“NO.” Blake and Ethan said in unison.
At Mary’s look of alarm, Blake said, “I don’t want Art dragged into this any more than he already is.”
She frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak, but Ethan chimed in, “He’s right, Mary. I don’t want that either.”
Just then, the door opened and another nurse hurried into the room. “Oh my God, Mary — have you heard?” The nurse turned her worried face to Ethan and Blake, doing a double-take at their near identical appearance.
Mary’s puzzled expression said, Please go on. When the nurse didn’t continue, Mary prodded, “What is it, Cindy?”
“It’s all over the news,” Cindy said, casting another glance at the two men as she went to the small television against the wall and pressed the power button.
The machine clicked on and the first channel that popped up showed a commercial for diamonds. She quickly switched to another one. An episode of He-man and the Masters of the Universe came next, followed by coverage of President Reagan giving a speech. Finally, Cindy stopped on a channel showing two local news anchors.
“… and we’ll go back to our reporter on the scene.”
The shot changed to a red-haired woman standing outside Jo Ann’s Café.
“This is Teresa Burrow, and we’re reporting live near the fashion district where just hours ago, there was a threat on the life of Captain Jacob Fredericks of the NYPD. One known assailant has been found deceased, and a second victim was also found at the scene. Moments ago, an unknown source indicated that a decorated police detective is believed to be part of the assassination attempt.
The coverage shifted back to the news station, and a picture of Ethan in his dress uniform came on the screen for a few seconds. The male anchor helpfully recited Ethan’s name for the viewing audience and continued,
“There has been no official confirmation of that information from the NYPD, but Channel Seven has learned this is the fourth killing connected to Detective Ethan Tannor in recent days. He is also wanted for further questioning in the death of Tobias Keane — which had previously been ruled a suicide — and a known gang member, Alejandro Cortez. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of …”
The screen went black as Cindy switched off the TV. She looked at them, her face white. “What’s going on?”
Now Blake knew for certain he was screwing up the timestream. This had not happened before; it didn’t fit anywhere in the loop. How, exactly, Ethan went from being on the run from the Sons of Stalin to public enemy number one in the state, Blake still didn’t know. What he did know was that the game had changed, and it was going to be harder than ever to keep a low profile, especially here in the hospital. Not to mention Ben Wallace’s men, who were still out there on the hunt.
Blake came out of his thoughts and back to the moment. He said to Cindy, “It’s nothing that can be explained quickly.” Then he addressed Ethan. “I didn’t kill Tobias.”
An unsure looked crossed Ethan’s face, and Mary stepped even farther away from the bed. “What about the other stuff?” Ethan asked.
“I already told you about what happened at the café,” Blake said, watching the two women.
Cindy looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. Mary regarded him warily. “What about the Hispanic man?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Blake sighed. He wanted to lie, but years married to a detective made Mary Hansen a human lie detector. “Yes, I did kill Alejandro Cortez.”
Cindy let out a half shriek.
“He was a bad person,” Blake told them quickly. “He tried to kill me. It was self-defense, I swear.” He looked at Ethan. “Alejandro was tailing you. He was going to tell the Russians where you lived.”
A light dawned in Ethan’s eyes and Blake knew he believed what he’d just been told. Ethan had spoken to Art just last night about the gangster gone missing, and that the Russians were after him.
Still, they couldn’t stay here. Mary might keep cool, but he couldn’t say the same for her colleague. Cindy was already shifting toward the door.
“We don’t have a lot of time, Ethan. We need to get out of here and lay low for a while. Mary, get me the injection.”
“Fuck that,” Ethan said. “You listen. No one knows you’re here. Mary isn’t going to tell anyone, and Cindy, I trust you can keep your lips sealed?” Ethan nodded in her direction.
The timid nurse bobbed her head in affirmation.
Mary turned to Ethan and Blake. “It’ll be OK. You’re safe here.”
“I’m going to the station,” Ethan said. “I’ve got to clear my name, or this will get uglier than it already is.”
“I’ll get the syringe,” Mary said, and left the room with Cindy.
“I don’t think it’s safe to stay here,” Blake said after the door closed behind the two women. “Cindy seems like a weak link. She’ll call the cops.”
Ethan brushed off Blake’s concern. “Mary will handle Cindy. You know how convincing she can be.”
Blake smiled reluctantly. Yes, he did. Mary Hansen was one of the most level-headed women he’d known. She had a way of inserting calm into a harried situation. “Art made out real lucky with her,” he said.
“He knows it too,” Ethan chuckled.
Within five minutes she was back, wearing latex gloves and bearing a prepped needle. She went to the bed and motioned for Blake to roll over on his side. He obliged and she pulled up part of his gown to wipe the skin with alcohol. She was about to administer the drug when Ethan spoke.
“We really appreciate this, Mary. Thanks for coming in. I knew I could count on you.”
She smiled up at Ethan and Blake nodded his agreement as well. Then it hit him, like a punch to the jaw from Sugar Ray Leonard. He reached back, grabbing Mary’s slim wrist before she could administer the shot, and stared at Ethan. “Wait, you called her? At home?”
“Well, yeah. She was off work today. I didn’t know who else to trust in the hospital, so I called her for help.”
Holy fuck! It seemed like so long ago he’d had that conversation with Art but Blake remembered the details now. Mary wasn’t supposed to work today, and neither was Art. He’d even teased Art about shopping for coffins on their day off.
If he’d been correct in his assumption that Fredericks’ home phone had been tapped by the Russians, then the same could be true for the Hansen household. Why wouldn’t it be? It wouldn’t be that difficult for them to find out the identity of Ethan Tannor’s partner and friend.
Ethan was scowling at him. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Blake said. “They could be here any minute.”
58
A Few Hooded Men
Blake hurled himself from the hospital bed. His feet hit the floor and a flood of nausea almost overwhelmed him. He held on to the bed railing until the sensation passed. “Toss me my things,” he ordered, pointing to the pile of clothes in the chair by the window.
By the time Ethan had scooped them up and tossed them over, Blake was already nude. The hospital gown he’d ripped off lay in a heap on the bed.
Mary, who still stood with the syringe in hand, was less concerned with Blake’s naked form than Ethan appeared to be. This wasn’t the first bare-butt individual she’d seen in her lifetime, but her forehead creased with worry. “Who could be here? The police? I didn’t call Art.”