Why?
Dr. Lassiter, part of the team taking care of Jessica’s mother, walked into the waiting room. He was a man of about fifty, his hair graying but his eyes kind.
Jessica leaped to her feet. Danni stood, too. Jessica clung to her, waiting and watching with dread in her eyes as the doctor reached them.
“Miss Tate, your mother is hanging in. She lost a lot of blood and suffered a serious concussion, but she’s stable now, and we’re hopeful that she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” Jessica cried. She started to collapse, and Danni eased her back down into her chair.
“When can she see her mother?” Danni asked.
“The nurses are finishing now—give it about ten minutes,” the doctor said. “Someone will be out to let you know.” He sighed softly. “The police need to speak to her, too, of course, so don’t tire her out. That could be dangerous. So no long conversations. Just be there, okay?”
Jessica nodded. “Yes, of course. I’ll just tell her I love her.” Tears were filling her eyes again.
“Cry it all out now,” the doctor told her, “then be happy and confident when you see her.” He nodded to Danni. “We were all lucky today,” he added with a grim smile.
As the doctor left, Danni saw Quinn and Larue arrive. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Quinn looked at her, and she smiled. It felt like her first real smile in hours.
*
It had all gone down just as Quinn had imagined.
The only thing he hadn’t nailed was the way the killer had dressed this time.
As a robot.
He and Larue let Jessica have a few minutes with her mother first, but when they did go in to speak with Victoria Tate, Quinn discovered he admired the woman very much.
When Larue asked her if she was up for a few questions, she told them to please come in then told them how stupid she felt for answering the door to a robot, of all things, and how incredibly grateful she was that her grandson was fine.
“When I think of what might have happened...” Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Jessica, who sat in a chair by her side, holding tightly to her hand.
“Mom, it’s okay. Craig is fine.”
“He’s at Danni’s house,” Quinn told her. “Protected by a half dozen people and a giant dog. Now,” he said gently, “tell us about the robot. Can you describe the costume?” He wondered if it was going to do any good even if she could. The killer would simply change costumes next time, anyway.
“He was a robot,” Victoria said, not blinking as she looked at him. “Just a big robot.”
“What kind of a robot?” Danni persisted gently. “Like a Lost in Space robot? Or one from Star Wars?”
Victoria seemed to brighten. “Tall, thin and gold. Like the one from Star Wars,” she said.
Quinn glanced over at Danni. A common costume, they both knew. Available at costume shops all around the city, parish and state.
“Thank you, Victoria,” Quinn said.
“I wish I could tell you more,” Victoria said.
“You’ve been a tremendous help,” Quinn told her. They needed to get back to the house, he thought.
A very crowded house at the moment.
Glancing at his watch, he saw that four hours had passed since he’d gone running after Danni and the others from La Porte Rouge. The bars would be closing for the night; Billie and Tyler would be heading back to the house.
He rose, looking at Larue and Danni.
Danni rose uncertainly, a question in her eyes.
“Miss Tate, will you be staying here with your mother?” Larue asked her.
“I don’t want to leave her,” Jessica said. “But I have to take care of my son.”
“He’ll be fine with us,” Danni said. “I’m sure he’s sleeping now.” She still looked as if she were uncertain about leaving.
“The officers will stay on duty through the night,” Larue said. “You’ll be fine, Miss Tate, and, as Danni said, your little one will be fine, too.”
“Rest and get better,” Danni told Victoria. “And, Jessica, please don’t worry about Craig.”
Jessica nodded then stood to tell them goodbye. She thanked Larue and Quinn, but she hugged Danni and held her tightly for a long moment.
Outside in the hall, Larue sighed. “We’re going to need more cops. We’re trying to protect musicians around the city while keeping an eye on our suspects. Now we need to watch the hospital, too.”
“It’s going to end soon,” Danni said.
Quinn and Larue both looked at her.
“If this guy is going to go after every sax player in the city, a lot more people could die,” Larue said.
“But he didn’t kill Victoria Tate,” Quinn said. “He knocked her across the room, but then he ran.” Studying Danni, he added, “And you know why, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Jessica was the woman Arnie told Kevin about. Her child is Arnie’s child. You’ll see when we get to the house.”