Read Online Now You See Her by James Patterson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: James Patterson
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under control. It looks like Peter’s going to make it.”
Chapter 26
THEY’D BROUGHT PETER to the Lower Keys Medical Center five minutes from Key West on Stock Island. I was told by a male ER nurse that Peter had been taken directly to surgery.
For the next couple of hours, I sat in a cop-filled waiting room on the hospital’s second floor.
After a while, the surrounding cops started drifting out into the hallway and stood in clusters speaking softly to one another.
From the cheap TV above the door, I watched a
7 News
special report about the Jump Killer. A Filipina massage therapist from Marathon, Florida, had gone missing, and speculation was that the Jump Killer had struck again.
The special report had just been replaced by
Family Feud
when a tall, gray-haired uniformed cop entered the waiting room.
“Jeanine?” he said as he crossed the room in two quick strides. “I’m Chief John Morley. Peter’s boss. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this.”
I shook his hand. I’d seen Morley’s picture in the local papers before, but this was the first time I’d actually met him.
“Thank you, Chief,” I said.
“Please call me John. How’s Peter?”
“Still in surgery,” I said.
He pulled over a chair.
“You must be going through hell,” the chief said with a sympathetic shake of his head. “It looks like Peter and Elena interrupted a holdup in progress, but when a police officer is shot, it could be anything. You mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“No, of course,” I said.
“Has Peter had any disagreements with anyone that you know of? A neighbor? Anyone who might be holding a grudge against him? Strange phone calls? Can you think of an unusual reason why this happened?”
I thought about everything I’d seen last night, Peter’s bizarre behavior. I decided not to mention it until I spoke to Peter.
“I’m not really sure. I don’t think so,” I said with a shrug.
Morley kept eye contact as he patted me on the knee.
“It could be anything, Jeanine. Has Peter been acting strangely at all lately?”
I squinted at him. He seemed to be pressing me a little. Frantically wondering how to respond, I was relieved when an attractive Asian woman in green doctor’s scrubs came through the doorway a moment later.
“I’m Dr. Pyeng,” she said. “Your husband is out of surgery and in stable condition. Please come with me, Mrs. Fournier.
“We were able to retrieve the bullet intact,” Dr. Pyeng said as I quickly followed her out into the hall. “The gunshot tore up a lot of deep muscle tissue in his shoulder, but thankfully it missed bone. Also no major blood vessels or nerves were cut, so I’m confident there won’t be any permanent damage.”
Instead of heading into the elevator as I expected, we made a right through some automatic swinging doors. Dr. Pyeng stopped at the first room beyond an empty nurses’ station and opened a door.
The room inside was narrow and dim. Beside the bulky hospital bed, a glowing white heart monitor beeped softly next to a half-full IV drip. Peter was lying on the wheeled bed with his eyes closed. There was a thin, pink-tinged tube under his nose. There was also a huge bandage on his left shoulder and an IV inserted into his uninjured right forearm.
“His blood pressure is looking good, so I think we’re out of the woods in terms of shock,” Dr. Pyeng whispered as she led me inside and closed the door.
Peter’s eyes were glazed. I glanced at the IV bag. DIAZEPAM SOLUTION , it said in bold red letters, and in smaller type, I spotted the word VALIUM .
He squeezed my hand. Then he stared at me, sighing as he broke into a wide, serene grin. “Mermaid,” he whispered.
There he was again, my big teddy bear, my drinking buddy. Even lying there in a hospital bed, he was handsome. He gave me his boyish Brett Favre winning-in-overtime smile.
I held my breath as I stared down into his groggy blueeyes. They were his best feature, as pale
Chapter 26
THEY’D BROUGHT PETER to the Lower Keys Medical Center five minutes from Key West on Stock Island. I was told by a male ER nurse that Peter had been taken directly to surgery.
For the next couple of hours, I sat in a cop-filled waiting room on the hospital’s second floor.
After a while, the surrounding cops started drifting out into the hallway and stood in clusters speaking softly to one another.
From the cheap TV above the door, I watched a
7 News
special report about the Jump Killer. A Filipina massage therapist from Marathon, Florida, had gone missing, and speculation was that the Jump Killer had struck again.
The special report had just been replaced by
Family Feud
when a tall, gray-haired uniformed cop entered the waiting room.
“Jeanine?” he said as he crossed the room in two quick strides. “I’m Chief John Morley. Peter’s boss. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this.”
I shook his hand. I’d seen Morley’s picture in the local papers before, but this was the first time I’d actually met him.
“Thank you, Chief,” I said.
“Please call me John. How’s Peter?”
“Still in surgery,” I said.
He pulled over a chair.
“You must be going through hell,” the chief said with a sympathetic shake of his head. “It looks like Peter and Elena interrupted a holdup in progress, but when a police officer is shot, it could be anything. You mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“No, of course,” I said.
“Has Peter had any disagreements with anyone that you know of? A neighbor? Anyone who might be holding a grudge against him? Strange phone calls? Can you think of an unusual reason why this happened?”
I thought about everything I’d seen last night, Peter’s bizarre behavior. I decided not to mention it until I spoke to Peter.
“I’m not really sure. I don’t think so,” I said with a shrug.
Morley kept eye contact as he patted me on the knee.
“It could be anything, Jeanine. Has Peter been acting strangely at all lately?”
I squinted at him. He seemed to be pressing me a little. Frantically wondering how to respond, I was relieved when an attractive Asian woman in green doctor’s scrubs came through the doorway a moment later.
“I’m Dr. Pyeng,” she said. “Your husband is out of surgery and in stable condition. Please come with me, Mrs. Fournier.
“We were able to retrieve the bullet intact,” Dr. Pyeng said as I quickly followed her out into the hall. “The gunshot tore up a lot of deep muscle tissue in his shoulder, but thankfully it missed bone. Also no major blood vessels or nerves were cut, so I’m confident there won’t be any permanent damage.”
Instead of heading into the elevator as I expected, we made a right through some automatic swinging doors. Dr. Pyeng stopped at the first room beyond an empty nurses’ station and opened a door.
The room inside was narrow and dim. Beside the bulky hospital bed, a glowing white heart monitor beeped softly next to a half-full IV drip. Peter was lying on the wheeled bed with his eyes closed. There was a thin, pink-tinged tube under his nose. There was also a huge bandage on his left shoulder and an IV inserted into his uninjured right forearm.
“His blood pressure is looking good, so I think we’re out of the woods in terms of shock,” Dr. Pyeng whispered as she led me inside and closed the door.
Peter’s eyes were glazed. I glanced at the IV bag. DIAZEPAM SOLUTION , it said in bold red letters, and in smaller type, I spotted the word VALIUM .
He squeezed my hand. Then he stared at me, sighing as he broke into a wide, serene grin. “Mermaid,” he whispered.
There he was again, my big teddy bear, my drinking buddy. Even lying there in a hospital bed, he was handsome. He gave me his boyish Brett Favre winning-in-overtime smile.
I held my breath as I stared down into his groggy blueeyes. They were his best feature, as pale
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