nightmare," said Daniel. He looked at me with concern. "That is, unless you want to talk about it."
I shook my head. "No. I'd rather eat and watch a good movie."
"You got it."
We both enjoyed some delicious chicken soup with buttered toast. Very soon I found myself nodding off during the flick. Daniel woke me up long enough to tell me to head for bed.
He insisted on sleeping on the couch all night. "You don’t need to be here alone tonight. I’ll be right here in case you need something."
I wasn't about to argue. That night I slept like the dead and woke up around eight the next morning to the aroma of fresh coffee. I took a nice hot shower and then joined Daniel out in the kitchen.
"Where did you get eggs and bacon?" I asked him.
"Well, not in your refrigerator," he said. The twinkle in his eyes drew me in. "I’ve been up since six. Thor's had a good run, I’ve been to the grocery store, and now you have breakfast."
"You are amazing," I said, and meant it. "Are you going back to work today?"
"Well, I'm supposed to, unless you need me here."
"No. I'm fine. Really. But thank you."
After Daniel left later that morning, my phone rang. It was Jacob. He'd heard about my ordeal and was calling to insist I stay home until tomorrow. That suited me fine, because I wanted nothing more right now than to see Chief Hayes. I wanted full details on what could possibly have motivated a Drug Enforcement Agent to kill two homeless men.
Besides, I was supposed to come down to the precinct house this morning anyway to give a statement regarding my near-death experience of the night before.
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