Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
It happened during recreation before lunch. In the middle of an ordinary basketball game, Bette collapsed. Tawny stood frozen in genuine shock when Bette foamed at the mouth. Was this part of the plan or something more sinister, like a drug overdose to keep her quiet? Jo and Yolanda reacted first. They yelled for help and turned Bette onto her side in case she vomited. One of the reliable guards ran to assist and held the crowd of women at bay.
“Give us room!” he shouted. He said something into his shoulder microphone and checked Bette’s pulse.
“She’s not breathing!” Jo cried.
The guard pushed her away and started chest compressions. Tawny squelched her natural impulse to offer aid and waited along with her fellow inmates for the outcome. A few of them formed a prayer circle and held hands. She heard their rhythmic chants as they sent them heavenward.
“Come on, come on,” she murmured. “What’s taking Dr. Sadler so long?” Had the doctor betrayed them?
As the thought entered Tawny’s mind, Dr. Sadler burst onto the scene with her medical bag and a portable defibrillator. “How long has she been down?”
“Two, three minutes,” the guard answered.
Dr. Sadler used scissors she pulled from her medical bag to cut away Bette’s jumpsuit. She charged the defibrillator and ordered, “Clear!” Everyone moved away from her. She shocked Bette twice before her heart started beating again.
Someone must have already contacted 911 because sirens blared in the distance. At this point, Warden Stoltz commanded a lockdown. The women were hustled inside and forced into their cells. Tawny paced as she clenched and unclenched her hands, worried their plan had gone terribly awry and whatever happened to Bette was an actual medical emergency. She wouldn’t know unless she asked Dr. Sadler the next time she saw her or one of the guards who was present when the fake paramedics arrived to treat Bette. But what if…
Stop torturing yourself. Have faith in the plan. In the people who have your back.
The women were confined to their cells for the rest of the day, probably due to an investigation of the incident. Lunch was delivered to them much later than usual. When they all gathered in the dining hall for their last meal of the day, a pall hung in the air attributed to their subdued moods. Instead of being loud and raucous, the women spoke in hushed tones. Gossip and speculation abounded.
“Have you heard anything?” Jo asked Yolanda and Tawny.
Tawny shook her head. “Not in my unit.”
“It looked like a drug overdose to me,” Yolanda commented. “First her cellmate Lucy and now Bette. It’s not a coincidence.”
“It could have been a seizure,” Jo pointed out. “Foaming at the mouth and all that.”
They both turned to stare at Tawny. “What do you think, T?”
The trust she heard in Yolanda’s tone stung. She hated this charade.
“I honestly don’t know what to think.” She told the truth.
“I’ll tell you what I think.” Jo lowered her voice. “I think Bette’s crazy conspiracy theory was right on the money, and they took her out. She’s probably dead, and we’re all just sittin’ ducks.”
No one disagreed.
Hours earlier…
“Package is secure,” Finnigan spoke to the LAPD SWAT command center from behind the wheel of the fire rescue truck as it barreled toward Los Angeles. There, SAC Cofield waited with two members of her team and Justice to take Bette Simpson into protective custody. Brielle’s father, Cameron McAdams, was also present to ensure Bette’s civil rights. Finnigan hoped to catch a glimpse of Tawny, but no luck. Warden Stoltz had ordered a swift lockdown.
“Good work, Sergeant Finnigan.” He’d recently been promoted in the wake of Brielle’s extended leave due to her high-risk pregnancy.
“How’s she doing back there, Macklin?”
“We’re rousing her now.”
An EMT with the LAFD rode in the back of the fire rescue truck. A moment later, Finnigan heard a strangled cough and a gasp.
“Where am I? Oh, Jesus, everything hurts!”
The EMT responded, “You’re in an ambulance on your way to St. Joseph’s Hospital. I need to examine you before I give you something for the pain.”
“I’m out? I’m really out?”
“It’s not that simple, Bette,” Macklin answered. “After you get cleared at the hospital, you’ll be taken to a safe house, then placed in witness protection.”
“But I didn’t witness nothin’.”
“Maybe not. But whoever killed Lucy, and possibly others, doesn’t know that. And when they discover you’re missing, they’ll be coming after you.”
“So, I have to hide? How long?”
“Until we solve this case. In the meantime, Cameron McAdams will investigate what happened to you and file an appeal on your behalf. He’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“Really? The Cameron McAdams?”
“The one and only.”
“Cool. You’d better look out for Tawny, though. She’s on their radar.”
“The FBI will be speaking with you about that. Rest now, Bette. We’re two minutes out from the hospital.”
St. Joseph’s Hospital, a small privately owned facility, lay on the fringe of Los Angeles. Hospital security had already been notified of Bette’s impending arrival, and the rest of Finnigan and Macklin’s SWAT team provided extra support. Finnigan parked in the ambulance bay and hopped out of the fire rescue truck. He helped Macklin and the EMT wheel Bette into an emergency room cubicle where Jiena, Justice, Cameron, and the others met them. An ER doctor previously alerted to the situation joined them.
“We don’t have much time,” Finnigan said. “Warden Stoltz was displeased when we told him there wasn’t room for a guard named Whitcomb whom he wanted to send with us. It won’t be long before he discovers we didn’t take Bette to the nearest hospital in Chino.”
“I only need a few minutes to make sure the patient isn’t suffering any ill effects from the poison she ingested.”
“I feel great,” Bette declared.
Jiena frowned. “Poison? That wasn’t the plan. You were supposed to fake a heart attack.”
“Dr. Sadler said to swallow the poison, that it would be more realistic and that she wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I’m alive, aren’t I?” She gazed at Finnigan and Macklin and grinned. “Or have I died and gone to heaven? You guys are fine .”
The doctor insisted on privacy while he examined Bette. Everyone chafed at the delay, especially Finnigan. On the job, Brielle often warned him to exercise patience when necessary, and at home, Tawny would tease him about his lack of it.
Tawny .
His love for her burned as fiery and passionate as she did, like a living flame. She torched Finnigan’s former self—condescending and cynical—and he rose from the ashes like the mythical Phoenix in a new form. A committed man bound to one woman for eternity. He always scoffed at the idea of being so devoted to a single woman until he’d fallen hard for Tawny. He’d lay down his life for her.
Finnigan obsessed over her being undercover. After years of being chained to a desk of her own volition due to tragically losing her partner and being held hostage, Tawny hadn’t been back in the field that long before she insisted on this assignment. In his opinion, she’d been inside CIFW too long, and every day increased the danger of discovery. Tawny made the right decision to get Bette out before one slip of the tongue put her life at risk.
When the ER doctor joined them, Finnigan ceased his nervous pacing. “Ms. Simpson is stable. I’m concerned about aftereffects, so please keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. If she loses consciousness or starts seizing, you should seek immediate medical attention.”
Jiena nodded. “We understand, Doctor. Thank you for your care and concern.” She entered the cubicle with a bag of clean clothes, and Finnigan heard Bette’s exclamation of gratitude and happiness.
Bette changed her clothes, as well as her look. Jiena had prepared a disguise complete with a dark brown wig, a baseball cap, and mirrored sunglasses. They hustled her into Cameron’s nondescript, gray SUV. It took about an hour to reach the safe house in Laguna Beach, three miles inland from the Pacific Coast Highway. Finnigan, Macklin, and the others drove three unmarked cars and traveled at different speeds to avoid unwanted suspicion. They reached the safe house without incident and followed Cameron and Bette into the small living room.
“This is nice,” Bette remarked as she gazed around the sparsely decorated room. Anything was an improvement over a six-by-eight prison cell.
“Make yourself comfortable, Bette,” Jiena advised. “Would you like a bottle of water? We have a lot to discuss.”
“Isn’t this the part where you shine a light in my face while you question me?” Bette quipped. She plopped down on the sofa and accepted a bottle of water from Macklin. “Oh, comfy.”
Jiena smiled. “That only happens in the movies.”
“I like movies.”
“Do you want Mr. McAdams present for our interview?”
“Yeah. I ain’t sayin’ a word without him.”
“Okay.” Jiena addressed the rest of the group. “Please give us some privacy.”
“Wait a minute,” Finnigan spoke up. “I have a question. How’s Tawny?”
Bette grinned. “Oh, I get it! You’re her man. T’s a real badass. Everyone knows not to mess with her. But I understand what you want to hear. She’s doing as good as she can in a place like that. She’s marked, though, for fire camp.”
Finnigan frowned. “Is that a problem?”
“Could be.”
“Sergeant Finnigan,” Jiena interjected. Her voice warned him to back off.
“All right, all right.” He held up his hands, then filed out of the house with the others.
On their way to the LBPD, Finnigan checked in with Commander Mattox. “Our asset is safe, sir. I’d like permission to stay in LB until SAC Cofield is finished with her interrogation.”
“You’re still on duty, Sergeant Finnigan, and I need you and Macklin back in LA, along with the rest of the team. With Lieutenant McQuaid confined to bedrest at Cedar-Sinai until she delivers, we’re shorthanded. In fact, I’m considering promoting a couple of officers from second squad to first squad.”
Finnigan glanced at Macklin, who said, “You heard the Commander.”
Being left out of the loop irked Finnigan, but he obediently replied, “We’re on our way, sir.”
Full of adrenaline and excess energy due to a long, stressful day, Finnigan worked out with a few fellow SWAT officers in the gym. Afterward, they headed to Vinny’s for beer and barbecue. Vinny’s was a popular spot for law enforcement, and he always served them himself, sometimes offering their meal on the house. Tonight, he brought them platters of his smoked ribs, so tender that the meat fell off the bones. Tangy baked beans and potato salad accompanied the ribs. The SWAT brothers laughed and bantered with each other and took great pleasure in teasing Finnigan for his melancholy mood.
“Come on, Finn, lighten up. Where’s that snarky attitude we know and love so much?”
“Not tonight, guys. Just let me get drunk and make sure I get home in one piece.” Finnigan tossed his car keys on the table.
His buddies stopped teasing him. Though Finnigan could have drunk more than one pitcher of beer in his current frame of mind, they cut him off when he laughed too loudly and slurred his words.
“Time to call it quits, Finn.” Macklin wrapped an arm around his waist and hauled him to his feet. “Where shall I drive you?”
“Home. To Laguna Beach. To Tawny.”
Macklin shook his head and addressed one of the guys. “Drive Finn’s car to my apartment. He can crash with me tonight.”
“You’re a real pal, Mack. Don’t you want to see, what’s-her-name? Jade…Jadah…Jane? I forget.” Finnigan grinned. He tried to slap Macklin across the back, missed, and lost his balance. “Oops.” He let out an embarrassed chuckle.
“It’s Jadah. And, no, she’s in Miami at an art show. Let’s get you home, big guy, before you say or do something stupid. And please don’t vomit in my car.”
When they arrived at Macklin’s apartment, Finnigan passed out as soon as he threw himself across the bed in the guest room.
The pungent aroma of coffee and bacon and eggs teased Finnigan awake in the morning. Light stabbed his eyes, and he groaned. Though hungry, his stomach rebelled at the smell of food. Sour bile rose in his throat, and he gagged. Finnigan stumbled into the guest bathroom just in time to kneel in front of the toilet and throw up. After he emptied his stomach and his bladder, he stripped and stood beneath a gentle rainfall of cold water to ward off the effects of his hangover. It somewhat revived him, but his head and eyes ached. He found clean clothes in a dresser from previous overnight stays with Macklin, pulled them on, then joined his best friend in the kitchen.
Macklin handed Finnigan a cup of coffee and two Tylenol tablets, which he swallowed with a glass of water. “Thanks, man.” He plopped into a chair at the kitchen table.
“Feel like eating?”
“Yeah.” Finnigan helped himself to a plate of bacon and eggs and reached for two slices of buttered toast. He smeared grape jelly on both and bit into the bread. “Hey, I, uh, didn’t do anything crazy last night, did I?”
“No. You were a perfect drunk. Funny and obnoxious.”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking or if you’re serious.”
Macklin grinned and brandished his fork. “A little bit of both.”
“Okay. As long as I didn’t pick a fight with some burly dude and get my face smashed. I can’t remember a thing.”
“You needed to let loose, and there’s no way we would have let you get your face smashed by some burly dude. It’s too pretty.”
“Aw… So glad you think so. By the way, where’s my car?”
“Henley drove it here.”
“That’s good. Sorry to impose on you like this.”
“You’re not imposing on me.” Macklin swallowed the last forkful of his eggs and carried his plate to the sink. “I have plans with my family today, Finn, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“Nah. I’ll head home.”
Finnigan grabbed his dirty clothes, and the friends headed outside together. In the parking lot they shook hands.
“See you Monday, Finn. Take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, you too, Mack.”
On the hour-long drive down to Laguna Beach, Finn lowered his windows and allowed the cool late fall breeze to wash through the car and keep him alert. The Tylenol did little to relieve his headache, and he regretted losing his self-control last night. Macklin would probably mention his drinking binge to Jadah, who would then inform her twin Jiena, who, Finnigan prayed, would not relay the situation to Tawny. He didn’t want her to know that he’d fallen apart when she counted on him to be a rock for her. Finnigan cursed his helplessness.
The silence of the home he shared with Tawny rang in his ears and oppressed him. He dropped his keys and wallet on an accent table in the foyer and carried his dirty clothes to the laundry niche between the kitchen and the garage. He loaded the washing machine and started the cycle. In the kitchen, Finnigan pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and drained it in several gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. At loose ends, he wandered through the house, looking for something to occupy his mind and his time.
Finnigan’s first inclination was to head to Justice and Brielle’s house, always the hub of their lively gatherings, but it stood as silent and empty as his own home. Justice and Cameron and Brianna were renting an apartment on a short-term lease to be close to her while she remained hospitalized in LA.
After his father, a firefighter, had died on the job, he, his sister, and his mother grew distant from one another. They thought he should abandon his lifelong goal of joining SWAT in favor of following in his father’s footsteps, and he refused. His mother retreated into herself and stopped speaking to him. So did his sister when he voiced his opinion about her career path. The passage of time eased the tension between them but did not repair the damage inflicted on their relationship.
Finnigan considered calling his mother and sister but squelched the impulse and contacted Miguel and Hutch instead. Both were on duty, pulling extra shifts to cover Justice’s absenteeism. About to go stir crazy alone with his thoughts, Finnigan decided to head to the beach for a long run. He changed into sweatpants, an old T-shirt, and running shoes and headed toward the front door. He pulled it open and stared at Jiena standing there with her hand raised to either knock or ring the bell.
“Jiena! Hi.”
“I looked for you earlier this morning.”
Finnigan rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Yeah. Um, I’m ashamed to admit I got drunk last night and slept it off at Mack’s place.”
Jiena smiled. “Well, I won the bet. Mack and Jadah didn’t think you’d own up to it. May I come in? I have news about Tawny.”