The Twelfth Of Never: A suspense mystery romantic thriller (5 page)

* * *

Delaney Conovers, alias John Hamilton, was ushered quickly
into room 753. It was at the end of a long hall, away from the heavy traffic
area of the hospital. Anyone coming or going could easily be identified. The
room was comfortable, with pastel-pink walls. The floral drapes closed out the
afternoon sun. Flashing lights from the monitor Delaney was wired to gave an
ominous glow to the room.

Rico Sanchez took the first shift outside Delaney's door. He
was Puerto Rican by decent, American by birth. Rico had been on the force six
years. He had been married for three years and now had a baby due at Christmas.
Rico's wife worried about the job her husband loved, but it was in his blood.
Rico was not happy about pulling a double shift. He'd been up all night in the
park and had just spent four hours writing reports and answering questions
while trying to figure out what went wrong.

The stranger in charge who showed up in the nick of time to
save Delaney's life had not been seen since earlier that morning, and it
troubled Rico what agency he belonged to. No one seemed to know. But Rico had
listened to the FBI men earlier that morning and learned a few sparse facts. He
could not understand what all the fuss was about. They could have saved the
taxpayers a lot of dough if they'd just let the traitor die in the park.

Rico glanced into the room, the heart monitor silently ticked
off the beats while the man lay in a comatose state barely hanging on to life.
One nurse raised the metal bar on the side of the bed, while the other tucked
in the sheet. The IV hanging on the shiny steel apparatus dripped
life-sustaining fluids into the seemingly lifeless body.

Rico walked into the room, and then turned to look at the
young nurse standing by the window while the other nurse walked out. Cindy
Malone was all of five foot two, with sassy little curls that made her pale
blue eyes shine in a sea of beauty.

"Is he going to make it?" Rico asked.

"The next twenty-four hours will be critical," Cindy
said softly in hardly above a whisper, and then walked to the other side of the
bed and held Delaney's wrist as she took his pulse. She did not glance up at
the officer on duty while she counted, and when she was done Cindy walked back
to the chart and made the notation.

"Who are you talking to?" Jake Finnegan peeked
around the corner and asked Rico, who was standing at the bed looking down at
the man hooked up to the monitors.

"The nurse," Rico nodded as he turned to Jake.
"She's finishing in here."

"Nice looker?" Jake whispered under his breath, and
then poked Rico.

"Is that all you think about?"

"Tell me you weren't eyeing her!"

"At least the saliva isn't running down my chin, staining
my shirt."

"Did you talk to anyone yet?"

"No. The Inspector said the man in charge would be around
to talk to us later."

"Does anybody know anything about him?"

"I never saw him before this morning." Rico turned to
Jake, leaning closer so no one could hear what he was about to say. "You
know when he took out that knife, I honestly thought he was going to finish the
job."

"I know what you mean. You hear stories about what
they're capable of doing."

"Makes you wonder where he's been," Rico said,
raising his eyebrows.

"For a while there, it had the makings of one of those
spy movies you see." Jake laughed while still eyeing up the pretty little
blonde nurse.

"You've been watching too many Bond movies again."

"Tell me you didn't think that? You should have been
there holding the guy down when the knife pierced his throat."

Rico glanced at the nurse and then back at Jake. "Yeah, I
know what you mean.”

It was Jake who said what they were both thinking. "I
don't like being witness to their little escapades. But when he pulled out the
knife and slit the guy's throat that convinced me he was on the level and meant
to keep him alive at all costs." Jake motioned to the man on the bed.

Cindy walked over to the door. She turned to Jake and winked
while smiling seductively. Jake could only smile back, liking what he saw. When
the door swung shut Jake turned to Rico, rolled his eyes, and then walked off
after Cindy to the nurse’s station at the other end of the long hall.

They'd purposely stationed the two men apart to cover more
territory. Jake and Rico were to take the day shift while Delaney was a patient
at the hospital or until they were told their services were no longer needed.
So Jake sought out the young nurse to help him pass away the time.

CHAPTER 4

At 8:15, Jenny left the comfort of her apartment and made her
way to the N.Y.U. Admissions Building, where she shared an office with Steve
Fillmore, Assistant Dean of Admissions. Before entering the building, she
glanced across the street. The park was filled with faculty and students on
their way to the first class of the day, and city dwellers who had no place
else to go. Jenny found herself captivated by the activity, but the screeching
of tires and horns blaring startled her back to the harsh reality that
surrounded her.

She slowly climbed the steps to the fourth floor. Now that
school was in session all departments in the Admissions Building were busy
working on the fall enrollment reports. Once that was done, the necessary
projections for the winter session and the screening process of new applicants
would start all over again. For now there was a lull in the workload except for
various reports demanded by Dean Winfield.

Jenny walked into the small corner office she shared with
Steve. The old mahogany paneling left from previous restoration attempts was
weathered and cracked. Tattered chairs were scattered around the room, a
mixture of furniture old and new, nothing matched. To Jenny it was the one
place to escape the memories of the day. She glanced around. Steve had already
left for a meeting in the main building across the park and would not be back
for another three hours. She busied herself with filing recent applications for
further review later in the week, and then she worked on the report Steve would
be looking for when he returned.

It was nearly eleven when Jenny leaned back for a much-needed
break. The bells from a distant church chimed loudly while the traffic below
sounded like music to her ears. She got up slowly, stepped over to the window
and glanced down at the park across the street. The noises that seeped through
the open window filled Jenny's thoughts with anything but the piles of paper on
her desk or the report that was still unfinished.

Jenny was lost in the serene charm of the Arch, watching
students scurrying to their next class. She did not hear Steve enter until the
door slammed shut. Jenny turned. Steve's arms were laden with manila folders,
and his gray tweed suit hung open. He walked over to Jenny's desk, deposited
his load, and then brushed away the wrinkles. Steve was young-looking for
thirty-four; his gentle blue eyes and blond wavy hair reminded her of John some
days when the sun was just right.

"I didn't think you were coming in," he said, glancing
over at Jenny standing at the window.

"It was a better alternative than staying home. Besides,
Trish had invited some friends in for the morning."

"She's quite the social animal."

"Keeping busy is her motto."

"You could have made it a long weekend and gone up to
visit your parents."

Jenny turned and went to her desk. "Ever since Paddy died
it hasn't been the same." She carefully avoided Steve's gaze. So much pain
and suffering made up her life, she wondered if there would ever be an end to
it.

"They need you just the same."

Jenny glanced at the pile of folders on her desk as if trying
to forget what he said. "I wish it were that simple," she replied.

"I think you need each other right now."

"My father still pretends Paddy is just away." Jenny
sat down, leaning back in the chair and shut her eyes. "My mother said he
refuses to get rid of Paddy's Mustang. Keeps it in the barn, covered up,
waiting for God knows what." Jenny sighed, she also found it hard to talk
about Paddy in the past tense, and understood her father’s need to pretend.

"How many years has it been now?" Steve asked.

After a long moment of silence, Jenny whispered, "Almost
five."

It was six months after John was reported missing in action
that they'd received the news about Paddy. The nightly news told the world that
casualties in Vietnam were at an all-time low, but people were still dying over
there nonetheless. The whole world was a contradiction, and the hypocrisy had
only made matters worse.

"My cousin was killed back during the Tet Offensive,"
Steve said while staring at Jenny.

"A lot of good men died," Jenny whispered. It hurt
to say the words because she hoped above all else that John was not one of
them.

"I'm just glad it's over. All the turmoil around here was
unsettling." Steve pointed to the marble portals. "You should have
seen the students during the protest riots in the park."

"I was a student then," Jenny said, raising her
eyebrows while watching Steve's reaction, and then quickly added, "Studies
came first though."

"In the end, it all had an impact on our getting out, I'm
sure."

"Not soon enough, though." Jenny picked up the stack
of files. She felt uneasy talking about that time in her life.

"I feel sorry for you, not knowing. Do you ever want to
give up?" Steve asked.

"No," Jenny replied. Then quickly she added,
"There's nothing I can do about the limbo I'm in."

"If it helps, people are still pressuring the president
into action. It's only a matter of time before they'll all be accounted
for."

"I wish I had your optimism." Jenny turned away from
Steve, no longer wanting to continue with the conversation. "How did the
meeting go this morning?"

"Usual rhetoric, budget cuts on the one hand and on the
other they want to expand programs. You have to wonder who stays awake nights
dreaming up these game plans."

"Looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us,"
Jenny said.

"I'm glad you showed up. Maybe we can get started on the
reports."

"When are they due?"

"Wednesday, before two. But I have to prepare a
preliminary report this afternoon for the Dean."

"I'm already working on that." Jenny glanced at her
watch, and then picked up one of the piles from her desk and handed it to
Steve. "Your fair share." Jenny smiled.

Steve reached over and took the pile from Jenny. This was a
never-ending process that only seemed to get worse as state funding was cut. It
meant getting money from other sources, and in a depressed economy that was
becoming a difficult task. Steve glanced down at the folders in his arms. One
way to save money was to cut staff, but it was an alternative he was not
willing to undertake.

"Do you have plans for this evening?" Steve asked.

"Benjamin's taking me to Papa Joe's, but that won't be
until late."

"Think he would mind picking you up here?"

"I'll call him at the studio," Jenny replied.

Actually she wished Steve had asked her to cancel altogether.
It would have given her the perfect excuse, but even then, Jenny knew Benjamin
would not let her get out of it so easily.

Steve walked to his desk with the pile of folders while Jenny
made the call. Once she hung up, they busied themselves working on the report.

* * *

Rico was standing outside Delaney's room when Gideon made his
presence known. There was still blood spattered on his suit from the morning's
disaster. His unshaven face attested to the fact that the last few days had not
gone well. The seven-hour nap did nothing to curtail the migraine that was only
getting worse with time.

"How's he doing?" Gideon asked.

There was no concern in his voice. It would not have mattered
to him one way or another what the answer would have been. Earlier that morning
Gideon had saved Delaney's life, but that did not mean he cared anything for
the man lying motionless on the bed inside that room. A world separated them
from when they'd last met. Gideon knew Delaney had caused great pain to
innocent men and their families, and Gideon was not about to embrace him as a
prodigal son.

"You okay?" Rico asked.

"Yeah, you didn't answer me."

"Don't know yet. The nurse said something about the next
twenty-four hours being critical."

"Anybody strange walking around the hospital?"

Rico glanced at Gideon with a curious expression. The only
strange person that afternoon was the man standing in front of him, but Rico
said nothing, just shrugged his shoulders. Gideon looked down at himself. He
had not realized what a mess he was in. "Looks like I should clean
up." He shook his head, and then laughed.

"I'll only be here another hour. My replacement will want
to know who you are."

"Gideon LaMont, that's all he needs to know."

"Sure would be nice if I saw an ID."

Gideon stared Rico down. It was clear he would not be waving
his badge at anyone that day. Gideon was there at the scene that morning, it
should have been obvious to all that he was not the one out to kill Delaney.

"It's not necessary if you don't want to."

Gideon walked away, but then quickly turned back to Rico.
"When will the doctor make his rounds again?"

"About six this evening."

"I'll try to get back by then. Let your replacement know
so I won't have any problem getting in to talk to Delaney."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Rico
snickered. He glanced at his watch and was thankful he would not be there when
Gideon returned.

Gideon grinned. "Like you did this morning?"

"Can't blame that one on us. We were only there for
backup, nothing more." Rico's fist clenched as he said the words. Without
waiting for Gideon to respond he continued, "Shielding someone from
gunfire isn’t my idea of not getting in the way, but we did it and Wayne is
alive because of it. I don't think it was our screwup."

"I didn't mean to imply it was."

"Who knew the old woman was a man?"

"A Boy Scout could tell it wasn't an old lady under those
garments."

"So next time, have the Boy Scouts back you up."

Gideon smiled he liked the spunk the young Puerto Rican
showed. Most men cowered at his presence, but not Rico: he stood his ground.

"Have you heard whether they have a make on the assassin
yet?"

"No. They're still working on him downstairs. Should have
something soon," Rico replied, and then glanced nervously down at his
watch again. "We've been stuck here since ten-thirty."

"Before I get back, check it out and leave a message for
me at the nurse's station. I need the information before I call Langley
again."

"Then you are CIA?" Rico stared at Gideon.

"I don't want it advertised, do you understand?"

"Sure, but I don't see what the problem is?"

"You would, if you understood everything," Gideon
added.

"Okay, anything else you want done while you're
gone?" Rico asked with sarcasm in his voice.

Gideon had struck a raw nerve, and knew it. Both men were
doing a job that morning. Rico's job was to observe what was going on and
nothing more, his orders were explicit. Gideon on the other hand had come away
with one man dead and two wounded, clearly not a successful operation.

* * *

Steve spent the better part of the day in meetings. Once he
returned to the office, he and Jenny spent the late afternoon and early evening
hours fine-tuning the report in preparation for another budget meeting first
thing in the morning. The cleaning people had long since gone. It was the sound
of footsteps down the hall coming closer that made both turn toward the door.
Slowly the door opened.

"You almost done?" Benjamin smiled as he walked in
without waiting for an invitation.

Jenny glanced at her watch. "Is it that late
already?" She leaned back on her chair and rubbed her aching shoulders,
she had not realized the time had slipped away so quickly.

"Yeah, I saw the light on from the park and guessed you
two were still at it."

"Then you don't know if Trish is home yet?" Jenny
asked.

"No. She stopped at the studio earlier this afternoon so
I could put the finishing touches on a piece I was working on. She left around
four."

"I really don't want to go out tonight."

"No reneges," Benjamin quickly added. "We're
going!"

"I could go for Chinese," Jenny said without so much
as looking up.

"Nope, my mind is made up."

"Jenny, it'll do you a world of good," Steve cut in,
not giving her a chance to continue with lame excuses.

"What I really could use is a hot bath and a good
book."

"Oh no!" Benjamin replied while shaking his head.
"You're not going to get out of it this time." Benjamin walked over
to the coat rack and grabbed Jenny's light beige jacket.

"You better get her out of here before she thinks of
something else."

"Well, what do you say to that?" Benjamin smiled as
he walked up to Jenny and put the jacket over her shoulders.

"Is it cool out? Maybe we should go back to the apartment
so I can get a warmer jacket."

"No way. You aren't going to pull that one again."
Benjamin smiled. He remembered last year. Once Jenny got to her apartment,
there was no getting her to leave. He knew Jenny was at a disadvantage at the
office and he was not taking any chances.

"You didn't answer me, is it cool out?" Jenny asked
again, feeling slightly harassed.

"It's still in the seventies. You won't freeze."

Papa Joe's was a popular pizza joint on campus. It was only a
few blocks away, on the corner of Bleec
h
k
er and
Thompson. Its carry-out business soared when school was in session, with all
the late night study groups who broke for a bite to eat. The restaurant itself
was small by Italian standards. The walls were lined with booths; red checkered
tablecloths covered circular tables scattered around the room. Antique wine
bottles filled the shelves, along with photos of family, both here and in the
old country. Each table had a large candle that was always lit and gave a
romantic atmosphere to the quaint little room.

As they walked in, Jenny's mouth watered thinking about the
various Italian dishes she'd sampled there in the past. Papa Joe was the only
one who ever came close to duplicating her mother's authentic Italian dishes,
which were handed down from generation to generation.