No, to get this story, she needed to slip away.
She had no choice but to lie to him and hope that he would understand why and eventually forgive her.
“Actually, that’s very perceptive of you,” Krys said. “I hate admitting it because it makes me sound like some sort of a weakling, but I’m really not feeling all that well,” she told him.
Instantly concerned, Morgan asked, “Why, what’s the matter?” Then, before she could answer him, Morgan prompted, “Why don’t we go back into the squad room so that you can sit down while you describe your symptoms.”
She shrugged, afraid that she might have oversold this. She didn’t want him taking her to see a doctor.
“I’m just feeling a little under the weather,” she told him, dialing it back a little as she sat down at the desk opposite his.
For his part, Morgan put his hand to her forehead, checking for a fever.
“It’s nothing serious,” she insisted, pulling her head back. “I just thought maybe I should go home and lie down for a bit. I’ll probably be better in the morning.”
Still looking concerned, Morgan glanced around the squad room as if searching for something. “Let me see if I can get someone to take over what I’m working on today and then—”
“No,” Krys said firmly. He looked at her, confused. “I can’t let you do that. I don’t want to keep disrupting your life like this,” she told him. “And I don’t need to be coddled, either. All I need is a few hours of rest and I’ll be good as new, I promise.” Her tone softened a little. “You’ve already done more than enough for me, Morgan.”
“You still need a ride home,” he pointed out. Then, just in case she was planning on arguing with him about that, he reminded her, “Since you came in with me.”
“No, I know that,” she responded. “But you don’t have to go through all this trouble. I could call a ride service and have one of their drivers take me back to my house.”
Morgan made no comment about her suggestion, but she felt that the expression on his face said it all. She was not going to be calling a ride service.
Seeing one of the police officers assigned to running errands for his lieutenant, Morgan gestured the man over to his desk.
“Riley, I need you to take Ms. Kowalski here to her home. And once you get her there, I want you to stay and keep an eye on her for me. She’s still under protective custody,” Morgan pointed out.
“You can count on me, Detective,” the police officer said with enthusiasm.
“Good. The department doesn’t want anything happening to her,” Morgan added. “Brigham and Malcolm are already in the area, keeping watch, but a little overkill in this case wouldn’t hurt.”
Riley’s dark, slightly shaggy head nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Turning toward Krys, Morgan told her, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“You really don’t have to rush on my account,” she told him. “Most likely I’ll probably just fall asleep for a while.”
Morgan nodded as they parted company. “That’s probably the best thing for you,” he agreed. He watched her as she put her laptop into its case. His parting words to her were, “Remember to stay put.”
She gave Morgan an innocent smile. “Where would I go?” she asked him as she walked out in front of the police officer.
Riley was eager to be of service and he wasn’t nearly as hard to get rid of as she’d thought he would be. Once the rookie officer brought her to her door and she had assured him that she would be fine, he retreated into his patrol car, where he proceeded to sit watching over her front door.
The other two officers Morgan had doing stakeout work were still posted in the area, but she already knew where they were. Eluding them as well as Riley should be relatively simple, Krys decided. All three policemen were on the lookout for someone bent on breaking into her house. They weren’t looking for her to break out.
She knew that she couldn’t use her own car, but she wouldn’t have to. Ian’s old car was housed in a nearby storage unit. He had left it to her, among other things, in his will. Since the whole situation with Ian was all so fresh, she hadn’t had an opportunity to figure out what she wanted to do with it yet. It appeared that this would be the perfect time to take the car out for a spin, she thought. Ian would have approved of the use she was putting his car to.
Krys gave her newest bodyguard ten minutes to settle into place. Then she quickly changed her clothes.
Moving quietly, she slipped out of her back door. Then, utilizing a hole in the fence, she cut across a neighbor’s yard. Once on the other side of that yard, she walked to the storage unit where she kept Ian’s car. Excited, she wanted to run all the way there, but she forced herself to move at a normal pace. She didn’t want to attract any undue attention to herself.
When she finally got to the storage unit and slid behind the steering wheel, Ian’s car didn’t start up immediately. It took her several attempts to try to start it before the engine finally rolled over and kicked in.
Letting out a deep breath, Krys glanced at her watch. She was cutting this close, she thought. She had told “Miranda” that she would meet the woman at the park at two thirty. It was already a few minutes after two.
Travel was light at this time of day, so she would probably be able to get there with a few minutes to spare, she told herself. That would give her enough time to scope out the area. The
