Chapter Twenty-Eight BEX
Chapter Twenty-Eight
BEX
Nearly two hours had passed before I could get to the emergency room.
It was only because I had Agent Lamb accompanying me that I was able to leave that soon.
He didn’t want anything to compromise the case he had against the now former State's Attorney, Samantha Lang, her brother and his gang.
And I needed to see my family. The fact I knew as much as I did about the case and the fact Dom was my son, already meant lines were crossed.
Neither of us wanted any of the men or Samantha to get away. Agent Lamb wanted an arrest by the end of the night and I wanted my family safe.
There weren’t many people occupying seats in the lobby of the hospital and the woman at the desk was on the phone. Her eyes widened as we approached her. But her shoulders squared and her jaw tightened. As I got closer, I could read the name on the tag on her left breast.
“Sandy.” I smiled at her as I placed the court order on the desk. “I’m looking for Dr. Logan Evans. He would’ve been admitted almost two hours ago with a gunshot wound. And I am looking for Dominic Bayers as well.”
“Are you family?”
I took a deep breath. The nurse was only doing her job.
“That court order says I am Dominic Bayers’ legal guardian.
And the man behind me is a federal agent who needs to question him.
As for Dr. Evans, I am the woman he intends to marry.
And the boy you’re preventing me from seeing is our son.
” I glared at her. “Now, where is my family?”
She tapped at the keyboard in front of her and looked at the screen. “Dr. Evans is in surgery. His family is in the waiting room.”
I didn’t bother telling her it was my family too. Instead, I lifted a brow. “And my son?”
She nodded and as she tapped some more. She frowned. “I don’t know why, but he is in one of the private procedure rooms.”
I guessed because he was the kid of one of the doctors. “Can you tell me which one?”
“Room one oh six.” She pointed over my right shoulder. “Go down that corridor and it should be the third one on your left.”
I followed her directions, not bothering to check if Agent Lamb was following me. As I approached the room, the unmistakable sound of giggling caught my ear. I peeked into the room and held my breath. Three teenage girls and one boy were crowded into the room with Dom.
“Bex.” Dom smiled at me. “I don’t know if you know everyone, but this is Shiloh, Maggie, and Holden. And the girl on the bed is Caterina, she’s in my class.”
I smiled and nodded. “I know them.” The girls were Harry Bauman’s daughters and Holden was my friend, Scott Waite’s oldest son. “I mean you all trashed my paintball course together a few weeks back.”
All five kids found the floor more interesting than me.
Holden was the one to speak up. “We’re really sorry about that. It wasn’t how we should’ve introduced ourselves to Dom.”
I scrunched my nose and smiled. “You could’ve come up with a different strategy.” I sobered and looked among the kids. “Could you guys excuse us for a little bit? This agent needs to ask Dom a few questions.”
The kids stood and Shiloh turned back. “We’ll be in the waiting room. We’ll be here when you’re done.”
I stopped her with my hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go up to the third floor waiting room. We’ll be headed there as soon as this is done.”
She nodded and all the kids left us. I liked the fact that Dom had friends. Kids I knew, whose parents I respected. I loved that as soon as they heard what had happened, they made sure to be at the hospital for him. It was something I hoped he never took for granted.
I took Dom’s hand and squeezed it. “How’re you doing?”
“Some pain.” He moved to make room for me. “The doctor gave me something for that and said he would write a script for me, too. I don’t think I need it though. The stitches just ripped, it wasn’t like I was shot again or anything.”
I smiled. “Take the meds. It helps and it means you can use your arm.”
Agent Lamb closed the door to the procedure room and I sat next to Dom on the bed in the same spot Katerina had been sitting minutes earlier. “Dom. Agent Lamb needs to ask you a few questions about what happened earlier.”
He nodded. “Everything happened quickly. But I remember most of it.”
Agent Lamb looked between me and Dom. “Do you mind if I record our conversation?” His gaze settled on me as he pulled the small recorder from his pocket. “It's easier than taking notes.”
Dom turned to me as if he was unsure what to say. My heart squeezed and I stifled a smile. The situation was serious, still, the fact he looked to me had me internally jumping for joy. I nodded at Agent Lamb and he switched the recorder on.
He started off slowly, asking Dom his name and other basic information.
“I would just like to confirm that the address you just gave me is the one where the shooting took place earlier tonight.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Dominic, did you recognize the man who shot Logan Evans.” Agent Lamb was moving to the heart of the matter.”
“No, Sir.”
“His name is Jeffrey Mann. Do you recognize the name?”
“No, Sir.”
My gut twisted at the thought I still didn’t know what happened with Logan.
He showed Dom another photo. “This is the man Ms. Salinger restrained inside the house. Have you seen him before?”
Dominic winced and carried on. “Yes, Sir. I have seen him before.”
“Could you tell me where?”
Dom nodded. “I saw him getting out of the car outside our house the night my mother was killed.”
“That was outside your bedroom window and it was dark out. How can you be sure that it's the same man you saw.”
Dominic looked at Agent Lamb as if he was stupid. “As I said to the police in San Francisco, they parked under a street light. And the passenger side got all the light. I couldn’t make out the men in the back seat. Not really. But I saw the one in the front.”
“I know you said you couldn’t see the men in the back.” Agent Lamb pulled something from the folder he was holding. “But I’m going to show you two more photos and perhaps you’ll recognize the people in them.”
The kid looked skeptical but he nodded. He wanted everything over and done with as soon as possible. So did I. All I wanted was for him to be able to move on. He still hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to his mother. He needed that closure.
Agent Lamb placed each of the photos across mine and Dom’s laps. “Do you recognise any of these men?”
Dom looked at the one on his thigh first and shook his head. Then he looked over at the one on my leg and pointed. “Him. I recognize him.”
“This man was at your house the night your parents were killed?” Agent Lamb picked up the photo.
“No.” Dom shook his head. “He was the man my stepdad was arguing with at school. He supplied cleaning stuff. I heard my stepfather argue with him a few times, saying he needed more. There was always an argument when I saw them. Something about payment. I think his name is Boyd or something.”
I took the photo and looked at it. It took everything I had not to rage and scream.
In most cases, parents would rage and yell, and their attorneys would quiet them down.
Because of who I was and my understanding of how things worked, there was a concern that a defense attorney would try and argue that I coached Dom.
It was for that reason I needed to remain not only calm, but quiet during all interviews with Dom.
Agent Lamb pulled the photo back and frowned. “This man was at your school?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The man nodded and his eyes narrowed and I could tell all the pieces were fitting into place for him. He would get his man. He would make sure the world was safe for my son.