Quest For Justice

It had all been a wasted effort, however. Right after she had committed her crimes, started paying the bills and brought the equipment home, she’d found her mother collapsed on the bathroom floor—the result of both her coughing and a heroin overdose. Bailey’s efforts had been too little too late, and when the officers had come to investigate the scene, they’d found the stolen equipment before she’d even thought to hide it. Her lack of foresight had cost her mightily. Her mother had died shortly after Bailey’s arrest. Bailey hadn’t even had a chance to say good-bye.

Bailey rubbed her eyes, trying to erase the memories. She had been such a mess back then. It hadn’t even occurred to her that she had done something wrong with her thefts. Her only thought had been to save her mother.

She liked to think that she’d learned her lesson in jail. Even better, she’d become a Christian during her college days and had slowly gotten on the right track. But changes didn’t just happen overnight. She still made blunders here and there, and she was already coming to regret her latest mistake. Hacking Kennedy’s email had been a stupid, impetuous display of bad judgment. She just hoped she could avoid him for the foreseeable future until she could track down her father’s killer. Maybe he wouldn’t care if she could get results from her own investigation.

She pulled out the list from her tote bag and put a check mark by Dr. Petrela’s name. It was time to move on to the next applicant. She still had a few daylight hours left and could probably interview one more applicant on the list today if she hurried. Gabriel Jeffries, an entrepreneur who worked from his beach house, was next. He had already agreed to see her if she could be at his place by 4:00 p.m. She had just enough time to make it.

“You know, most people start at the top of the list, not the middle.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the voice. She spun around as dread swept over her. Franklin Kennedy stood only a few feet away, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. He smiled at her, but it was an ominous smile, and she knew she was in trouble.

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” he said quietly. “I’m having some trouble with my email and thought maybe you would be able to help.”

“Doesn’t sound like a very serious problem. I’m sure your IT folks can fix it for you.”

Kennedy shook his head. “Actually, it’s a much bigger problem than most people realize. It’s a felony to hack a governmental email account. Were you aware of that?”

Bailey didn’t think. She took one step backward and then another. Then she turned and ran.

SIX

The hallway was crowded, and several people shouted as she made her escape. A nurse pushing a cart with a computer was up ahead and Bailey quickly made it around her and shoved at the cart, not stopping to see if it actually blocked the hallway or not. She skidded to a halt and pushed an empty gurney behind her in another effort to slow Kennedy down and then turned down a new hallway.

She dared not look, but she could feel that he wasn’t very far behind. The fear was palpable and her heart was throbbing in her chest. Had the cluttered hallway and the people slowed him down enough? Would she actually have a chance to escape? The side doors of the hospital were in sight and hope surged.

“Sheriff’s department!” Kennedy shouted after her. “Don’t let her get away!”

A hand snarled out and gripped her arm, but she yanked it away and took a few more steps before another man grabbed her shoulder.

Again, she pulled free, but the delay had cost her. Kennedy was only a few feet away as she hit the door and spun out onto the parking deck. She darted out into the humid air and aimed for the staircase that led down to the bottom level.

The tackle caught her by surprise. One moment she was running; the next, his arms locked around her shoulders, knocking her to the ground. The air left her body with a whoosh and she clamored for breath as she felt him fall on top of her. Even so, she wasn’t quite ready to surrender. He was so big that it was hard to fight against him, but she still tried to pull away, even though, deep down, she knew it was a wasted effort. He quickly straddled her from behind, grabbed her right hand and pulled it roughly behind her. She felt the click of the handcuffs and knew there was no escaping. She heard the final click of the metal and her body sagged. How was she going to solve her father’s murder now?

Kennedy pulled her to her feet and then immediately reached down and took her pistol from her ankle holster and stashed it in his waistband. She only had the one weapon with her today. He led her back toward the hospital doors until he reached her tote bag, lying on the ground where she had carelessly discarded it. His grip on her arm was tight—almost painful—and she could see the anger and disappointment warring for supremacy on his face. He reached down and grabbed the bag, and then he did a quick search of the contents. He pulled out the printed copy of his email from Gates, shook his head and then turned her to face him. She had a hard time looking him in the eye but finally raised her head. He held the proof right in his hands. There was no use denying her actions. It was all she could do to hold her ground under his intense scrutiny. He was so close she could see the dark flecks in his eyes. “You just won’t take no for an answer, will you?”

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