Page 8 of A Shot at Love
With little emotion, she told them what happened. When Ky asked Gemma if she could describe the man, figuring the answer would be “no,” he was shocked when she gave them a detailed rundown of the intruder’s appearance. She told Jon to get a sketch artist and she could give even more details, and he’d arranged for one to meet them in the emergency room. While waiting to be x-rayed, she’d done just as she’d told them. The sketch was almost like a photograph, it was so comprehensive and thorough. Just as Agent Profetti had finished, Gemma’s sister and brother-in-law arrived and were with Gemma now.
Ky entered the room and the conversation between the trio stopped.
“Agent Pappandreos?” Kandy Laine came toward him, her hand extended. “I’m Gemma’s sister, Kandy.”
“I recognize you, Miss Laine. The women in my family are huge fans.” He gave her a small smile and took her hand.
“Actually,” Kandy said, turning to her husband, “It’s Keane. This is my husband, Josh.”
The men shook hands, and Ky was quick to note he was being sized up by them both.
“Can I leave now?” Gemma asked from the bed.
He turned his attention to her. She was still clad in the hospital gown she’d been given when her leg had been x-rayed.
“I believe the doctor is signing the discharge papers right now.”
“Hallelujah.” She threw her arms up in the air.
“Have they found the man who did this?” Kandy asked Ky. “Do they know who he is?”
“No, ma’am. But your sister gave a very extensive description of him and my partner is running his likeness through our database. As for why he did it, well, that part’s obvious.”
He turned to Gemma.
“He thought I had the pictures of what happened today,” she said, folding her hands into her lap. “He said he saw me leave your office and followed me home.”
Ky nodded.
“Is my sister in danger because of this?” Kandy moved to Gemma’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Gemma snaked her own hand up and covered it.
Ky shot a quick glance at Josh. “I’m afraid so. They know who she is and where she lives. And now she’s seen one of them up close and can identify him. That makes her a liability.”
“Jesus,” Kandy said, tightening her grip. “Josh—,” she looked over at her husband, a plea on her face. He nodded.
“Agent Pappandreos, take a walk with me,” Josh said.
The men left the room together and Ky heard Kandy say something in a soothing voice to her sister.
When they were about halfway down the corridor, Josh stopped. “So who’d she see get taken out?”
Without giving him too much information, Ky filled him in on the federal case he’d been working for the past three years.
Josh whistled through his teeth.
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Ky said, “and now she’s in danger because of it.”
“She needs to be kept out of sight until you find out who’s behind the killings,” Josh said.
“Oh, I know who’s responsible,” Ky told him. “It’s a question of being able to prove it before anything else happens.”
His phone pinged, and Ky looked down at the number written across the screen. “Excuse me. I’ve got to take this.”
Ky walked away from Josh. “Pappandreos.”
“I want a full report right now,” his boss, Special Agent in Charge Colin Tiege blared into the phone. Succinctly, Ky told him everything they knew of the attack, including the description Gemma had given. “Jon’s working it through the system now, see if we get a hit. But I know it’s connected to Ritandi. I feel it.”
“I agree. This has his stamp all over it. Who else would take out a hit on Calafano?”
“No one. It makes sense it was him. Calafano was set to do serious damage to Ritandi’s business with his testimony.”
“And now you have no witness. No one who can detail the operation like Calafano could.”
Ky remained silent. The anger and frustration filtering through the phone was identical to his own.
“To top off a lousy day, I just got my ass chewed out by that little pissant from the AG’s office.”
