Submerged (25 page)

Chapter Thirty-
Seven

Hinton, AB – Sunday, June 16, 2013 – 7:30 AM

In a room at the Holiday Inn, Marcus had slept his usual two hours. Upon waking, he groaned. His body felt as though it had been through the ringer. Every movement hurt, even tying his shoelaces. But that didn't stop him from rushing to the hospital to see Rebecca.

Before going to her room, he stopped by the hospital cafeteria for breakfast.

He spotted Zur standing by the cappuccino machine.

"What are you doing here, John?"

"Well, I'm not here for the menu." Zur dropped a tray with a stale-looking sandwich with mystery meat on a table, then indicated that Marcus should join him. "You visiting Mrs. Kingston again?"

Marcus
dispensed a paper cup of vanilla cappuccino. "Just about to head up."

"How's she doing?"

"Fine. Except her husband and his mistress showed up last night."

Zur cringed. "Ouch."

"Yeah, I thought it was a tacky move on Kingston's behalf."

"The guy's not too sharp."

Marcus nodded. "I know. That's the other reason why I'm sure he didn't orchestrate the murder attempt on his wife. Guy doesn't have the balls."

"He had enough to screw around on her."

"He's engaged to the woman now. Rebecca found out last night."

"Double ouch. That's like putting salt in a wound."

"You should've seen the look on Rebecca's face. She was so hurt. But I think she realizes her marriage is now over."

"She already did. She's the one that filed for divorce."

Marcus shrugged. "Wouldn't you hold out and hope things would change if you and Lily hit a rough patch?"

"As long as I could. But not if she had feelings for another man."

Marcus mulled on that for a fleeting moment. "Kingston's been screwing around for five years." He was engulfed in a bone-tingling shiver. "What a bastard."

"
But not a murdering bastard."

"Still," Marcus said, "he won't win any
'husband of the year' award."

"Maybe he'll do better the second time around. Some men do." Zur arched a brow.

"You talking about me? Whoa, there. I'm not looking to get married anytime soon."

Zur let out a lengthy sigh. "Marcus, Marcus…one of these days, you're going to have to explore your emotions more fully. Let someone in. Love again. We've been friends far too long for me to pussyfoot around with you. You need to get a life."

"You sound like Leo."

"Leo Lombardo? Your 911 buddy?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"We met at Jane's funeral."

The air around Marcus grew thick.

"Sorry," Zur said.

"For what? Mentioning Jane's name? It's not taboo."

Zur shifted in his chair. "Isn't it?"

Marcus's gaze drifted to the French door that opened up to a terrarium full of plants. "I guess I haven't been very open about how I feel about Jane and Ryan. It's been tough. They're not here. I am."

"You deserve to be here."

"Do I?" He stared into his friend's eyes. "They had more to offer this world than I do. They should be alive. Not me."

Zur shook his head. "If you'd died instead of them, what would've happened to Rebecca
Kingston and her kids?"

Neither spoke
. Seconds turned into minutes.

Finally, Marcus said, "You get anything from Delaney
?"

He already knew the answer. If Delaney had given up his accomplice, Zur would've
filled Marcus in right away.

"We threatened the guy with solitary
, and he didn't crack."

"Seems kind of unusual."

"How do you mean?"

"If Delaney ha
d taken a job for hire and got a bit of money out of the deal, it seems he'd be happy to name whoever hired him, in exchange for maybe a lighter sentence or some perks. But he says nothing?"

"Someone has a real hold over him."

"You thinking mob? Are we back to the whole casino theory?"

"I don't know, Marcus. We're going in circles here. We—" Zur bit his lip.

"What? Spit it out?"

Zur picked something slimy out of his sandwich and wiped his fingers on a napkin. "We were hoping whoever hired Delaney would make his move while Mrs.
Kingston was in the hospital."

"We're playing the idea of setting a trap."

"What kind?"

"One that involves Mrs.
Kingston."

Marcus's eyes widened. "You want to use her as bait?"

"We'd have her covered. Lots of protection."

"No! You can't do this
."

Zur set down the half-eaten sandwich. "Look,
we're running out of options. Whoever went after Rebecca will most likely try it again. One night when she's home alone maybe, when you're not around to protect her."

"You can't put her life at risk like that. She has children who need her."

"We think we could escalate things, draw this person out into the open. Then we'd have him. They'd be locked away. Rebecca and her kids would be safe. Isn't that what you want?"

"Of course. But can't you use a double or something? Maybe an undercover agent?"

Zur let out a snort. "That's for the movies. We don't have the budget for that. Marcus, we would have someone in the washroom in her robe watching her room with cameras. We'd have officers in plainclothes positioned outside her door. And I'd be there, not far from her room."

Marcus chewed on the plan, his gut
churning in rebellion. He didn't like it. Something could go wrong.

But what if they caught him? Rebecca would never have to worry.

"What's the plan exactly?" he asked.

"We'd have the doctors report a relapse in her health. Maybe she's unconscious. We'd simultaneously report on an accident somewhere, something that police would have to respond to. We'd let the news know, everyone related to the case, and we'd make it known that we had to take the guard off her door because of this faux emergency. Word'll spread fast."

"But you'll be here."

Zur nodded. "I'll be at the main station, a few doors from Mrs.
Kingston's room."

"And
the kids?"

"We'd move them to the fourth floor—pediatrics—
to be safe."

"How many officers near Rebecca's room?"

"Four. They'd be positioned as nurses or patients. And then we'd wait."

Marcus sighed. "Are you going to tell Rebecca?"

"We already have. We needed her permission."

"Because she'll be putting herself in harm's way."

"Yeah, but you can rest easy. We'll have her well protected." Zur chugged back his coffee and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Marcus, I know this isn't the optimum strategy, but we're running out of leads. And ideas. If we don't try to coax this guy in, he could go underground for months."

"And resurface when no one's expecting him."

"Exactly."

"
I have to see Rebecca."

Zur stood. "Let's go then.
We're setting everything into place now. You'll have a few minutes before we fake her relapse. In fact, you could help make it believable."

On the way up to Rebecca's room, Zur filled him in on all the details.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Hinton, AB – Sunday, June 16, 2013 – 7:53 AM

In a private room in the ICU, Rebecca prepared for the performance of her life. She'd already been drilled about what to expect and how to act barely conscious if anyone entered the room after it was cleared.

Marcus sat near the bed, massaging his temples. His clenched jaw and occasional huffs
intimated he wasn't happy about the plan.

But she had to do it. She didn't have a choice. Not if she wanted to breathe again, or live her life without fear.

She gave Detective Zur a shaky smile. "Okay…I'm ready."

"
Great. We'll be outside your door, watching every—"

"Rebecca, you don't have to do this," Marcus interrupted. "They can catch this guy another way."

"What other way?" Detective Zur cut in. "We have no leads. We haven't got an inkling who hired Delaney. If we don't get him now—"

"He'll get away and hide," Rebecca finished. "I need to do this
, Marcus. So I'm not always looking over my shoulder, wondering if someone's going to come after me. Or the kids."

A nurse hovered over her, fastening an IV line to an empty plastic pouch.

"What's that for?" Rebecca asked.

The nurse glanced at
the detective who gave a slight nod. "We're running a fake IV drip. It'll run into this pouch, not into your arm."

"Why would you do that?"

The nurse bit her lip. "It's in case someone tries to…uh, tamper with your IV."

"Tamper." Rebecca blinked
, then glanced at Detective Zur. "You think someone will try to drug me?"

"
Possibly. We think they'll try to take advantage of your 'relapse' and make your death look like an accident."

"I guess that's better than having them walk in and shoot me." She cringed. "What's stopping them from doing that?"

Detective Zur shook his head. "Whoever planned this has been very smart up until now. He'd want to get in and out as quickly as possible. He wouldn't risk gunshots."

"What if he has a silencer?" she asked.

The detective glanced from Rebecca to Marcus and back to her. "I think you two watch the same movies. Listen, Mrs. Kingston, the first attempt on your life was in a remote location away from witnesses. If you and your children hadn't survived, we wouldn't have Delaney. It might even have appeared to be an accident. Like you'd taken the wrong turn and run off the road."

"And you think whoever hired this Delaney guy still wants no witnesses
and no evidence leading back to him."

Detective Zur nodded. "And
a death that looks accidental."

"
Plus, injecting you with a drug gives him time to get away," Marcus said. "Less chance he'd get caught."

"Exactly," the detective agreed.

"So I'm going to lie here and pretend I'm fading in and out of consciousness, and try not to fall asleep." She sighed. "I guess I can do that."

"We have two cameras set up
in your room," Zur said. "One aimed at the door and the other at your bed."

"So you'll see everything."

He nodded, then beckoned to an officer standing in the doorway. "We don't have time to wire your room with microphones, so Corporal Raddison is going to secure a wire to your pillow."

Rebecca took a deep breath. "But
you'll get him even if he says nothing?"

"All he has to do is make an attempt
and we'll get it on tape."

"What if
he tries to smother me with a pillow?"

"
Every pillow has been removed from your room, except the one you're lying on. We’ll be here in seconds of him making a move." Zur glanced at his watch and picked up the TV remote control. "Ah, showtime."

He flicked on a local television station
, and Rebecca gasped. Her photograph was pasted across the screen. Below it, the caption read, "Hit-and-run victim suffers serious complications."

The camera zoomed in on a
female reporter standing outside the hospital. "Rebecca Kingston, a victim of a vicious hit and run that included her two children, remains in serious condition at Hinton Hospital. Sources say the woman is in and out of consciousness after lung surgery setbacks. Her two children will be released into their aunt's care later this afternoon, while Rebecca Kingston continues to fight for her life."

A man's face flashed on the screen.

Rebecca shivered.
Rufus Delaney.

She knew his face from the photo
Marcus had shown her. This was the man who'd run her off the road.

"Turn it off please," she said quietly.

The detective gave her an apologetic look, then turned off the television.

"So now all I do is lie here and wait?" she asked him.

"Yes. I'll be able to check on you once in a while, as will one of the nurses. To make sure you're okay. We don't want you panicking and having a relapse for real."

"I'm sure that's a big comfort," Marcus muttered.

She reached out. "I'm fine. And I'll
be
fine. This was my choice."

When he took her hand and squeezed it, she felt rejuvenated with energy.

"I'm sticking around too," he said.

"You can't stay on the floor," Detective Zur argued. "Your face has been plastered all over the news. For saving Rebecca and her kids.
"

Marcus shrugged. "Then
it'll make sense why I'm hanging around."

The detective's lips thinned. "You can't interfere."

"He won't," Rebecca said. "Right, Marcus? You're going to stay at a safe distance and let them do their jobs."

"Fine."

"You can sit in the room with the recording crew," Detective Zur said. "You'll be able to see and hear everything in this room."

"There. Everything's settled." Rebecca attempted a smile.

"It will be," Marcus said. "Once we catch this bastard."

She glanced at the detective. "Can I have a word with Marcus alone, please?"

"Of course. No more than five minutes. Marcus, when you're done, meet me in the exam room across from the nurses' station?"

"Okay."

When she was alone with Marcus, her hands began to shake and her lips trembled in fear. "I'm not sure if I can do this."

"You can."

"But some guy might come in here and try to kill me."

"
Might. We don't even know for sure that anyone will show. And even if he does, he won't get far. Zur will catch him." He stroked her hand, his fingers warm against her skin. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. And you trusted me once before, remember?"

"Kind of hard to forget."

"June sixteenth, 2013," he said.

"
Pardon?"

"Today's date. It's a
'one' day. New beginnings, remember?"

She smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Be brave. You're a strong woman, Rebecca Kingston. And when this all over, you and I will go out and celebrate."

She gaped
at him in surprise. "Are you asking me out? On a date?"

"Time's up
! I have to go now."

He
was gone before she could argue.

A second later,
she realized he hadn't answered her question.