“There aren’t any cameras in this stairwell, but maybe they got him as he exited?”
“Exactly. I’m going to request that footage now.”
She nodded and he sent the request.
The door opened once more, and the officer handed Caden the evidence bag. “All right,” Caden said to Ava, “just slide it in there, nice and easy.”
She did so. He sealed the bag and labeled it. Then met her eyes. “Are you okay, Ava?”
“I’m . . .” Her throat closed and she fought the wave of pure exhaustion that wanted to overtake her. “I’m alive, but honestly, I just want to know Mickey’s okay, then go home and finish that puzzle and find my dad’s password to his computer and find out what’s on there that he might or might not want me to see and I still want to know what Daria found out about that code and what it means and—”
He wrapped his fingers around hers, stopping the flow of words. “How about I take you home and you try to get some sleep?”
“Sure. Why not?”
The fact that she didn’t argue with him said a whole lot about the state of her mind. He passed the evidence bag off to one of the task force members. “We need DNA off this ASAP. See if he’s in the system.”
“On it.”
He disappeared, and Caden helped Ava to her feet, through the crowd, and out of the hospital. He’d take her statement in the comfort of her home. Then he’d call Daria and ask her about the code she’d discovered in the newspaper clippings. She’d said she—and the others—were still working on it, but he agreed with Ava. They needed that information.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “We still need to find out if Mickey’s okay and talk to him, don’t we?”
He glanced at his phone. “Mickey’s okay. You got there in time. I’ll get one of the others to talk to him and I’ll take you home.”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s go see if he’s awake and if we can get anything from him.”
“All right. If you’re sure you’re up to it.”
“Just catch me if I keel over.”
“Always.”
“And what happened to my steak dinner?” She scowled. “I’m not passing on that. We had a deal.”
He gave a low chuckle. “Let’s see how you feel after we check on Mickey. Deal?”
“No deal. I’m expecting steak and I want to get that puzzle finished. I think that’s going to be the key to a lot of this.”
“That works for me.”
Caden shook his head and led the way back to the room. The staff eyed her with expressions of disbelief, relief, and awe. A nurse approached her. “Are you all right? Do you want someone to take a look at you?”
“No, thanks,” Ava said. “He didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.”
The man nodded, but looked unsure. However, he said, “I know you were wanting to speak to Mickey. He’s awake.”
“Where was the officer on his room?” Caden asked.
“We found him in the bathroom, unconscious. He’s currently recuperating in a room down the hall.”
Caden frowned. “But he’ll be all right?”
“Yes. He’ll have a headache, but other than that he was unharmed.”
“That’s a relief,” Ava murmured.
Caden nodded. “Is he awake? Can we talk to him?”
“Yes, I think so. Follow me.” He led them down to the third room on the right. “We had this one open and put him here to treat him quickly.”
He knocked and pushed the door open. The officer sat propped up in the bed, his eyes closed, face pale from the trauma. A white bandage covered part of his head. Caden thanked the nurse and turned to the patient, who blinked his eyes open.
“I’m Agent Caden Denning,” he said, showing his badge. “This is Ava Jackson. Do you mind if I ask you what happened?”
“Sure, you can ask, but I can’t give you a description.”
“Tell me what you can.”
“The guy was dressed in surgical scrubs. Had a hospital ID badge and said he was the surgeon who’d patched up the kid’s shoulder.” He pressed a thumb and forefinger to his eyes. “And I let him in.”
“What made you check on him?”
“I don’t know. Just had a weird feeling about the whole thing. I stepped in, and he was getting ready to put a plastic bag over the boy’s head. I yelled at him and he turned and sucker punched me. Then he used the phone by the bed to clock me in the head. That’s the last I remember.”
Caden handed him a card. “Sorry about that. Hope you heal up quick.”
“Thanks.”
“If you remember anything else, give me a call, will you?”
“Of course.”
They stepped out of the room and made their way back to Mickey’s. Another officer had been stationed there, and Caden hoped Mickey would be able to give them more information than the officer had.
“What are you two doing here?” The voice was familiar, angry and low.
Caden turned. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fields.”
Jesse Fields approached, the tension radiating from him. He held a steaming cup of coffee and had just stepped out of the small break room across the hall. “I asked what you were doing here.”
“I’m here to talk to Mickey,” Caden said.
“He’s still unconscious.”
“The nurse said he was awake,” Ava said. “Why are you fighting so hard on this? Your family was killed. Murdered. And there’s a connection with my father, whether you want to admit it or not. You know something, so why don’t you help them find the person who did this?”
Caden placed a hand on her arm. “Easy, Ava.”
Jesse’s nostrils flared and his wife sucked in a sharp breath. She sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “Jesse,” she said, her voice soft, “maybe—”
“Shut up,” he fired at her.
Fresh tears filled her eyes and slipped over her lashes.
He groaned, walked over to her, and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, honey, I’m sorry.”
Without a word, she pushed past him into Mickey’s room.
Jesse locked eyes on Caden. “Leave us out of this.”
Ava raked a hand over her head. “Mr. Fields, there’s no leaving you out of this. You’re in this whether you like it or not.” Her voice was low. Subdued.
Mr. Fields looked like he might explode at any moment. Ava would be right behind him.
“I need to speak to Mickey ASAP,” Caden said.
“He can’t tell you anything.”
Caden’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. Daria. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. Ava, come with me?”
She sighed and nodded.
He pressed the phone to his ear. “Yes, Daria?”
“I think I might have some information you’re going to find interesting.”
“Lay it on me.”
Daria cleared her throat. “All right. I’m just going to go over everything, so stay with me. The first family, the Holdens, were murdered in San Diego, California, last month. Second one, the Baileys, was two weeks ago in Houston, Texas. The third, the Fields family, was in South Carolina, and the fourth was in Portland, Oregon. All of these families have living parents who have a connection that I think I’ve figured out.”