Chapter 13
Presence
Delinda grabbed the New York Yankee baseball cap from the backseat and pulled it down over her face. She wanted to make sure her face couldn't be recognized as she passed by the security cameras. She also tried to park the car in a camera blind spot. No doubt she would get into serious trouble because she'd freed Charlie. She hurried into the ER and desperately called for help.
"What happened, miss? Please, calm down."
"I can't. You have to hurry please! There's a young man outside in my car, I picked him up on the side of the road a couple of miles from here. I don't know what happened to him. He doesn't respond, please!" Tears cascaded down her pale face. She was still careful, however, not to met the nurse's gaze.
Some nurses arrived with a gurney, "Ma'am where's your car?"
"On the left, next to the main entrance."
They hurried outside followed by Delinda. One of the men carefully pulled Charlie out of the car.
"He's got no pulse, come on hurry up!" He hollered. "Take him to room two."
"Is he going to be okay?" Delinda gripped the man's arm.
"Ma'am please let me go," he demanded.
They quickly rolled the gurney down the corridor to the ER. Delinda tried to follow.
"Sorry, miss. You can't come with him. Please have a seat here," the nurse said kindly.
"He is going to be okay, isn't he?" Delinda asked.
"We'll do everything we can. While you're waiting could you please be so kind as to fill out this form for me?"
The nurse put the forms on the counter. Delinda looked at them, her vision becoming blurry.
"I'm ... I'm sorry, I ... I can't." She stuttered and rushed outside.
"But miss, hey ..." the nurse called out. But it was in vain, Delinda was gone.
Meanwhile in the emergency room about five people were buzzing around Charlie.
Somebody yelled, "He's asystolic!"
An injection of epinephrine was quickly prepared and administered into Charlie's vein. Another nurse cut the t-shirt from his body.
"Gimme two hundred joules." The doctor ordered. The defibrillator beeped when ready and the doctor immediately applied the pads and triggered the charge.
No response. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "Two fifty," he barked. Another shock convulsed Charlie's body. "Three hundred joules!"
Charlie was blinded by the blazing sunlight. He protectively lifted a hand in front of his eyes.
"Where am I?" He asked himself. His question echoed back at him from all directions.
His eyes slowly adjusted to the light. At first he thought he had to be at CalSci. The place looked quite similar. But where were all the students? He started walking. A few feet away a bunch of people were talking. He moved faster. Charlie frowned, he knew these people, he was sure of it. Their voices, their gestures, everything seemed so familiar. A shape broke loose from the group. It was a woman, his mother. She waved and gave him a warm and friendly smile.
He started to run. Suddenly he crashed into a wrought-iron gate over eight feet high that had appeared from nowhere.
"Mom!" He yelled desperately at the still waving woman. "Mom, is it you?"
She nodded.
It was odd but he got the sudden impression that she had a sad look on her face.
A nun in a white dress appeared at the gate and opened it. "What do you want"?
"I have to go to my mother. Please, let me in."
The nun shook the head. "Young man, that's impossible."
Charlie desperately stretched his hands through the bars, "Mom please! Come here and tell her to let me in."
His mom did not move.
"Mom, please," he sobbed.
"Young man would you please back off. Your time hasn't come yet," The nun said a little more firmly.
"But ... but ... my mother, please, she's over ..."
"You shouldn't even be here. Something's terribly wrong. End of discussion."
There was a deafening bang like somebody had hit the gate with a bat.
"He's back, we have him back," the young doctor announced in relief. "Now let's get him stabilized."
Six days earlier
Dt. Walker sat together with Don, Megan and Colby in a small Italian Restaurant.
"I'm sorry Don, I've really tried everything but Novak is acting like a bullheaded moron and has got himself some support as well," he said with an apologetic gesture. "Lydia's case is to be treated separately."
"That's ridiculous, nobody can be so blind as to not see the connection to the other two murders," Megan complained.
Walker took a swig from his glass, "They don't say there isn't a connection. They say it's a copycat. The killer must be one of Craven's fucked up followers. It's as simple as that."
"Sure, for someone who has absolutely no idea what's going on and isn't interested in facts," Don mumbled.
"Have you or your family been threatened again?" Walker wanted to know.
Don shook the head, "No new threats. The authority to continue surveillance has been withdrawn as of today. True to the motto: Help yourself."
Walker cleared his throat, "I'm sorry to hear that. My people will still boost their patrols. I wish there was more I could do."
"Thanks a lot Walker, I owe you," Don said.
"How much do you get for assaulting a prosecutor?" Colby asked all of a sudden.
"Come on Colb," Don said tiredly. "Let it be."
"No, I'm serious. I wanna beat the shit out of him. He should lose his self-satisfied grin together with his shiny white veneers. The guy is such an arrogant asshole." Colby flared up.
"Then you have to stand in line." Walker stated dryly, "I bet this guy is the most hated prosecutor in town."
"That's great then we'd have a bunch of suspects we could blame," Colby grinned and drained the glass.
"I don't get how Novak has so much influence. It's like not even Justice would be blind concerning this case. Everyone is closing their eyes."
"And I know the reason for it. We've messed up some things. And if I say we I mean every one of us. The FBI can't afford to make further mistakes," Don explained.
"And to protect their reputations they are willing to risk your life and those of your family," Colby stated dryly. "It's the same as being undercover. When the shit hits the fan you're left wearing it. It's us who put our asses at stake, God damnit. And if something goes wrong you get a funeral at public expense or you receive a pension that isn't even worth talking about, too little to live on and too much to die for."
Walker knew what Colby was talking about. "You're talking about Lt. Floyd."
Don and Megan cast questioning looks at them.
Colby sighed.
"It came in the news today." Walker continued, "Floyd lost a leg in a shootout with some drug dealers downtown. That was two years ago now. Then a few months ago he paid me a visit at the station house and told me that Wanda, his wife, is suffering from breast cancer. We immediately took up a collection for them. But it was just a drop in the ocean. She died last week and today they found Floyd. He'd blown his head off with a shot gun."
"Jesus Christ," Don said shocked.
Fortunately they'd finished dinner a while ago.
"I wish I had Theo's enthusiasm and impartiality," Colby mused. "At first I considered him a spoiled brat. But he's not. His parents seem to have brought him up to be very down to earth."
The waitress served another round of beer.
Don raised his glass. "A toast to all our colleagues who have lost their lives, both on and off duty."
Shortly after 10 pm they left the restaurant.
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Charlie finished packing his bags for the trip to Bakersfield and retired to the garage.
"Where's Larry?" Alan asked as he entered Charlie's refuge.
"Larry? He's not coming. NASA has him in its talons once more," Charlie replied shortly. It was difficult for him to concentrate on the brute force calculations and at the same time listen to his father.
"Then who's coming with you?"
"Dad, I'm old enough to take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter," he complained.
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Alan wasn't ready to give up.
"Dad please, I'm busy. I want Amita to know what she has to deal with. I need to finish this concept."
"Amita? She's coming? Does she sleep here? If you want, I can ..."
"Amita is coming here tomorrow afternoon, but she won't stay here." Charlie kept on writing. "Dad, please. I appreciate your anxiety but what could possibly happen, anyway? Craven is in a maximum security prison, calm down." Charlie said trying to soothe his father.
"I wish they would shoot him to the moon, Charlie. He has threatened Donnie and us. You should not underestimate him." Alan was obviously annoyed. "By the way, what about Donnie? Did you tell him about your plans, tell him your route?"
"Dad," Charlie dropped the chalk. "I'm just driving to Bakersfield, mostly on the highway. I'm not going to join the Paris-Dakar. My cell battery is charged and I have pepper spray in the glove compartment."
Alan's brow shot up. "Really?"
Charlie grinned amused. "Of course not. Look, it's not the first time I've left LA."
"If I had not accepted this advisory role at "Kline and Sons", I would drive with you." Alan nervously ran his fingers through his hair.
"Marvellous idea, dad." His youngest one snapped. "What would the guys at Berkley University think if one of the cleverest heads of CalSci appears with his daddy in tow?"
"I don't give a damn about what they think." Alan snapped in return.
Charlie turned around. "Have you had that nightmare about mom again? The one where you are hiking with her and suddenly you're hit by an avalanche ..."
"Nonsense Charlie, I haven't had that nightmare for months now. That has nothing to do with this," Alan said harshly.
Charlie finished the formula. He went over to his dad and put an arm around his shoulders, "I promise that I will call you after I leave the highway. And I'll give you a call after I check in at the hotel. Okay?"
Alan nodded slowly. "When are you leaving?"
"About four in the morning. I will be in Bakersfield by around seven and can prepare everything for the seminar."
Charlie glanced at the blackboard. Then he switched off the light and followed Alan back into the house.
He hardly got any sleep that night. Restlessly he tossed and turned from one side to the other. Again and again he thought about the formula and recalled parts of the case. Following a sudden inspiration he jumped up from bed at two am and ran over into the garage. There he stood in front of the blackboard and looked at the formulas. He visualized groups of numbers, compared them with the case files and combined them with other possibilities. Finally he sat down in front of his notebook and e-mailed Amita some instructions.
He suddenly realized that time had passed much too quickly and that he had to hurry if he wanted to keep to his time schedule. He rushed into the bathroom to take a shower. Shortly afterwards he snatched the notebook and the bag with his documents packing them into his car before he returned to the house to get his traveling bag.
Unnoticed, his cell phone slipped from the top of the bag.
No one had the slightest idea that Craven's people had hacked into Charlie's cell. They were informed about his plans in detail.
"Joyce, he's leaving." The man parked in a car down the road reported into his radio. He started up his car ready to follow the professor.
"You've got enough time to prepare the road."
The radio crackled briefly in his ear. "We're on our way, over and out." tbc
A huge THANK YOU to ALEO who betaed this chapter for me. You did a great job!