Page 106 of Airborne
“And if I refuse?”
“As I said to you before, danger haunts Adam’s Island.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
CHAD LOOKED OUT AT A NEW DAYthrough the window in Andy’s hospital room. While a sun-bathed Saturday morning and cloudless sky looked promising, the weather masked the turmoil. Powell had given him an ultimatum, and Chad wrestled with giving in to an overseas position to keep Heather safe. Not one more person would pay for Chad’s fumbling of a criminal case.
“Hey, Doc,” Andy whispered. “I’m gonna live.”
Chad smiled and faced him. “You’re a lucky man.”
He stared at the beeping and humming equipment monitoring him. “I hurt but it does feel good to be alive. What’s the surgery prognosis?”
“You’ll be good as new—just need time to heal. One bullet went through your neck but clean. The one to your abdomen did a little more damage, but surgery repaired the problem.” Andy attempted to sit, but Chad eased his shoulders down. “I’ll help you move about after the doctor makes his rounds.”
“Okay. Doc C., the shooters came in looking for me.”
“I figured that. Leigh was here for a long time. Poor girl was afraid to leave you. I sent her home to rest, but she texted me a few minutes ago and will be here in an hour.”
“I saw her face when I was shot.” His face tightened with an obvious stab of pain.
“We can talk later.”
“Gotta say this. Powell is behind this.”
“Right, and the FBI is on it.”
“Were the shooters caught?”
“No.”
“Not surprised?” Andy closed his eyes. “I’m going to take a quick nap before Leigh arrives. Besides, you need some sleep and a shower.”
Chad chuckled. “Thanks for the analysis.”
“Go on home. Call me later.”
“An officer is posted outside your door 24-7.”
Near the shoreline, on her favorite round stone, Heather typed Tatum’s parents an email about their daughter... the bravery on the plane... the kindness, encouragement, love for others, delightful humor, and her heart for God. The phone call to them hadn’t been enough. Heather swiped at tears beneath her eyes and pushed Send from her iPad. The best way to honor Tatum and all the victims of H9N15 focused on finding the guilty ones.
She recorded her observations about Thomas into a secure FBI site. Their early morning conversation stayed fresh in her mind allowing her to type word for word the dialogue and body language. A force within him displayed strange behavior, and another force shoved aside the angry man and brought back Thomas. A sign of a dissociative identity disorder.
The sea groaned, and she turned her attention to the lappingwaves. Nothing. Must be her own thoughts keeping pace with the chaotic march inside her.
She concentrated on Thomas. The disorder normally occurred because the victim had experienced severe mental or physical abuse as a child. She’d been told of a childhood bullying problem and abandonment by his father. The combination of the two traumas could have caused him to dissociate himself from the pain in the way of memories, emotions, actions, or sense of identity. If Thomas suffered from a type of DID, one personality might not be aware of the other.
Mr. Engels said Thomas dumped coffee on a Starbucks counter when a barista made a mistake with his drink.
ASAC Mitchell’s number showed up on her phone’s screen, and she answered.
“I need to tell you about an incident,” he said.
Her pulse sounded in her ears. “Go ahead.”
Mitchell told her about Andy receiving two gunshot wounds in an apparent robbery, the surgery, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“How is he?”
