Florida Heat

  The thought was never completed as her head exploded with pain and everything went black.

  * * *

  Jo woke to total darkness. Excruciating pain swamped every inch of her body and her stomach revolted. She tasted bile in her throat and struggled to swallow it back. Breathe, she panicked, I can’t breathe. She struggled to take shallow breaths but a weight was pressing down on her. Realizing her arms were tied behind her back, she tried to make sense of what was happening but the fireworks going off in her head made thinking impossible. She registered motion; she was in something that was moving. Unable to brace herself, each bump scraped her face against a rough metal floor. She tried to raise her head, but the effort made her stomach flip and she was certain she was about to puke. Concentrating on taking shallow breaths, she began to worry that her air supply was going to run out.

  When the movement finally stopped, Jo wasn’t sure if she was relieved or terrified. A heavy tarp was yanked unceremoniously off of her then something clamped around her ankles and she was dragged the length of the truck bed.

  Rough hands pulled her off the back and propped her against the truck’s tailgate. The jerking motion was her undoing and Jo vomited all over the man in front of her.

  “Christ, lady,” he swore jumping back.

  “Sick,” she gasped, swaying.

  “Yeah, well not for long.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her stumbling body down a paved pathway. “Here,” he said, leaning her against a low railing. “This is far enough.”

  Jo fought against the pain in her head and struggled to focus. “What… where am I…?” She stared at the man standing in front of her and recognition slowly seeped in. “Oh, my god, it’s you,” her voice slurred.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he sneered, “and if you think I’m going back to prison then you’re out of your mind.”

  “Wait,” she swayed. “Your voice…I know your voice.…”

  “Yeah, I knew eventually you’d put two and two together.”

  “You work in one of the testing labs,” her mind started to process. “I send my probationers to you for drug testing.…”

  “Hah, that was a laugh, and my days of collecting piss in a cup are over. I’m finally going to make me some decent money. But I told the Birdman you’d figure it out.” Brett spit. “He thinks he’s so goddamned smart. Well I’m not waiting for him to decide what to do about you.”

  “You were convicted of bird smuggling,” she said weakly as her head started to spin again.

  “I was set up.”

  She watched in horror as he pulled a gun from the back of his belt. Her knees gave way and for a moment Jo found herself half sitting on a low railing. “I don’t understand….”

  “Nothing to understand,” he said. “Rodriguez had a good thing going and I’m stepping into his shoes. You’re the only one who can pin me to Rodriguez’s death so I’m taking you out of the picture.”

  “But.…”

  “But nothing. The Birdman says wait, but it’s not his ass that could end up back in jail. I’m sick of him telling me what to do. I’m taking charge now.” He raised the gun.

  Desperate for a way to escape, Jo turned her head slightly. She was on some sort of bridge. She glanced down but the dizzying height was her undoing. Her vision wavered and losing her balance she tipped backward as the world exploded into a brilliant flash of consuming pain.

  “Goddamn it,” Brett Wilson swore, stepping closer to the railing. He knew he hit her but since she’d fallen over the rail, he couldn’t be sure where. He looked down to the creek bed below trying to decide if it was worth the climb down the bank to check it out. The sound of another car made his mind up for him and, racing back to his truck, he took off. It didn’t matter, he told himself.No one was going to find her down there and if she wasn’t dead already, she would bleed out by morning. Smiling, he eased his way onto the main road.

  * * *

  Kate looked uneasily around the room. Where had she gone?

  “She’s not in the ladies room,” Nola said returning to the table. “Did she go back over to visit with Rhonda?”

  “That couple left about a half hour ago,” Tony said quietly.

  “Hey Kate,” Cindy, the bartender, walked up to the table. “I meant to get this to you sooner.” She handed Kate a napkin. “Jo left about ten minutes ago. Said something about you guys wanting to go dancing? Where are you headed? I hear the Blue Marlin has a new band in this week and they’re supposed to be pretty hot.”

  Kate read the napkin and relaxed. “She’s just gone home,” she announced to the group. “Didn’t want to do the dancing scene.”

  “What’s making your purse do that?” Cindy asked, pointing to Kate’s purse where it shivered on the floor. “What’s making it flash?”

  Kate jerked her purse up and onto the table. She clicked the stone on the broach and the flashing stopped.

  “Hey that’s way cool,” Cindy said before walking away.

  Nola looked at Kate. “Is she joking with us?”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said pulling out her phone. But after keying in some numbers, her face visibly paled. “Isaac, call Mitch and ask for backup. The son of a bitch must have her.” She jerked to her feet. “Tell him to meet me at the Cady Wood Bridge.” Kate rushed from the room and her fears were confirmed when she saw Jo’s car still in the lot.

  “Wait,” Tony grabbed her arm. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Get in,” Kate snapped as they reached her car. “I’ll fill you in on the way.”

  With her emergency light flashing on the roof, Kate drove as swiftly as she dared to the Cady Wood Park. Patrol cars were already there when she arrived.

  “Where is she?” Mitch called as Kate ran up.

  “She should be somewhere around here according to the readout. She’s not on the bridge?”

  “No, we just did a quick check.”

  Tony stepped over with two flashlights he’d taken from Kate’s trunk. “Did you look under the bridge?” he asked.

  “Next step,” Mitch said looking from Kate to Tony.

  “He’s FBI,” she said taking one of the flashlights.

  “Found her,” someone shouted. “We need an ambulance and fast.”

  Kate and Mitch took off at a run. When the EMT’s finally brought Jo up on the stretcher the news wasn’t good.

  “She has a broken arm and a bad gash on the head,” one said. “She’s been shot and I’m betting internal injuries as well. We have to get her to the hospital stat.”

  Kate stood silent as they loaded Jo into the ambulance and took off with sirens screaming. “I want this scene processed with a fine tooth comb,” she said flatly. “We’re going to get this son of a bitch if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “I’ll start here,” Mitch said giving her arm a squeeze. “You get to the hospital.”

  * * *

  Tony sat beside Kate in the hospital’s surgery waiting room and observed the odd family group. Kate sat ramrod straight fingering the broach she’d taken off of her purse strap. Isaac prayed and Nola kept them all in coffee. The minutes crawled by and turned to hours before the doors to the surgery wing swung open and a doctor still in green scrubs walked through.

  “Family for Jo Cazimer?” he asked looking around.

  “I am,” came a chorus of responses as everyone in the room stood.

  The doctor took a moment to look around then addressed Kate as she stepped forward. “She’s out of surgery and holding her own. The gunshot wound caused tissue damage and blood loss but the bullet went straight through. Her arm is broken and she has cracked ribs, which I assume is from the fall. Her face is pretty scraped up but it looks worse than it is. What I’m most worried about is the head wound. She took a wicked blow to the head and I’m concerned about swelling. The next 24 hours are going to be critical and will determine, whether she’ll need more surgery.”

  “And if she needs more surgery?” Kate asked, “What would that
entail?”

  The doctor looked grim. “We would remove part of the skull to relieve the swelling. If there’s too much pressure on the brain, she’s in danger of a stroke or even brain damage.”

  “But….”

  “But you shouldn’t worry about that right now,” the doctor said. “Right now she’s holding her own and that’s what we need to be thankful for.”

  “When can we see her?” Kate asked.

  Again the doctor surveyed the group. “She’s in recovery now and if she stays stable, in a few hours we’ll send her to intensive care. There’s no way she’s going to wake up tonight, so I suggest you leave your contact information with the desk nurse and go home and get some sleep. There’s nothing you can do here.” And with those parting words he turned and went back through the swinging doors.

  Kate flopped back down in her chair. “I really think I need to stay,” she said quietly.

  Isaac sat beside her and took her hand. “Kate,” he said, “listen to the doctor. There is nothing you can do. It’d be different if they thought she’d wake up but she won’t tonight. We all need to go home so we can be here for her tomorrow when she does wake up.”

  “Come on, Kate,” Nola sat on her other side. “Isaac’s right and Jo would be the first to tell you to leave.”

  “I don’t know, I .…” She never finished her thought as Mitch rushed in.

  “How is she?” he asked breathlessly.

  “She’s out of surgery and holding her own according to the doctor. He just came out and told us,” Isaac said.

  “That’s great news,” Mitch beamed, “and I’ve got more. We caught the son of a bitch.”

  “What?” Kate shot straight up from her chair. “Where? How?”

  “We caught a break,” Mitch said. “We found a runner who saw a pickup truck pulling out of the park. Gave us a good description. Put out an all-points bulletin and one of the street patrols spotted him. When they pulled him over he acted all innocent until they looked in the back of his truck.” Mitch’s face turned fierce. “One of her shoes was still there, caught in the tarp, and I’m betting that the blood all over the truck bed is going to turn out to be hers as well.”

  “That’s great, Mitch,” Kate suddenly felt very weary. “Where is he now?”

  “Arrested for attempted murder. He’s already lawyered up, but there’s no way a judge would grant this jerk bail. We’ve got him.”

  * * *

  Jo woke slowly swimming through a hazy mist. Her eyes fluttered but the light was too bright.

  “Hey, you, don’t go back to sleep. It’s time to wake up,” Kate coaxed.

  “Yes, Mom,” her voice was thready and weak. Forcing her eyes open she blinked in confusion. “Where.…” but as she tried to shift the weight from her arm, pain radiated through her shoulder and she gasped, “what the ….”

  “Try not to move,” Kate cautioned as she pushed the button for the nurse. “You’re in the hospital but you’re going to be okay.”

  “Can I help you?” the static voice asked.

  “She’s awake,” Kate said, “and I think she needs some pain medication.”

  “Be right there,” the nurse clicked off.

  Kate looked back at Jo, but she had already drifted off again.

  * * *

  When Kate walked back into Jo’s room she couldn’t believe the difference 48 hours could make. The room was filled with flowers and Jo sat in a chair beside the bed. Her arm was in a sling and the bruising on her face had faded into a sickly greenish yellow. “You know you could go out for Halloween and not even need a mask,” Kate said cheerfully. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like if I don’t get out of here soon I’m going to do bodily harm to the next nurse that comes in here and tries to stick a bed pan under my butt.”

  “Well, I’ve got good news then. I just saw the doctor at the nurse’s station and it seems they’re as anxious to get rid of you as you are to leave. He’s checking you out this afternoon.”

  “Thank the lord, and the insurance company,” Jo took a breath and winced. “I’m good, I’m good,” she hurried on at Kate’s worried expression. “It’s just the ribs. They don’t hurt so I forget and take a deep breath then they remind me.” She shifted in the chair. “So bring me up to speed. How did you find me?”

  Kate tapped the broach on her purse. “Andy’s little homing device, remember? Luckily you pinned it on your shirt that night at the restaurant.”

  “And it worked?”

  “Yep, when you fell, you must have landed just the right way for it to go off.”

  Jo rubbed her side with her free hand. “Yeah, I guess I really nailed that landing. My ribs are thrilled. But seriously, what else is going on? Tell me about the guy you arrested.”

  “It was Brett Wilson,” Kate said pulling over another chair. “But I still don’t understand why you didn’t recognize him when you first saw him in the park with Rodriguez.”

  “I didn’t recognize him because I’d never met him face to face,” Jo said. “I only talked with him on the phone when I had to call for drug testing for one of my clients. I knew the person I used to speak to was a guy named Brett, but that was over a year ago. Then he was gone and now when I call I get a girl named Susie.”

  “He was gone because he was arrested and convicted of bird smuggling. He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.”

  Jo shook her head, pleased that sparks no longer flashed behind her eyes when she did so. “When we were on the bridge, right before he shot me,” she said slowly trying to remember, “he said he’d been set up.”

  “Yeah, all the convicts say that.” Kate wasn’t moved.

  “And he said something about the Birdman.” Jo struggled to bring the conversation back.

  “I think you’re getting him mixed up with homeless Ruby,” Kate said standing. “The doctor said it wouldn’t be a surprise if you couldn’t remember exactly what happened or if you got things confused. You took quite a rap on the head.”

  “Hmmm,” Jo closed her eyes in frustration. “It’s really pissing me off that parts of that night are still missing.”

  “Well, the guy hit you hard enough that the doctor was worried that your brain was going to swell.”

  Jo opened her eyes. “Well, at least now there’s proof I have one.”

  “Now I know that you’re back,” Kate said with a grin. “So, who sent these?” She stepped over to a large arrangement of white gladiolas that completely filled the window ledge. They weren’t here yesterday.”

  Heaving a sigh, Jo eased herself out of the chair. “They came this morning and you’ll never guess who brought them.”

  Kate looked for a card but found none. “I give up. Who? I mean it’s obvious from the size this must have cost someone a bundle, but Jo,” she said with a smirk, “this looks like a funeral arrangement.”

  “Thank you!” Jo said moving over to stand by Kate in front of the massive arrangement. “That’s just what I thought when he brought them in.”

  “When who brought them in?”

  “They’re from Worm,” Jo said and grimaced.

  “Oh, ick,” Kate looked at Jo with sympathy. “Does he think bigger is better? I mean the individual flowers are beautiful, but all this arrangement needs is a ribbon going across the front that says ‘Rest in Peace’.”

  Jo started to chuckle and then grabbed her side with her free arm. “Don’t make me laugh,” she pleaded. “I swear I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried being polite. I’ve tried being rude. I mean we have to work with the man, but come on. When he walked in I wasn’t sure if he was celebrating the fact I was alive, or hoping to find me dead.”

  “Well, stay alive until I can get back this afternoon and spring you.” Kate moved to the door. “You care about which clothes I bring back?”

  Jo looked down at her hospital gown then back at Kate. “Anything would be an improvement. I don’t have great movement with the arm yet,” she raised the arm with th
e cast only slightly. “So pick something easy to get into.”

  “Consider it done,” Kate said. “And try to stay out of trouble ‘til I get back.”

  “Jeez,” Jo muttered. She flopped down on the chair then swore soundly from the pain that radiated up her arm and around her ribs. “Stay out of trouble,” she mimicked. “It’s not like I asked to get shot.”

  * * *

  Julie walked down the hallway toward her chemistry class when Zeke waved to her from the doorway of the art room. “Finch,” he called over the crowd of moving students. “In here quick.” Since he ducked back into the classroom, Julie sighed and turned to go back. Somehow she was going to have to let the Quills know she just wasn’t interested. But she still hadn’t worked out how.

  In the art room she found Zeke and Willow standing in front of one of the large workbenches. On the top of the bench was the beginning of a 3D drawing depicting a deep crack in the earth. Julie stepped closer in amazement. “That’s unbelievable,” she said in awe. She started to reach out and touch the work, but Willow slapped her hand back.

  “Don’t touch,” she said sharply. “I’m using chalk for this and since it’s not complete it hasn’t been sprayed yet. You touch it and you’ll smear it.”

  “This is just unbelievable. It looks so real you think you can stick your hand right in the hole. My gosh, Willow, this is going to be an A for sure.”

  Zeke snorted. “This isn’t for a grade,” he chuckled. “This is for the Quills.”

  “What?” Julie looked from one to the other in confusion.

  Zeke started to answer but Willow cut him off. “We set this down in the hallway and take pictures of the student reactions,” she said quickly giving Zeke a hard look.

  “Wow, if you got a picture of my face it would be pure shock. I mean, I see it and I know you drew it, but I still want to stick my hand in and see how deep the hole is,” she laughed.

  “You try that and you’ll smack your hand on the table top,” Willow said smugly. “I’m copying the anamorphic style of Julian Beever. The picture creates the illusion that something is there. But it only works from one direction. You go around to the other side and it just looks like a bunch of chalk marks”

  “Have you ever considered selling these?” Julie said turning back to look at her. “You could advertise these on EBay and probably make a fortune.”