The 7th Victim - Alan Jacobson [158]
Vail smiled. “Well, now you’ve got one. But I don’t want you playing around with this thing and neglecting your homework.”
“Mom.” He drew the word out and glanced at her sideways, as if trying to hide his embarrassment.
“You’ll need this to play it,” Robby said, handing him the bag.
Jonathan flung the bag aside, revealing a green Rainbow Six Vegas 2 game case. “Cool!” He flipped it over and looked at the back. “This is hella tight, Robby, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.” He nodded to Vail. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, around one-ish, okay?”
“I’ll be right back,” she said to Jonathan.
Her son was intently studying the back of the game case.
“I don’t think he’ll miss me,” Vail said.
As they strolled out into the hall, Robby took her hand. “You should probably tell Jonathan we’re more than just good friends.”
“I’ll talk to him about it later. I’m sure he won’t mind. You scored big with that Rambo game.”
“Rainbow. Rainbow Six.”
“Whatever.”
“Hey, you heard. It’s hella tight.”
They reached the elevator and Robby hit the button. “Tomorrow night is ours, okay?”
She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. “You don’t have to ask twice.”
seventy-six
It was two in the morning when Jonathan started shouting and thrashing his arms. Vail was off her adjacent cot immediately, taking hold of his hands and calming him. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s just a dream.” She thought of her own nightmares and realized how unfeeling her comment was . . . how real they feel when you’re the one going through them.
Jonathan sat up in bed and hugged her so firmly she thought he was going to squeeze the air from her lungs. Finally, his grip loosened and she pushed back to look at his face. “Are you awake?”
He nodded. “I remember what happened.”
While waiting for him to continue, she took a tissue and dabbed at his moist forehead. The door opened, letting in a slice of light from the hallway.
“Everything okay in here?” the nurse asked.
“Nightmare,” Vail said. “We’re fine.”
The door slipped closed. Jonathan wiped his eyes with the back of a hand, sniffled, then spoke. “Dad was angry, said you’d kicked him and broke his ribs. He said you were going to make the court take me away from him. I told him that’s what I wanted.”
She touched his forearm. She was proud her son had stood up to Deacon. He had intimidated Jonathan, abused him for too long.
“He didn’t say anything. But a few minutes later he told me to get a can of beans from the pantry in the basement. As I started to go down the steps I felt him push me. That’s the last thing I remember.”
Vail sat down on his bed and gathered him close. While holding him, she reached for the phone to call Bledsoe. He answered it on the fourth ring.
“Sorry to wake you, but I’m at the hospital with Jonathan. He remembers what happened. You’re going to want to hear this.”
Bledsoe arrived twenty minutes later, wearing sweats and a leather jacket. He reintroduced himself to Jonathan and listened intently to the youth’s version of events. “Are you sure this isn’t something you dreamt? I mean, not to say I don’t believe you, but you woke up screaming. Sounds like a nightmare to me.”
“I remember hitting my elbow on the metal railing.” He pushed the gown back and turned his arm to look at it. There was a large scabbed wound overlying the joint. He held it up for Bledsoe to see.
“Okay.” He pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket and dialed a number. “Hey, this is Bledsoe. I need you to find out what magistrate is on duty.” He waited a long moment, placed a reassuring hand on Vail’s shoulder, then pulled his face back to the phone. “Yeah, I’m here. Tell Benezra I need an arrest warrant drawn up.”
AN HOUR LATER, Bledsoe called Vail from his station house. “Just wanted you to know I dispatched two officers to pick up your ex. He should be in the system real soon.”
Vail was standing outside Jonathan’s hospital room. Though he had fallen back asleep, Vail remained awake—which had become a bad habit