Kevin swiped his badge, and the door to Callie's room unlocked. As they entered, the 'doctor' pulled a weapon of his own and swung around. Before he could set his shot, Sam, already set, fired one shot. The 'doctor' collapsed as Kevin ran in and checked the equipment hooked up to Callie.
"Sam, are you all right?" John rushed into the room behind Mrs. Horace as Sam pounced upon the nurse, who had backed against the wall with her hands up.
"Who hired you?" Sam asked, pointing the weapon between the nurse's eyes. "How much were you paid for this?"
"More than I make in a year," the nurse choked. "The girl is dead anyway."
"It's nice to know how much you care," Sam spat. "Who hired you?"
She didn't give an answer.
Enraged, Sam balled up her fist and let it fly, cracking the nurse in the jaw. She let out a sharp yell and slid to the floor. Sam followed her down, squatting in front of her.
"Sam," John warned.
Sam cocked the weapon and pressed the end of the silencer against the nurse's forehead. "Who hired you?" she asked quietly.
Nurse Pummace looked terrified, her eyes crossed, looking up at the gun. "I don't know!" the nurse shouted. "I was never given a name." She panted, her face covered in sweat. "Just a money transfer."
"I'm on it," Finch said.
Sam released the nurse and stood.
"Nurse Pummace did receive a sizable amount of money in three separate transfers throughout the week. I'm tracing the account number now. It looks like the transfer was routed through several accounts and banks in an attempt to cover tracks."
"What's the originating account?" John asked.
A long pause followed and Finch sighed. "Lealand Horace. One of his business accounts."
"Horace," Sam said angrily.
"Leland?" Mrs. Horace squeaked, her hands over her mouth. "But I don't understand. He'd never hurt Callie."
"He wouldn't, but he would let someone else do the job," John said.
Sam looked up and blinked as she saw John as though she hadn't realized he'd been there.
"I've stopped the bleeding, but he still needs to be treated," Kevin said as he stood up, his hands bloody and his forehead moist with sweat. He moved over to Nurse Pummace who had a bloody nose and was crying.
Sam glanced at Callie, who still slept soundly. She'd slept completely through the attempt on her life. Mrs. Horace, fighting back tears and confusion, moved over to her daughter and took her hand as she kissed her on the forehead.
"They'll be fine, lucky for you," Kevin said, looking up at Sam.
Sam put her gun away and closed her eyes to collect herself. She'd just tortured another human being for information. She'd been so angry that what she was doing never occurred to her until after the fact. Yes, it was a short interrogation, but it was still a form of torture nonetheless.
"We need to move Callie," Sam said.
"I could use some help to get him into the ER. Then we can move her," Kevin stood in front of her and lifted his eyebrows.
Sam and John nodded.
Kevin found some scrubs for Sam, and they moved the 'doctor' to the ER, looping around from the outside, making it look as if he'd just come in from one transport or another. Sam slipped his gun into a garbage can on the way out.
Nurse Pummace went home soon after Kevin attended to her bloody nose. It was basically a guarantee that she wouldn't talk or, in other words, tell on the person who fired a weapon in the hospital. Sam had scared her pretty badly. Even when the police came with questions, and they definitely would, she would only explain about the money she received and the attempt on Callie Horace.
Sam sat in the hospital cafeteria, still wearing maroon colored scrubs, and watched Kevin eat what looked like a bowl full of medical waste. She wrinkled her nose as he scarfed each spoonful down with gusto.
"How are you doing that?"
Kevin glanced up at her. "What? Eating? Well, the beginning of the digestive process begins with the mouth actually. Once the bio-matter enters the mouth, it is then masticated by the – "
"I meant how can you eat that stuff?"
Kevin looked at the contents of his bowl, then at Sam again. "What? It's Manhattan clam chowder. It's not bad. When you spend as much time here as I have, you get used to the food."
"What does real food taste like, then?"
"A little bit of heaven," Kevin smiled and went back to his soup.
They had already moved Callie to her new, non-isolated room where they left her with her mother who was much more upset than she was letting on.
Poor Mrs. Horace had called her husband twice after the attempt on Callie's life, and both times he had denied knowing anything about a plot to kill their daughter. In fact, according to Finch, he sounded quite shocked with the whole idea. He was still planning to come visit that night. That's partially why Sam was still in the hospital, but nowhere near Callie's room.
John had left to confront Leland Horace about the attempt on Callie. It shouldn't be hard to get the man to fold. John was prepared to wave Mr. Horace's own bank records that included the money transfers to Nurse Pummace and the disguised doctor.
Sam was just waiting for the phone call telling her that all of the bases were covered, and then she could go home and maybe have a shower. That's why, when her phone did ring, she was slightly surprised that it was John instead of Finch.
"Are you still at the hospital?" John asked without greeting her when she answered.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"I'm almost there. You need to get back to Callie's room. Horace denied knowing about the money transfers and the attempt to kill Callie."
"Even after you hit him a couple of times?" Sam asked and looked away as Kevin looked at her, his attention piqued.
"Very funny. I believed him, so Finch did a little more digging. Holly Chin, as his administrative assistant, has access to his accounts."
"She sent them," Sam said flatly as she absorbed the new theory.
"It looks like she did. She's on her way to the hospital now. I'll probably beat her there, but you need to get to Callie and stay with her and her mother."
"Do you think she'll finish it on her own?"
"You tell me, Sam," John said. "You're the one who said she was cowardly and stupid."
Sam ran all the way up to the fourth floor and burst into Callie's room. The little girl was wide awake and talking to her mother.
"Sam! I thought you left."
Sam caught her breath and managed a smile as Kevin stumbled in after her. "Um, no, no, I've decided to stay for a little longer. Mrs. Horace?"
"Rose," Mrs. Horace insisted.
"Um, Rose. May I speak to you outside for a minute?"
"Of course," Mrs. Horace squeezed her daughter's hand and left the room with Sam, who shut the door.
"I don't think this is over, yet."
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Horace put her hands to her face, her eyes were scared, peering over her fingertips at Sam.
"Your husband didn't pay those people to kill Callie."
"Who did then? Why would they want her dead in the first place? It's not like something isn't already killing her!" Mrs. Horace's voice grew in anger and volume.
Sam hesitated and spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "Have you ever met your husband's assistant, Holly Chin?"
Rose looked away from Sam as she thought. "I think so, yes, at the company barbecue this summer."
Sam glanced at Kevin who, to her surprise, took her hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. "Well, um, this is going to be really hard to hear right now, but we – I believe that it was Holly Chin who paid and sent those people for Callie. She has access to your husband's accounts, so his name would be on everything."
Rose shook her head. "But, I – I don't understand this. She's only met Callie the one time. Why would she want to hurt my little girl?"
"Rose," Sam put her hand on Mrs. Horace's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "I have my reasons for believing that Holly most definitely would want to hurt Callie."
"Then tell me!"
Sam glanced at Kevin who shook his head once. "It's not my place to tell you. But don't worry. I promise I won't let anything happen to her."
"So do I."
Sam looked around in time to see John approach the door to Callie's room. Sam breathed a sigh of relief now that she knew he was close. He stood next to her, his eyes on Rose.
"Just stay with her, Rose, and you both will be all right, I swear," Sam said as John's phone rang.
Sam waited as he answered it. He spoke a few words into it and hung up the call. "Holly Chin is in the hospital," he said.
"Well what's she going to do? Just waltz in here and shoot the kid?" Sam asked wildly.
"Every option, Sam…" John said.
Sam sighed and flung her hands up in the air. "Which entrance?"
"West," John said. "Finch is tracking her," he paused, looking Sam up and down for a moment as he appeared to come to a decision. "Do you want to run interference?"
Sam smiled at him. "I'd love to." She looked to Kevin who looked as though he wanted a little assignment of his own. "Are you busy?"
"Right this second? No."
"Stay with Callie and her mom."
Sam turned to move down the corridor, but Kevin stopped her, holding onto her arm. "Sam, are you sure about this? You're going after someone you think is trying to murder a child."
"Aw, thanks for your concern, Kevin," Sam grinned. "But, I think I can handle one secretary."
Kevin let her go, and she started down the corridor, dodging carts, and oncoming traffic as she went.
Things were starting to slow down as the evening wore on. Sam entered an elevator and hooked her phone back up to the earpiece. Finch was back where he belonged, in her head.
"She hasn't moved from the west lobby."
"I'm almost there," Sam muttered as the elevator doors opened and she stepped onto the first floor of the building.
She walked quickly, her scrubs making a soft swishing noise as she moved down the corridor, past the ultrasound and MRI labs and into the west lobby. Sam stopped and looked around, searching each face of every person moving in and out of the area.
"Are you sure she's still here?" she muttered as she moved along the perimeter of the lobby.
"She hasn't moved from the lobby," Finch said.
Sam kept looking, going over the people sitting in the seats placed along the walls, and the chairs next to the security kiosk. She continued her search until she moved past an empty chair, then stepped back again as something caught her eye. A phone without an owner lay on the cushion of the chair.
Sam picked it up and spoke into the microphone. "Her phone hasn't moved from the lobby, Finch. She's here, in the hospital. We just don't know where now."
"John, where are you?" Sam asked for the second time that day as she walked out of the lobby.
"I'm outside Callie's room. Dr. Shores is getting her a wheelchair. She's probably already found out her room number. We have to move them now."
"Okay. I'm coming back up," Sam said. "Maybe I can still head her off somewhere."
Sam moved back towards the elevators when the sight of someone familiar slowed her down. Leland Horace, waiting for an elevator, was stepping into one that had just opened up.
"Hold the elevator!" Sam shouted as she ran in, and saw Leland Horace in person for the first time. He was alone.
Sam smiled at him. He returned it gratefully, unbuttoning his overcoat.
"In all this mess, I didn't think I'd get the chance to meet you," Sam said.
"I'm sorry? Do I know you?"
"I know you, Leland," Sam kept her smile in attempt to make him as uneasy as possible. "I think you have some explaining to do." She drew her weapon and pointed it casually at him.
"Look, I don't know who you think I am, but – "
Sam approached him, jabbing the pistol into his chest. "I know exactly who you are, you asshole!" she hissed.
"Take it easy, Sam," Finch said steadily. "Remember what we're doing this for."
"Your mistress is somewhere in this hospital, and I think you might have an idea why." She took his arm and buried the gun into his side as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
She knocked first before slowly opening the door, which he thought was very considerate.
John watched the door to the hospital room open and Holly Chin stepped in, looking uncertain, almost frightened. That had not been what he was expecting.
He sat alone, on the edge of the empty hospital bed, his hands folded in his lap. "Hello, Holly," he said.
Holly took a step back and nearly ran into the door when she saw him. "I – I must have made a mistake. I thought this was Callie Horace's room."
John stood and stepped toward her, his movements fluid and smooth, without hesitation. "This is her room. I just thought it best that she was out of our way for this."
"For what?" Holly's uncertainty flared into borderline terror as John looked down at her.
"Let's pretend that I know everything about you already," John said quietly. "I know about the affair with your boss, about his promise to leave his wife for you as soon as his daughter dies of cancer. And that leads me to the reason you're here tonight."
Holly's dark brown eyes widened as she absorbed his meaning. "I would never hurt Callie! She's already dying. I came here because I've decided to tell Mrs. Horace the truth, about everything, as if it's any of your business!"
"Everything?"
"I have access to Leland's accounts, and just before I left work today, I checked the accounts to make sure all of the transactions I'd processed today had gone through. That's when I noticed a couple of strange transfers to private accounts. They were two huge chunks of money transferred not to businesses, or corporate accounts, but individual accounts." Holly's hands shook violently as she spoke. Her voice trembled, but she continued. "There's nothing in my records that link any of Leland's business to those accounts.
"And then I remembered him applying for a gun license a few months ago. He said it was for protection, and I didn't question it then. But with that money, I'm scared that he's gotten himself into something that he won't be able to handle."
"Loan sharks?" John asked.
"I don't know," Holly said desperately. "All of this secret keeping; all of these lies – I can't let him do this to himself anymore."
"He's doing it to you too, you know. Stringing you along, keeping you on the hook just to keep him satisfied."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Holly snapped.
"You think telling his wife about you and her husband will make it better?"
"It will be painful for them at first, but – I – I love him. I have to do something! I just need to talk to him, or Mrs. Horace. That's all. That's the only reason I'm here."
John surveyed her and put his finger to his ear, stepping away from Holly, who he could tell was about to burst. "Finch, we were after the wrong liar. Horace is probably armed."
"He's here. Sam's already found him, John," Finch said.