Running Blind (18 page)

“He's said as much to me, too, but I think it's the grief talking. There's no way Magdalena was involved in any of those things, and I told John as much.”

“Did you tell the police that?” Jenna asked, and Mrs. Romero nodded.

“Of course. I couldn't have Magdalena's name besmirched. Eat your soup, dear. It's going to get cold.”

Jenna spooned up a mouthful of soup, surprised at the flavorful broth. “It's delicious.”

“Thank you. It was John's special request. He's always loved my chicken noodle soup. It's a comfort food for him, I think.”

“I can see why. If I'd grown up eating this, I'd be requesting it during times of trouble, too.” Jenna ate another spoonful, her stomach lurching in protest. Between the migraine and the medicine Jenna had taken, there wasn't much hope that she'd finish the bowl of soup. She gave it a try, though, scooping more into her mouth and hoping she looked like she was enjoying it.

“For John, things like this soup are incredibly important. He does tend to hold things in. But, as I've always told him, bottling things up is no way to deal with them.”

“You think he's bottling up his feelings about Magdalena?” Nikolai asked, apparently determined to continue his impromptu interview.

“Of course. He's devastated. He loved her, after all, but he won't cry in front of his son. Says it will upset Benjamin too much.”

“So, there were no problems between Magdalena and John?”

“You sound like the police, young man. And I'll tell you the same thing I told them—no marriage is perfect. Magdalena
and John had their fair share of problems, but they always worked them out.”

“So, they were both committed to making the marriage work?”

“Absolutely. As a matter of fact, John was so committed to it that he suggested accompanying Magdalena on her mission trip to Mexico.”

“Really?” Surprised, Jenna put her spoon down and pushed the nearly empty bowl away. “Magdalena didn't mention that.”

“Well, he did. He was involved in ordering supplies with her and packing things up. They really made quite a team.”

“But he didn't end up going with her.”

“True. At the last minute, they decided that they didn't want to leave little Benjamin without either parent for two weeks, so John stayed home.”

“As I said, I'm surprised that Magdalena didn't mention it. She always said that she wished John would be more involved in her work in Mexico.”

“It probably slipped her mind. Those trips took a lot out of her. Are you done with your soup?”

“Yes. I'm afraid I wasn't that hungry.”

“You ate plenty. I'll go ahead and wash this out. Do you have a carry-on for the plane? I don't think keeping the bowl in your suitcase would be a good idea. I'd hate for it to break.” Mrs. Romero bustled into the kitchen and set to work washing out the bowl.

“I can do that,” Jenna hurried to her side but was motioned away.

“Go sit down, my dear. I know you're recovering from a terrible head injury. I'm sure you need plenty of rest.”

“Washing a dish won't hurt me.”

“It won't hurt me, either. Now, sit down at the table with your young man while I do this.”

Her young man?

Was that what Nikolai was?

Was it what he wanted to be? What she wanted him to be?

Jenna's stomach twisted in knots at the questions, her throat tight and dry with anxiety. There was already too much to think about. She didn't need to add Nikolai to the mix.

Too late. You already have.

The words whispered through her mind as she took a seat across from Nikolai again. He met her gaze, offering a smile that lit up his face and warmed his eyes.

“This is great soup. Probably the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had,” he said to John's mother, but his gaze never left Jenna's face.

“Oh my, you are a charmer. No wonder Jenna is so smitten with you.”

“I'm not—”

“You're not going to ruin this moment, too, are you, Jenna?” Nikolai grinned, and she couldn't stop her answering smile.

“I guess I'll let it slide.”

“Too bad. I was thinking if you decided to argue with Mrs. Romero, I might have to find a way to prove you wrong.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and Jenna blushed.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but—” She paused as a wave of nausea hit, stealing her breath and her thoughts.

“Jenna?” Nikolai was up and around the table before Jenna realized he was moving, his face bent close to hers.

“Just the medicine and the migraine upsetting my stomach. I'll be fine.” But it felt like a giant hand had reached in and twisted her gut, and she gasped, leaning forward to try to ease the pain.

“Take a deep breath. Try to relax.”

“It's a little hard to relax when it feels like my insides are being torn apart.” She gasped again, the pain intensifying so that it was the only thing she knew.

“She doesn't look good at all.” Mrs. Romero's voice seeped through the pain, and Jenna tried to tell her she was fine, but the words wouldn't form.

Cool hands pressed against her forehead and her cheeks, a wet rag cooled the back of her neck, but the pain didn't recede. Instead, it grew in red waves of agony until Jenna wasn't sure where one pain ended and another began.

She reached out, grabbing Nikolai's hand, her heart skipping a beat, the rhythm erratic and unnatural.

“Something's wrong,” she managed to say, her throat tightening on the words, fear suddenly as real as the pain.

“It's okay. You're going to be fine.” But she could see the panic in his eyes, see the worry etching deep lines on either side of his mouth.

“Of course, I am.” She forced the words out, forced herself to stand, to take a step away just to prove the point.

Another pain hit, slamming into her abdomen, stealing her thoughts and her strength. She could feel nothing else. Not her legs. Not her feet.

“Jen—” Nikolai's voice was the last thing she heard as she fell into darkness.

N
ikolai paced the small waiting room, his muscles tense with worry. It had been nearly three hours since the ambulance had brought Jenna to the hospital, and the doctor still hadn't come out to tell Nikolai how she was doing.

He was ready to walk through the double doors and search the triage area until he found her.

“Nikolai?” John Romero walked into the room, his eyes dark with worry. “How is she?”

“I don't know.”

“I wish I could have gotten here sooner. Ben was having a rough time, and my mom didn't feel comfortable staying with him.”

“No problem.” As a matter of fact, Nikolai would have preferred that John stay away altogether. The guy had been less than useless when Jenna was nearly convulsed with pain in his guest suite. He'd stood a few feet away, offering little more than a few grimaces of distaste while his mother and Nikolai had done what they could to make her comfortable.

But there'd been nothing they could do, and that had eaten at Nikolai for the past few hours. He'd seen Jenna when she was trussed up and blind in Mexico. He'd watched her struggle against pain and fear and grief, but he'd never seen her as she'd been in the moments before the ambulance arrived—completely helpless and unable to fight.

He never wanted to see her like that again.

“What do you think is going on? I mean, she looked bad. I don't think I've ever seen someone in so much pain.” John's words cut into his thoughts, and Nikolai met the other man's eyes.

“I don't know. I'm hoping the doctors can figure it out.” Nikolai kept his voice neutral as he took a few steps away from John. He didn't want to have a long drawn-out conversation with the guy. What he wanted was to find Jenna and make sure she was okay.

“Maybe it has something to do with the head injury she suffered. Those things are notorious for causing unexpected complications.”

“Look, John,” he swung toward the guy, saw the other man had the glassy-eyed look of someone in shock and gentled his tone. “I don't know what's wrong with Jenna. I'm hoping a doctor is going to walk in here and tell us at any moment, but until one does, I'd prefer not to speculate.”

John nodded, dropping into a chair a few feet away. “Sorry. I know it doesn't help. It's what I did when I learned that Magdalena was missing. I came up with a million places she could be. None of them were where she was finally found.”

“You must miss your wife terribly.” Nikolai threw out the bait by rote, not really caring to hear John's response. Someone needed to walk through the double doors and tell him what was going on with Jenna, and that someone needed to do it now.

“The truth is that I don't.” John's words were so unexpected that Nikolai thought he'd heard them wrong.

“Pardon me?”

“I said that I don't miss her.” John stood and shrugged, his gaze jumping from Nikolai to a bank of windows across the room.

“That's a big change from what you told me before.”

“No, it isn't. I loved my wife, but she was difficult. She demanded all my time and attention, and, to be brutally hon
est, every bit of my patience. I'm sad she's gone, but I don't miss her. The house is lighter without her in it.”

“And you're telling me this now because…?”

“I asked for a divorce shortly before she left for Mexico. I hadn't filed any papers, but I figure with all the digging you're doing, you may hear about it from one of Magdalena's friends. I don't want you to get the wrong idea.”

“What would that be?”

“That I hated her. That I wanted her dead. I didn't. All I wanted was a little peace.”

“Now you have it.”

“Yeah, but I wish I could have gotten it another way.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and Nikolai almost believed he was telling the truth.

Almost.

“Did you mention this to the police?”

“What do you think? My wife was brutally murdered. The husband is always the first suspect.”

“And usually the best one.”

“I did
not
kill my wife.”

“Let's say you didn't. Let's say you simply wanted a divorce. I still don't understand why you're bringing this up now. You've had days to come clean, and you chose this moment. I want to know why.”

“A friend called me an hour ago. Someone has been calling around, asking about the state of my marriage. I figured that had something to do with you. I wanted to give you the facts, so you wouldn't have to keep bothering my friends.” He said it with venom, the anger in his eyes hot and ugly, the change in his demeanor as surprising as his confession had been.

“I see.”

“No. You don't. I'm ready to move on with my life. The police are willing to let me. My family is willing to let me. I'd really appreciate it if you would let me, too.”

“Sorry, I can't do that. Jenna asked me to prove Magdalena's innocence. That's what I'm going to do.”

“Mr. Jansen?” A petite blond stepped into the room, her lab coat and stethoscope giving her away as a doctor. “I'm Dr. Santino. I've been caring for Jenna Dougherty.”

“How is she?” He rushed toward her, not caring about John's confession or his venom or his reasons for either.

“Stable. It was touch and go for a while.”

“Touch and go?” John stepped up beside Nikolai, offering a handshake and introduction.

“She had some uneven heart rhythms. We were afraid that she'd go into cardiac arrest.”

“What caused it?” John asked the next question before Nikolai could think past the image of Jenna lying in a hospital bed, her heart refusing to beat normally, the doctors struggling to stabilize her.

“We don't know. It could be a reaction to the medicine she took for her migraine. Some people's systems can't handle certain chemicals. How long was it between the time she took it and the time she began having symptoms?”

“A few hours.”

“That's what she said, too.” The doctor frowned.

“Does that make a reaction less likely?”

“Less likely, but not impossible. We're running some blood tests and we've done a CAT scan of her abdomen. Everything looks good so far.”

“Can I see her?” Nikolai hoped the doctor said yes, because he planned to see Jenna whether he got permission or not.

“She's been asking for you for an hour. We just got her settled into a room. I'll walk you up. I'm afraid she can only have one visitor at a time.”

“I'll get a cup of coffee then.” John hurried away, and Nikolai followed the doctor through the double doors and into the triage area. It was ripe with the scent of antiseptic and illness. Somewhere, a baby was crying and a man and a woman were arguing. Typical E.R. scene, and one Nikolai would be happy to put behind him.

“This way. Next time you come up, you can take the elevator
in the main lobby. She's on the second floor.” The doctor led him into a service elevator and pushed the button.

“How long will she be here?”

“If the all the tests come back normal and she remains stable tonight, we'll release her in the morning.”

“She has a flight out of Houston tomorrow.”

“So she keeps telling me. I guess she's anxious to go home. Hopefully, we'll be able to allow that.” The doctor smiled as the elevator doors opened.

“Did Jenna explain that she's been attacked several times in the past few days?”

“She did. We're doing a few tests to find out if she's been exposed to poison of any kind. Those will take a day or two to come back.”

“Are her symptoms consistent with that?”

“Consistent enough that I've called the police, but not conclusive. As I said, she could have had a severe reaction to the medicine she took.”

“She's taken the medicine before.”

“Generally speaking, people have a worse reaction the second time they're exposed to something. Here we are.” She knocked on a door and opened it.

Nikolai followed her into the small room, his eyes riveted to the empty bed. “She's gone.”

“I'm not gone. Though I'd really like to be on a plane heading home rather than stuck in this hospital room.” Jenna stepped out of the bathroom, her face dewy with moisture.

She looked shaky and pale but better than she had a few hours before.

“You should be in bed, Jenna.” The doctor frowned, and Nikolai took Jenna's arm, offering her support as she dropped into a chair.

“I wanted to splash some cold water on my face. I was starting to drift off.”

“You should have let yourself.” Nikolai poured a cup of
ice water from a carafe, offering it to her, but Jenna shook her head.

“I can't. I'm afraid if I put anything in my stomach, I'll be back where I was a few hours ago.” She held out her hand, and he took it, squeezing gently, alarmed by the cold, clammy feel of her skin.

“You're still in pain?”

“Some.”

“That should subside soon,” the doctor said. “Now, how about you get back in bed, and we hook you up to the heart monitor? I'd like to see how you're doing now that you've been up and around.”

“No palpitations, if that's what you're asking. My heart seems to be doing just fine.”

“Humor me, anyway.” Dr. Santino gestured to the bed, and Jenna stood reluctantly.

“I feel like an old woman. Every muscle in my body hurts.”

“Hopefully, that will ease in a few hours, too. If you'll step outside, Mr. Jansen, I'll get Jenna hooked up and check her heart. Then you can visit for a while.”

Nikolai didn't want to leave the room and was tempted to simply turn his back, but Jenna shot him an impatient look, and he respected her too much to stay when she obviously wanted him to leave. “I'll be right outside.”

He stepped into the hall, nearly barreling into Officer Daniels.

“Sorry about that. I've been kicked out of the room for a few minutes.” He pulled the door shut and turned to face the officer.

“How is she?”

“Alive. Which is a lot more than I thought she'd be. It's been a long time since I've seen anyone so sick.” And a longer time since he'd felt so completely out of control, so absolutely dependent on God's mercy.

“We got a call from a doctor here. She said poison is suspected.”

“Either that or Jenna had a bad reaction to her migraine medicine.”

“What's your gut feeling on it?”

“Jenna had homemade chicken noodle soup right before she collapsed. I'd like to know what was in it.”

“I'll send someone to the Romeros' house and have the dish it was served in taken as evidence.”

“I don't know if that will help. John's mother washed the dish after Jenna ate.”

“Doesn't matter. There are usually traces of poison left if it's been used, so we'll check that out, and we'll question the family.”

“John is here. He showed up a half hour ago.”

“I'll find him after I speak to you and Jenna. Want to tell me what happened?”

Nikolai nodded, quickly filling the officer in.

When he was finished, Daniels leaned a shoulder against the wall and frowned. “The more I hear about this case, the less sense it makes.”

“I agree. The only constant in any of it is that someone wants Jenna dead.”

“If Jenna
was
poisoned, that someone had access to the Romero house and to the food she was served. Which really limits the number of suspects. I'm going to call this in. Maybe Romero will give us permission to search his house. If he doesn't, I'll get a warrant.” He pulled the radio from his belt and called in the report.

When he finished, Nikolai met his eyes and smiled grimly. “It looks like we're finally heading in the same direction, Daniels.”

“If we are, it's because I'm following the leads just as I've always done. Eventually, doing so always takes me in the right direction.”

“Let's hope it takes you there quickly. I'm not sure Jenna can survive another attack.”

“God willing, she won't have to.”

Nikolai hoped and prayed He was.
Believed
He was.

There was no other option.

“Did you get any information on the hand grenade or the guy who tossed it?”

“The hand grenade was World War II vintage. Easy to get if you know where to look. Shouldn't have been live, which is why it didn't explode when it hit the ground. There were explosives in it, though. I'd call it a modified pipe bomb.”

“Whatever it was, it could have done some serious damage if it
had
exploded.”

“True, and when we find the guy who tossed it, he'll be booked on terrorism charges. Whether or not we can make them stick remains to be seen.”

“Is there any way to trace the grenade?”

“We've got a partial serial number, but tracing it is going to take time.”

“We're all set in here.” The doctor opened the door and stepped into the hallway. “Heart rate is good. It looks like Jenna may be able to leave in the morning.”

“I
will
be leaving in the morning.” Jenna called out, and Nikolai had no doubt that she and the doctor had differing opinions about the matter.

The doctor ignored her comment, just offered a quick wave and a promise to be by early in the morning.

“I can't believe she actually thinks I might stay here an extra day.” Jenna sat on the edge of the bed, her jeaned legs hanging out from under a blue-green hospital gown. Her feet were bare, bright red polish on her toenails.

“If it will ensure your health, then it's for the best.” Nikolai walked into the room, Officer Daniels right behind him.

“I'm not sure ensuring my health is possible at this point, and, the way I see it, if I'm going to face death, I'd rather do
it at home.” She stood, crossing to the window and staring out into the darkening evening.