Virna DePaul - Shades of Passion

“Delay but not stop them completely?”

“No one can stop them. Not all of them.”

“Can they be healed? Some of them?”

Dr. Shepard’s question automatically made Simon think of the doctor.

Nina Whitaker.

She’d reminded him of Lana in more ways than her cool blond looks. She’d had that same watchful gaze, intense yet filled with compassion, as if she could see every scar that lay underneath his skin and she wanted to kiss them all. Make them better. The idea of her kissing him anywhere made him shift in his seat and wrestle with the attraction that had tried to pull him closer even as he’d mentally sneered at her chosen profession. He ran a hand through his hair, painfully aware that he hadn’t answered Dr. Shepard’s question. And that he didn’t want to. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Lana was a psychiatrist. Some might say the reason her killer got close was because she was trying to help him. What did you think about that?”

He remembered the fight they’d had the last time he’d seen her. He’d been scared for her. He’d wanted to protect her. But she hadn’t wanted that. She’d wanted to heal a criminal more than she’d wanted to protect herself. Or him. So when he answered, he answered truthfully. “I thought she was a fool.”

“One that deserved to die?”

The feeling of denial was emphatic and swift. “I didn’t say that.”

“No, you didn’t. But do you believe it?”

Did he? The least constructive emotion Simon felt when he thought about the way Lana had died was anger. At the man who’d killed her. And, like he’d felt at her grave site, even anger at her for placing herself in a killer’s sights. But he didn’t blame her. He knew she’d been doing what she felt she had to. “No. I don’t.”

Dr. Shepard nodded. “Okay, let’s talk about the incident that led to her death. What do you know about it?”

For the remainder of the hour, they discussed how Simon’s fellow SIG detectives, Carrie Ward and Jase Tyler, had been working a case trying to track down a serial killer dubbed The Embalmer. How Carrie and Lana had gone on national television and tried goading the killer into revealing himself. Unfortunately, they’d been more successful than they could have ever anticipated. The killer had waited outside the police department and concocted a good enough story that Lana had gone with him of her own free will. And then she’d been killed—murdered—just as violently as Mac had indicated earlier.

After rehashing the facts and discussing Simon’s “feelings” about them over and over again, Dr. Shepard nodded. “Thank you. Our session is done. If you’d like to reschedule, I look forward to talking to you next week.”

Simon stood. Managed to choke out, “Thanks.” Without waiting to see if the doctor extended his hand, Simon turned and left.

He was almost to the hospital lobby when his cell phone rang. He scowled when he saw the number of the incoming caller on the screen.

“Checking up on me, Mac?”

“Are you still at the hospital?” Mac’s voice was strained. Urgent.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“SFPD just brought a 5150 into the E.R. There’s reason to believe he kidnapped a young girl. If possible, take Dr. Shepard to the E.R. with you. See what he can get out of the guy as he’s evaluating him.”

Shit, Simon thought, replaying how rudely he’d just walked out of the man’s office. “Wish I’d known we needed his help before I talked to him.”

“Made that good of an impression, huh?”

“I cooperated,” he mumbled. “Sort of.”

“Just snag the doc and meet Officer Dan Rieger in the E.R.”

“On my way.”

He backtracked to Dr. Shepard’s office. He was able to get into the waiting room, but the door leading to the back offices was locked. The receptionist was gone, but she’d left the Plexiglas divider open. He stuck his head in and called out, “Dr. Shepard?” Nothing. “Is anyone here?”

He heard a noise in one of the back offices followed by footsteps. A woman stepped into view.

It was the doctor he’d rudely dismissed earlier. Nina Whitaker. The one that, despite himself, he’d imagined naked and lying in his arms.

Hell, he was imagining her naked right now.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I need a doc to come into the E.R. with me. There’s a 5150 about to arrive who might know where a kidnapped young girl is.”

She hesitated. “Let me find out who the on-call doc is.” A minute later, she was back. “It might take a while, but someone will meet you down there.”

Damn it, they didn’t have time to wait. That was obvious by Mac’s call. By the fact he’d wanted Simon to drag Dr. Shepard to the E.R. “This is a critical situation. You can do it, can’t you?”

She hesitated. “Yes, but—”

Despite his misgivings, despite the fact he wanted to stay as far away from her as possible, it couldn’t be helped. Clenching his jaw, he motioned for her to join him. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER SIX

SIMON GRANGER GUIDED her toward the E.R. with a big hand cupped under her elbow. Even as she managed to keep up with his long strides, Nina tried to get through to him. “Wait a second. You’re saying you want me to get information from someone exhibiting a psychotic break?”

“If that’s the same thing as someone acting crazy, then yes.”

She glared at him. “And you think that’s easy to do?”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s easy or not. He supposedly kidnapped a little girl who might need medical help. We have to find out where she is. If you don’t get the information out of him, then I will.”

She managed to pull away and skid to a stop. The detective faced her with his hands on his hips.

“And just what does that mean?” she asked. “That you’ll beat the information out of him?”

“I didn’t say that. But I’ve been trained in interrogation techniques. If your questions don’t give us the answers we need—”

“Your ‘techniques’ will likely escalate the situation even more.”

His expression remained impassive. “Then let’s hope I don’t have to use them.”

He turned and strode away, leaving her to follow.

As they entered the E.R., he went up to the receptionist and showed her his badge. “There should be a patrol officer here with a 5150. Officer Dan Rieger.”

“Yes,” the woman said, her gaze finding Nina’s, who nodded. “They’ve already been put in a room. I’ll show you to him.”

She escorted them past several exam rooms to where a uniformed patrol officer was pacing in front of an open door.

“Officer Rieger? Special Agent Simon Granger. Is your perp inside?”

The man nodded. “They’re taking some blood tests. He’s in restraints and they gave him a shot to calm him down. We picked him up for shoplifting, but he got all agitated. Started saying we were part of the alien invasion. That he wouldn’t tell us where the little girl he was protecting is.”

“Are you certain he has a young girl and isn’t simply delusional?” Nina asked.

“He had a young girl’s jacket. And an inhaler. One of those over-the-counter kinds, so it doesn’t have a prescription on it. But he said the girl was having trouble breathing and had run out of her medicine. That’s what he was stealing. I gotta go with my gut on this one and say he’s got some girl hidden somewhere. And if she’s out of her asthma medication, we’re running out of time.”

Simon turned to Nina.

She nodded. “Let me see what I can do.” She stepped inside the room and nodded to the nurse who was labeling a vial of blood. On a gurney lay a young man, legs and wrists restrained by leather straps, a dazed expression on his face. Possible catatonia or maybe too heavy a dose of the antipsychotic. She just hoped he was lucid enough to discuss the girl he’d taken and where they’d find her. She stepped inside and tried shutting the door.