Page 24 of Crossing Lines

Sam and Jo exchanged a glance. Neither of them wanted to ask for specifics. Wyatt had certain skills that might not be deemed legal when it came to computers, and sometimes it was just better not to know. Wyatt looked up from his typing. “Do you think this email is really from the killer, or is Menda just concocting this for his own gains?”

“I hope it’s not from the killer,” Sam said. “I don’t want to be chasing a killer around White Rock. I hate to say it, but it would be better if Kirsten’s murder was personal.”

Sam rubbed his face. “In the meantime, I’m going to look at the crime scene with fresh eyes.” Sam glanced toward his office and the corkboard on which he had pinned up a few photographs of the crime scene.

“I was thinking about visiting Kevin, and I wanted to introduce Lucy to Bridget. Do you mind if I take her for a bit?” Jo’s eyes met Sam’s. She was still thinking over his words about getting Bridget to testify against Thorne. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“Sure.” Sam leaned down to pet Lucy. “I can come pick her up at your place later if you want to.”

“That works.” Maybe once Sam met Bridget, he’d see how fragile she was and realize that it wouldn’t be a good idea to force her to testify against Thorne.

* * *

The staff at Hillcrest were always happy to see Lucy. Jo stopped for each one of them to greet the dog on her way to Kevin’s private room.

The room was the same as it had been every other time she’d visited him. It was nicer than the hospital, as it had soft-yellow paint on the walls and some nice artwork, but still not as good as him being awake and at home. The hospital bed and monitors were a harsh reminder of the situation, no matter how homey they might have tried to make the room look.

Kevin lay motionless in the bed as he had for months now.

Lucy went right to the bed and nudged his hand with her nose.

“If anyone can wake him up, you can,” Jo said as she came to stand beside the dog. Did Kevin’s face have a little more color than usual, or was she imagining it?

She didn’t know how much Sam had filled him in on recent events, so she updated him with her version.

“We have a new wrinkle. Turns out Thorne might not be a killer.”

Kevin had been in a coma when they’d arrested Thorne. He didn’t even know they’d arrested him unless somehow he actually was hearing and understanding what she and Sam had said to him. She didn’t know if he was or not, but it couldn’t hurt to keep updating him.

“Not only that, but the killer might’ve started up again.” She glanced at the monitors for any erratic spiking of the lines but didn’t see anything.

“We’re not sure if it’s a serial killing; still investigating that. Maybe we’ll get lucky and only have one victim. If you can call that lucky.” She pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

“My sister is living with me now. She’s finally clean. But she seems so fragile and lost. She’s not like I remember her, but all my memories are from before she got into drugs.” Jo hadn’t told Kevin about Tammy; maybe she would someday if he woke up. For right now, she didn’t want to burden him. “It’s going to take a while for Bridget to feel safe and start carving out a drug-free life.”

When should she tell Bridget about the investigation she’d been conducting on Tammy? Jo was sure that Bridget’s whole drug addiction had stemmed from their sister’s abduction. She’d been affected by it as a kid, and that had fueled her bad choices and need for drugs as a teen.

Maybe if Bridget could help with the investigation, it would be therapeutic, like it was for Jo. Jo’s instincts told her Bridget might need more time to settle in. She’d keep an eye on her emotional state, and hopefully it would become clear when to tell her.

Sam was coming to pick up Lucy tonight, and he’d probably expect to be filled in on the case. Jo wanted to fill him in, but not with Bridget there. She texted a message telling him that Bridget didn’t know about the investigation so he would know not to mention it when he came over.

“I wish you could come back. We could use your help.” Jo stared at Kevin, looking for the twitch that Sam had seen, but nothing moved.

“Lucy misses you.” Still nothing. “And I’m sure Major Payne would love to meet you.” Not a twitch.

She got up from the chair and started to pace. “But back to the case. First of all, it’s a bummer that this Charlie Bascomb guy thinks he can get the charges dropped. Did Sam mention Bascomb is Thorne’s uncle? Well actually, he’s Beryl’s uncle. I don’t trust her at all.” She turned and looked at Kevin, half expecting him to nod in agreement. “But Bascomb seemed pretty sure that he could prove those golf shoes weren’t Thorne’s, and those shoes are a big part of our case.”

Unless Bridget could testify against him.

“If only there was something else we could use to solidify our case.” She let her voice trail off as a thought arose. She’d always suspected that Thorne had something to do with the murder of their previous mayor, but they’d proven the criminal who had put Kevin in the hospital was the actual killer. Even though the evidence pointed to him, Jo suspected he might’ve been a puppet for Thorne.

Jo sighed and turned then walked back to the head of the bed. “I always suspected he had something to do with Dupont’s death and maybe others too.”

Kevin’s foot jerked. It took Jo a second to register that she’d actually seen movement. Sam had said there had been a little twitching when he was here, but this was a full-out jerk. Jo stared at Kev’s foot. It jerked again!

Jo ran out into the hallway. “Nurse! I think something is happening!”

A nurse rushed in, and Kevin’s foot twitched again. She rushed up to lift his eyelids and shine a light in his eyes. Jo kept her eyes glued to the beeping machines. The heart rate one was increasing. Was that good?

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