Vibrations (17 page)

“Nick. Nick, wake up. Do you
hear us?” She listened quietly for any sounds. She felt Nick back in her mind.
She could tell his strength was going. He wasn’t going to be able to tell them
where he was.

Suddenly a shot was fired somewhere
in the distance. Teddy and Whitney ran to a nearby police car and followed a
dirt road that led in the direction of the shot. Other cars followed and after
a fifteen minute search they found him. He was on his back and his gun was in
his hand. He had fired to let them know where he was.

Whitney rushed to him and brushed
the dirt from his face as Teddy took the gun. “Nick, Nick…we’re here,” she said
crying. He didn’t answer. “Don’t give up,” she demanded as they moved her back
to assess his injuries.

His pulse was very weak and he
was unconscious but he was alive. The ambulance finally arrived and rushed him
to Desert Samaritan Hospital. Whitney rode up front but she sent a constant stream
of thought back to Nick telling him he would be alright.

He was in surgery for three
hours. His family, and what seemed like half the cops in the station, all
crowded into the waiting room with Whitney. Finally the doctor came out and
spoke with them. He would probably make it, but they would have to wait and
see. The head wound was not serious, but he’d been stabbed a few times and shot.
He had sustained internal injuries and had lost a great deal of blood. Only
family was able to visit until he became more stable.

Whitney sat with Nick’s sister
and her husband for a while, until they went back home to be with the kids. She
told them she would keep them up to date on his condition. Teddy went with
another detective to work at the crime scene. One of the officers had found the
tracks caused by the assailant dragging Nick from his car.

Whitney sat alone waiting for
permission to see him. She was fuming inside. What had she done to make someone
want to cause her this pain? It had to be something connected with her
consulting work, because the rest of her life was quite boring. She was getting
madder by the minute. Why hadn’t they just killed her the first time? Maybe
they would have if Nick hadn’t pulled up just in time. They obviously meant to
hurt Nick to get to her. They meant to kill him, but he had survived so far.
She wanted to stand up and scream.

Until she was out of the way,
Nick would continue to be in danger. Once he was stable, she would have to
leave the valley. Until they figured out what was happening, she was going to
stay far away from Nick. Somehow the person knew their relationship and knew
just what it would take to scare her. She and Nick were probably being stalked.
The attempt on her life hadn’t done much, but he hadn’t told her to leave the
area at that time. For how long? Why? She wasn’t going to risk Nick’s life to
find out, but she wasn’t giving up either. She would find a way to track this
person down. Maybe she could hide out in the valley, away from Nick, and do her
own surveillance. She would keep her senses open and try to use her abilities
to track this guy down. Like the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Nick woke to find Whitney
sleeping in the chair by the bed. They had provided her with one of those
reclining chairs they use in recovery so she could sleep in his room. He felt
sore and weak, but he knew he was going to be okay. He must have put Whitney
through the wringer and he wanted to let her know he was alright. He tried to
speak, but his throat was too dry. He tried to send his thoughts to her.

“Whitney. Whitneeeey. Wake up
darling. I need a drink. Helloooooooo.”
She was still breathing deeply
and hadn’t moved a muscle. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the night
before. Then he wondered how many nights ago it had been, because the bruises
he could see were already yellowing at the edges. He remembered getting out of
his car, and then waking up in the dirt. Someone had to be hiding pretty good
to sneak up on him like that. There was no car in sight. They must have been
lying flat or covered by something that camouflaged them. Maybe they were in
the gully across the road and he didn’t see them coming up behind him. Whoever
was doing this always made sure no one saw the face. Just like Whitney’s
attacker. He couldn’t wait to ask if they had found anything relating the two
assaults. He moved a little and a stabbing pain shot through his chest.

Whitney woke up to see him
panting as he tried to get back into a comfortable position. She jumped up and
tried to help him.

“Do you need more pillows? Can
I do anything”?

Nick moaned and shook his head
no. His face was red with the effort to get back into a better position. He
finally settled back and let out a sigh. Whitney wiped the sweat off his
forehead and carefully kissed him. He had some scratches on his face from the
struggle.

“Do you remember anything?”

“I remember waking up being
dragged in the dirt and trying to get away. He turned and slashed me with the
knife. I tried to get up, but I wasn’t thinking clear enough yet. He smashed
his arm over my back and started kicking me. Then I think I passed out again. I
don’t remember being stabbed again. I woke up hearing your voice in my head.”

The tears were falling from
Whitney’s eyes, but Nick didn’t dare try to move and wipe them away.

“Don’t cry baby. I’m okay now.
I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, you look like a million
dollars. You know this is my fault don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?
You didn’t do this to me.”

“Nick, someone called me that
night. They said you were indisposed and that I would be next. They warned me
to get out of the valley. Someone is upset that I’m here. I can’t stay and
continue to risk your life.”

Nick tried to lean toward her
and he moaned again.

“You can’t leave,” he said
using his cop tone. “That’s what they want. Maybe they want to get you back
home where you’ll be an easy target. Stay with me and we’ll figure it out. They
won’t catch me off guard again, that’s for sure.”

Nick’s breathing was getting
ragged and Whitney was worried that he wasn’t strong enough for this stress.

“Nick, just rest. We’ll figure
it out when you’re better. Teddy’s working on it now and he’ll probably have
the answer by the time you can jump me again.”

Nick laughed, but that hurt too
so he just winked at her. The nurse came in and offered him some more morphine.
Whitney talked him in to taking advantage of it so he could rest and get
better. He wouldn’t be able to sleep in that kind of pain. He finally relented
and soon he was resting peacefully. Whitney slipped out quietly determined to
put her plan into effect.

* * * *

The doctor wanted to keep Nick
in the hospital longer, but he couldn’t stand it. He hadn’t seen Whitney since
the day he was taken out of ICU. Teddy informed him that she had submitted her
finalized report and told him she was leaving. She wouldn’t say where she was
going. Nick sent Teddy to check his house and there was a letter on his table.
When Nick read it he was livid. She couldn’t risk his life because someone
wanted her out of the picture. She would contact him later and she would be
careful. Her note asked him not to look for her, because she wouldn’t be
anywhere he could find her. The police in Sedona had checked her house and the
area. No one had seen her. Tina was still watching the birds and hadn’t heard
from her. She probably wouldn’t tell anyone if she did. Whitney would have
convinced her it was for the best.

He stayed in the hospital bed
until he could get himself dressed, and then he released himself against the
doctor’s orders.

“Damn that girl! She thinks I’m
gonna lay there and wait for her to get killed,” he complained to Teddy. No
matter what Teddy said, he would not give in so easily. At least his partner
gave him a ride home, against doctors orders.

By the time he got to his house
he was sweating and feeling like he was going to puke. He sat in his old brown
chair by the window trying to figure out where she’d go. He needed a cigarette
but he didn’t have the energy to get up again, and he’d probably rip his
stitches if he started coughing. Guess he’d given that habit up for a while.

When he looked over at Teddy,
planning to ask for another favor, he realized the big man didn’t look so good.
“What’s up with you man, you look terrible. You go on a diet or something?”

“If you two would keep
yourselves in one piece I might be able to sleep at night. Between Whitney’s
close call and then worrying about you, I’ve had about as much sleep as a
squirrel living in a church bell. You guys keep ringing it and I’m going to go
crazy! Forget that, I already am.”

Nick felt bad for causing Teddy
so much stress, but he knew he’d do the same for him.

“We gotta find her. She could
be dead already and how would I know?”

“I’m sure she’s okay. She has
worked around the FBI for a while. Maybe she’s picked up some commando
tactics.”

“I sure didn’t see any while I
was with her. We gotta figure out where she went, and who would be trying to
keep her away. Have you noticed that there have been no more abductions, but
the attacks on us coincide with the killer’s timetable for violence? Maybe this
guy is filling his need for killing by focusing on us while he tries to lay
low.”

“He could be trying to keep out
of the picture for a while. Or he may have had a hard time getting near those
kids with all the surveillance. Maybe he needs her out of the way before he
gets back to business.”

“So we’re back to the same
place. No clue as to who could be doing this. If the killer was Ann Marie,
she’s still in jail without bail so these attacks couldn’t be her. The guy may
want us to think it stopped so that she will take the fall. How is she doing?”

“She’s holding her own. She was
going to meet with Whitney this week if her lawyer would okay it, but she never
got a chance.”

“This guy may be afraid of
Whitney realizing she’s innocent, or running into him and finding him out.
Maybe he’s someone we’ve interviewed with her already.”

“Or maybe Ann Marie knows
something and will give it away if she meets with Whitney.”

“Maybe, Maybe, Maybe. God!”
Nick slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair and then groaned in pain.

“Doesn’t look like you’ll be
going far in that condition buddy.”

“Try and stop me.” Nick got to
his feet and found his weapon. He couldn’t get the holster on so he just tucked
it in his jeans.

“You gonna drive me around, or
do I have to do it one handed?” His arm was still in a sling and his chest was
pretty sore. Teddy knew he probably couldn’t get very far, but he’d die trying.

“Fine. I’ll drive. Where we
going?”

“First stop, Ann Marie
Kensington. After that we start checking the people we’ve already interviewed a
dozen times. If we’re lucky, Whitney’s doing the same thing and we’ll spot her.
If not, then we start checking every run down motel in the valley. I know her.
She didn’t run away. She’s out there looking for the guy too. We’ve got to beat
her to him.”

Nick was worried. He was afraid
it would be too late when they found her. He spent the next few days checking
out leads, and the nights searching motels and hotels. When he found her, if he
found her, he was going to lock her up in a room forever. He went back and
forth between fuming mad and worried sick. He had to find her before he lost
his mind.

* * * *

Whitney knew she had to work
fast before the killer struck again. She was convinced it wasn’t Ann Marie. She
just didn’t fit the images in her mind. But who did? Ann Marie had been in jail
when someone had attacked Whitney and Nick. She didn’t want the killer to find
her, or Nick, but she had to get some answers. Her presence in the valley had
the killer scared, so she must have been close to him at some time.

She rented an apartment in Casa
Grande, and traveled up to the city to follow her list of suspects. Keeping
hidden from a cop would not be easy. She made sure to get enough cash to last a
while so she wouldn’t leave a paper trail.

Each day she chose an area of
town connected to the SVWC abductions or games and tried to get near the people
involved. Sometimes she was able to catch them in a daily activity and they
didn’t even notice she was there. She tracked a few of the moms from the group
and made sure she went shopping when they did. She was able to get close enough
to sense if they had any knowledge of the missing children or the attack on
Nick. If someone noticed her, she just seemed surprised to see them and said
hello. The hard part would be getting close to the serious suspects.

She decided she just had to
meet with Ann Marie, and she needed to contact someone to do that.

“Roger. It’s me. How is
everything?”

“Whitney? I thought you’d
disappeared.” The agent didn’t sound to happy. “To what do I owe the honor of
this call?”

“I know it wasn’t the best
solution, but it was the only one I could think of at the time. I just don’t
want anyone else hurt because of me. I need a favor. Are you still connected
with the case at all?”

“If they need me, I’m
available. Everyone thinks we’ve got the killer, but I take it you don’t.”

“I’m not sure, that’s why I
need your help.”

“I still have people working on
your assault, Whitney. I’d prefer you had some protection for now.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Well, I’m getting involved in
something else down here in Quantico at the moment. What do you need?”

“Nothing too difficult. I just
need you to give a call to the county jail and see if I can visit with Ann
Marie. She was working on her lawyer and I think she got the go ahead from him.
Can you check and call me back at this number?”