OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (24 page)

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 24
           
 

Taylor inhaled, pausing at the door of Sebastian’s
hospital room.  “What do I say to him, Sabrina?”

“You ask how he is doing and give him the flowers. 
Taylor, you can do this, girl.”

Filling her chest with air and releasing it, Taylor
brushed her hair back.  The curls had started to fall from the humidity of the
July day. “We will spend a few minutes sitting with Sebastian then visit
Dillon.  I may be upset with his actions, but he is my friend and I care about
his health.”

“I have no objections to visiting Dillon.  However, when
he is better, I will give him a piece of my mind,” Sabrina replied with a bite
to her tone.

“Get in line behind me.”

Taylor eased the door open and went inside the hospital
room.  Sebastian appeared to be sleeping.  His red hair seemed brighter against
the stark white pillowcase.  A single IV ran in his arm and the plastic tubing
inserted in his nose was the only apparatus helping him function.

He opened his eyes suddenly causing Taylor and Sabrina to
jump.  His eyes scanned the two women. “Taylor?”  He rasped.

“Yes, it’s me, Sebastian.  How are you doing?”

His dry lips cracked when he smiled. “I’m getting better
according to the doctors.  God, I’m glad to see you.  Are you sure I’m not
dreaming?”

Handing the flowers to Sabrina, she covered his hand with
hers; it was cold.  “I’m positive its’ not a dream.  Sebastian, I’m so sorry
this happened to you.  I’m going to make sure you have care when you’re
released from the hospital.”

He struggled to take air in his lungs. “No. I will be
fine.  I should be out in a week or so.”

“So soon?  You seem weak to me.”

“My collapsed lung is healing from the gunshot wound.  I
was worried about you, though.  I didn’t know what happened to you.”

“I’ll fill in the blanks when you are better.  Is there
anything you need?  Who is taking care of Thor?”

He shook his head to keep from talking too much. 
“Clayton is taking care of Thor.”

Taylor‘s heart sunk to the bottom of her feet.  Sebastian’s
struggle to breath was painful to her. “I’m not going stay long.  Get plenty of
rest Sebastian; we have a block party to plan.”

He gave a thumbs-up. “I’ll be ready.”

“Sebastian.”  She called his name when he closed his
eyes. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she backed away from the bed.

Sabrina leaned over her shoulder holding a chart. “He’s
sleeping.  According to this chart he is on heavy medication.”

Taylor pushed it from her face. “That is confidential,
Sabrina.”

“Sorry.  I forget I’m no longer a nurse.”

Taylor left the room with Sabrina on her heels. “Consider
going back nursing, Sabrina.  You saved Sebastian’s life.”

“Too much pressure.  Doing hair is less stressful, and my
clients won’t die on me.”

She pressed the elevator button making a joke. “They
could if you screw up their hair.  Dillon is in ICU.  My chances of visiting
him are slim since I’m not a family member.”

“I bet you are on the top of the list if Dillon has
anything to say about it,” Sabrina snickered.

Taylor shot her sister a mean eye. “Don’t ever joke about
that….ever!”

“Put the eyes away….I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I’ve haven’t told anyone but you about that night.  I
don’t need you to bring it up now….I have enough shit to deal with.”

“Taylor! Relax…I wasn’t talking about that!  Damn, I
meant his mother probably put you on the list as a visitor.”

“No, you weren’t.  What happened between Dillon and me
was a long time ago.  We have forgotten about it; I suggest you do the same.” 
Angry Taylor jammed against the small corner of the elevator ignoring Sabrina.

The elevator opened to the quiet ICU floor.  Taylor
located the phone to inquire about Dillon.  Before she could dial, Kelly exited
the doors.  Their eyes locked immediately. 

Kelly broke the silence. “My goodness, Taylor! You look
fabulous considering what you’ve went through in the last forty-eight hours. 
We were so worried about you.”  She hugged Taylor.

Taylor accepted the fake hug, returning one of her own.
“I’m lucky to be alive.”

“I was praying for you.  When I heard about the other
women released with you…it was amazing.”

“Yes it was.  Look, Kelly.  I’m not here to reminisce. 
I’m concerned about Dillon.  How is he doing?”

Kelly tossed her long hair aside. “He is making
progress.  The doctors are waiting for him to wake up.”

“He is in a coma?”  She asked scared of the answer.

Kelly fidgeted letting her attention wander to the
hallway whenever the elevator doors opened. “Um the doctors had him in a
medically induced coma but stopped it when he was responding to commands but
has sensed stopped.”

The stuttering and nervousness caused Taylor to think
Kelly was hiding something. “Well that is good news.  Was the surgeon able to
remove the whole tumor?”

“The CT Scan showed most of it was removed.  Dillon
should make a full recovery but will need rehabilitation to gain whatever motor
skills he may have lost.”  She twisted the gold watch on her wrist.  “I’m in a
hurry to make an appointment but Dillon’s mom is with him if you want to talk
to her.”

Taylor nodded.  “Of course; I’ll talk to her.”

“Okay.  I will call you.  Maybe we can have dinner and
discuss Dillon.”

Like THAT will ever happen
.  “Sure, you have my
cell number,” she said smiling and lying at the same time.

She kissed Taylor on the cheek, saying, “I’m so happy you
are safe.”

“Um-hum, I know how glad you are about that.  Bye,
Kelly.”

“Did you notice how nervous she acted, Taylor?”

“I did indeed.  I also noticed her engagement ring is
missing.”

“Ooh, I wonder if Dillon called off the engagement before
he had a seizure.”

Taylor proceeded to the phone.  “I’m not worried about
her right now.  I want to check on Dillon then go by my house to collect the
mail.”

Her cell phone rang. “Shoot!”  She dug it from her purse
putting it to her ear. “Hey, baby”

“Taylor, where are you?”

“I’m at the hospital with Sabrina.  We visited Sebastian
and now trying to see Dillon.  You sound strange; what’s up?”

“Baby, have Sabrina drive you to the police station
now.  There has been a new development in your case.
”

Taylor legs suddenly had the strength of cooked spaghetti
noodles. “Umm, what kind of development?  Mario, has there been an arrest?”

“Taylor, how soon can you get here?”

“I’m there already,” she said twirling an eavesdropping
Sabrina around in a circle to face the exit.

*****

Mario waited in Detective Diego’s office.  If he didn’t
see if, for himself, he would not believe the bizarreness of what went down. 
Detective Diego handed him a styrofoam cup filled with black coffee.  Taking
the first taste, he gagged from the bitter quality coffee the police had grown
accustomed to drink on a daily basis.  “This stuff is awful,” he said putting
the cup on the desk.

“Well, we make do with what we have.”  He opened the
lower drawer of his desk hauling a half-filled bottle of dark tequila.  “Add a
shot of this and it will taste premium brewed.”

Mario pushed the cup over for a shot and drank from it
again.  It went down smoother. “That was an improvement.”

Diego loosened his tie. “If we get the suspect to roll
over on her contact, Ms. James is free of this mess.”

Mario choked down another gulp of the coffee. “What are
the chances of that happening?”

“With this suspect, I won’t find that hard at all.  My
partner is working an angle to get a confession.  I honestly believe we will
have a signed confession before Ms. James arrives.”

Rubbing his hands together, Mario stood to pace the bland
gray office. “I want this over with.  Taylor is a strong woman refusing to let
her weakness show.  She is going on like nothing has happened to her.”

“You should welcome that.  Most women would hide away and
never want to venture outside alone.  I think she is brave to get back to her
routine so soon.”

“She has not been home or faced the person doing this to
her yet.  If she survives this, then she will have conquered her fears.”

A light tapping on the door quieted both men.  Taylor
opened the door relieved Mario was present.  She walked over to hug him. “What
is going on?”

Mario rubbed the small of her back.  “Sweetheart,
Detective Diego has made an arrest.  It’s all over, baby.”

She entwined her fingers between his. “When you say it is
over, does that include you have the person who put the cameras in my house, in
custody?”

Detective Diego sat on the edge of his desk hiking his
knee. “Ms. James, it is all over.”

Mario held her trembling hand. He pulled the chair away
from the desk so she could sit before she fainted. “Baby, sit down.  What I
have to tell you will knock your socks off.”

She sat crossing her legs. “Tell me; I can take it.”

Detective Diego handed her a folder. “Inside that folder
is pictures.  Please look at them and tell me if you recognize anyone in them.”

Taylor opened the folder.  The pictures were high quality
color and crystal clear. “The woman looks like Kelly.  Only dark sunglasses are
covering her face, and her hair is tied in a bun.”

Detective Diego asked. “If you aren’t positive Kelly is
the woman in the picture, do you notice any item of clothing or jewelry she
wears often that you would recognize?”

Taylor held the picture closer to her face. “The
engagement ring.  That is Kelly’s engagement ring,” she said dotting the
picture with her index finger.  “I saw her at the hospital and she didn’t have
it on.  Okay, okay, before I start hyperventilating, please tell me Kelly is
not the one doing this?”

Mario massaged her shoulders letting Detective Diego
break the news. “Ms. James, she is knee-deep in it.  She met with an undercover
cop she tried to hire to assassinate you.”

Taylor dropped the pictures and immediately paced the
office.  The high heels of her shoes clicked on the hard floor in a
synchronized rhythm.  “This is a joke.  Why would Kelly want me dead?  We’ve
butted heads but damn, I didn’t think she hated me enough to cause me harm.”

“Ms. James, can I get you some water?” Detective Diego offered
to help relax her nerves.

She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. “No, I
don’t want any water! I want to know why she wanted me dead. What did I do to
her?”

“My partner is interrogating her as we speak.  We hope
she will reveal the reason she went to this extreme,” Diego said in a calming
voice.

“I assured her I was not interested in Dillon.  I didn’t
have anything to do with his wanting to call off the wedding.  If anything, I
encouraged him to seek counseling to help with their problems.”

Mario wrapped his arms around her.  “That is what I told
him, baby.”

“Mario, did Dillon have part in this?”

“From what Detective Diego uncovered, no.”

“This is unfreaking real.  She wanted to trap Dillon in a
lie.  She would have videotaped proof we were sleeping together only she got
you on tape instead?”

“That seemed to be her plan.  Police are searching Dillon
and Kelly’s house for evidence other than what they have already.”

Taylor snapped her head to face Detective Diego.  In a
concerned voice, she asked. “Detective, do you have those tapes?  If those
videos get in the wrong hands, my legal career is over. Hell, if Mario decides
to run for public office, and those tapes surface, he is ruined.”

“Ms. James, we confiscated two laptops from the residence
and technicians are combing through the hard-drives.  If there is anything on
those laptops, they will find it.”

Not accepting Kelly would stoop to murder, Taylor needed
to hear directly from her, why she would do it.  “I have to talk to her.”

“I’m sorry; I can’t allow you to do that.  You will have
a chance to have your say with her in court.”

“I can’t wait until she is given a court date to talk to
her.  Dillon is in a coma.  Kelly has been at his side for several days talking
to him urging, him to fight for his life.”

Mario sighed rolling his eyes slightly from irritation.
“What are you saying, Taylor?”

“Mario, there is a good chance Dillon has lost some of
his memory.  If Kelly is the only person he recognizes once he is out the coma,
she will need to be there for him.”

He put his hands on his hips not believing the words
coming from her mouth. “He may have lost his memory, Taylor.  Doctors won’t
know the extent of memory loss he suffered until he is awake.”

“I know I sound silly, but if Dillon had nothing to with
this, then he shouldn’t suffer.  If he wakes up only remembering the good
memories he and Kelly had; I can live with that.”

Mario threw his hands up turning away from her. “God, I
can’t believe you!” he fumed.  “The woman tried to hire a man to kill you!
You’re an attorney, Taylor…”

“Baby, I know this is wrong on so many levels, but listen
to me.  Dillon won’t have any memory of me, and him and Kelly will live happily
ever after.”

He walked over her; taking hold of her hands he brushed a
kiss across her knuckles then bent his brows saying, “His memory loss may not
be permanent, Taylor; what if, months from now, he remembers everything?  Will
Kelly try again to have you killed but only succeed this time? Baby, you gotta
leave your heart out of this.  Kelly committed a serious crime; she has to be
punished for it.”

“Honey, I hear what you and Detective Diego are saying. 
I’m asking both of you to hear me for a minute.  I don’t condone what Kelly did
and if Dillon wasn’t fighting for his life, I would put her in jail.  I’m
thinking about what is best for him.  He is going to need her if she is the
only person he remembers.”