Reckless
Part 7
Cassy swallowed the last of the black mud the hospital called coffee. It burned as it slid its way down her throat. She placed the cup on the table in front of her and then leaned forward, resting elbows on her blood-stained knees. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away the events of the night. It didn't work. Visions of her partner's still body interchanged with Gwen Moore's bloody features continued to assault her.
She felt a presence enter the waiting room and knew that Harry had returned. He handed her a pair of green surgical scrub pants. "You can put these on."
Gratefully taking the clothing, she moved over on the couch, making room for him to sit next to her. "Any word?" she asked.
"They've taken him to surgery. The doctor said that the bullet had passed through the left lung, causing it to collapse. He called it traumatic pneumothorax. He was afraid the bullet had also nicked the aorta artery. He'll know more afterwards."
"But Tom's going to be okay?" Cassy's voice was full of hope.
Harry shrugged, but didn't answer. The woman buried her face in her hands once again. "The doctor said he lost a lot of blood and he was suffering from shock," Harry continued. There was silence for a moment. Then Harry spoke again. "I called Lyam and Margaret. They're on their way. They should be here by morning."
Cassy sighed. "How'd they take the news?"
"How else could they take it? Lyam was upset. I could hear Margaret sobbing in the background."
"They shouldn't have to go through this. Tom has been through so much. . .been hurt so many times. Every time something happens, every time he is hurt, I know that a little part in them is dying." Cassy sniffed and wiped at a tear which escaped from her eye. "Damn Slater," she spat.
Harry sat back on the couch and placed a comforting hand on the woman's arm. "Cassy, what happened? Tell me how it went down."
She followed her captain's lead and leaned against the couch as well. Her head dropped back on the cushion and she closed her eyes, remembering the evening.
"Gwen Moore called in and told me that her photographer, Martin Ayres, was coming in to talk to her. Tom was already at Ayres house when the call came in. I was. . .closer to the studio. When I arrived, he was still ten minutes away."
She was silent for a moment, remembering the ribbing she had been giving her partner about his inability to win any race between them. A smile came to her lips.
"What?" Harry saw the look on her face.
Her expression became somber as reality returned. "Nothing. I told him that I was going to go on in and meet Martin and Gwen. When I went in, the building was silent, the hallway dark. There was a light on in Moore's office. I thought she was inside. I called out to her. There was no answer. When I entered the room, I found her body and called Tom. Then I heard a noise in back. When I reentered the hallway, I saw Slater. I recognized him immediately from the last time and I think he recognized me. We exchanged fire and he bolted out the back. I pursued. . ."
Harry suddenly cut her off. "You pursued an armed suspect without waiting for backup?"
"I couldn't wait, Harry. You know that. If I'd waited, we would have lost him again. . .he would have killed someone else."
Harry didn't respond, instead he pursed his lips together, withholding judgment. Cassy continued. "Slater ran to the warehouse. He went in, I followed."
"Did you tell Ryan where you were?"
"Yes. I called him on the cell phone."
"But you didn't wait for him?" Harry's head dipped down and he stared at his detective over the rim of his glasses.
Cassy paused before answering. "No."
"He was too far away?"
"Yeah. . .I. . .Well, I assume so," Cassy stumbled.
"Let me get this straight. You pursue a suspect without backup. Then you tell your backup where you are, but you don't find out his ETA?" Harry tried to keep his voice calm, but knowing that Cassy had been so reckless in pursuit of a murderer was wearing on him.
Cassy's eyes showed guilt. "I. . .I didn't think I had time. Slater was getting away."
Harry shook his head. "Go on."
"I found Slater near the back of the building, I shouted out the standard warnings and he fired on me. I returned fire, but missed. It was too dark."
"Oh, this story just keeps getting better and better," Harry muttered.
Cassy ignored the comment. "The next thing I knew, Slater was running away from me. Tom came out of no where and tackled him, Slater's gun went off and I fired. I must've missed again. But Slater didn't. His bullet hit Tom." Cassy paused, the memory of seeing Tom collapse in a heap on the floor, Slater's body beneath his, assaulted her. "Slater tried to escape again. I fired." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't miss."
Harry's silence stretched out for several moments as he thought through the events that Cassy had described. Finally he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Well, I can't say that I'm disappointed that you nailed Slater. The man was a monster."
Cassy nodded. Harry shook his head. "Officers on the scene at Moore's studio found negatives of Sarah Barbara spread out over Gwen Moore's desk. They were rather. . .explicit. It appears that Jason Slater had assumed the identity of Martin Ayres. Our guess is that Moore found the negatives and realized that her photographer knew more about the girl's disappearance than she originally thought. She confronted him on it and he killed her."
"How explicit?" Cassy quietly asked. "What did he do to her?"
Harry shook his head. "You don't want to know. It was bad."
Cassy felt another tear leave her eye. "Damn him. How could he do that to her. . .to the others."
There were no answers. Only regrets.
*******************************
Cassy had drifted off to sleep, her head leaning on the shoulder of her captain. Harry had nodded off a few times, but his concern for his injured detective interfered with his rest.
His eyes wandered to the clock. Over three hours had passed since Tom was first taken to surgery. No word had come regarding the detective's status. In this case, however, no news was probably good news. Harry sighed. God, he hated this. He hated feeling so helpless when one of his officers was injured in the line of duty. And as far as he was concerned, he had devoted too many hours to worrying over whether Tom Ryan was going to live or die. Despite his verbal denials, he loved the young man like a son, and knowing that he was hurt and at death's door tried Harry's emotions to their fullest.
The sound of footsteps entering the waiting room broke into his thoughts. "Captain Lipschitz?" Dr. Neely said as he entered the room, wearing sweat-stained surgical scrubs.
The sound of the unfamiliar voice roused Cassy from her restless slumber. She sat upright, allowing Harry to climb to his feet, stretching stiff muscles. Cassy pushed herself up and similarly tried to relieve her body aches.
The doctor approached the two officers, a tired look of worry crossing his features. "Sgt. Ryan is out of surgery."
"And?" Harry pushed.
"And it was touch and go." The doctor walked over to the chair next to the couch and collapsed. "He coded on us twice."
Harry glanced at Cassy, trying to read her reaction. The woman's features were cold and hard, but her eyes revealed her pain and fear. He then turned his attention back to the doctor. The man continued. "He made it through and we were able to get the bullet out. We had to repair extensive damage to the left lung. The bullet was lodged near the heart. As we suspected, it nicked the aorta. We were able to bypass the damaged area."
"He's going to be okay?" Cassy asked, her voice anxious. The doctor didn't respond. "Right?" she frowned, her stomach's knots tightening with fear.
"He's critical. There's a lot going against him right now." The doctor paused, letting his words sink in, then he continued. "I'm just not prepared to give you false hope at the moment. We will take his recovery hour-by-hour. If all goes well, perhaps I can give you something more definitive in the morning."
He stood, as did Harry and Cassy. The doctor extended a hand to Harry. "If you have any questions, please let me or the floor nurse know."
"Where is he?" Harry asked immediately.
"Sgt. Ryan is in Recovery. He'll be moved to CICU within the next two hours." Neely took two steps to the door and then paused. "Per SOP, I gave the bullet to Officer. . .Barnett I believe it was."
Harry nodded, filing away the information for a time when he would actually care. At the moment, he was much too concerned about the life of his detective to be interested in proper procedure.
Cassy collapsed back onto the couch, feeling all energy leave her body. She took comfort in the fact that her partner, her best friend, was still amongst the living, but fear gnawed at her. The doctor's voice had been filled with such doubt, indicating that Tom's hold on life was tenuous at best. "Damn that monster," she growled under her breath, seething at the sight of Slater in her mind.
End Part 7
To Part 8