Point of Attraction (34 page)

“Mason!” she screamed.

A sharp pain enveloped her head as a
chuck of her hair was caught, the plastic gloves squishing in the
grip as she was yanked back into the room while an arm snaked about
her waist again.

“Kiss him goodbye, Georgie,
kiss him goodbye,” Tonie taunted. “He got in the way. He should
have stood by me, been
my
backup. I could have gone to him, but no. He was
too caught up in you and your little problem to even help
me.”

“You were the problem!” Georgie forced
out, but the woman police officer Georgie knew was gone, leaving
behind this mad Amazon, hearing no reason, and hissing in her
ear.

“Just like your friend, Nicky-boy,”
Tonie sneered, as Georgie felt herself dragged, hoisted and jerked,
her ribs screaming in pain. “I knew he was trouble the night he
came to talk to Mason about that stupid rose. Can’t say it was easy
keeping an eye on all of you. They should never have sent me
outside. I put a track on his bike.” She laughed, almost a giggle.
“I found him coming out of the Federal Building downtown earlier.
He must have found the bug and taken it there. I had to stop him.
The bridge was perfect. Sad. I liked him.”

“Yeah, he does that to people,” Georgie
managed to say as her feet hit enough floor to get the leverage
needed to jump and slam her feet against the wall and push. Trying
to hold her balance, Tonie slipped on the scattered food at their
feet and they went tumbling across the room to the floor. Tonie
become a cushion for Georgie as they went down. Free, Georgie tried
to get up, but her rubbery legs gave her no footing, and she
dropped, grasping and getting nothing... a nightmare come
true.

She rolled over to see Tonie already on
her feet, sliding a knife from its holder, blood streaming from her
lip and nose, a tear in the plastic glove. Georgie back-crabbed a
bit toward the garage door as Tonie took a deep breath, looking
tired as she shook her head again. “I have to make this look good,
Georgie... the work of a maniac.”

“They’ll know it’s you,” Georgie
panted. “Look at yourself.”

Tonie ran a hand across her
mouth and nose, and stared at the blood. The smile was non-human.
“I’m off duty. I can just play sick until all the show and tell is
gone.” Her face saddened hideously as she added, “And be
oh, so shocked and sad
when they tell me the terrible, terrible news.”

She doesn’t know they found the print,
Georgie thought, then saw the makeshift sorrow give way to chiseled
hard lines.

“Oh, by the way,” Tonie
said. “I called the lab.” Her smeared mouth curved crookedly, a
caricature of anything human. “On behalf of Roberts, you
understand, him being the
lead
detective and all. Bentley was very obliging.
Always ready to help one another, the men are. He mentioned the
finger print. Not enough there to do a search.” Her head tilted as
she pouted. “Sad.”

Georgie was cold, frozen, in shock or
was it the cold night air coming through the open kitchen door...
she didn’t know. All she could do was stare as Tonie raised the
knife and lunged into her attack.

Georgie’s eardrums went numb from two
explosions. Each boom thrust Tonie back, slamming her against the
refrigerator door. Two of Tonie’s shirt buttons became dark red
flower blossoms. Confusion spread across Tonie’s face as she looked
down at herself, then lifted her gaze, focusing, but not at
Georgie. She was looking at the open kitchen door.

“Mason?” Tonie murmured, and for just a
second, Georgie was certain she saw, Officer Tonie Clark in the now
calm, but dazed face. Tonie collapsed to the floor. Oddly,
Georgie’s sight fixed on the two holes and blood smear on her
refrigerator door.

Georgie gasped, startled, as Mason
managed two steps into the room before he staggered to the table,
gun dangling from his fingers. The weapon slipped free and clunked
to the floor a second before Mason too dropped.

“Mason!” Georgie yelled.

Blood spilled from him, two holes in
his shirt were now one large dark stain, and growing. Reaching up,
she jerked open the dishtowel drawer. Grabbing a handful she then
made her way to him, ignoring the sharp bites from the broken glass
napkin holder digging into her through the sweat pants.

“George,” he murmured, then grunted in
pain before forcing his eyes half opened. His mouth twitched into a
smile that failed. “Our next date has to be better than
this.”

“You think?” Her voice shook as she
pressed the dishtowels against his wounds.

Sirens in the distance wailed their
promise of arrival.

“That would be our backup,” Mason said,
and closed his eyes.

“Mason!”

Chapter twenty-eight

No life is lived alone. It is a thread
woven with other threads to make a cloth.

As they rolled Georgie out of the
ambulance under the umbrella canopy of the emergency entrance to
St. V., Steven and Paula were waiting with Cassie. They followed
along at the sides of the gurney. Georgie caught a glimpse of April
and Ryan in the background talking with a police officer, and for
the smallest of a second, she thought it was Mason, and he turned.
It was Roberts.

All the concerned voices, both medical
and family, rambled in her head, unable to fill an understandable
slot, all disjointed gibberish. She turned her head from the
swirling ambulance and police car lights. When the doors swung
open, the overhead lighting in the bustling room blinded
her.

Squinting, she spotted Steven’s hand
and grasped it with a pleading tug. “How’s Mason?”

“He’s... uh... in surgery.” But Georgie
heard the guarded wording, the odd tone in his voice, and she
forced her eyes to focus. She had to see his face, but by then, he
was looking elsewhere, to those in charge, speaking their medical
lingo.

“Cassie. Where’s Cassie?” Georgie knew
Cassie would tell her the truth.

“I’m here, Kiddo.”

Georgie turned toward the voice, and
felt the tight grip at her fingers. “Tell me.”

“Cassie.” It was Paula. Georgie heard
the plea in her daughter’s voice.

Cassie didn’t even look away, just
tightened her grip with a shake. “I’ve never lied to her and I
won’t start now. It’s a tough call, Kiddo. Anything could happen,
but Mason’s being worked on by the best.” There was that reassuring
pat before Cassie added, “I don’t think M&M’s ready to leave
you.”

“And Tonie?” The question caught in
Georgie’s throat. She didn’t have to have medical training to know
Tonie’s wounds were fatal.

“Oh, she’s here... in the
morgue.”

A darkness circled, but Georgie blinked
it away, and asked, “How’s Nick? When did they find him?” She had
to know, and fought whatever they had used to sedate
her.

“Nick?” Cassie asked. “What are you
talking about?”

Georgie turned to stare, searching
Cassie’s face. What did she mean? Hadn’t they told her? But he
called. She was certain it had been Nick on the phone. But what if
it hadn’t been Nick, and they hadn’t told Cassie.

“Georgie? What about Nick?”

Georgie clenched her teeth. She
couldn’t just blurt it out. Oh, God, she thought. “Cassie...” Her
eyelids started to close with the sedative, but the tears made
their out the corners of her eyes just the same.

“Roberts!”

It was Cassie shouting, and Georgie
tried to raise her head. All she could see was the back of Cassie’s
red hair heading for Officer Roberts, Ryan and April. April was
holding out her hands. The last thing Georgie saw before the
curtains to the emergency cubical closed was Cassie dropping
against April, Ryan pulling Paula into his arms, and Steven’s head
lowering to his chest with a shake as Officer Roberts looked across
the room over at her.

It’s true,
then
, Georgie thought.
It must not have been Nick
. As she
let herself sink into darkness, Georgie heard Tonie’s words,
“
All over a fucking hoax to get you in his
bed
.”

No, she told the lurking
doubts. She would not believe it. It
was
Nick that called. It had to be!
Georgie held on to that. It didn’t matter what anyone said. She
would not let go of that certainty. Nick would not leave her. Nick
and Cassie. They would never leave her. They would always have each
other. Yes, and she surrendered completely to the
medication.

~~0~~

“Sorry I was so late with
the info, Georgie Girl
,” the apologetic
voice said.

“Uh huh,” Georgie answered. “A little
late... not enough of a print though.”

“
Don’t kid yourself, Georgie Girl. But you know the Prez. He
hates for us to interfere in local shit, but I told him. Hey, it’s
my Georgie Girl.
”

“Uh huh,” she said, and tried to lift
her heavy eyelids, but they refused the command.

“I told Bentley, whoever
calls for the info. That’s our man. Tell him the print’s no good.
Don’t want him to run.”
She felt the heat
of lips on her forehead. She wanted to reach up to feel, but her
hands wouldn’t move. “
Sorry. I didn’t get
back to you in time. Hit a little bump in the
road.
”

And the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Why didn’t you just stay home? Why?”

“
You hush now. Sleep.
”

“Nick?” she said, trying to clear away
the endless layers of veils, but there was no answer, and the black
hole had no ladder for her to climb, only a hand that held hers,
then slid away slowly. “Mason?”

~~0~~

Georgie opened her eyes to a dimly lit
room. There was no place on or in her body that didn’t hurt. Her
head pound, her mind denying all requests. It wasn’t until she took
a deep breath that she realized most of her pain was in her ribs
and she was bound snugly. She placed a free hand to her cheek where
Tonie had struck her and quickly pulled it away with a low
moan.

She was no longer in the emergency
cubical, but in a room. Rain pitter-pattered its lonely little song
on the windowpane. As the wind blew, tenacious leaves still
clinging to their tree, cast their dancing shadow from the light
post in the parking lot. I must be on the second floor, she
thought, and almost closed her eyes, but the door opened
slightly.

Steven poked his head in and smiled.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said, coming to the bedside. “Hurt all
over?”

“Oh, yeah,” she murmured, and it was an
effort to force her dry lips to curve. “When do I get those magic
drugs to make it all go away?”

“Any more drugs and we’d have to pump
out your stomach, drain your blood and whatever.”

“Paula? Is she okay?”

He nodded. “I finally got her to go
home.” He looked at his watch. “I have a feeling she went home,
showered, called her doctor, and is on her way back. Don’t even try
to talk her out of it. I think she’s in denial about Uncle Nick
though, and quite frankly... I am too.”

“Me too, I guess,” she admitted, trying
to remember the phone call, the strange dream, but for right now,
she needed to know. “How’s Mason?”

Steven’s smile saddened and kissed her
on her forehead. “He made it through surgery. He’s in ICU. Only
time will tell. Not many could take two shots that close to the
heart; lots of damage, but he’s a fighter.”

“Can I see him?” When Steven didn’t
answer, she reached over. “Please. He saved my life.”

He pressed her hand to his lips and
sighed. “I could get into so much trouble.” But he helped her up
and gently slid her feet over the side of the bed. He raised a
finger to his lips and motioned for her to wait. After opening the
door wide and flipping down the doorstop, he pushed in a
wheelchair. “I thought you’d want to see him.”

They looked both ways
before wheeling her out into the corridor. As they made their way
to the elevator, Lucy came around the corner. The young girl’s lips
parted as though to speak, caught herself, and said nothing. Her
smile was tight, forced, or was it pensive? When the elevator doors
opened they all stepped in. Lucy leaned against the wall as far
away from them as she could in the gurney-size cubicle. Silence was
a fourth person, and Georgie remembered Mason’s reference to
the
ax murderer
in the room. It was still a bad choice, she thought, shaking
aside a quick flash of Tonie holding that knife.

When the doors opened at the ICU floor,
Steven wheeled her out, but when the doors did not close, Steven
turned the wheelchair in answer to the silent pause or perhaps a
call only he heard. Georgie looked at Lucy, whose hand was keeping
the doors open. After a thought, Lucy pursed her lips and stepped
out to join them.