Chapter 4 #2
“Oh my God… This is the exact kind of shit we were worried about. Yes, yes, clothes… I’ll pack clothes and meet you at the hangar. Does Gunner know?” Dylan asked as he threw back the covers and got up.
Ash swiped a shaky hand across his face. “I’m calling him next. Drive safe. See you soon,” and then disconnected.
Angie was already up and pulling a suitcase from the closet before she even knew what was wrong, but when Dylan turned around and she saw his face, she knew it couldn’t be good.
“Honey! What happened?”
“Dad’s been shot. It happened just after he closed the bar. They airlifted him to a hospital in Amarillo. He lost a lot of blood. It doesn’t look good. Ash said pack for a prolonged stay. I need clothes for at least a week, just in case.”
She nodded. “You go wash up and pack your shaving stuff. I’ll get your clothes. Do you have enough cash on you? I think there’s a couple of hundred dollars in my wallet. Take it too, just in case. I’ll look after the office. If there are major decisions to be made, I’ll let you know.”
Dylan hugged her. “Lady, you are my rock. Thank you for this.”
“Go!” she said. “I’ll get you packed.”
Within fifteen minutes, Dylan was dressed and heading to the garage with his suitcase. Angie was right behind him, handing him the cash from her purse.
“Just in case,” she said, and jammed it in the pocket of his coat.
One last hug and kiss, and then Dylan was gone. She couldn’t help him through this, but she knew his business backward and forward, and she knew everything about the ongoing projects. That much she could do for him, and with his blessing.
* * *
Gunner Kingston was on his way to a crime scene when his cell phone rang. He answered via Bluetooth, to keep both hands on the wheel.
“This is Kingston.”
Ash winced. He could hear sirens and radio traffic in the background. Gunner was up and working.
“Gunner, it’s me, Ash. Sounds like you have a load on your plate already, but I’m adding more to it.
Dad’s been shot. Happened just after midnight.
He suffered serious blood loss. It’s not good.
They airlifted him to a hospital in Amarillo.
I’m flying Dylan and me out as soon as we get to the hangar.
If you can get away, pack clothes for an extended stay.
There’s no law in Crossroads outside of the county sheriff’s office half an hour away.
Whether Dad lives or dies, I’m not leaving Crossroads until I find out who did this, and I’m gonna need backup. ”
Gunner took a sharp turn up a dark alley. “Damn it! Just damn it! I’ve got to call in to the precinct to get another detective on-site. This has to do with that armored car robbery, doesn’t it? Somebody with a grudge and nobody left to blame but Dad.”
“I don’t know, but I’m damn sure going to find out. But we first need to be there for Dad, like he was there for us when our world crashed,” Ash said.
“Agreed, and on it,” Gunner said. “Text me the location. I’ll get there as soon as I can.
” Then his voice broke. “If you get to talk to him, just tell him not to die.” Gunner disconnected, and then immediately called in to the precinct.
After a hasty conversation with his superior, he was given immediate permission and put on an indefinite leave of absence.
The moment he got the okay, he turned around and headed back home, weaving his way through Dallas traffic.
Once inside the house, he got online to get the fastest flight to Amarillo, rented an SUV to be picked up at the Amarillo airport, then began packing for an extended stay.
* * *
Asher was driving to the hangar when it dawned on him that Nora had to have known.
With all the sirens and the helicopter that picked him up in the middle of the night, the whole town would have known.
And he knew exactly why she hadn’t called.
Because she would not have had the answers he so desperately would want.
She would have no knowledge of Jacob’s condition, or anything to do with the actual scene.
Only that it had happened. And he knew she would be torn about not being the one to call.
When he came to a red light, he called her, then put it on Bluetooth as he drove through the intersection. She answered on the second ring, and she was crying.
“You know, don’t you?” he said.
“Yes, but I had the good sense not to throw the news in your face with absolutely nothing else to say. I don’t know Jacob’s condition, or anything about what’s going on. I knew the sheriff would gather what he knew before notifying next of kin. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t cry, honey. You did the absolute right things.”
“I first thought something had happened at the Rose and got dressed and ran down there. But when I saw all of the police cars down at the Tumbleweed, my heart sank. I took off running as the chopper was lifting off. Pearl was sitting on the porch covered in blood. She heard the shot. She tried to call him, and when he didn’t answer, she saved his life. That much I do know.”
“Good lord. Good to know,” he said. “I’m almost at the hangar. Dylan is meeting me here. We’re flying to Amarillo and going straight to the hospital.”
“I love you so much, and I’m so sorry. Fly safe, love. When you can, let me know how he is.”
“Love you most, and I will. Gotta go. I’m at the hangar now.”
The crew at the hangar had pulled the chopper out, refueled it, and gone through all the checkups, but as soon as Ash arrived, he put his luggage inside the cockpit, then did his own preflight checkup again.
Dylan arrived as Asher was going through flight check and ran across the tarmac to the chopper. He tossed his bag inside and climbed into the copilot’s seat. They took one look at each other, then Dylan buckled himself in and put on the headphones.
“Did you talk to Gunner?” he asked.
Ash nodded. The rotors were already turning as he began prepping for liftoff. He’d filed a flight plan, so when they lifted off, Ash made a half circle in the sky, as if in acknowledgement to the growing light of the day, then headed north/northwest to Amarillo.
They didn’t talk much during the flight.
Asher was focused on flying and Dylan was lost in thought, but they were both fearing their arrival might be too late.
When they finally reached the Amarillo airport and got permission to land, the rush to get a cab became the next leg of their journey.
The sky was gray. The air was cold as they hurried into the terminal then all the way through the concourse to hail a cab. Three other flights had just unloaded and there was a line of people waiting for transportation, too. When they finally got a cab, they loaded their luggage in the trunk.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“Northwest Texas Hospital on Coulter Street,” Asher said.
Dylan was on his phone, texting Angie to let them know they’d arrived, as the cab carried them through the streets of Amarillo.
Ash was doing the same, reading the sympathy text from his boss, and a one-sentence text from Gunner. Boarding my flight, which he showed to Dylan.
“Good. He’ll be here in a couple of hours, then,” Dylan said.
“Less than that,” Asher said. “Look at the time when he sent the text. He’s already halfway here.”
Neither of them could find the words to say more. All they wanted was to have someone tell them Jacob was going to survive—that he was going to be okay.
When they arrived at the hospital, they grabbed their bags and headed inside. After a stop at the information desk and a trip up in the elevator, they went straight to the nurses’ desk.
The duty nurse glanced up. “Can I help you?”
“Our father, Jacob Kingston, was airlifted here a few hours ago with a gunshot wound. Do you have an update on his status? Is he still in surgery?” Asher asked.
The nurse scanned the current patients list. “His surgery was completed. He’s been moved to ICU.
It’s on this floor. There is a waiting area for visitation.
Go down that hall and follow the signs. The nurses there will fill you in on visitation rules, and the timelines when his doctor makes rounds. ”
“Thank you,” Ash said, and picked up his bag.
Dylan was already on the move, and Ash lengthened his stride to catch up.
After checking at yet another nurses’ station, they learned that Jacob’s doctor was on the floor making rounds, and that they would let him know that his patient’s family had arrived.
They were also informed of the visitation rules.
The usual rules for ICU. No more than two family members at a time, ten minutes on the hour, every hour.
They moved themselves to the waiting room, found a place to sit beneath a window, and shoved their luggage against the wall behind them.
Dylan glanced around the waiting area at the people waiting with them, then stood. “I’m going to get coffee. Do you want anything from the canteen area? Coffee, sweet roll, Pepsi?”
“Coffee, black, and a sweet roll is fine,” Ash said.
Dylan took off his coat, hung it on the arm of his chair, and headed for the canteen, while Ash shed his coat, then sent Gunner a text telling him their dad made it through surgery, and which floor they were on, then sent Nora the same information.
Dylan came back with their snacks.
“Thanks,” Asher said, and carefully set the coffee aside to cool, while he opened the packaging and took a bite of the roll. It wasn’t great, but he’d had worse.
Dylan kept eyeing his brother as they ate. The brothers could read each other like a road map, and Dylan guessed Asher was already in investigation mode, and he was right.
Ash didn’t believe it was meant to be a robbery. Not even a botched one. Nothing was taken, not the money in the till, and his dad’s wallet was still on him when they found his body. He was holding on to what Nora told him until Gunner arrived to hear it, too.