More Than A Lawman. Anna J. Stewart

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СКАЧАТЬ arm, tangled with the IV line and needle poking into her skin, before checking Eden’s other arm. “Nurse? Did you or one of your assistants attempt to put a line in on her right side?”

      “No, Doctor.” The nurse leaned over the bed and followed the doctor’s gaze to the bruises forming in the crook of Eden’s arm. “I did make note of a similar puncture wound in the side of her neck. Excuse me, Detective.” The nurse circled around and gently held Eden’s head to the side. “It’s small, but there’s a bruise forming.”

      “We’ll get you pictures, Detective.” Dr. Collins tapped away on the bedside computer. “Her first blood results are in and there are trace amounts of Propofol in your system. I want to run more tests, but we won’t get the results until later this morning. Eden?” Dr. Collins rested his hands on the railing and bent down so she had no choice but to look at him. “Eden, I want to admit you overnight. We need to get your blood count stabilized.”

      Her eyes went wide before they drooped.

      “I know you don’t want to be here, but I don’t like those marks you have. Give me twelve hours, Eden. That’s all I’m asking for. And I can sedate you for most of them if you want.”

      “Wh-what do you think you’ll find?” She sounded little-girl scared, a sure sign she wasn’t herself yet.

      “I can’t be certain, but I need you to trust me. Just for a little while. Can you do that?”

      “Cole?” Eden shifted and looked him in the eye. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

      “Where else would I be?” He squeezed her hand as his heart started thudding an uneasy rhythm.

      “’Kay. Put me out.”

      “When you feel up to it—” Cole bent close and whispered to her as the nurse and Dr. Collins discussed the amount of sedative “—you and I are going to have a very long talk about what happened tonight. You hear me, Eden?”

      He ignored every warning blaring in his head telling him to keep an emotional distance, but this was Eden. There wasn’t any distance to be had. “You’re done doing things this way. Understand?”

      “Mmm.” She nodded as her face relaxed into a goofy smile. “I hear you. Don’t agree, though. He’s out there. Hunting.” She groggily patted his hand as the nurse injected the sedative into her IV. “Gotta get him. Gotta get all of them. For Chloe...”

      And then she was out.

      “Doctor?” Cole placed her hand gently on the bed.

      “Outside, please.” Dr. Collins led him into the hallway and drew Eden’s door almost shut. “I can’t be certain, but given her platelet and red cell count, I’d say her blood’s been drained. Enough that I’m seeing more signs of that than the hypothermia. I’ll know more once those tests come back. If you’ll excuse me.”

      Cole nodded, then caught the nurse as she came out of Eden’s room. “How much of the sedative did you give her?”

      “She’ll be out for six, maybe seven hours.”

      “I’ll be back in five.”

Chapter 3

      It was an hour before Cole pulled into the parking lot of the deserted warehouse off Parkway Boulevard in West Sac. At a little before 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday, traffic was nonexistent. Patrol cars from both his and the West Sac department sat scattered about, their lights casting eerie blinding beams into the still-dark morning. Yellow crime-scene tape cordoned off the area. Behind him, the gold silhouette of the landmark Tower Bridge loomed over the city. Two coroner vans, along with two dark sedans, told him more than one department superior was on scene.

      As were several news crews. Irritation singed his nerves. Then he realized it was better to deal with them here than have them staking out Eden’s bedside. The longer her situation remained under wraps, the better. Especially for Eden.

      Eden.

      He couldn’t stop thinking about the icy blast of that meat locker or her frozen hands clutching at him as he’d carried her out of the building. Feeling her shiver, listening to her struggle for air... Cole didn’t think he’d ever complain again about how high the temperatures were in the valley.

      His breath escaped in short white puffs as he closed up his SUV and returned to the scene, carrying the tray of steaming coffee cups to his team.

      The building was old, long abandoned and beyond neglected. Looking at it from the outside, someone would have had to already know there was a freezer on the premises. Perhaps that list of someones would give them their first lead in months.

      The investigating unit had been busy. They’d set up portable spotlights in the four corners of the expansive main area and assembled their equipment. Besides the rusting steel and corroded machine parts, evidence of squatters and remnants of various rodent visitors lay about. A mishmash of footprints could be seen in the buildup of dust and debris on the floor.

      Searching for usable evidence would be futile. If there had been any at all, it had been obliterated by him and his men in their rush to get to Eden. Something he’d bet the Iceman had counted on.

      The pure joy that surged through him when he’d found Eden alive had nearly overwhelmed him. He’d expected the worst. What else could he think given he’d been taunted by a sociopathic serial killer? In so doing, the Iceman had flipped the entire case on its head.

      With all the attention Eden had given the Iceman in recent months, the killer must have had enough; he’d decided to return the favor.

      Bile rose in Cole’s throat.

      There was only one reason the Iceman hadn’t murdered Eden.

      He wasn’t done with her yet.

      If the Iceman planned to try again, he’d have to get through Cole first.

      “Thought you’d call me with an update before you got here.” Jack McTavish emerged from the freezer and grabbed the large paper cup Cole handed to him.

      “Tried. My phone’s been dropping calls since I changed carriers.” He managed a tired smile. “So I drove faster.”

      “How’s Eden doing?” Jack drank deeply and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

      “Sedated, but good. I put two officers on her until I get back there.” Which Cole was anxious to do, he realized.

      Jack gave him a quick nod. His partner was Cole’s age, but there were times he acted a decade younger. Thirty-two as of last week—a celebration that had resulted in a two-day hangover for half the squad—his buddy reminded Cole of one of those ’80s TV cops with his good looks, sturdy stance and dedication that shone in too-wise dark brown eyes.

      They’d been partners for a little over a year, ever since Jack had moved west from Chicago, but Cole was confident that Jack was a good cop. Solid. Dependable. One who would take this attack on someone Cole considered family as personally as he did.

      “What have we got?” Cole asked him.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ