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“Arden?” Brook waited for him to finish putting on his jacket and give her his undivided attention. “What you are about to do for Sylvie is just as…if not more…significant than what the rest of us are doing. Understand?”
Arden’s eyes misted as he feigned concentration on his scarf, which he had looped over his right shoulder. Once he had secured the zipper in place, he then proceeded to give his undivided attention to his gloves.
“Bit, you should have the warrants that we spoke of earlier within the next half hour. Pour over the security footage and see if you can’t get a decent photo for your facial recognition program. The faster we figure out who took over Erin Smith’s life for the past two months, the quicker we can apprehend the unsub.”
Local police forces worked at a slower pace, though that didn’t mean their efforts weren’t rewarded in the end. Brook had spent most of her life learning patience, but she had also become skilled in how to spend her time more efficiently.
“I’m going to join Detective Beeson at Erin Smith’s residence.” Brook picked up her purse, not bothering to take out her gloves. She needed to connect her phone to the external battery, anyway. She would do so when she was settled in the car. “I was hoping that Sylvie would be out of surgery by now. I know that I don’t need to tell you this, Bit, but please let us know the minute you hear anything.”
Brook hadn’t expected Bit to stand from his chair and sidestep the small square table to reach her, nor had she expected him to hug her. While only nine years separated them in age, there were times when she viewed him as so much younger. She hesitated only briefly before wrapping her arms around him in kind.
Bit wasn’t a stranger to these waiting rooms. His sister was currently in remission from a very rare form of blood cancer, but she had fought long and hard for such success.
Still, the fear of losing someone wasn’t something one ever forgot with time.
“We can’t lose her,” Bit whispered against Brook’s shoulder. She held him even tighter. “We can’t lose her, Boss.”
Brook couldn’t bring herself to lie to him, even though most people would have given him platitudes with the intention of injecting a sliver of hope into the situation. There were times for optimism, but there was also a vital need to be realistic. One needed the ability to maintain enough strength to face the harsh truths. Every second that Sylvie remained in surgery was one second that leaned in favor of a horrific outcome.
Brook shoved aside her desire to remain behind at the hospital. Her time would be better spent hunting the unsub who had hurt Sylvie.
“Call your sister,” Brook murmured after clearing her throat. She pulled away, keeping ahold of his arms so that he would heed her directive. “Call your sister so that you have someone here with you. Arden will stay with Sylvie’s father while Theo and I work the investigation.”
Brook had spoken long enough to give Bit time to rein in his emotions. He nodded vigorously before stepping back and settling in behind his makeshift desk. Once again, she had to force herself to turn toward Arden for fear that she would take the seat next to Bit.
“Let’s go, Arden,” Brook directed under her breath, doing her best to keep her frustration concealed from them both. “The cars should be waiting for us out front.”
The two of them walked in silence down the hallway and past the nurses’ station. The straps of Brook’s purse were secure over her shoulder, but she’d kept ahold of her phone. A quick glance at the red numbers in the top right-hand corner of the display told her that she now had four percent left of the battery.
“Don’t worry about packing too much,” Brook advised Arden as they came to a stop in front of the elevator. He reached out and pressed the down arrow. “We’ll all take turns staying at the apartment.”
Once Brook finished squaring things away with Detective Beeson, she would put in a request to access Nigel Deering’s court transcripts and any related documents. She didn’t like crafting a profile backward, but she hadn’t been given a choice.
Nigel Deering had ruined a lot of lives with his previous decisions, and there had been a public uproar regarding his compassionate release over the last couple of months. It made sense that someone would want him to experience a loss as significant before his death.
“Do you think Bit will call his sister?” Arden asked as they waited for a male subject to exit the elevator before they stepped inside. She paused to study the man’s body language before pressing the button that would take them to the lobby. She would relax a little easier once she had been notified that a federal agent had replaced the officer standing outside the door to Sylvie’s operating room. “I don’t think he should be alone if…”
“Bit will call his sister,” Brook replied confidently as she monitored the numbers above the double door. She hated that she was second-guessing her decision to leave the hospital, so she began to rationalize her choices. “Paula was probably already on her way here. She and Bit are close, and she also knows how much he cares for Sylvie. Besides, Graham’s flight arrives before dawn. I’ll have him drive directly to the hospital. Theo and I will alternate assignments and come back here as much as we can. Tomorrow night, one of us will switch out with you.”
“Don’t you worry about me,” Arden instructed as he pulled out the gloves that he’d stowed in the pocket of his coat. “I’ll make sure that Sylvie’s father is updated on her condition and see to it that he’s resting comfortably.”
Brook nodded while rotating her right shoulder. Tension had settled in her shoulder blades, and the strap of her purse wasn’t helping the slight ache. Graham’s presence at the hospital was more for her sake, but she wouldn’t say such a thing out loud. He had become her support system brick-by-brick over the past couple of years. She had known what they had been slowly developing over time, and she had chosen to allow the construction knowing full well that her brother could destroy it.
As Brook and Arden stepped out of the elevator, the vibration of her cell phone had her looking down at the display. She had expected to see one of three names. When her mind finally registered that someone from the federal prison currently housing her brother was attempting to reach her, she lost the ability to breathe.
“Brook?”
Arden had to pull her to the side to allow someone to enter the elevator.
“Sorry. I…I have to take this call, Arden.” Brook had finally managed to speak even though her heart rate had doubled and perspiration coated the palms of her hands. “You go on ahead. Theo should still be at Sylvie’s apartment. I’ll touch base with you soon.”
Arden regarded her closely before he slowly nodded his agreement. It was as if he sensed the bottom of the investigation had the potential to crumble beneath them, but he didn’t question her directive.
“Sloane,” Brook said quietly in her usual greeting as she monitored Arden's walk across the large entryway of the hospital. She made sure that her voice was steady, just in case it wasn’t the warden or one of the guards calling her with an update. She had certainly paid enough of them under the table to keep tabs on Jacob. The slight pause on the other end of the line kept the tension in her shoulders. “Hello?”
“I expected more emotion out of you, dear sister.”
It wasn’t just the floor that threatened to disintegrate at the sound of her brother’s voice. The new life that she had spent years developing now hung by mere threads.
