Magic Line by Elizabeth Gunn Page A

nose.’
    â€˜I hope they got it set nice and straight,’ Sarah said.
    â€˜Right. So I can be the straight-nosed asshole who let the prisoner get away.’
    â€˜Oh, please – I feel bad enough.’
    â€˜Why should you feel bad? You didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me.’
    â€˜I let that faker fool me into thinking he was dead. Then when he seemed to wake up a little I just assumed he was terribly hurt and rushed him off to the hospital.’
    â€˜Well, for what it’s worth I thought he was a goner myself. I could swear he never even breathed till he threw me into Blake.’
    Fitzgerald was looking pretty gone himself. And a nurse was there with another shot, saying, ‘Detective, this patient needs to rest now.’
    Sarah raised one hand, fending her off. ‘One minute. Fitz, tell me what happened after he attacked you. Then you can sleep.’
    â€˜He jumped off that gurney while Blake and I were still on the floor. Slid right out of those straps, slid open the little window in front and jumped into the front passenger seat. Then from what I could hear it sounded like he was pointing a gun at the driver.’
    â€˜Did you see where he got the gun from?’
    â€˜No. I never saw the gun at all but he must have had one because he told the driver, “Stop right now or I’ll blow your head off.” The driver’s screaming, “I’m in four lanes of traffic, gimme a minute.” But that crazy guy just said, “Get over right now or I’ll kill you.” I’m still wound around Blake, he’s yelling at me to get off him – like I was lying on him for the fun of it, jeez.’
    â€˜Blake got pretty excited, huh?’
    â€˜Well, we were both a little crazy, I guess. I had so much blood in my eyes, running down my face – I never knew before what blood tastes like. Rusty metal, yuck. I couldn’t see anything, and we were still going like a bat – I thought we were all going to die, any minute. But that driver – he really should get a medal. He kept his lights and siren going and bullied his way out of traffic and into a . . . a ramp or something—’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜Not sure. We’d just turned off Campbell, I think, onto Elm – we were almost to UMC. That is where I am, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜OK, so soon as the rig stopped that nut job forced the driver out and yelled, ‘Take off your shirt!’ Surprised the poor driver so much he just did as he was told. And that guy I thought was all but dead, he grabbed that shirt and ran off like a deer, right through traffic! He was nowhere in sight when the driver climbed back in the cab.’
    Fitz started to laugh, stopped quickly and said, ‘Ow, hurts to laugh!’ He touched his bandage gingerly, wincing. Then one careful snicker forced its way out. ‘The driver said, “That dirty pup took my shirt!” Like that was the worst thing that happened!
    â€˜My face hurt so much . . . I think I yelled something. Then I passed out. I must have fallen on the floor again – my elbows hurt like hell now. When I woke up I was here. I don’t know where the rescue crew is.’
    â€˜Headed back to the firehouse, telling Delaney all about it on the phone. Boy, are they happy campers now.’
    â€˜Detective,’ the nurse said, ‘please.’
    â€˜Nurse Bell.’ Standing up, reading off her name plate, Sarah got right into Nurse Bell’s pretty dimpled face and enjoyed, for three vibrating seconds, the impulse to let the whole day’s shit run down on this tidy person. Threaten her with obstruction of justice, contributing to . . . something. Teach a little respect for the law in here.
    Luckily some well-trained synapses fired in her brain, reminding her she had work to do and no energy to waste on folly. ‘I am conducting a homicide investigation,’ she