Page 97 of To Have and to Hold

The nurse’s words were all business, and if she didn’t have such soft hands I would’ve sparred with her, but I sensed she was aware of the situation. That was the kind of touch Emme needed right now.

“I appreciate it,” I said and sat down on a high-backed chair. When she departed, I assessed what items could help me pass the time quickly. I was the only one in the waiting room. My cheap phone was dead and it appeared I had my choice of three-week-old tabloid magazines or twenty-four-hour silent news coverage on the TV propped in the corner, with helpful delayed subtitles. The house the reporter gesticulated in front of was familiar. I stood up and shut the TV off.

“Nothing good on?”

Knox stood in the entrance to the waiting room, hands resting on his hips and putting his badge and holster on full display.

“Only if you count living the news,” I said.

In three strides Knox had me in a hug. He clapped my back, saying, “We got her, dude.”

I hovered close to squeezing back, but drew away and patted his arms instead. “Just doing our jobs, right? Call of duty and all that.”

“Buddy.” Knox’s gaze was a little too perceptive. “You can let it out, you know.”

I swiped against my mouth. “Emme’s alive and back and that’s all that matters.”

“Because of you.”

“What’s going on back at the place?” I sat down and stacked my elbows on my knees, hoping Knox would follow suit. “Any more about the Ed Carver and Abrams connection with that house?”

Knox took the seat next to me anyway. “Best guess, Abrams manipulated Ed into staying at that house. Maybe offered low rent or free room and board. Whatever it is, we’ll find out.”

“Likely he noticed Ed’s unseemly connection with Emme by accessing her college records.”

“Yup. If Abrams’s obsession was as dedicated as you theorize—and all arrows point that way—he explored Emme’s past, and with Ed’s name and history came a plan. Abrams probably contacted Ed soon after that.”

“And the explosion? The bomb in the doorway?”

“A hacksaw job, but a success nonetheless,” Knox said. “Your basic trip wire device that set off a homemade IUD fixed to the top of the doorframe.”

“Any idea what it was made of?”

“Not yet, but we will. I’m thinking it’ll be your basic items bought at the local hardware store, maybe some household products thrown in.”

“That stuff is too easy to come across, man.”

“And Ed was all too eager to please. I don’t know if we’ll ever find out exactly what Abrams said to him to get him to concoct a bomb. Maybe the wife will cough something up.”

I snorted. “Doubt it.”

“Regardless, Ed was the peon, Abrams was the mastermind.” He tapped on his badge. “Doesn’t take this to figure that out.”

I fixed my gaze to the linoleum. “He alive?”

Knox waited a beat. “Nope.”

I nodded.

“We’re waiting for positive ID, but it’s pretty clear it’s Abrams. From one side of his face, anyway. The forensic guys are there, vacuuming up dust and photographing water droplets. They’ll document everything and with that kind of physical evidence presented, Emme won’t be charged for anything. What she did was in clear self-defense.”

I leaned forward onto my elbows. “It’s the living with it I’m worried about.”

Knox’s hand came down on my shoulder, the physical weight carrying more than mere pressure. “She’s home with us now. That’s step one.”

“I can’t leave until I know she’s okay.”

“I’m aware.”

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