Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
A week later,
The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight as Rawlins and Chaney met up with Rafferty and Justus the first morning of the pre-trial prep. They had decided to have breakfast together at a diner not far from the law office. But it turned out neither of the girls had much of an appetite.
“You need to eat more than dry toast,” Rafferty scolded them. “Who knows when you’ll get a lunch break.”
“We’ve survived on less,” Chaney assured. “We didn’t eat much while held captive.”
“Besides, it’s better not to overeat and go in feeling sick because of nerves,” Justus said.
“What is there to be nervous about?” Rawlins asked. “You already had the deposition. And that meant meeting with the opposition’s lawyer. This is just a meeting with the US Assistant District Attorney to go over your testimony and prepare you for what getting up on the stand might be like. It’s not like you’re going to have to face Felty again today.”
“And even if you did, you’re going to have to face him at trial every day anyway. You might as well get accustomed to it now rather than later,” Rafferty said.
Justus let out a long sigh. She reached for her toast and buttered it. Then slathered it with jelly, she said, “I hope you’re right,” before taking a bite. Even though she tried to eat, her stomach didn’t want to accept the food and she put the toast down and drank her milk instead. “I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
“You tried,” Rafferty said. “I’ll pick you both up some peanut butter and crackers from the little market down the street, so you’ll have something if you get hungry later.”
Rawlins’s phone rang and he looked surprised. “I gotta take this call,” he said, getting out of the booth. “This is Rawlins Grainger.” He walked outside of the diner to take the call.
“This is Cagney Foster with Foley Pulmonology. We’ve had a cancellation this morning and can fit you in today if you can be there by eleven.”
“Today?”
“Otherwise, you’d have to stay on the waitlist for the next available and keep the appointment that is scheduled for weeks out,” she said.
His mind raced trying to decide. This windfall couldn’t have come at the worst time. He was needed with Rafferty to protect the girls today and yet if he turned down this appointment, he’d be forced to wait another month or more to see the doctor. He might not get another chance like this again.
“Okay. I’ll be there. Give me the address.”
“I’ve texted it to you,” she said. “It’s at our satellite office. Be sure to bring a list of all medications and any past x-ray films if you have it.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
As soon as he hung up, he looked at the text message and did a google search of the address and saw where the satellite office was located. Damn. It was clear on the other side of town, which was a good forty-five-minute drive in light traffic. He’d have to leave immediately if he was going to reach there by his appointment time. Apprehension set in and he hoped he had made the right decision for them all and not just for himself.
When he returned, Rafferty had a questioning look on his face.
“That was the pulmonologist office I’ve been trying to get an appointment with since we arrived in Colorado Springs. They had a cancellation for later this morning at one of their satellite offices. I had to take it, or I’d be looking at waiting another month to see the doctor.”
“Absolutely,” Rafferty agreed.
Hearing his twin say that eased the tension in his gut a little. He took a deep breath and said, “That means you have to escort the girls alone.”
“I think I can manage,” Rafferty assured him.
“I’ve got to leave now if I’m going to make the appointment,” Rawlins said. He turned, looking for their waitress and flagged her down. When she came over, he asked for the bill. “I’ve got this. I’ll see you all later. Chaney, you do what Rafferty says and be safe.”
“You know I will,” she promised.
They finished eating before heading to the market down the street to buy the snacks that Rafferty had suggested. Then they went to his car. He drove them over to the law office and parked in a nearby parking garage.
They got out and were walking to the building when two men came in their direction. Rafferty checked to make sure the girls were close to him. But Chaney noticed a third man coming between two parked cars from his left. Before she could warn Rafferty of the possible danger, the man did a leg sweep, and in one quick move put Rafferty flat on his back. He fell with such force it knocked the wind out of him and he dropped his cellphone which the man kicked aside before running away.
Chaney squealed in anger and fright while Justus yelled, “Rafferty!”
With them distracted by what had happened to Rafferty, the other two men were able to snatch them away quickly, covering their mouths with cloths. They both kicked and fought against their assailants. The girls’ muffled screaming was emitted but it didn’t go far.
Samson stuck Justus with a syringe, knocking her out, and laid Justus on the ground near the tail end of the car where they were standing. He joined Oscar who held Chaney, but she dug her heel in his shin, and he let her go as he hopped on one foot, cursing.
“She’s getting away, you fool!” Leland grimaced; behind the silicone mask he was wearing so the girls wouldn’t recognize him.
“Damn!” Oscar shrieked, as he and Samson ran, catching her before she got too far away. While Oscar grabbed her again, Samson stuck her with the syringe. Within seconds, she too was out. Not taking pains to be gentle, Oscar threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to the car.
“Toss them in the trunk,” Leland ordered. “They should be out for a while.”
Samson opened the trunk, picked up Justus, and laid her inside. Then Oscar dumped Chaney beside her, and they closed the lid.
“What about their protector?” Oscar asked. “Are we just going to leave him there groaning?”
“Sure. He’s not going anywhere. You made sure to destroy his phone, right?”
“I kicked it under a nearby car,” Samson said. “There is no way he can get to it with his knee blown.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here before someone comes looking for them,” Leland said.
The three jumped in the car and left the parking garage.
Rawlins drove as fast as he could without breaking any speeding laws to reach his appointment on time. However, when he got there, the receptionist informed him he had no appointment at their location.
“I don’t understand,” he told her. “This is the Foley Pulmonology, is it not?”
“Correct, sir,” she replied.
“Then I’m at the right place.” He held up his phone and showed her the text message he’d received that morning. “I got a phone call from Cagney Foster. She informed me that there had been a cancellation and if I could be here at eleven today, I would be able to see the doctor instead of waiting for my currently scheduled appointment. Otherwise, I’d stay on the waitlist for the next available.”
The receptionist shook her head. “I don’t know a Cagney Foster. She doesn’t work at this office. I’ve pulled up all our branch offices and I don’t see that name as an employee of Foley Pulmonology.”
He took a deep breath feeling his throat constricting. He reached at his waist for his utility belt and futilely realized it wasn’t there. He wasn’t dressed for work. His inhaler wasn’t there either. Instead, he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled it out. Removed the cap and took a puff.
“I don’t know what to tell you, sir.”
“I want to speak to your office manager,” he croaked. “This has to be some sort of sick joke.”
He gasped for air as his lungs constricted and he leaned his head against the glass that separated the waiting area from the office workers.
“Sir, do you need some water? Would that help?” the receptionist asked.
He shook his head and slid down to the floor, putting his head between his bent knees as he waited for his inhaler to kick in. A nurse came out of the door to the waiting room to check on him. She placed a pulse oximeter on the end of his fingertip to get his oxygen reading and once she declared he was good, asked him to come with her.
He got up and followed her to an office where she introduced him to the business manager.
“I understand you were sent here today believing you had an appointment?” the man said.
“I was told by a Cagney Foster that I had one,” Rawlins showed him his cellphone and the number from where the call came.
“Like our receptionist told you, we don’t have an employee at this office or even at one of the other sites by the name of Cagney Foster,” the business manager said. “I fear you have been misled. Is there any reason someone would want to do this?”
“You’re asking me this?” Rawlins said. “Just tell me whether I still have my original appointment.” He gave him his information to check on.
“You are still in the system for then with Dr. Foley. We haven’t had any cancellations,” the manager said. “So, whatever this call was about it had nothing to do with our office.”
Rawlins nodded, mentally kicking himself for deciding to take the appointment. “I think you’re right. I was sent on a wild goose chase. Thank you for your time.”
He went out to his car and got in to make the forty-five-minute drive back across town hoping nothing bad had happened to Chaney, Justus, or his brother. As soon as he was back on the road, he tried calling Rafferty, but the call wouldn’t go through. He tried several times and when he stopped at a red light, he noticed that he didn’t have enough bars to warrant making a call.
“For crying out loud. This is a satellite phone, and I can’t even make a phone call?” Rawlins hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. Something wasn’t right here. Something definitely wasn’t right.
Fearing he’d have another attack, he tried to stay calm. He needed to be able to breath and drive and get to the others as soon as possible.
As horrible as he felt for making the decision to take the appointment, he had to remind himself that Rafferty had agreed with him on seeing the doctor today rather than waiting. He just hoped he would stand by his decision when he learned that the phone call had been a ruse.
What Rafferty couldn’t understand is why someone would do that, unless they knew he was Chaney’s protector and wanted to get him away from her. And if that was the case, then there was only one possible reason for it. Apprehension crept up his spine that they wanted to leave Rafferty vulnerable and stretched thin trying to protect two instead of one, so they could grab the girls. It made perfect sense now. And he’d played right into their hands.
Damn. What a fool he’d been.
How’d they known what kind of carrot to dangle in front him to get him to bite?
Rawlins looked at his cellphone and finally saw three bars turn into four and then five. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and punched call by Rafferty’s name, waiting for his brother to pick up. The call rang more times than he thought it should before it was answered.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling and calling you.” Rafferty barked.
Rawlins winced at the anger in his brother’s voice, he knew he’d been out of pocket, but still, did Raff need to take that tone with him?
“Sorry, but I couldn’t get service for some reason. We’ve got a problem, bro.”
“What happened?” Rafferty asked. “We’re listening.”
“We’re?” Rawlins asked, confused for a second, but then he realized what his twin must have meant and why there had been a shift in sound. He’d been put on speaker. “Oh, hey, Justus, Chaney, sorry I couldn’t get back there sooner, but I was sent on a wild goose chase. We’ve been set up.” He fought to keep his voice from rising. “There was no appointment.”
“I knew it,” Rafferty said. “I had a feeling when I was crawling across that parking garage that that call was fake.”
“What? What do you mean?” Rawlins said.
“Justus and Chaney aren’t here but Liberty is.”
The connection sucked. That didn’t even sound like his brother talking. And why was Liberty Killion with him? Had she been called in for the pre-trial prep too?
“Wait, is that Asher Nolte I’m talking with?” Rawlins asked.
“Yea, man,” Asher said. “Three men ambushed Rafferty and took the girls. He’s in the hospital facing surgery on his knee.”
Holy Shit!
Could things get any worse?
They would if he couldn’t get Justus and Chaney back.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
He should have told Cagney Foster no way was he taking that appointment today.
Coming back to the present, Rawlins demanded, “Who’s out there looking for the girls? Why aren’t you if Rafferty isn’t able to search for them?”
“The Colorado Springs PD is searching and have been since it happened,” Asher added. “We’re lucky those guys didn’t kill Rafferty.”
“Until we found you…” Rafferty trailed off. “McAdams took lead on this after I called to inform him what happened.”
“Who’s he?” Rawlins asked.
“The US Assistant District Attorney,” Rafferty said.
“I guess he would be involved because this botches his case if we don’t get them back,” Rawlins said. “Are you at UC Memorial?”
“Yes.”
“I should be there in ten minutes. We’ll talk about what to do then.” Rawlins hung up.
He focused on his driving and sped up determined to get to the hospital and his brothers’ room as fast as possible. Every second that passed was a second, they could be out searching for Chaney and Justus.
As soon as he arrived at UC Memorial, he parked and rushed into the hospital, requesting information at reception for his brothers’ room number. He bumped into Liberty Killion coming out. “Pardon me, ma’am,” he said.
He opened the door and took one look at his twin. “You have to always one up me, don’t you, being the worst off.”
“Shut up.” Rafferty barked.
“Twin rivalry?” Asher asked.
“You got it,” Rafferty said.
The door opened again and a man in a physician’s traditional white coat joined them. “Mr. Grainger?”
“Yes,” Rafferty and Rawlins said at the same time.
“I’m Dr. Emile. I have some good news for you,” he said. He held up the x-ray film toward the light for them to see. “The shrapnel from your previous injury has either dislodged from this new injury and moved, or it’s been moving from the PT exercises you have been doing because it can now be removed during the operation to repair your torn meniscus.”
Rafferty wasn’t sure he understood. “But they told me in the ER that the shrapnel was going to complicate the surgery.”
“Perhaps to them they thought it was, but to a doctor of my caliber it is nothing,” Dr. Emile said. “I trained and did my residency in a warzone area. I dealt with many cases like these over the years. We’ll be taking you to surgery soon. After some more physical therapy you’ll be back to normal.”
Rawlins grabbed his hand and squeezed. “This is great news. Now if only the pulmonologist that I see next month can do something as good for me.”
“Yeah. If.” Rafferty said, looking at his brother in the eye. “Go. Go find Justus and Chaney. Don’t wait around here for me to get out of surgery. I’ll be fine.”