we could have a spree killer on our hands? I need results on this one, and I need them fast.”
“Yes sir,” Trembley said.
Jessie wasn’t as inclined to be so solicitous but held her tongue.
“Okay, regroup and come at it fresh in the morning. I want to have something to announce by the end of tomorrow, got it?” He stormed off without waiting for an answer.
Trembley seemed reluctant to give up for the night but Jessie couldn’t wait any longer. She had to get to the hospital. She said goodbye and darted from the courtyard, leaving Trembley waving to empty space.
*
She got lucky. Nurse Tamara was on duty and even though it was 6:08 p.m. when Jessie arrived at the hospital, she ushered her to Ryan’s room without a word of protest.
“We lowered the sedative dosage intermittently throughout the day and he responded well,” she said. “He’s awake now, though I’m not sure how alert he is.”
“Can you spare a couple of Advil?” Jessie whispered to her once they were in the room. After all the activity of the day, her shoulder was throbbing and her back felt like fire ants had been nibbling at it. Tamara nodded and left the room.
When Jessie walked in, she heard the familiar hiss of the ventilator. Ryan’s eyes were closed but opened slowly when he heard the door close behind her. Even though his mouth wasn’t visible behind the tubing and tape, his eyes crinkled in what she knew was a smile.
She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently in hers.
“Do anything exciting today?” she asked.
He blinked twice for “no,” then seemed to try to nod at her as if to ask about her day.
“Nothing electrifying for me either,” she said, deciding that sharing the fact that she’d agreed to take a case while he was incapacitated in a hospital bed might not buck him up. “Dealing with Hannah’s increasing churlishness as we get closer to her starting summer school next week. Trust me, you’re better off here than there. Sometimes I wonder if I should get stabbed in the chest just so I don’t have to deal with the eye rolls and snark attacks.”
His chest rose and fell more quickly than normal and she knew that he was laughing. She kept talking, trying to keep the mood light.
“We’re still at Kat’s apartment but I’m looking for a new place. I don’t want to take advantage of her generosity. My hope is to have found something by the end of the month. And I promise that our bedroom will have better soundproofing than the condo did.”
Again, his chest bounced slightly. Another chuckle. She was on a roll. As she waited for him to regroup, she wondered if still having a sense of humor was a sign that his cognitive function hadn’t been affected. Tamara silently entered the room, handed Jessie two pills and a paper cup of water, and disappeared again.
“I think I mentioned that I have interviews lined up for next week,” she continued as she downed the medication. “All of them are teaching positions focused on criminology. Dr. Lemmon really hooked me up. I’m talking to USC on Monday, UCLA and Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, and UC-Irvine on Wednesday. Remember my thesis advisor when I got my master’s there, Professor Hosta? He wants me back. I think he intends to put me in a display case more than actually have me teach. I don’t think I’d go there anyway. It’s just too far to commute every day. But I’m curious to go back and look around. After all, that’s where we first met, you remember?”
Ryan blinked “yes.” She wondered if he was picturing their first interaction, when he’d come as a guest speaker in her Forensic Psych class and she’d been the only one to solve the crime scenario he established during the lecture.
She’d been married back then and not looking at him as a potential romantic partner. But she still remembered what an impressive figure he cut: muscular, dark good looks, an air of unquestioned professional competence.
Seeing him now—frail, nonverbal, completely helpless—made her already cracked heart split even wider.
“I love you, Ryan Hernandez,” she whispered softly. “I miss being with you. I can’t wait to curl up in bed beside you. That day’s coming soon, you know?”
He blinked yes again but his eyes were watery with tears. She dabbed them for him. After she finished, she could tell he was tired, so she didn’t speak anymore.