Truth was, I hated hospitals. Always had. Ever since I watched cancer slowly eat away at my mother, I’ve hated any sort of medical center. The smell, the noise, the atmosphere—every time I walk into one, I’m taken back to those days as a five-year-old boy watching his beloved mother slowly have the life sucked from her. Despite her lack of strength, despite her frail arms, she always tried to hug me. The thought of those hugs still broke my heart, and those suppressed memories only ever appeared near a hospital.
“How was she attacked?” As a career cop, a local detective, Derrick spent his life dedicated to serving his community. When retirement came, he didn’t know what to do with himself. But every time I talked about a case; I could still see the glint of excitement in his eyes.
“She was attacked from behind in the parking lot. She left the office two hours before I did, and was hit from behind. When the person tried to grab her, she managed to turn and throw a left hook that connected, but then was hit in the face. That’s all she remembers before she passed out. There was a lot of blood in the parking lot and the cops are testing it to see if they can match the DNA to anyone other than Casey.”
“My first questions would be whether you’re sure it’s connected to a case. Could it have been an attempted mugging, a random attack, or a sexual assault attempt against Casey?”
I drew a long breath. “It’s definitely linked to a current investigation.”
“No missing purse or money?”
“Nope.”
“Any sign that someone tried to take off her clothes?”
“None of that.”
“What does she remember?”
“She was still out of it on drugs when I left the hospital. She couldn’t say much. The doctors don’t think that she’ll be coherent until this afternoon, so I can’t ask her any questions until then. She took a blow to the back of the head when she fell, and there was a lot of swelling. The doctors don’t think anything has been cracked, but she’s going to be in a lot of pain for a while. They talked about keeping her in the hospital for a few days to observe her, and make sure there’s no long-term effects.”
Derrick nodded. He was used to the violence that this city had to offer. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. What can I do? There’s no surveillance footage at the parking lot, and there were no witnesses.” I grunted. “And if I can’t keep the people that work with me safe, what good am I? I’ve failed Casey. I should’ve been there to protect her. I shouldn’t have let her walk to the parking lot at night by herself. I should’ve been there.”
“No, no, no.” Derrick’s throat wobbled as he shook his head. “You can’t think like that. You didn’t attack Casey. You didn’t assault her. From what you’ve told me about her, she’s a tough girl. She can handle herself. This could’ve happened to anyone. Nobody is ready to be attacked from behind at night. You can’t defend against that.” He rested a caring hand on my shoulder that said he knew my pain. “Your job isn’t to protect Casey. Your job, right now, is to find the guy that attacked her. You’ve got to think about what you can do to catch him. You’ve got to do that for Casey. That’s how you help her.”
Derrick was still a cop at heart, and nobody could ever take that away from him. I guess I’d be the same at his age—once you’ve spent a life investigating, once you’ve spent a life solving crime, it’d be hard to let that passion go.
“When I was a cop,” he continued, “one of my partners was attacked in his home, while his family slept upstairs. I wanted to tear Chicago apart looking for the attacker. So, I did. I went crazy and shook down all my contacts. I worked night and day for five nights straight, catching sleep in my car or in the office or catching a quick nap at home. That’s the only way I found the attacker. I didn’t give up and let the adrenaline fuel me. It ended up that the attacker was a man who’d been getting away with murder for five years. He’d killed five girls over that time, and we managed to nail him.” He looked at me. “That’s what you have to do, Jack. That’s the only option you have. Let the anger fuel you. Feel the rage. Let it all come out and don’t stop until you’ve found the answer.”
Winston ran up to me, stick in his mouth, happily panting away. I took the stick, stood, and threw it into the distance. Winston looked so carefree, his golden hair highlighted by the soft morning sun. Sometimes I wish I could be that free. Free from all the pressures of trying to protect people. Free from all the stresses of being an investigator. Free from the pain of grief.
“Listen to me, Jack.” Derrick grunted when I didn’t respond. “Go after the guy that you think did it. Force him to make a mistake. Put the pressure on him. That’s your job. That’s what you have to do. Take this person down.”
“I’ve got multiple suspects, and they all could be working together.” I shook my head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“If you’ve got multiple suspects,” Derrick grunted again, “then you have to start with the weakest link.”
Chapter 23
The police station in Buffalo Grove was an outpost, a quiet place for suburban officers to trudge
