When the man opened the door of the patient's room, Hondo caught a glimpse of the interior. He made out a single hospital bed, surrounded by a whole technology park, cables and hoses, then Phillip Santiago stepped into the hallway.
"Evening, Hondo."
"Hey."
They were silent for a moment, then Santiago asked: "Coffee? You look a bit tired."
"Hardly any better than you. Is there anything decent somewhere around?"
"As usually, the cafeteria and vending machine are inedible. But if you show your badge at the nurses' room, you will get the good stuff. I'll get us something."
Shortly afterwards he came back with two mugs from which came a pleasant scent and next to which he balanced a napkin bag. "They still had cookies. Come over."
He followed him a few yards down the hall to a window alcove with two comfortable-looking upholstered chairs. Phillip carefully set down his cargo on the accompanying table and sat down on one of the chairs.
"I have read your preliminary report and the one from CSU."
"Do you know the Feds already got him?"
Phillip lowered the mug he'd just taken a sip from. "No. Tell me. I only know they have made contact."
"There are two older cases, one still in Oregon, which can be assigned to East. It is now their turn."
The cop let out a short growl, then said: "As long as they at least put him down properly."
"With five murders and one hopefully only attempted one, there is little room for interpretation. How is Christina Brown?"
"Roughly stable. Doctors are currently not giving any forecasts for more than a few hours. Her larynx looks bad and it will take several more surgeries to give her a chance to speak again. They made a tracheotomy. The baby is dead. Christie has lost massive amounts of blood, and we're donating whatever we can. You had already noticed the arm was broken. They fixed it with screws. Plus a few broken ribs and an incipient wound infection. He didn't rape her, but he beat her up with a stick or broomstick or something. At the moment it is 50/50 that she will survive."
At the summary, Hondo choked down another sip of coffee.
"And the husband still has no idea?"
"No. I sent a message to Sean's satellite phone to call, but it's turned off. He always does that when he's on the job. He still has an official one, but I don't have the number. And I don't want to endanger him either."
"Mmm. Good and not good."
Hondo saw Santiago glare indecisively in the direction of Christina's hospital room.
"Do you have family?"
"A woman and a one and a half year old son. Have you read my file?"
"No. Just made a few discreet inquiries. Go home, I'll take over the night watch and call you if necessary."
"For sure? I mean you don't even know her. And the work..."
"I have the next two days off. And I know enough about her to know that she doesn't deserve to fight alone. I will support you until your husband is here."
"Thank you. That is very generous of you. You were with those who were in the house, weren't you?"
"Yes. We were still communicating with each other before she lost consciousness."
Hondo didn't want to tell him that Christina had been about to put an end to her life.
Santiago nodded and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He typed briefly. "My boss. The whole neighborhood asks about Christie's condition. I always only answer they should pray for her."
"She can use any resource she can get."
"When should I take over from you tomorrow morning?"
"Whenever you want. I'll be here."
"Thank you."
They finished their coffee in silence, then Phillip Santiago gathered his things and said goodbye.
Hondo disinfected his hands on the dispenser in front of the door, nodded to Dawson, and walked slowly into Christina's room. He saw a nurse changing one of the infusion bags and quickly asked: "Should I wait outside ..."
She shook her head. "I'm already done. Come on in. I'll tell you the same thing I said to the young man who just left." The woman in her early sixties smiled at him. "Mrs. Brown is in an induced coma, but there's still a chance she notices what happens around her. In any case, she feels when someone is with her, we can see that in her vitals. So talk to her and just be here. The data on the monitors are transmitted to our base, so don't panic if something beeps, we'll be there in a moment."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"Well, I'm not that old either. Cynthia," she held out her hand.
"Daniel. But everyone says Hondo."
"Okay, Hondo. You have a good handshake, give her a little of your energy, she can use it. I am outside."
"Mhm."
She nodded to him again, then left the room. Hondo walked around the bed to the chair Santiago must have been sitting on earlier. On the seat was a somewhat worn paperback with a note as a bookmark.
He watched the monitors out of the corner of his eye as he carefully reached for Christina Brown's unsplinted but infused hand.
"Hello Christina. I am Hondo. We have already met today." He saw her pulse rate rise slightly. "Okay, you remember me. After what we've already experienced together today, including the helicopter flight, I think our first names are enough. Phillip and I will make sure you aren't alone until your husband is back. We're already working on that. Phillip left a book here. I'll have a look at it."
He squeezed her hand gently, then put it back on the covers, picked up the book from the chair, and sat down. Hondo turned to the first page and found a dedication in a fine, clear woman's handwriting.

To Phillip.
Never stop asking questions, because only knowledge can help overcome prejudice.
Knowledge shows us that no belief is the only true, no color is the most valuable, no origin is significant.
We are all human. The only difference is whether a person has character and decency - or not.
Your honorary abuela
Eleonora

Hondo looked up. "Is it possible he got this book from your grandmother?" He turned the paperback and read the title. It was a book for young people called 'Theo's Journey'. Curiously, he turned over a few pages and began to read. He didn't look up from the sides until Nurse Cynthia spoke to him.
"It must be very compelling read. Phillip read from it to her."
"He seems to have got the book from her grandmother."
"Nice. You seem to be doing her good. Her vitals have been pretty stable for quite a while. She is calmer. Get in touch if you need something."
"Thank you. I would stretch my legs for a moment. Can you..."
"I'm staying here, no problem."