Shirlee McCoy - Running Blind

“She didn’t go on errands alone? Perhaps take a few late-night strolls?”

“We were only there a couple of days, and she never went anywhere alone during that time.”

“How about phone calls?”

“What about them?” Jenna’s temper rose, washing over her in a wave that drowned out fatigue and pain and sorrow.

“You sound upset.”

“Of course, I’m upset. My best friend is dead. Murdered. And you’re accusing her of being involved in drug trafficking.”

“I’m not accusing. I’m questioning.”

“I don’t see the difference.”

“We need answers, Jenna. I’m sure you understand that.”

“I’m giving them to you, but I get the impression you’d rather me tell you a fantastic tale about late-night phone calls and strange disappearances than the truth.”

“The truth is that your friend was executed by the Mexican Panthers. The truth is it wasn’t just a random act.”

“It had to be.” Jenna bit back her temper, knowing it wouldn’t help. Losing control never made things easier, and it certainly wouldn’t convince Agent Bradley that she was telling the truth.

“Did you miss the part where I told you that Dr. Romero had thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs in her suitcase and purse?”

“Someone else must have put that there. Magdalena was absolutely opposed to illegal drug use.”

“Who would have done that? When?”

“I don’t know. I just know that it wasn’t hers.”

“You think that it wasn’t, but—”

“It’s your job to find the truth, Agent Bradley, so perhaps you should go do that.” Nikolai broke into the conversation, and Bradley stiffened.

“Part of finding the truth involves interviewing people who knew the deceased.”

The deceased.

He said it as if Magdalena were a faceless, nameless body. Someone who had lived and died and whose life no longer had value.

“The deceased was a woman of integrity. The deceased had a son and a husband who loved her and hundreds of patients who respected and admired her. The deceased was a dear friend of mine, and if you think that I’m going to roll over and play dead while you accuse her of drug-related crimes, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“All I’m asking you to do is think back over your time in Mexico. See if there’s something that stood out as odd or out of character for Magdalena. Perhaps she was pressured into carrying those drugs. Perhaps someone on the team pulled her into something she didn’t want to do.”

“She wasn’t like that. She couldn’t be pressured into doing something illegal or immoral,” Jenna said, but knew Agent Bradley wouldn’t believe her. Did it even matter? They could argue all day and it wouldn’t bring Magdalena back. That thought was a splash of ice water that cooled Jenna’s temper, stole the energy that had pulsed through her. Her legs went weak, her body numb, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay on her feet.

“Is it possible that she—”

“I don’t think I’m up to this, after all. Maybe we could finish the interview another time,” Jenna cut him off, dropping onto the edge of the bed.

“It’s imperative that we get as much information from you as soon as we can.”

“She said that she was done.” Nikolai spoke before Jenna could, stepping between her and the agent and bending down to look into her eyes. “Would you like me to call the nurse?”

“No. I just need to close my eyes for a while.” What she really needed was to be alone with her thoughts so that she could wrap her mind around what Agent Bradley was saying, what he was accusing Magdalena of.

“I’m sure Agent Bradley understands that.”

“I’ll come back in a few hours. I’m sure you’ll be feeling well enough to answer more questions by then.” There seemed to be a threat behind the agent’s words, and Jenna was still letting it sink in as the sound of footsteps and voices drifted in from the corridor.

“Ms. Dougherty?” A nurse stepped into the room. “You have another visitor.”

A tall, masculine figure appeared behind her. “Hey, sis. Sorry it took me so long to get here.”

“Kane?” She wanted to say more, but her voice caught.

“Who else?” He hurried across the room, his dark hair and familiar face so welcome, Jenna blinked back tears of relief.

“Magdalena is dead.” She said it without thinking, the truth bursting out and into the air, hanging there.

“I know. I heard on my way here.” He sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“I should have tried harder to keep them from taking her.”

“You did everything you could.” He smoothed her hair just as he had when she was a kid and had run to him with a scraped knee or a bruised ego.

She didn’t respond, just closed her eyes, fighting back tears, knowing that if she let them fall, she’d never stop crying.

“I’ll come back in a few hours.” Agent Bradley spoke quietly, and for the first time since he’d entered the room, he sounded compassionate rather than businesslike.

“I’ll walk you out,” Nikolai said, and Jenna forced her eyes open.

“Will you be coming back?”

“Do you need me to?”

It was an odd question, and despite the fact that Kane was sitting beside her, Jenna almost said yes. “I guess not.”

“Then I’ll leave for the airport. I’ve got some business to take care of in Houston.”

But not the business he’d spoken of before. There would be no effort to cross the border, no desperate search for a missing woman. Magdalena had been found, and the truth of her death settled deep into Jenna’s heart. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away, closing her eyes again, and turning her face so that the men wouldn’t see. Footsteps sounded on the tile floor, and someone leaned close. She could feel his warmth, smell the mint that seemed to hang on the air around Nikolai. A warm finger traced the path her tear had taken, but she didn’t open her eyes. Couldn’t. Not without letting everything she was feeling out.

“It will be okay, Jenna. You will grieve, and then you will go on. That’s how life is.” Nikolai echoed the words he’d spoken earlier, his voice seeping into Jenna’s self-imposed darkness.

She knew she should respond, but what was there to say? Magdalena was dead. Words couldn’t change that, so she kept silent, listening as Nikolai said goodbye to Kane and walked away.

Hundreds of mourners picked their way across rain-soaked earth, following the pallbearers to a large tent covering the open grave. Black umbrella butted against black umbrella, the drip of rain and rustle of fabric mixing with hushed conversation and the slosh of feet on wet grass. Nikolai followed the crowd, his eyes on the vibrant blue umbrella near the head of the pack. It had been a week since he’d seen Jenna, but he had no trouble conjuring up an image of her face. He’d thought about her often in the days since he’d left her at the hospital.

Too often.

He’d wondered how she was doing. Worried that her vision hadn’t returned the way it was supposed to. He’d found himself calling Kane to check in on a daily basis, had almost given in to temptation and gone to the airport the day Jenna and her family had flown in for the funeral. That annoyed him. He was, after all, a confirmed bachelor. A guy who enjoyed freedom from the trappings of family and relationships.

At least he had been.

Things had changed in the past year. He’d reconnected with the sister he’d thought had been lost to him forever. He’d accepted a job working for Information Unlimited. He’d found himself with family ties and career ties, a small apartment in Houston and a church family that prayed for him when he was on assignment.