Part 21 (2/2)
Jane recognised Danny's insistent voice but she couldn't answer; her eyes were filled with tears as she reached for the old man but couldn't find him. ”I almost had him, I could almost hear him,” she whispered.
”Jane, we've got to go,” Danny hissed pulling her roughly towards the door.
She stepped out into the corridor with him and saw Dr Reese waiting there for them. The police surgeon was standing next to a hospital gurney. ”Get on it, quick,” he urged.
Jane complied and climbed aboard, still feeling an ache in her heart at her loss. She closed her eyes and tried to picture the old man's face, but his features were fading quickly into the darkness. She tried to sit up on the gurney and tell Danny to go back, but his strong arm held her down firmly.
”It's okay, Jane, it's me,” he stressed.
She couldn't find the strength to argue as her system was still flooded by the contents of her captors' needle.
Danny's hand pressed down hard as she struggled. ”It's going to be alright, Jane; we're going to get you out of here, I promise.”
”My brooch,” she slurred. ”They took it from me ... find it ... you have to find it!”
Sleep then overtook her again but this time her dreams were empty.
”I don't like this, Danny,” Reese hissed as they headed down the corridor with the gurney's wheels squeaking in betrayal.
”Shut up, you big girl,” Danny whispered back. ”We'll be out of here in a few minutes and then all debts are paid in full; you don't have to go any further.”
Danny stopped outside of the office and poked his head inside. There were lockers lining the back walls with name plates on them. ”Stay here,” he told Reese, before ducking inside.
He quickly found the locker with Jane's name on it and wasted no time in tearing it open. Fortunately, there wasn't much need for security here as the patients' belongings were spa.r.s.e and mainly worthless. The locker was flimsy and opened quickly. He found the silver brooch, amongst a few other items, and retrieved it, leaving the rest behind. He had seen Jane use her mother's brooch several times and knew that she needed it.
”They're going to catch us, Danny, I just know it,” Reese said as Danny joined him back outside in the corridor again.
”They will if you keep acting nervous, Doc! Just relax. There's one staff member on duty at the front desk this time of night; that's all you've got to get us past and then we're out of here.”
Danny offered Reese his calmest smile but he could see that the Doc was close to breaking point. He didn't blame the man as his own heart was racing way too fast, but there was no other way. He had to get Jane out and together they had to find answers, answers that no one else was ever going to look for.
Given the fact that Reese had taken his daughter away from St Joseph's before the proverbial s.h.i.+t storm hit the fan, he had not been placed on Barrett's. .h.i.t list and, as such, his credentials were still active. Reese had lent him a white doctor's coat and although it was a little snug, it would certainly do the job without close scrutiny.
They had waited until the night s.h.i.+ft at Mountside were on duty; inst.i.tutions rarely placed their A-List players after dark. As such, Reese had been able to barrel past the nurse manning the front desk with an air of well practised and recognisable 'Doctor Att.i.tude'. Getting into Mountside and reaching Jane's room was one thing, but there was no way they were going to be able to wheel Jane out the front door. As much as Danny was trying to project a calm and in command aura to Reese, the truth was that he was winging it.
They reached the end of the corridor and thankfully Jane had fallen asleep again; it would make her easier to manage as she'd seemed confused and disorientated when she'd briefly woken. He spotted a fire door off to the side but there was a warning sign that the door was alarmed. ”Doc,” he whispered. ”Get ready to run.”
He pulled the closest fire alarm tap on the wall and then pushed Jane's gurney hard at the fire door. The two different alarms went off, one after the other, with the fire alarm masking the door's. In a flash they were outside in the dark. Reese struggled to keep up as Danny pushed the gurney harder as its wheels started to dig into the dewy gra.s.s. He caught his sense of direction and broke hard towards the parking area where Reese's car was waiting.
Meanwhile, the building behind them was exploding into life as lights flared on and the panicked wails of the patients began to challenge the alarms for superiority. The gurney dug its wheels firmly into the turf and Danny threw back the covers and picked Jane up. He ran the rest of the way with her over his shoulder as Reese struggled to keep up, all the while muttering panicked expletives under his. .h.i.tching breath.
They reached the car and the doctor dropped his keys in his haste. He fell to his knees searching for them in the dark before finally finding them. Danny held his tongue with great effort as shouting at Reese now would only panic the man further.
Once Reese got the car unlocked, Danny lay Jane across the back seats before slamming the door. He s.n.a.t.c.hed the car keys from Reese and shoved the man in through the pa.s.senger door. He ran around and jumped into the driver's seat, starting the engine and pulling away. Through the rear view mirror he could see multiple silhouettes exiting the hospital. They spilled out into the night, led by staff members, and Danny hoped that it would be some time before they realised that Jane was missing.
The surrounding land of the hospital was lush and green wooded and seemed to consist of many acres. The drive up to Mountside went along a long winding lane that seemed more like an entry to a stately home than a hospital.
Danny drove quickly back towards the road, slowing as he reached the gates. There was a high metal chain link fence that encased the property and was manned by a small hut with a security guard. The uniformed man saw them approaching and opened the wheeled section of fence to let them out.
Danny was about a hundred yards or so away when he saw the guard duck back into his hut and knew that something was up. The man came back again and the fence section started to close again. Danny figured that in for a penny in for pound, and floored the doc's car. The vehicle leapt forward with a surprising amount of pick up and they hit the fence before it was closed all the way. The chain link buckled and was torn from its moorings, flying up and over the car; then they were out and free, but for how long he had no idea.
Randall was sitting up in bed watching the TV for any coverage of the all-conquering hero, but his moment in the sun seemed to be already fading mere hours after he'd stepped into the limelight. The feeling was like a drug and he didn't want it to end, certainly not quite so soon. He had been fielding calls from agents and publishers all wanting a piece of him; there were even several messages from his ex-wife professing a concern that he took to be false and predatory.
He was currently sleeping on his handwritten notes as he didn't trust anyone in this place not to start rifling through the bedside table the moment he was asleep. He had already written half the novel which would a.s.sure him his place in the national consciousness and the rest was burbling just below the surface.
The door to his room opened and he looked up in surprise. Visiting hours had ended hours ago. He recognised Commander Barrett immediately although the man didn't look good. There seemed to be a heavy weight on the cop's shoulders, one that was slowly crus.h.i.+ng the man.
”Commander Barrett,” Randall greeted him, trying not to sound nervous.
”Mr Zerneck,” Barrett nodded awkwardly.
”And to what do I owe the pleasure?”
”We need to talk, Mr Zerneck,” Barrett replied, sitting down on the end of the bed.
Randall could sense a reluctance in Barrett, but there was also a steely edge to the man that seemed to suggest that whatever was giving his conscience trouble, he was going to push through it regardless.
”Is this the point where you lay down the threats in the middle of the night?” Randall joked, but Barrett didn't smile.
”We have a problem, Mr Zerneck,” Barrett began slowly. ”Or more accurately, you have a problem.”
”What the h.e.l.l is this?” Randall demanded, pus.h.i.+ng himself up into a painful sitting position.
”This is your life, Mr Zerneck, or certainly your freedom.”
”I don't know what you mean, but you're not going to scare me,” Randall lied.
”I understand that you were to meet a police administrative a.s.sistant by the name of Kim Croft. I also know that she was supplying you with information about the case and that you were blackmailing her into doing so.”
”That's a lie,” Randall bl.u.s.tered.
”No, Mr Zerneck, it isn't.”
”So you think that you can threaten me with what? Coercing information from a source?”
”No, Mr Zerneck, I think that I can threaten you with being a suspect in Ms Croft's murder,” Barrett replied.
”You're s.h.i.+tting me?”
”Not in the slightest, Mr Zerneck. I know that you were at the scene.”
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