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As she stood, she remembered something.
“Gerard, did you and Jean-Paul really published those formulae on the internet?”
He smiled. “Yep. That was Jean-Paul’s plan. Put it out there for everyone to see. I told you before. To me, medicine isn’t about making money; it’s about saving lives. We set it up at the clinic before we came home for dinner, arranging it to go live worldwide at the same time. Anyone can have access to the formulae. We made sure to put them on several websites. They won’t be taken down by people like Tony and Jane Orwell. Anyone can start researching the formulae and start seeking their country’s approval for manufacturing. It’ll be a long process, butwe willsave lives in the end.”
Linda smiled, swallowing the knot in her throat. She’d never met a kinder, more altruistic person than this man. It was still a wonder that he loved her and the reason why she’d come to love him. She looked forward to earning that love and basking in it for the rest of her life.
“Rest now,” she said firmly. “I’ll be here to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning—that is if we can convince the doctor to let me take you home.”
“Home. I like the sound of that. Linda, thank you.”
She turned to him, puzzled. “For what?”
“For saving my life.” His gaze was so full of love, it echoed deep inside her heart.
She grinned. “Not a problem. You save lives for a living. It was about time someone saved yours.”
She blew him a kiss and hurried out. The time to fall apart was fast approaching, and she wanted to be alone behind closed doors when it happened.
On her way out she found D.I. Patterson, arguing with a nurse.
“I only have a few questions for him,” Patterson said, clinging precariously to his patience.
“He’s just out of surgery. He might not be fully coherent after the anesthesia,” the nurse maintained.
Linda smiled at her protective tone. She stepped forward and touched the nurse’s arm.
“It’s okay. Gerard is coherent, and doing well,” she said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind speaking with Detective Inspector Patterson for a few minutes. He wants to do everything possible to help the police build a solid case against Antonio Capuani—and he can tell you all about the gun.”
The nurse seemed annoyed, but then relented. The shadows under her tired brown eyes told Linda it had been a long day for her, too. Hers was not an easy job.
“Fine! You can go in for five minutes,” the woman said, wagging her finger at the detective. “After that, I’m coming in to check on my patient, and you’ll be leaving the man alone.”
“Yes, nurse. Thank you.” Patterson turned to Linda. “Miss Coriola, you should go home now. I’ll speak with you soon. If anything new comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you for everything, Detective Patterson. Goodnight.”
Legs shaky, her body trembling with fatigue, Linda walked down the corridor. When she reached the stairs she looked up, wondering whether or not to check on Tony again. An hour ago, she’d gone up to see him, but the policeman guarding the door hadn’t let her in. Tony had been arrested and would be under police supervision twenty-four seven. Through the window in the door, she’d caught a glimpse of him—waxy pale, eyes closed, I V going into his arm, the handcuffs on the bedrail easy to see. She had absolutely no remorse over the fact that she’d been the one to put him there.
The police still had a lot of work to do, but she was sure that by the end of the investigation there would be enough evidence to put Tony away for the rest of his life. She would make sure of it, just as she would make sure his company was closed as soon as possible—mob connections be damned. Scotland Yard had already contact theMinistero della Salute.They would confiscate and terminate all ofCapuani Farmaceutico’slicenses and close all of its facilities while they investigated its drugs and business practices. As well, they would freeze Tony’s personal assets. She’d hit him in the wallet—where it would hurt the most.
Despite the late hour, with Scotland Yard’s assistance once more, she’d pulled some strings at the clinic. All drugs purchased fromCapuani Farmaceuticoor its subsidiaries had been confiscated. The police had taken them and an independent lab would analyze them to see exactly what they contained. Those that were good might find their way back. The others would all be destroyed and used as further evidence in the case.
Since Jane Orwell had turned herself in, HOPE’s Deputy-Director, Lionel Prince, had stepped in to fill her shoes. Although Orwell swore he wasn’t involved, Linda planned to insist the police investigate him thoroughly.
In the meantime she’d contacted him a few hours ago and had demanded he order new drugs from a reputable English company. She would cover the cost personally. Lionel Prince had been very helpful, and the matter had been resolved quickly.
Now, she was bone tired. She looked at the stairs once more, but decided Tony wasn’t worth another second of her time. Taking the elevator down, she hailed a cab and gave the driver her address. She chuckled. At this rate her cab fares just might but some cabby’s child through school.
When she arrived home, the sun was up, but the night was far from over. The crime scene investigators were still processing her house. She knew they had to do their job, but she couldn’t cope with them now. Neither could Pirata, who rushed over to her as she pushed the door open, jumping straight into her arms.
Tony had locked her baby in the bedroom, but as far as she could see the bastard hadn’t hurt her cat. Pirata was more irritated than scared, his tail twitching, his claws firmly embedded in her tank top. Looking down at herself, she realized it was crusted with Gerard’s blood.
She swallowed hard, her heart beating rapidly at the thought of how differently the confrontation might’ve ended. She asked one of the crime scene techs for permission to go up to her bedroom to change. After she did, she shoved a few things in her oversized shoulder bag, took Pirata, and went downstairs to inform the CSI team she would be sleeping someplace else tonight. Grabbing two cans of cat food and a bag of kitty litter, she added the items to her bag and left the house.
As she drove to Gerard’s flat, she fought to keep calm. Had Tony ruined the house for her? It felt tainted. Would she ever feel safe there again? Not alone, anyway.
The nights Gerard had spent there had made the house feel like a home more than she’d ever thought possible. She hadn’t realized what was missing from her life until he’d charmed his way into her bed. And now, only days later, having shared enough adventure to last them a lifetime, all she wanted was for things to go back to the way they were.
