paid Bramlett to kill those women may have lucked into a bona fide serial killer as a hired gun, but those women are dead for a specific reason, and Ivy and I both think it has something to do with Rachel Davenport.”
Antoine looked thoughtful but didn’t respond, and a moment later, Sutton’s cell phone rang, dragging his attention away. It was Jesse Cooper, calling back. With a frown, he got up and went to an empty corner of the waiting room to answer. “Calhoun.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Jesse asked, dispensing with polite greetings. “I’ve been trying to call you for over an hour.”
“I was closing a case,” Sutton answered drily. “Something up?”
“Emergency case in northern Iraq. Four employees of Campelli Construction working on projects in the Kurdish region have been taken hostage in a standoff between the Turkish military and the Kongra-Gel rebels. You’re one of our only operatives who speak both Turkish and Kurdish. We need you on the ground helping out with negotiations so we can end this without losing any Campelli employees.”
“How soon?” Sutton’s heart sank.
“We’re sending the chopper up to Bitterwood to get you. Should be there within an hour. Delilah’s aboard—she’ll take over your case.”
“I’m in Knoxville,” he said bleakly, “and our part of the case is closed. We know who killed April Billings.” He caught Jesse up as tersely as possible, his stomach aching with dismay.
How could he leave here in a matter of hours? He had so much he hadn’t had a chance to say to Ivy, so much he wanted to ask her. To offer her. Hell, he couldn’t even be sure she’d be through in the E.R. before he had to go.
“You’ll have to go back to Bitterwood to get your things, I guess. Can you get there and get packed up within an hour?” Jesse asked. “J.D.’s going to set the chopper down at some place called Hardy’s Field. Said it’s in the valley near the lumberyard?”
“I know it,” Sutton said, wanting off the phone now. He needed to talk to Ivy before he left. He had to make her see that this time, he wasn’t abandoning her again. He would be back. Nothing short of death itself would keep him from coming back to her.
“Delilah can do the follow-up with Billings and close out the case,” Jesse said. “You better get a move on. You’ve got to make a flight out of Atlanta to JFK in four hours.”
“I need more than an hour,” he told Jesse. “My father’s in the hospital—I can’t leave without seeing him. And I need to check on the cop who got injured—”
“Okay, two hours. That’s the best I can do. You’ve got a limited amount of time to get on that plane to JFK.”
“Fine. Two hours. I’ll make it work.”
“Problems?” Antoine was walking back to his chair as Sutton returned. He had two cups of coffee and handed one to Sutton.
“I have to leave for Atlanta by chopper in two hours. I’ve got to see both my father and Ivy before I go. Any word on her?”
“I checked while you were on the phone. Last word is that she’s been sent for a CAT scan.”
Sutton’s heart dropped. “They think her head injury is that bad?”
“I get the feeling it’s mainly a precaution. But she could be here at least another hour, best-case scenario.” Antoine looked apologetic. “You really have to go so quickly?”
“The job requires my skill set,” he answered vaguely. “Any way to get me in to see her before I have to leave?”
“Captain Rayburn himself is waiting to see her, swinging his shield around like a great big—” Antoine flashed a brief but wicked grin. “Anyway, if nobody’s letting him in, they’re not going to let you in, either.”
So that was it, Sutton thought. If he was going to meet the chopper and make the plane, he’d have to leave in the next hour. If they didn’t let anyone see her before then, he’d have to leave without talking to her.
At least he had to go back to her house to get the rest of his things. He could leave her a note, try to say in writing what he wouldn’t get a chance to say in person.
But it wouldn’t be enough.
* * *
“YOU HAVE A VISITOR,” the nurse told Ivy as she came into the narrow emergency bay to check her vitals. They were waiting for final word from the CAT scan, but Ivy knew it would be normal.