Page 44 of Stand By You
“Really?” Slick said.
“Yes,” Simons said, and he pushed a legal pad and pen toward them. “It’s clear your actions were based upon being misled by Delvecchio. And as well-meaning as you were in what you did, the district attorney may wish to question you, and he may decide to press charges. That is his right. But until then we’ll keep you safe.”
Slick picked up the pen and began furiously scrawling across the page.
Wizard picked up his pen, then looked at them. “Dude, I’m starving,” he complained. “Can we get something to eat?”
Simons bit back a smile. “I think someone brought in chicken and biscuits this morning.”
“That will do,” Wizard said, and began to write.
CHAPTER 13
Half an hourafter she got off the phone with Detective Kohl, Jillian and Nick parked and walked across the street to the police station. As they approached the front door, she placed her hand on his arm. “There’s something I didn’t tell you. Kohl asked for Travis’ medical records from his pediatrician.”
“Did he say why?” Nick asked.
She swallowed the lump in her throat before saying, “He’d asked if Travis was diabetic. I assured him if he were I would have told them that right away because Travis couldn’t survive if he were insulin dependent. And it would have made his abduction that much more serious in our need to find him.”
“Did he explain why he wanted to know about diabetes?” Nick asked, his hands on her shoulders warming her.
“No. He just thanked me for my help and that it would assist with their investigation.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Was this before or after he told you they had the bike messengers in custody?”
“After, but he didn’t say they were in custody,” Jillian told him. “Only that they were questioning them and that there had been a break in the case.” She gave a weak smile and then she gasped. “You don’t think…surely they haven’t found a body?”
“Did he say they did?” Nick demanded and she watched dismay widen his eyes.
“N-no, but why all these q-questions?” she asked, unable to stop the stammer from entering her voice. She grabbed his arms to steady herself. “And why be so vague?”
“This is Kohl you were dealing with, not Simons,” Nick explained gently. “We haven’t worked with him. We only met him in that observation room while Simons interviewed Geneva. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to him not wanting to give too much away in his methods.”
She exhaled and slowly nodded. “Okay.”
“So, let’s find out what they know.” Nick reached out to open the door and she hurried inside.
The desk sergeant looked up as they approached. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see detectives Simons and Kohl,” Jillian said. “I’m Jillian Grant.”
“Right.” The man rose from his chair and handed them visitor badges. “They said you’d be coming. Come with me.”
Following a few steps behind him, the man led them through a locked door and down a corridor to another door which he opened. Simons and Kohl rose from a long table, their expressions unreadable and Jillian’s heart sank.
“You guys have company,” the sergeant called before he departed, closing the door behind him.
“Good to see you both again” Simons greeted. “But you really didn’t have to come down. These guys have given us a complete statement. They are up to their eyeballs in it even if they were duped into carrying out Travis’ abduction.”
“I know, but I want to talk to them,” Jillian insisted. “I’m Travis’ nanny. They took him on my watch. It was my responsibility to keep him safe. I won’t be satisfied until I heartheir account of how Travis was doing the last time they saw him.”
“I get that,” Simons said. “But you can’t take on this burden as his caretaker. These guys were told Travis was being medically abused by his father who was withholding insulin from him.”
“But Travis isn’t a diabetic,” she said.
“Yeah, but these guys didn’t know that. The man who hired them gave them a patch to put on Travis –”
A cold sweat broke out over Jillian’s skin. “Oh, dear lord,” she whispered. “You’re not saying they gave him insulin, are you? That could kill him!”
