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“She kicked me out of the room after I told her that Rae had killed the undercover officer, thinking the body had been hers.”
“She didn’t believe you? That her friend would turn on her?”
“Nope. It’s like she trusted Rae because she’d been there for her all along. She couldn’t see how toxic the other girl truly was. Lordy, it’s hard to think of Rae as being a female now.”
“I know what you mean.”
Suddenly. loud noises and screams could be heard coming from the hallway. Lori rushed for her weapon as did Larry and they entered the outer area together only to see one of the secretaries collapsing against an agent, crying that Marc, the AD, was dead.
Running toward the same office the secretary had stumbled from, Lori rushed to the man’s body crumpled on the floor, reached to his neck, and felt for a pulse. Weak yes, but still there, she turned him fully on his back and began chest compressions to the tune ofStaying Alive,an old Bee Gees song she sang under her breath. When Larry appeared next to her, she commanded, “Call 911.”
“They already did. Is he having a heart attack?”
“Not sure. He’s very weak. We all know he’s been sick for a while now.” Stopping the CPR, she took the defibrillator one of the agents had fetched and followed the directions. She applied the pads and pushed the button after the machine gave orders that the heart needed to be shocked. Checking his pulse, she returned to chest compressions.
In less time than she’d expected, the emergency crew arrived to take over and she could let her body relax… a body tense with action and a mind worried from fear of doing damage. Yet she couldn’t just let the man fade away without helping.
“His breathing is better.” One of the attendants fitted the oxygen mask over his mouth. “Thanks for your help. We got him now.”
Once they wheeled the stretcher away, she thanked God for the warm hands helping her stand. Strong arms swept her to a firm chest, and her body sagged from the relief. Turning toward him, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Beau. He’s very weak. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
“He has a chance, and I understand it’s thanks to your quick response. Looks like I’ll be taking over faster than I’d planned.”
Pulling back and seeing they’d been left alone, she questioned him. “What now?”
“Just before I went out, Marc had me in the office to say they expected me to step into his place. He knew he had to stop coming in, the doctors had talked him into taking a six-month sabbatical. Between you and me, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the other stuff we’re working on, but I asked to stay involved in this specific school-shooter case. Once we solved it, the plans were for me to take over. Now, it looks like that’ll be happening sooner than I wanted. And it’s killing me to think you’ll be dealing with this madman without me.”
Lori heard his description and knew she’d need to bring him up to speed, but at this point, he had to be reassured. “Of course you need to step up. The poor AD’s out of commissionnowand no one’s more aware of how long a case can go on than I am.”
“I know. You’re right, but I hate to think of you being in danger, and there’s not much I’ll be able to personally do to protect you.”
Thrilled for his promotion, even if it’s only a temporary one, she stopped his words. “Hey, hold on. I don’t need anyone to protect me. I can look after myself.” Purposely pushing him away so he wouldn’t see her sudden fear, she left him to go toward the door. Turning, she added, “can you debrief us on what you found? I have some news you’ll want to hear too.”
Then she left the room, expecting him to follow to where the others had returned to work.
In a few minutes, they had gathered again, and Lori rehashed her earlier information for Beau’s benefit. Then she asked him what he’d garnered from the personnel at the hospital. Larry took the video feed that Beau passed him, plugged it into one of the screens and they all watched it play out.
The semi-darkened hospital room had been quiet. They watched the officer lying in the bed passing time with her phone until her eyes began to droop and her shoulders lost their rigid form.
Finally, she’d tucked the blankets around her body with her gun held close. She slipped to her side with her back to the entrance, hiding her face, and passed out. Speeding the time up, Larry again slowed it when the door to the room opened and a masked nurse pushing a cart stepped forward.
Carefully, she stepped forward, took hold of the officer’s shoulders to keep the body in place, and with a lunging upward swing, stabbed a knife into the throat of the victim.
Watching the life force drain, she finally took off her gloves to put them in her pocket. First wiping the knife on the blanket, she laid it in its place under the cover on the cart. Then she quietly left the room.
The only description they got was of a taller person, wearing green scrubs, slender build, and an auburn ponytail flowing down her back.
***
Beau waited until they’d watched the video the second time before questioning the others. “Does anything stand out to the rest of you?”
Lori answered quietly. “The killer didn’t identify the victim before she stabbed her. She was so sure it was the right person; she didn’t bother to check. Which makes me believe she thought it was Jessi and killing her so-called friend didn’t faze her at all.”
“Kind of what went through my mind too when I watched this at the hospital. This female’s behavior… now that we know what her gender is, makes me think she’s a cold-blooded psychopath. Killing Jessi mattered less than nothing to her. I saw no sign of remorse or regret.”
“Me either.” Lori turned to the others and added, “Trying to stop a person with so little regard for life is going to be a horrendous battle. We can’t let her survive one more day out there because if she’s the one with a rifle in a schoolroom filled with kids, you know she’s gonna kill as many as she can.”
“You don’t think she’ll lie low and wait it out, hope we don’t find her?” Larry spoke wistfully.
