Chapter 13 #2
Ainsley smiled. “I have my sister. She’s great.
And that neighbor of George’s … she came in to spend some time with me.
She’s a sweetie. Adores George. Says they don’t always agree, but you know that quote about maybe not always agreeing, but fighting for the right for it to happen? Or whatever. Anyway—”
“Did she sit with George?” Shelly asked.
“No, um, the cops here wouldn’t let her!
They’re very strict when it comes to watching out for him.
I said it was probably okay, but … nope.
They said that we could chat here, but that no one who wasn’t me or a cop or an agent, officer, whatever, could go in and be with him.
They even check the doctors and nurses now every day! ”
“That’s good to hear,” Shelly told her. “I mean, you know, they’re looking out for George.”
“Of course, I’m so glad! And so very grateful to you and your coworkers or fellow agents or …”
“Hey! We’re the grateful ones! And here’s coffee!”
Skye and Zach had returned with a cardboard box that held five cups, creamers, and sugar.
“Forgot to find out how everyone liked their coffee!” Skye told them.
“Black,” Shelly said, which caused Skye to laugh and look at Zach.
“Told you!” Skye said.
“Well, I’m grateful. I like cream and sugar,” Ainsley told them.
“We get used to grabbing a cup on the run,” Skye explained. “Black. Easiest. Figured for Shelly and Grant, we’d just need the coffee itself.”
“But thanks to me, Ainsley,” Zach said lightly, “you will have cream and sugar!”
Grant walked out of George’s room, heading toward the group of them, grabbing a cup of coffee and thanking Zach and Skye.
“We just ate, but there’s never too much coffee,” he said.
“Ainsley, George looks good, really good. And you know what? I think he knows how much time you’re spending with him, and he really appreciates you being here! ”
“Thank you, and I know that you do need to talk to him,” Ainsley said. “And, if it’s all right—”
“Absolutely,” Grant said. “Go back in. I know he’s grateful that you’re with him.”
“Thank you!” Ainsley murmured as she hurried back toward George’s room.
“Is she really as good as she seems?” Skye murmured.
“I think so,” Grant said. “It’s strange. George isn’t dead. Thankfully. But when I hold one of his hands, I feel as if I am touching his soul or whatever it is that makes us who we are. Maybe his mind, in this case. But I sincerely doubt Ainsley had anything to do with this.”
“How can you be certain?” Skye asked.
Grant smiled. “Because I can get into his mind. I know Ainsley was back at her place when George was attacked. He very particularly wasn’t having them move in together because he wanted to get through all the ugliness going on at the present time in his life.
He truly loves her. And I believe it’s mutual. ”
“But we’ll never really know until we get to the heart of it, separate the crazies hired, forced, cajoled, or threatened into doing the killing, those who believe that they can pay the gods for redress, and whoever is waving the major magic stick,” Shelly pointed out.
“Except, of course, I agree with my partner. No real reason, just guts, and guts have been fooled. I don’t see Ainsley as being in on any of this. ”
“Anyway, if you guys want to start back,” Grant said, “I just talked to Perry Banyan, and he’s heading here.
We’re going to talk to some of the staff together, find out if anyone has tried to get in or if anyone has seen new personnel hanging around.
They’re actually fingerprinting everyone who is providing care for George—”
“Assault on someone’s personal integrity?” Skye asked.
“No one so far has cared in the least, according to Perry. He was glad Shelly called him to check and verify safety, but it seems the locals have really been on it. Anyway, I need to wait here a bit. Perry is coming in and wants to talk, catch up, make sure that local and federal cops are on the same wavelength all around,” Grant said. He looked at Shelly.
Shelly thought she should have said that she’d wait with him. But she didn’t want to be there then. She wanted to get back on her computer. She didn’t know why, what was driving her, but …
She was feeling ridiculously suspicious of a gray-haired widow. Be that as it may, she wanted to talk to Angela. And she wanted to find out if there was any way to get into Belinda Jenkins’s computer history. They certainly didn’t have enough for a warrant. They had, in fact, nothing.
But her suspicions.
“Shelly—” he began.
“I’m going to head to the house and see what I can dig up, if that’s all right with you,” Shelly said.
“Of course. Perry can drop me. Go on, guys. I shouldn’t be long.”
It felt weird, leaving without him. But Shelly smiled as she walked away. He knew it. And equally, Grant knew what she was going to do.
As they headed back, Skye twisted in her seat to talk to Shelly. “That old lady is really bothering you.”
“I can’t explain why,” Shelly said. “Except that … um, Men in Black or Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
Skye laughed. “You think she’s an alien?”
Shelly smiled. “No, I’m just thinking about the different ways people pretend to be that they’re something they’re not!”
“Well, if you have that feeling, we’ll need to check her out,” Zach said.
“And here we are, and … you know what? I’m going to take a quick drive out toward the Maynard place—seriously, the Jenkins house—and find out if our widow went home after lunch.
Maybe I’ll drop in just to say I’m doing a wellness check on her. and I’m anxious to meet the dog. Skye—”
“I’ll go with you,” Skye said, “if you’re all right, Shelly. That will leave you some peace and quiet to talk to Angela and get going on the computer,” Skye said.
“Perfect!” Shelly said. “I’ll be alone and then ready to talk if I can get anything and see what happens when we do hash it all out together. And I’ll be anxious to find out how a visit to her house goes.”
“Well, we can all go,” Zach said.
“No, no, that’s okay. I do want to … I don’t know. See if my gut or anything else can help right now!” Shelly told them.
She slid quickly out of the car and waved as she made her way to the house, keyed in the code, and entered.
She was barely inside before her phone rang.
It was Angela.
“Shelly, get the hell out!” Angela said.
“What?”
“We have cameras on the place, of course. As you pulled up, the door was closing. There’s someone inside … oh, God, as you are now, too!”
And she was inside; she had entered quickly.
“Giant black shadow, find him or her and get out!” Angela warned.
Giant black shadow!
How the hell? No one had the combination to get into the house, but—
The shadow was on her. She saw the knife as it was lifted high above her head. It might have been a scene from a movie.
Huge, completely covered in a black, smock-like cape thing that covered the face; even the eyeholes were covered over with a glass or plastic substance.
But while she didn’t have time to draw her weapon, she was no weakling.
She slammed an elbow hard against the arm that was wielding the knife. The knife went flying.
She still couldn’t reach her gun because the black-clad, movie-like creature was quick, too, grabbing her by the shoulders, shoving her against the wall. Hands left her shoulders, and black-clad fingers closed around her throat.
She slammed a knee into him as hard as she could.
The thing doubled over, dragging her with him, and they were both on the floor struggling. She was using everything she had ever learned about leverage, advantage point, and an enemy’s weak points.
What was going on? How could this person have thought she’d come in alone, that they wouldn’t have been up against four armed agents?
She managed to get her elbows and knees up simultaneously and slam at her attacker with all her strength.
Then, to her amazement, the door burst open.
Grant ran in, his Glock aimed at her attacker. And as her attacker fell back, she leapt to her feet, her own weapon out at last.
“Get up!” Grant ordered. “Get that ridiculous cloak thing off! Do it now!”
But now the attacker wasn’t moving at all. Shelly looked at Grant, frowning.
He gave her a nod; she was to keep her gun on the man while he wrenched the encompassing black material from his body.
But as Grant did so, the man leapt to his feet, another knife in his hand.
“Stop! Stop, or I will shoot!” Shelly commanded.
“No need!” the man said.
And he plunged the knife into his own chest and fell to the ground.
Shelly hurried to him, afraid there was little she could do. Naturally, she quickly ripped off her own jacket, pressing it against the area of the wound. She didn’t try to withdraw the knife, knowing that would allow the injury to spout like an enraged garden hose.
“Pressure,” she murmured. “Pressure,” she repeated, trying to stop the blood flow. “Grant—”
Grant had his phone out, but he didn’t need it. Zach and Skye were coming back in, and Zach was already talking to emergency services.
In seconds, they could hear sirens. There was little hope that the man wouldn’t die. But he was talking, talking away.
“I enter the world of the sun god, Ra! And you, you will suffer all the chaos of the great gods who ever watch over Ra! Set and Apop will see that even your mind is nothing but agonizing lava! You will know it all before it is over—chaos, pain, horror—because you defy what he seeks, you would ruin the world as he knows that it must be! You, you …”
His eyes closed. His words failed.
Zach stood over him then, staring at the man, shaking his head.
“What is it?” Shelly asked.
He looked over at her, shaking his head.
“We know him. And we know how he got in here. He had an in, and he hacked our system somehow.” Zach looked from her to Grant.
“That’s Alan Barker! That’s the man from the forensics department.
The one who was interested in what had happened, asking if there was anything else at all we’d discovered that he might be able to help with! ”