“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
Rob glanced at Seth. “I’m sure Miss Lattimer is tired. There’s nothing else she can do here tonight. Why don’t you take her on home?”
“I think I’ll do that,” Seth said. “Are you ready to go, Callie?”
A tired smile pulled at her lips. “I am.”
She glanced at her uncle once more before she turned and walked out of the Critical Care Unit. They stopped at the elevator and pushed the button, but when the door opened, Captain Wilson of the Memphis Police Department and two officers stepped off.
Callie’s eyes lit up when she saw her uncle’s best friend and former partner. She threw her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close. “Anthony,” Callie said, “it’s so good to see you.”
He pulled back and stared down into her face. “I’ve been trying to get over here ever since I was notified about Dan being shot, but I’m on duty all night. It’s been one of the busiest nights I’ve had in a long time. But when the call about Dan’s attack in the ICU came in, I broke all speed records getting here. What happened?”
He shook his head in dismay as Callie told what had happened when she walked into her uncle’s room. “I didn’t think before I jumped on the man’s back. He was twice as big as me, but I knew I had to stop him,” she said.
Captain Wilson’s gaze raked her body. “Are you okay? Did he injure you in any way?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then what can you tell me about the man? Was there anything that would help you identify him if you saw him again?”
She nodded. “When I wrapped my arms around his neck, the medical face mask he was wearing slipped to the side. He had a jagged scar that ran down the right side of his face from about the bottom of his ear to his chin. And he had a star tattooed on his neck.”
“Was there anything else? Was he short? Tall? Skinny? What was his coloring?”
Callie thought for a moment before she responded. “Dark hair and tan skin—maybe Latino, but I can’t be sure. He was about Seth’s height, and he was very muscular. He had broad shoulders, and I felt his muscles flex when he threw me off. He reminded me of the guys you see constantly working out in a gym.”
Captain Wilson nodded. “Good. That ought to help us.” He smiled at her. “You’ve done well tonight, Callie. You survived two shootings and you fought someone who seemed intent on killing your uncle. It’s good to see that it’s not only the men in the Lattimer family who can hold their own with the bad guys. You can, too.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so, Anthony. I just want to teach school. I’ll leave chasing crooks to men like you and Seth.”
He smiled. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for a while. You go on home now. I need to talk with Rob Grant and make sure nothing like this happens again.” He turned to Seth. “Can you see that Callie gets home?”
“I will, sir.”
Without another word, Captain Wilson strode down the hallway and through the doors of the Critical Care Unit. The elevator doors opened again, and Seth and Callie stepped inside. Neither of them said anything until they had exited the hospital and stood in the parking lot outside the E.R. Seth pointed across the rows of cars to where his sat underneath a lamppost. “That’s my car over there.”
He led her to his car and unlocked the door for her to crawl in before he walked around to the driver’s side and slipped behind the steering wheel. He glanced over at her as he started the car, but she had her head resting against the back of her seat and her eyes closed. He thought she must have been asleep before they drove from the parking lot.
Thirty minutes later he stopped in the driveway of Dan’s house and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Callie,” he said as he gently shook her, “we’re at your uncle’s house.”
She sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked around. “I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.” She reached for the door handle but frowned and hesitated. “I thought we were going to get my bags.”
He laughed and opened his door. “Already done, ma’am. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t wake you for the pickup. I have your bags in the trunk. I’ll take them in and check the house before I leave.”
He started to get out of the car, but she reached out and touched his arm. “Seth, I really do appreciate all you’ve done for me tonight.”
Seth smiled. “No need to thank me. Dan is special to me.” He didn’t mention the way that Dan had filled the void in his life after his father walked out on them when he was a boy. Back when he’d dated Callie, he’d told her the whole story, about how he’d always envied his friends who had fathers who came to their ball games and had time to take them fishing or work on cars in the backyard. He’d never had anything like that until Dan became the father he needed. Tears threatened to fill his eyes, and he turned his head to stare out the car window so she wouldn’t see.
“I know,” she said. “He’s often told me you’re the son he never had. After I went to college and on to graduate school, I didn’t come home very much. I should have. I know he was lonely at times and I’m glad he had you.” Her voice broke on the last words.
“Don’t blame yourself for anything,” Seth replied. “He’s proud of you and what you’ve made of your life. He tells everybody about his smart niece who’s got her Ph.D. and is a big-time professor at the University of Virginia.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know about the big-time part, but I do love my job.”
“Just as Dan and I do ours, Callie. Try to remember that.”
She stared at him for a minute before she took a deep breath and opened her car door. “I get your point, Seth, but nothing’s changed since we last saw each other.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ve moved on, and I hope you have, too.”
She regarded him for a moment before she spoke. “I have. Now I’d appreciate it if you’d check out the house before you go. I don’t want another encounter with Scarface tonight.”
“You’ve got that right,” he said as he stepped out of the car. “I’ll do a walk-through and then be on my way, but I’ll come back tomorrow and take you to the hospital.” He glanced at the clock on the dash. “Since it’s nearly three o’clock in the morning, tomorrow will be here before we know it.”
She nodded and headed toward the house. “I don’t think I’ll have any trouble falling asleep.”
She’d already opened the front door by the time he arrived on the steps with her bags. He put them down in the entry and proceeded to search the house before he let her enter.
As he walked through the rooms, Callie’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. The house exuded a hollow feeling as if her uncle’s absence had sucked out all the life it usually possessed. Seth must have felt it, too, because she knew it had become the home away from home he’d come to love.
He stopped just inside the den, and his gaze raked the room. Then she saw his lips move and knew he was offering a prayer for his friend’s life. Callie turned away and shook her head. That was something else she and Seth had never shared, and she doubted they ever would.
Ten minutes later she stood at the front door and watched Seth get in his car. Then she locked the door and walked back into the living room. The lamp by the window she’d turned on when she’d first entered the house still lit the room.
She turned the light off and stood there in the dark room for a few minutes, staring out to the quiet