Read Online Beholden by Pat Warren - Free Book Online

“All your X-rays, test
     results, charts, list of medications, everything.”
    Terry frowned, wondering if she’d missed something. “Why?”
    “Because we’re going to have to move you out of here.”
    She glanced at the needle still taped to her arm, the monitors blinking away. “Move me? Can I go like this?”
    “Your doctor has given us permission to take you to another facility.” Not without protesting mightily, but after Jones had
     shown his credentials and reassured Dr. Renfree just how they planned to handle the move, he’d reluctantly agreed. Renfree
     had also agreed to thoroughly examine Terry Ryan once again, then release her to Jones’s custody. Even doctors caved in to
     federal authority.
    “I don’t know,” Terry said, her voice sounding weak and skeptical.
    Bob unbuttoned his jacket and leaned forward, keeping his voice low, though he’d positioned Detective Russell at the door
     in the unlikely event they were interrupted. “As you’ve undoubtedly figured out by now, you’re in danger if you remain here,
     especially if your true identity is learned.”
    Terry’s gaze slid to the door as if half-expecting the three men from the garage to come charging in, guns blazing. “Yes,
     and it worries me.”
    “From now on, let me do the worrying.” Jones gave her a reassuring look. “Do you have the strength to recite what happened
     that night, exactly as you remember it?”
    She didn’t want to, but she knew she had to. Her eyelids felt so heavy, her limbs impossibly weighty. Again, she went through
     it all and when she was finished, Jones had just a couple of questions.
    “I don’t suppose you caught a glimpse of the license plates on the gray sedan?”
    “It was always behind me and had no front plates.”
    “Would you look at a couple of pictures we’ve brought along?” When she nodded, he signaled Andy, who handed him a packet.
     One by one, he showed her the five-by-seven black-and-whites.
    She took her time, squinting despite the bright light. Finally, she settled on one. “I’m pretty sure this is the tall one,
     although he stood to the side. The man in the suspenders who did the shooting isn’t in this group.”
    Andy stepped closer. “The man you identified is Sam Russo, the Arizona front man for the mob. He’s been arrested half a dozen
     times, but we’ve never been able to put him away. I believe he’s on probation right now. He works with his brother, Nick,
     who’s another slick operator.”
    Terry drifted a moment, then brought herself back by sheer force of will. “So what are you going to do? When will you move
     me?”
    Bob took over. “Tonight, to a private hospital. Then, when you’re well enough to be released from there, we’ll need to get
     you to a safe place, Terry, so you can recover without fear.” He didn’t think that right now she could handle knowing that
     Dr. Renfree had said she’d need plastic surgery on her face soon so she wouldn’t wind up with permanent scarring. “Meanwhile,
     we’ll build our case and when the time comes, we’ll need you to testify as to what you saw.”
    “A safe place. Where would that be? My father’s a retired policeman, but I’m afraid to involve my family.”
    “And you should be. No one is to know where you are. Once we relocate you, you must stay out of sight until you testify.”
    “Out of sight. You mean, away from Phoenix? But my family’s here, my friends, my job.”
    “I’m aware of that. Do you want to jeopardize them? Youwitnessed a cold-blooded killing and then these same people tampered with your car in an effort to silence you. Do you think
     they would hesitate to harm others to keep from getting caught?”
    Her hands were trembling and a frisson of fear raced up her spine. “No, I don’t think they would.”
    “We’re going to move you out of here tonight. Only one other person, a female agent who’s also a nurse, and I will know where
     you are for now. Later, a senior