Page 59 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Okay. It doesn’t hurt too bad right now, but it’s still bleeding.”

“Head wounds bleed a lot.” He peeled the cloth back to get a look.

Vanetti came to my side and motioned me toward the hall where we could get a look at the living room wall without being in the line of fire. The guy was probably long gone by now, but assuming things were safe got a lot people killed.

Vanetti motioned toward the building across the way. “Ricky’s over there. He should be calling any minute, but I’m sure the shooter’s long gone.”

“Probably.” I gazed at the holes in the wall.

My phone still lay on the floor, but I could probably reach it with a broom. Grabbing one from the kitchen closet, I managed to retrieve it and found that I’d missed several calls, all from Aubree. She was probably wondering what had happened since I was talking to her at the time of the shooting. I’d have to call her back once things settled down.

The whistling sound coming from the bullet holes in the window was definitely annoying. I could patch the window with duct tape, but not if it was evidence for the police. Slipping my phone in my pocket, I turned to Vanetti. “You thinking of calling the police?”

“Not sure. I mean… if we want some answers, they could run prints on the bullets.”

I huffed out a breath. “Yeah… but I doubt there’d be any. Besides, Dino called me earlier and warned me off. He knows I was there when the trailer exploded, and I had to tell him about Serenity warning the gang about the raid. Their inside man identified me, so I’m on their radar now.”

Vanetti sighed. “Okay. We’ll keep it quiet, but I’d feel better if you let Dino know what happened here. It might help us catch the guy.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell him about it.”

“Good.” Vanetti shook his head at the painting on the floor. “Damn. I really liked that one.” His phone rang, andhe quickly answered. “Yeah?” He listened for a few seconds. “That’s what we thought. Stay there. I’m sure Stone will want to take a look, and I don’t want anyone messing with the scene.”

Slipping his phone into his pocket, he nodded at me. “Looks like our guy left in a hurry and forgot to clean up. Ricky found the shells and the broken window. This might be what we need, especially if Serenity can get a reading on who the bastard is.”

Nodding, I glanced into the kitchen. Dix and Serenity had moved closer to the sink. With his medical bag on the counter, it looked like he was just about finished stitching up her wound, and I sighed with relief.

Stepping closer, I caught the last of Dix’s instructions to Serenity. “You need to take it easy for the rest of the day. Getting shot in the head can be traumatic, even if it didn’t do any major damage. You can shower in the morning, but try not to get it wet before then. Why don’t you come into my office in a week, and I’ll take the stitches out. And don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions. Here’s my card.”

Serenity took his card, but could barely nod. Her eyed had glazed over right after he told her she’d been shot in the head. It kind of shocked me, too.

Vanetti stepped beside him. “Thanks, Dix. I’ll see you out.” He ushered Dix out the door, leaving me and Serenity alone.

Serenity glanced my way, her eyes still wide with shock. “Did he just say that I got shot in the head? With a bullet?”

Her face had drained of color, and I hurried to her side, grabbing her arms to steady her. “Are you going to faint now?”

She stiffened, and fire lit her eyes. “Of course not.”

“Good, because we need to take a look at the building across the street. Ricky’s waiting for us at the window the shooter used to take his shot. You might pick up something. Do you think you can manage a trip over there?”

“Oh… sure. That’s a good idea.”

I knew that made me look like a big asshole, so I quickly continued. “Once we do that, we can take the rest of the day off. Okay? I know you need to rest… but this might be the clue we’re looking for.”

She closed her eyes. “You’re right. Of course we need to check it out.”

“Good. We can go whenever you’re ready.”

She shrugged. “We might as well go now. My head’s numb, so I can’t even feel the wound, although I do have a slight headache.”

“I’ve got something for that.” I opened the cupboard above the sink and got out the pain reliever. I gave her a couple of pills, and grabbed a glass of water for her.

“Thanks.” She swallowed the pills and finished off the water before examining her hands. Bloodstains covered them. “I think I need to clean up first.”

“Oh yeah.” I glanced at my own hands, finding blood on them, too. “I guess Ricky can wait a few more minutes.”

She glanced at me with raised brows.

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