The world seemed to distort around Peggy, and a claustrophobic silence blanked out the sound of the television from the den. “Are you certain?” she whispered.
“I’m afraid so, Mrs. Cage. She was airlifted to a hospital in Baton Rouge, but she expired before she arrived. Penn was in the helicopter with her.”
Peggy shut her eyes against tears. Dear God, could things get any worse? But she had lived long enough to know the answer to that question: things could always get worse. Much worse.
“Where’s Penn now?” she whispered.
“He’ll be headed home soon. But, Mrs. Cage, there’s more.”
Peggy’s hand went to her mouth, and she felt her heart pounding. She knew before the FBI agent said anything that it had to do with Tom.
“Tell me,” she said.
“Dr. Cage was apparently with Ms. Masters either when or after she was shot. He tried to save her, but he wasn’t able to. He went into diabetic shock.”
“Oh, God.” Peggy closed her eyes. “You said he was all right!”
“Yes, ma’am. He was on the chopper when they flew into Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. They stabilized him, but after he regained consciousness, he walked out of the ER. Nobody knows where he is now.”
“Oh, no. Are you sure? How do you know he wasn’t kidnapped?”
“Security camera footage shows him walking out under his own power. I believe he knew he was going to be arrested by the Louisiana State Police, so he fled the scene.”
Peggy didn’t know what to say.
“Mrs. Cage, I called you for two reasons. First, I’m concerned about Penn’s state of mind. According to two officers who were on the scene, he was extremely upset. I was thinking you might even want to call one of Dr. Cage’s partners to check him out. I know that may sound extreme, but Penn’s going to be feeling a lot of anger—at your husband, unless I miss my guess—and grieving men in shock can be pretty unpredictable.”
“I understand,” Peggy said, thinking of all the widows and widowers Tom had been forced to sedate over the years in the first hours after a death.
“Obviously the question of telling Penn’s daughter the news is going to come up. I don’t know how you feel about that. But given what I’ve heard tonight, you might want to handle that job yourself. Penn may not be in a condition to do it.”
“Of course,” Peggy said automatically, though dread had begun to fill her heart. Annie had lost her biological mother at the age of four, and she hadn’t handled it well. Now—on the verge of gaining a new one—she too had been snatched away?
“I didn’t want Penn driving a car,” Kaiser was saying. “That’s why he’s returning by helicopter. He left his Audi on a highway in Wilkinson County, so I sent agents to retrieve it and bring it back to the house. Don’t be alarmed if you see his car pull up outside. I’ve alerted my men there.”
“Thank you, Agent Kaiser,” she mumbled, even as her ears picked up the news announcer in the next room saying: “We’re getting news of a breaking story in Lusahatcha County, Mississippi, one that involves yet another death and possibly a break in the unsolved civil rights murders being investigated in the Natchez–Concordia Parish area. . . .”
“Oh, I’ve got to go,” she said.
“Wait, please,” said Kaiser. “There’s a good chance your husband will try to contact you. It’s time to bring this circus to an end, Mrs. Cage. I’m doing everything I can to arrange protective custody for Dr. Cage. If he should contact you, please try to persuade him to call me. Any FBI office can patch him through to me. Tell him to identify himself as Dr. McCrae. Which I believe is your maiden name.”
“It is, and I’ll try. I’ve really got to go now.”
Peggy hung up and rushed into the den, meaning to grab the remote and shut it off. Annie was holding it, of course. The child whipped her head around, then froze as she saw Peggy’s face.
“What’s the matter, Gram? What happened?”
Peggy’s throat had sealed shut.
Annie’s eyes widened. “Gram . . . ?”
“Your father’s on his way home, sweetie.”
“Then why don’t you look happy?”
Peggy glanced at the television. The newscast had cut to a commercial, but it would return any second with the story that John Kaiser had already relayed to her.
“Annie, let’s turn off the TV.”
“How come?”
Peggy stepped forward and held out her hand. “Let me have that, sweetheart.”
Annie looked down at the remote control. Then she began to cry.
CHAPTER 75