Killjoy

worked on Carrie.

'He's going to kill Avery. Make them stop him. Do you hear me? He's going to… going to…'

Carrie passed out. The terror of what she had been through, added to sleep deprivation, had finally caught up with her. Her

body simply rebelled and shut down.

When she next opened her eyes, she was in a hospital bed. And, oh, how she ached. It seemed every muscle in her body throbbed. Had someone taken a stick to her?

She desperately tried to clear the fog in her mind. Avery. Oh, God, she had to find Avery before it was too late. She saw the call button pinned to the sheet on her left and tried to reach for it. Pain shot up through her elbow and she cried out. Looking down, she saw the cast on her arm and let out a low curse.

How had that happened?

The ravine, of course. She'd fallen headfirst into that deep pit, and she remembered putting her arm out to try to brace against the fall. She knew she'd injured her wrist, but she thought she'd just sprained it. It hadn't hurt all that much at the time, had it? She couldn't remember. Maybe it had gone numb, as numb as the rest of her at that point. She did remember landing on top of Sara, though. Her friend had been writhing in agony, and Carrie distinctly recalled putting her hand over her mouth to stifle her cries, terrified that Monk was lurking in the dark waiting to catch them.

Where was Sara? Carrie could hear men's voices in the hallway, and she couldn't reach the call button. She was about to shout when the door opened and a young doctor dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat came inside. He was holding a chart in his hand.

His name was Dr. Bridgeport, and he looked as if he hadn't had any sleep in a week. That can't be good, she thought. Then she noticed his hands. They were huge, as though he'd had them transplanted from a bigger body, along with the new row of dark

hair plugs in his scalp.

'Are you my doctor?'

'I'm a neurologist. I've reviewed your X rays and CAT scan,' he began.

'I had those tests?' she interrupted.

He nodded. 'You suffered a mild concussion. I'm going to keep you overnight for observation. I didn't see anything alarming

on the scan,' he added.

'What about my arm?'

'You broke it.'

'Obviously,' she said.

He was writing in her chart and, without looking up, said, 'Your primary physician will be in to check on you in a little while. Meanwhile, you've got quite a few eager law enforcement officers waiting to talk to you. I'm going to allow two in the room…

if you're feeling up to it.'

'My head hurts. May I have something for pain?'

'In a little while,' he promised.

She knew what that meant. When Avery was little and wanted something Carrie didn't want her to have, she used the very

same phrase. It hadn't worked on Avery then, and it wasn't working on Carrie now.

'I want something.'

'You've suffered a concussion, Mrs. Salvetti, and I would rather-'

She cut him off. 'Oh, never mind. Doctor, a friend of mine rode with me in the ambulance. Her leg was all torn up. Where is she? Do you know?'

The doctor nodded. 'Judge Collins is in surgery,' he explained.

There was a hard rap on the door. The doctor closed the chart, smiled at her, and turned to leave. 'You need to rest,' he said

as he opened the door and let two men in dark suits rush inside. 'Ten minutes,' he said to the agents, 'then she needs to get

some sleep.'

They moved like soldiers on parade, arms stiff, heads high. They were also dressed alike, except for the choice of tie colors.

One wore a gray-and-black-striped tie, and the other had on a muted plaid.

An agent named Hillman was in charge. There was a sharpness about his eyes she found comforting. She didn't think he would miss much.

The other, younger agent pushed the burton to elevate her back, poured her a glass of water, and hovered at her side while Hillman questioned her. He led her through the sequence of events, rarely interrupting when she paused to collect her thoughts. She wanted to tell him everything at once, impatient to ask questions of her own, but Hillman was tenacious and made her keep

to his agenda.

She turned to the more cooperative agent and asked him to find her jacket.

'The letters are in the pocket.'

Hillman found the jacket hanging in the built-in closet. He pulled on a pair of gloves and dropped the envelopes into a Ziploc bag the other agent held out for him.

'Anne gave a letter to me. I want to read it.'

'We'll let the lab dust it for prints,' the sidekick told her.

She'd thought he was more malleable than Hillman, but now she realized he was just as tenacious.

'I want to know what that sick bastard of a husband wrote to her. He hired Monk to kill her, you know. You have to arrest him.'

Ignoring her demand, Hillman resumed his questions. Carrie had had enough. 'No, it's my turn. I want to know where my niece is.'

'We're searching for her…'

'Find her.'

Seeing how distraught Carrie was, sidekick offered her a sip of water by holding the straw under her nose. She turned her head.

'Tell me what you know about…' Hillman once again tried to get her back on track.

'I want an update on Judge Collins, and I want it now.'

The agents exchanged a glance, and then Hillman answered. 'She's out of surgery and in ICU.'

'So far, so good,' the other man said.

She glared at him. 'What's your name?'

'Bean, ma'am. Agent Peter Bean.'

No wonder he hadn't introduced himself. Saddled with a name like that, she wouldn't have told anyone either. Bet they called him string bean in grade school, she thought.

Hillman started the questions all over again. For an hour he kept it up, grilling her, going over the same facts again and again

until she began to feel as if she were the criminal they were trying to get to confess.

Her head was pounding. 'That's it,' she said. 'I can't answer any more questions now.'

Hillman looked disappointed, but he agreed to let her rest for a little while. She wasn't in the mood to be cordial. She told them

not to come back until they had news about Avery. To calm her down-she was shouting now-Hillman let her call her husband. Bean dialed the number for her. The second she heard Tony's voice over the phone, she burst into tears.

'Ineed you, Tony. You have to come to Aspen.'

His voice shook with emotion as he replied, 'Sweetheart, they told me I couldn't. They said as soon as you're discharged from

the hospital they're going to move you and the judge to a safe house somewhere. Carrie, love, are you all right? I wish I could