an escape. He closed his eyes and relaxed in the quiet.
Eden had a patient downstairs and two more slated, but he’d finished for the day. Three weeks had passed with morning updates coming from Jamison or, when he was busy, from one of the staff members of Guardian. They’d found the warden’s car abandoned. The authorities tested the blood on the seat and the DNA matched Cyrus’. According to Jamison, the amount was substantial. There had been no sight of the man since that point. The state placed Guardian in charge of the investigation. With what the security agency found at the supermax, the federal government oversight agencies directed a transfer of a third of the inmates to other facilities. The feds had authorized additional manning based on the antiquated systems which were now scheduled for updates.
He sipped his beer and closed his eyes. A damn shame good people had to die to get the political machine to pay attention. There had been no word on Cyrus, which was something of a Schrodinger’s cat scenario. It could be good, or it could be bad; there was no way of knowing unless you opened the box. He didn’t have a box, and the waiting––that was a bitch.
His phone vibrated and he lifted it off the small bistro table he’d bought Eden for the porch. He swiped the face and dropped his legs off the rail. Jamison’s number. Fuck. “What do you have?”
“They found agent Docker this morning, dead.”
“How?”
“We believe it was Cyrus. Docker was home alone. His family, thank God, were visiting her parents for two weeks while the kids were on summer vacation. When he didn’t come into work this morning and they weren’t able to reach him, his partner went out to his house.”
He set the beer down on the table. “Where does Docker live?”
“Santa Maria, California, so he’s still in the state. He used ropes. Our profiler believes that’s because he’s still weak. He’d never used ropes before, but the MO has enough markers that the FBI is pinning it on him. They are working with Guardian to pull any camera surveillance in the area.”
“Docker’s family?”
“In protective custody until he’s caught.”
“If only it were that simple.” He couldn’t put a whole damn town in protective custody.
“Not an option in your case,” Jamison sighed. “We still don’t know he’s heading your way. Docker was low-hanging fruit. And yeah, it sounds like absolute rubbish to say that because we’re talking about a man who had his life ahead of him. That bastard.” He finished his rant with a snarl.
Jeremiah rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “Has your team arrived in the area?”
“They will be there in two days. My boss pulled them in from overseas and they’re being briefed now. He also wanted me to reassure you that no one will see them if there isn’t a threat.”
“All right.” He stared at the wood under his feet and absorbed the information.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m as jumpy as a herd of goats on a trampoline right now.”
Jamison belted out a belly laugh. “You better watch it, Remi, you’re sounding like a local.”
He chuckled and leaned back into the shade again. “I’m staying here. I’ve told you that.”
“Ah, yes, the lovely Eden. How is your lady?”
“She’s worried. She tries hard not to show it, but the stress is evident.” He drank the last of his beer.
“And you? Keeping busy?”
He grunted. “I now have three patients. Ms. Marshall, a young man with PTSD and addiction problems, and the guy I saved my first night here. He’s having problems dealing with the incident.”
“Not enough to pay the bills or stay busy,” Jamison mused.
“I have enough money so that I’d never have to work another day in my life. However, my sister is turning me into a farmer, whether or not I want to be one. We just tilled four acres and planted veggies that can produce in the growing time left. And when I say veggies, we’re talking bulk wholesale quantities of veg.”
“What’s she going to do with it all?”
“What she can’t serve at the cafe she’ll can or freeze to use throughout the winter. She can squeeze a penny until it begs for air.” That, and he’d figured out she was hell-bent on proving to their mother that she could be her own woman. That spun Celest off in episodes of dramatic dismay, at least according to his father.
“Sounds like an admirable trait. Is Eden within earshot?” Jamison asked.