“It’s not funny. It’s rather scary.”
He hugged her. “I’m sorry. But I just came up with the name for your new cat. Chip.” He grinned. “I know exactly what Wendy James did with her data.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Saturday
Lucy and Kate were dressed in scrubs and stood sentry in the operating room. Chain of custody was critical, especially in a complex case like this. Kate had even set up a video camera in the corner in case the court had any questions about the procedure.
It wasn’t every day that key evidence in a homicide investigation was hidden in a pet.
The veterinarian had put Chip under general anesthesia and the cat lay motionless on the table. Lucy frowned.
“What’s your problem?” Kate said. “You worked at a morgue.”
“Dead people don’t bother me,” Lucy said. “I really like this cat.”
“He should be fine,” the vet said. “Though whoever did this to him should have his license pulled. It’s dangerous. The chips they put in pets for tracking are the size of a grain of rice. This one is much bigger.”
He gestured to the X-ray that showed a square of metal on the back of Chip’s neck.
“He’s doing well,” the vet purred. “Good kitty.”
“I wish Mina’s surgery had been this easy,” Lucy said.
“She’s healthy and the doctor is optimistic,” Kate reminded her. “It’s just a long road to recover.”
“Are you doing okay with the shooting and everything?”
“It was justified. If I think too much about it, I remind myself that it was him or innocents.” Kate glanced at her. “Him, or you. Thank God you didn’t take off that vest.”
Lucy rolled her sore shoulder and winced. It still hurt, probably would for days. “Sean said I was lucky not to have cracked a rib.”
“Bingo,” the vet said. He held up the chip with his tweezers. “It’s coated in silicone.”
“Plop it right in here.” Kate held up an evidence bag. The vet dropped the chip in. Kate sealed the bag and signed the front. “Now to take this to the lab. This will be fun.”
“When can we take Chip home?” Lucy asked the vet.
“Give him a couple hours. I want to make sure there are no side effects from the surgery or anesthesia. Come by after three.”
Lucy and Kate left the vet hospital. “I’m going straight to the lab—do you want me to drop you home?”
“Can you take me to the hospital? I want to make sure Ivy’s okay. Check on Mina and Genie.”
Kate and Noah had worked a miracle to get Ivy on a tracking bracelet and into a halfway house in one day. She couldn’t leave DC until the FBI was satisfied she’d shared all information she had.
“What’s the word on Brian Abernathy?” Lucy asked. “I don’t think he’s just going to give up.”
“Everyone is looking for him. His testimony could seal the indictment on his mother. But either he or his brother killed six people. We have plenty of evidence, so as soon as we get him in custody, we’ll know for certain. He was smart on one level, but trace evidence is aplenty.”
“Noah told me Devon Sullivan is not cooperating.”
“She doesn’t need to say a word—that’s her right. But Josh Stein has her solid on major financial irregularities. And because of her wealth we were able to freeze her assets. She’s sitting in jail all weekend.”
“She doesn’t deserve to walk free.”
“We’re working double-time to get hard evidence that she ordered the murder of Wendy James.”
“What about the others?”
“If we can prove Wendy, it’ll be much easier to connect the others. Without Wendy’s case being solid, the others fall apart. At least to nail Sullivan with. Conspiracy is extremely difficult to prove. The search warrants were a huge bonus, but she has the entire Acuna and Bigelow law firm fighting every warrant, every piece of evidence. Now,” Kate said, gesturing toward the chip in the evidence bag, “if that has anything of substance, we won’t have to worry. The AUSA said the warrant on this extraction is air-tight.”
Kate dropped Lucy off at the emergency room entrance. She went directly to ICU, where Mina was recovering from surgery. Ivy was there at her bedside; a DC uniformed officer was at her door. Lucy showed her identification to enter.
Lucy whispered, “How is she?”
“She woke up. That’s good, the doctors say.” Ivy glanced at Lucy. “I let her down. The night of the fire, I picked Sara over her and I can’t forgive myself.”
“You have to. It’s hard, but you have to.” Lucy paused, then said, “Seven years ago I was kidnapped and raped by a guy I met online. Long story—I thought he was someone else. But it was still stupid on my part. My brothers went looking for me, and one of them was nearly killed in an explosion. After surgery, he slipped into a coma and stayed that way for nearly two years. I’ve tried to forgive myself—and some days, I don’t think about it. But other times, I feel hot and cold at the same time, and I picture Patrick lying in a hospital bed unresponsive. His brain working, but not working. And the guilt just washes over me. But, it’s not every day. It’s sometimes not every week.”
Lucy knew remnants of that time would continue to haunt her. But she would survive and grow stronger because of her job, her family, and Sean. “The decision you made Tuesday morning, you made out of love. Love for your sister, love for the girls at Hawthorne Street. Mina knows that, in her heart.”
The nurse came in. “Your ten minutes are up.”
Ivy nodded and she and Lucy left.
“How’s Sara?”
Ivy smiled. “I don’t know what happened in the church, but she’s doing amazing. Come see her.”
Lucy pulled a box from her pocket. “This really helped. I know you want it back.”
Ivy squeezed the box. “Thank you.”
Sara was in the pediatric wing. She, too, had a guard on her door. Lucy was more concerned about Ivy—Brian Abernathy wanted to kill her more than anyone else. But no guard had been assigned to her. No one knew where Abernathy was—half the team thought he’d left DC. Lucy didn’t believe it.
Sean walked down the hall toward them. He was carrying a large bouquet of daisies. Lucy smiled.
Sean shook his head. “These are for Sara. But I got you your own daisies, plus…” He took his hand out from behind his back. “A white mocha.”
Lucy took the coffee drink from Sean happily and kissed him. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
They showed ID to the guard and went into Sara’s room. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed and playing games on an iPad.
“Where’d you get that?” Ivy asked.
“The hospital delivered it. Look at the card.”
Lucy read over Ivy’s shoulder. The card was generic. Inside, there was no message, just initials.
S.R.
Lucy looked at Sean. “That’s sweet.”
“What is?”
“The gift.”
Sean shook his head and took the card. He stared for a long time, so long that Lucy was worried. Then he grinned. “Hey, kid, can I see your toy? Can you believe I don’t have one of these?”
Sara handed it to him and he handed her the flowers.
Lucy watched Sean check all the settings and apps. Then he downloaded an app. It took Lucy a minute to realize it was an anti-tracking app; it blocked GPS signals.
“What?” she mouthed.
“You can never be too safe.”
“I agree,” Ivy said. “I like your boyfriend, Lucy.”
“Me, too.” Lucy took Sean’s hand. “I’ll keep him around.”
“How’s Chip doing?” Sean asked.
“He’s recovering. We can pick him up in a few hours.”
“Good, I don’t want him spending the night in the hospital. If he’s anything like me, he’ll hate it.”