Dark And Dangerous (17 page)

 
"She isn't answering."

 
"And the machine isn't taking it?"

 
"I don't think she has one."
Hanging up, she looked at him with worry in her eyes. "Do you think
something has happened?"

 
"I don't know, baby." He touched
her hair gently, comforting. He had a very bad feeling about it, but he didn't
want to worry her any more than she already was. "We'll try calling a
couple of more times, and if she still doesn't answer, then we'll take it from
there."

He thought about their
choices. "Do you know any of her neighbors?"

 
"I
…
ah
…
there is one woman I know Miss
Kans
is
very good friends with."

 
"What's her name?"

 
"Ah
…
" She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to
remember. "Shirley James. She would come up sometimes when I visited Miss
Kans."

 
"Okay. That's good. Try to call Miss
Kans
again."

 
"Okay." She tried again and waited,
hoping, as it rang. "Maybe she's just sleeping."

 
"Do you think she would be able to sleep
from an insistently ringing phone?" Nathan asked.

 
"Well, I don't know. She might sleep
very heavily, or maybe she sleeps with earplugs."

 
"Either way we'll find out," Nathan
said easily, knowing she was grasping for straws, but not wanting to diminish
her hope.

 
"Still no answer." She hung up the
phone again.

 
"Okay. If she doesn't answer the next
time, I'm going to call her neighbor."

 
"But you can't. It's much too
early."

Nathan looked at his
watch. "It's nearly seven."

 
"Exactly. Now, I might not be the best
judge, but I can tell you that normal people don't go calling each other at
seven O'clock in the morning."

 
He smiled at her sarcasm. She was bouncing
back, he thought. "Is that right? Well, I guess she's in for a surprise
then."

 
"I don't think your mother would
agree," she said acidly, knowing that she was right.

It made him laugh out
right. "No, I'm sure you're right. Now, why don't you try to call her
again, while I find Shirley's phone
number.
"

 
She hit the redial button and waited while it
rang again and again, unanswered. She let it ring for several minutes, hoping
that they wouldn't have to wake Shirley, before finally giving up.

 
Giving in to the worry that was eating at
her, she rested her head in her hands for a moment, while no one was there to see.
This was not like Miss
Kans
, she thought. In fact if
she remembered correctly she had overheard her talk many times with Shirley
about how little and restlessly she slept at night.

 
That was how Nathan saw her when he walked
in. She had been too preoccupied with her own thoughts to hear him, until he
walked over to her.

 
Startled she flinched and looked up at him.

 
"No answer?" He stroked a hand over
her hair.

 
"No."

 
"Okay." Sitting down across from
her again, he took the phone and dialed the number he had found on the
internet.

It rang three times before
a flustered female voice answered.

 
"Hello." The word was still slurry
from sleep, but full of nerves.

 
"This is Nathan Sanders. I'm sorry to
call you at this time
—
"

 
"Is something wrong? Has something
happened to one of my children?" she interrupted, before Nathan even had a
chance to explain himself.

 
"No, as far as I know your children are
fine. I'm calling about Miss Kans."

 
"Oh, thank God." Nathan could hear
relief flood Shirley's voice. "What about Laura?" she asked when her
first fear had died, with new concern in her voice.

 
"I'm a friend of hers, and I'm getting
very worried because I can't get in touch with her. I was hoping maybe you knew
if there was anything wrong."

 
"I don't think so. Isn't she answering
her phone?"

 
"No."

 
"That isn't like her."

He could hear that Shirley
was getting more and more worried.

 
"I'm just going to put on a robe and go
up to see if she's okay. Just hang on."

He could hear sheets
rustling as Shirley slid out of bed, then a bump that he assumed was the phone
being placed on a table.

 
"What is it?" Kayley asked as the
silence stretched.

Nathan put a finger over
the receiver, just in case Shirley picked up the phone again.

 
"She's putting on clothes to go up to
Miss
Kans
' apartment." He heard her pick up the
receiver and listened to her footsteps and a couple of more
bangs,
that
he assumed was doors opening and closing.

 
"From what I can tell, she's on her way
to Miss
Kans
' apartment now."

Kayley waited in suspense,
her nerves stretched thinly, straining her ears to hear what was happening.

She could vaguely hear
knocking on what she predicted must be Miss
Kans
'
door.

 
"She's not answering, so I'm going to
use my key," Shirley told Nathan.

He heard the door click
open and shut, and Shirley call out.

 
"Laura. Laura are you here?" Then a
thump as she dropped the phone on the floor, followed by a scream. He could
hear Shirley's voice, high-pitched and clear through the receiver. "Oh, my
God, Laura. Are you okay?"

 
Kayley heard it as well and felt her insides
freeze.

 
"Shirley, can you hear me?" Nathan
called into the phone, hoping she would hear and pick it up. She fumbled for
the phone, dropping it once before managing to put it to her ear.

 
"She's lying on the floor,
moaning," Laura managed, her voice pitching. "She's bleeding."

 
"Okay. Just take it easy," Nathan
said, keeping his voice cool and controlled. "Is she coherent?"

 
"No. Her eyes can't focus and I don't
know for how long she's been lying there."

 
"Okay. I want you to do exactly as I
tell you to. First, you're going to hang up and then you're calling the
emergency. Do it now." He hung up and looked at Kayley. Her eyes were big
and nearly black with worry, and her fingers were gripping the edge of the
table.

She moved her lips but no
sound came out.

 
"Shirley found her lying on the floor,
Kayley. She was bleeding, but alive."

 
"I
…
" She moistened her lips and tried again,
"Do you think
Schnyder
did it?"

 
"I think there's a good chance it was
him." He stood up while punching in a number on the phone.

 
"Troy, can you have the chopper ready in
thirty minutes? It's urgent." He hung up without further ceremony.

 
"Let's go. I'll call Klein from the
helicopter."

 
"Are we going to see Miss
Kans
?" Kayley slid out of her chair.

 
"Yes. We'll see if we can get some
answers."

Chapter 19

 
It was
nearly two hours later when they finally walked into the hospital.

Nathan took a straight
line for the front desk, taking Kayley along with him. "We're looking for
Laura Kans."

 
"Are you family?" the nurse asked
as she quickly tapped on the computer keyboard.

 
"Yes," he lied easily, giving
Kayley's arm a squeeze when she was about to object.

 
"She's on the fourth floor, room
four-nineteen," the nurse told them.

 
"Thank you." Nathan guided Kayley
over to the elevators and pushed the button.

 
"That was a lie," she whispered
even though there were no one close enough to hear, and the hospital were alive
with different noises.

 
"They might not have told us where she
was if I hadn't told it." They stepped onto the elevator as the doors slid
open, and pushed the button to the fourth floor. "But at least she's
stabilized."

 
"How do you know?"

 
"She wouldn't be in a room if she
wasn't."

 
They stepped out as the doors slid open, and
walked down the hall until they found the right room. The door to the room was
open, and from where they were standing they could see several patients lying
in the clinical white room.

 
For a moment, Kayley simply stiffened. She
could see Miss
Kans
lying pale in one of the beds.
Shirley was sitting beside her in a chair, holding her hand. It was all because
of her, she thought. Because of her and her brother. She wanted to bolt and
nearly turned to tell Nathan that she couldn't go into the room, when Shirley
turned her head and saw them. A smile spread on her face when she recognized
Kayley.

No way out now, Kayley
thought, and walked into the room.

 
"Kayley, it's so good to see you."

 
Nathan watched Shirley give Kayley a big hug
and noticed pleasure shine clearly in her eyes. Kayley might think no one had
ever really cared for her, he thought, but he would disagree. Maybe she had
just been so hurt by the people closest to her, that she could no longer see
others feelings. Or perhaps she was simply too afraid to see.

 
"This is Nathan Sanders," he heard
Kayley say, and was ripped out of his own thoughts.

 
"It's lovely to meet you," Shirley
said, giving Nathan her hand.

 
"He was the one you spoke with on the
phone," Kayley added, and looked down at Miss Kans. Her eyes were closed
and she looked pale and vulnerable.

 
"She's just sleeping," Shirley
said, seeing Kayley's thoughts clearly on her face. She laid a comforting arm
around her shoulders. The girl hadn't changed much since she had seen her last,
Shirley thought. Her eyes were still too dark and haunted. "The doctor
gave her some painkillers and said they might make her a little drowsy."

 
"Do you know what happened to her?"
Nathan asked from behind them.

 
"She only told me it was two young men.
I didn't want to ask too many questions about it until she was a little
stronger." Shirley gave Kayley's shoulders a squeeze. "You can touch
her, honey. She's not going to crumble."

 
"She looks so pale," Kayley
murmured, reaching out to take her hand. It was cool and dry. At the touch,
Miss
Kans
' eyes fluttered open. It took a moment
before they focused and a small smile spread as she saw Kayley.

 
"Kayley," she murmured and spotted
Nathan behind her. Pleasure made her cheeks rosy.

 
"Hello, Miss Kans." Nathan stepped
closer from the other side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

 
"Much better. The doctor gave me
something."

 
"Do you remember what happened to
you?" Nathan asked her.

 
"Yes." She looked at Kayley with an
apology written clearly in her eyes. "Two young men came to my apartment.
They said they were friends of Joe, so I let them in."

 
"You didn't, Laura?" Shirley said
appalled.

 
"I know I shouldn't, but I thought they
were telling the truth."

 
"Then what happened?" Nathan asked.

 
"They asked me about him. When had I
heard from him last? If I had any idea where they could find him?" Tears
shone in her eyes. "I told them about how well he was doing and about the
boat."

 
"
It's
okay,
Miss Kans." Kayley squeezed her hand.

 
"They started to ask more questions
about Joe's boat, and when I couldn't answer them they began getting mad. They
said if I didn't tell them where it was, they would hurt me."

She looked at Kayley with
big watery eyes. "I didn't know."

 
"I'm sorry," Kayley said. "I
didn't think anyone would come for you."

 
"You couldn't have known dear,"
Miss
Kans
said.

 
"What happened then?" Nathan asked.

 
"One of them hit me and I fell. I don't
remember anything after that."

 
"
It's
fine,
Miss Kans." Nathan glanced at Kayley before looking back at Miss Kans.
"The police is on their way here. They will want to hear everything you
have just told us, and they will probably want to look through your apartment
as well. And you too," Nathan said directed at Shirley.

 
"Oh, my," Shirley said, excitement
clear in her voice. "I've never been interrogated before."

 
"Don't worry. We'll try to be easy on
you."

They all turned as one
toward the voice from the doorway.

 
"Hello, Klein." Nathan nodded
towards him and Brown. "You made good time."

 
"Yeah." Klein stepped into the
room, followed by Brown. "We try."

 
Seeing the other patients stare in
fascination Klein turned to Brown. "Get one of the nurses. She needs a
single room."

Brown turned and left the
room without a word.

 
"I'm detective Klein." He stepped
over to the side of the bed. "How are you feeling Miss
Kans
?"

 
"I'm fine." She blushed lightly,
dreamily. What a handsome man, with such nice eyes.

 
"Good. We'll get you your own room in a
minute." He smiled at her, and looked at Kayley to see how she was doing.
She was pale and looked strained, but she was holding up. The girl was stronger
than she appeared, he thought.

Brown walked back into the
room followed by several nurses.

 
"They're going to take you to another
room," Brown told Miss
Kans
as the nurses began
to roll out the bed. Klein, Brown and Shirley quickly followed.

Kayley started to follow
but paused as Nathan took her hand and stopped her. "You okay?" he
asked, too softly for the other patients in the room to hear.

 
"Yes." She avoided his eyes, but he
simply put a hand under her chin and tilted her face up to his.

 
"Kayley?"

 
"I
…
" She lifted a hand to his wrist intending
to remove his hand, but found her fingers curling around it with a will of
their own. She realized that she really wanted to tell him how she felt and
that scared her. "We'll lose them if we don't follow."

 
"Okay." He knew when it was best to
be patient. Sometimes it enhanced the rewards.

 
"Let's go." He kept her hand in his
as they followed the others, but held her back before they entered the room.

 
"Okay, you won't lose them now." He
searched her face. "I know you blame yourself."

 
"I
…
Don't you think we should be in there?"

 
"No. They are just going to ask the same
questions we did and get the same answers." He looked at her intently.
"Kayley?"

 
"Okay, fine," she exclaimed on a
sigh. "It is my fault she's here. I should have known they would look for
her, just like they looked for me."

 
"You can't possibly blame yourself.
First of all, you had no way of knowing they would find out about her. And
secondly it isn't your fault. If anything it's your
brothers
fault."

 
"It's my fault she met my brother,"
Kayley countered.

 
"No, it's not. Not if you really think
about it. If you want to blame someone, blame Miss Kans."

 
"Why would I blame her?"

 
"Because she's the one that took you
under her wing, and she's the one that insisted that you bring along your
brother."

 
"So you think I should blame her for her
kindness?" she asked outraged.

 
"No, I'm trying to show you how
ridiculous your reasoning is." He grabbed her by the shoulders when she
tried to pull away. "It's no
ones
fault. She
chose to take you both under her wing, and I bet if she had the chance to do it
all over again, she would. Even knowing what would happen. And I'm not going to
let you blame yourself just because you're unhappy."

 
He framed her face with his hands and leaned
down so his face was only inches from hers. "It's not your fault. I want
you to understand that."

He didn't wait for her to
respond, but simply bend down, taking her mouth in a gentle kiss that made her
knees feel weak and her breath back up.

 
"Do you understand?" he asked,
straightening.

Not trusting her voice,
she simply nodded.

 
"Good. Let's go back in." Taking
her hand, he drew her with him into the room and stood in the background
listening while Miss
Kans
told Klein and Brown
everything she remembered.

 
"We're going to send a sketch artist
over when we leave," Klein said. "You can tell her all the details
you can recall."

 
"I might not be very good," Miss
Klein said worried.

 
"Just give it your best," Klein
said comforting. "It's natural for your mind to protect itself by forgetting
details of traumatizing situations. So anything you can tell us is very
helpful, and it can make a big difference."

 
"I will do my best," Miss
Kans
promised.

 
"Of course you will Laura. And you will
be great at it," Shirley said, patting her hand.

 
"She has always had a memory like an
elephant," she said, looking at Klein.

 
"Most women have," he commented and
made both Miss
Kans
and Shirley beam. "I will
need to go to your apartment and see if I can find any evidence."

 
"Of course," Shirley said enthusiastic,
before Miss
Kans
had a chance. "You can borrow
my key." She dug it out of her purse and handed it to Klein.

 
"If that's all right with you?" he
asked Miss Kans.

 
"Yes, of course."

 
"Good. We'll head over to your apartment
now," he said as Brown quickly closed the pad he had been taking notes on.

 
"Why don't we go with you," Nathan
suggested. "We can show you the way."

 
"Oh, that is a great idea," Miss
Kans
piped up, before Klein had a chance to decline.
"Then you can feed the cats, Kayley. I'm sure they must be starving."

 
"I'll feed them." Kayley smiled at
her.

 
"Thank you. They must be so
afraid," she said, worry clear in her voice.

 
"I'll make sure they're fine."
Kayley bent and gave her a light hug and a kiss on the cheek.

 
"Good. That will make me feel much
better." She looked at Klein and smiled. "And thank you."