Page 113 of Raging Inferno

“Are you okay?”

“I am. Others aren’t.”

“I was looking for an excuse to leave,” Charlie said. “Thank you. We’ll be there soon.”

Dominic walked to the waiting room and headed to the nurse’s station. “Hey, Erin.”

“Captain Bianchi. Is everything okay?”

“No, I’m waiting on news for Presley Parrish. She was just brought in. I’ll need to speak with her doctor as soon as possible.”

She typed into her computer. “I’ve got you on record.”

“Thanks.”

Dom walked over to a couch and collapsed. He felt exhausted. Stressed. Worried sick. How could Rena Robbins be one of the killers? A thought crossed his mind, and he stiffened. He’d had to replace two firefighters who had died in an automobile accident. Rena was one of the hires. Had it been a setup? Had Jamie Wilcox and Ned Ibarra been part of Rena and Val’s nefarious plans?

It hurt him deeply to know she was guilty of such vile, evil machinations. How many people had lost their lives? What was Val Anders’s motivation for killing the Cheerios? Since she was dead, they might never know.

Blood stained the white T-shirt Dom had worn under his tux shirt, but he didn’t care. He would toss the entire suit when he got home.

The doors to the waiting room slicked open. He glanced over to see Sam King rush inside and head directly to the nurse’sstation. Sam still wore his tux and a frantic expression. He didn’t glance Dom’s way, and he had no energy to flag him down.

After he spoke with Erin, Sam raked a hand through his hair and turned. Dom lifted a hand, and Sam hurried over to him.

“What the hell happened?”

“I don’t have the details, but I believe Jessie was poisoned.”

“No way! By whom?”

“Dr. Val Anders.”

“The medical examiner?”

Dom nodded.

Sam dropped beside Dom. “I couldn’t find Jessie to start the gala, and I assumed she was off doing the bank president or something. Geez, I think I made snide remarks about her. I don’t remember. Then the police called.”

“What did they tell you?”

“That she was being brought to the emergency room unconscious, possibly overdosed. Damn it, Dominic, tell me everything.”

He did, starting with realizing Presley was missing and how Kayne deduced it was the medical examiner. “Val Anders is Jerrod Moran’s older sister.”

Sam slammed against the back of the couch. “The hell you say!”

Dom shrugged.

Sam dropped his head into his hands. “Something happened the night Gwen and Jerrod died, Dominic. Jessie would never talk to me about it. I tried to pry it out of her, even when she was wasted, but she was a vault. Has Anders talked?”

“She’s dead.” Dom had been around many deaths and had seen some gruesome things. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to get the image of Val’s head exploding out of his mind. “I don’t know the details, but Rena Robbins was involved.”

“No kidding? Damn it, I slept with her.”

Dominic should’ve been surprised, but he wasn’t. “She stabbed Presley.”

“What? Is she okay?”

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