Cut and Run (Criminal Profiler 2)

Restless sleep and nightmares had plagued Faith since her confrontation with Margaret. Her mind continued to replay the scene featuring Margaret’s almost serene face. Later, after Hayden had interviewed PJ, he’d relayed to her how confused PJ had looked, how he’d quickly recovered, and how in the end he’d sided with his mother.

A knock on her bedroom door yanked her from the terrifying replay, and she sat up to see Kat standing in her room. The girl had moved into Faith’s house immediately upon discharge from the hospital. So far the two were still getting to know each other. Like most teenagers, Kat wasn’t always easy. Throw in the stress of the adoption, and well, sometimes it was a study in patience.

The bright spot had been Nancy Ridgefield, who had proposed the idea of Nancy and her husband, Mike, adopting Kat’s baby. Faith had presented the idea to the girl, and the four of them had sat down and had several lengthy discussions. In the end, Kat had decided she liked Nancy and Mike Ridgefield and had agreed.

“My bed is wet,” Kat said. “I’m soaked.”

Faith tossed back her covers, surprised at the rush of panic and worry shooting through her body. She considered herself cool under fire. Crime scenes, autopsies, even a grilling from a defense attorney in court didn’t faze her. But this moment felt entirely different.

“Don’t worry. It’s your water breaking,” Faith said. “We just need to get you changed and to the hospital.”

“Is the baby going to fall out?” Kat asked, sounding panicked.

“No, it’s not going to fall out. We’ve got time. Let’s get you changed.”

She helped the girl change into clean clothes, dressed herself in jeans, a pullover blouse, and sandals, and then grabbed the go-bag she’d packed when the girl had moved into her house.

“Paige was in so much pain,” Kat said as Faith drove through the dark streets toward the medical center. “I remember her crying.”

“It won’t be like that for you. I’ve told you there are medicines that will help. It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

Each time Faith remembered Paige’s anguished cries in that drab room, she thought about Josie, Olivia, and Kathy. They’d not had any help. They’d suffered alone, or worse, with Danny Garnet offering his ham-fisted help.

But Paige was back home with her parents and her baby girl. She was trying to put her life back together. She’d survived.

Faith tightened her grip on the steering wheel, forcing a smile for Kat’s sake as she pressed the accelerator and sped through a yellow light.

“Where’s the Ranger?” Kat’s voice sounded strained as she shifted in her seat.

“Hayden is south of San Antonio. He’s working a case.”

“Top secret.”

“It must be,” Faith said. “He didn’t want to leave until the baby was born, but there was no avoiding it.”

“Shouldn’t you call him and tell him?” She grimaced and pressed her hand to her belly.

“I will as soon as I get you checked in to the hospital.”

“And you need to call Nancy and Mike. They’re going to want to see the show.”

“Let’s just get you to the hospital.”

“You look worried,” Kat challenged.

“Nope. Not. A. Bit.”

Faith pulled up in the circular entrance to the hospital, dashed inside, and returned quickly with a wheelchair. As a nurse pushed Kat toward labor and delivery, Faith parked the car and then ran inside with Kat’s bag.

Fifteen minutes later, she was changed into scrubs and in the room, the worried girl’s contractions rapidly growing closer. She called Nancy first, who answered on the first ring. Nancy sounded calm and focused and promised that she and Mike would be there soon.

The next call was to Mitchell. He answered quickly as well, and she discovered hearing his calm, even voice settled her own jitters and worries.

As it turned out, Kat delivered Baby Boy Jones three hours later, with Nancy and Mike looking on. The boy was healthy, perfect, and squalling in a way that reminded Faith a little of Kat when the girl was complaining.

Faith took lots of pictures of mother and son. She texted several to Hayden.

Nancy and Mike held back, watching nervously as the nurse laid the baby in Kat’s arms. For a long moment, the girl stared at the baby boy and then cried. “Nancy, come and get your kid.”

Faith took the baby from Kat and laid him in Nancy’s arms. The couple cried, thanked Kat over and over, and then stared at their son with such love. After the Ridgefields moved into their own room with the baby, Faith stayed and held Kat as she cried.

Had Faith’s adopted parents looked at her with the same devotion? She’d met Marissa’s parents, and they’d listened quietly as they’d learned the circumstances of their daughter’s birth. An investigation into the Lewis family revealed that the wife, Caroline, had been a member of Margaret Slater’s tennis club. It had been Margaret who had come to Caroline and told her about a baby girl who had been born. Caroline and her husband, Kyle, had agreed immediately to the adoption. Slater & McIntyre had handled all the paperwork.

When Kat was finally asleep, Faith went to the lobby café, bought sandwiches and soda, and took them back upstairs to the physical rehabilitation step-down unit, where Macy had been staying for the last two weeks.

Faith stood at the door of the floor’s rehab gym and watched as Macy wrangled with crutches. Macy’s now very short blond hair caught the sunlight coming through the window.

Her sister was getting stronger every day, and her doctors often commented on her drive and determination. But Macy set high standards for herself and when she didn’t meet them, often got frustrated.

“This is crap,” Macy said to the therapist. “I used to run a sub-six-minute mile. And now I hobble around like an old woman.”

The therapist, a practical, no-nonsense woman who only smiled when her patients excelled, raised a brow. “Work harder, old woman.”

“It’s looking good to me,” Faith said.

Macy shot her a look, a blend of annoyance and hope. “You’re always positive.”

“It’s a curse,” Faith said. “I got us a couple of sandwiches. Turkey on rye, your favorite, and those baked chips you like. Are you almost finished?”

The therapist nodded. “We are.”

“Great. See you there.”

“Aren’t you going to push my wheelchair?” Macy asked.

Faith looked to the therapist, who shook her head. “Boss says no can do. I suppose you’ll have to wheel yourself.”

“You ar

e a slave driver, just like the PT Goddess of Pain.”

Faith laughed. “If you want to eat hospital food, then by all means stay here.”

Macy muttered a curse but held up a hand. “I would crawl for a sandwich right now.”

“I’m hungry, so you better hurry,” Faith teased.

As she left her grumbling sister behind, she had to smile. It was nice having family. They were far from perfect, but that suited her just fine.

She set the sandwiches on a round table in the break room and then put a straw in each cup. She grabbed napkins from a dispenser.

The click of Macy’s crutches had her standing, pulling out a chair, and helping her settle. Faith stacked her crutches against the wall beside them.

Macy grabbed a half of a sandwich and took a bite, her eyes closing with pure pleasure. “You’re in scrubs, which means Kat had her baby. Boy or girl?”

“Boy. Healthy with a strong set of lungs,” Faith said.

Faith was pleased by her sister’s speech and cognitive recognition. Like Faith, Macy was having trouble sleeping. She also suffered from headaches, but her memory and recall were now almost perfect.

Macy picked up a napkin and wiped her fingertips. “And Nancy and Mike now have the baby as planned?”

“They do. It was bittersweet.”

Both were silent for a moment, and then Macy said, “Kat had a choice. And that counts for a lot. She’ll also get to see the boy from time to time.”

“Yes. She’ll be a big part of his life.”

“Are Nancy and Mike still calling the kid Alexander?”

“I suppose. We didn’t get that far today.”

Macy and Faith fell into silence as each ate her sandwich. The fate of Josie, Olivia, and Kathy was never far from their minds, the story of their deaths becoming clear as the details unfolded.

Forensic examination of the bones had revealed that Olivia and Kathy both had broken hyoid bones. The horseshoe-shaped bone was found in the neck, and its fracturing generally indicated strangulation.

Special Agent Kate Hayden, using Macy’s key, had retrieved Jack Crow’s package from her mailbox. She’d returned it to Austin and, with Hayden, Brogan, Faith, and Macy in attendance, had opened it.