She shook her head.

“You sure?”

“Please go on.”

He hesitated, then resumed. “The hospital staff objected to him being moved, said their patient wasn’t up to it, that he wasn’t out of danger yet. Since Kinnard is technically Morrow’s prisoner, Dupaw enlisted his help.

“After some arm-twisting, Deputy Morrow got the surgeon’s clearance to make the transfer. The admin guy signed off on it. That’s where the ass covering comes in. He doesn’t want to be held responsible for what came later.”

Jordie’s throat was too constricted to ask what had come later.

Wiley took a deep breath. He looked over at Hickam, who gave him a nod of encouragement to continue. “Somehow—we don’t know the details yet, because we’ve been unable to confirm with Morrow. But somehow while in transit, Kinnard got hold of that green deputy’s service revolver. Busted out of the ambulance and took off on foot. Almost made good his escape. Morrow managed to, uh, stop him.”

“Stop him.”

“We were told he ordered Kinnard to halt. He didn’t. Morrow had no choice.”

“He shot him?”

Wiley just looked at her, which was answer enough. “They packed him back into the ambulance and, since they were closer to New Orleans, continued on this way rather than returning to Houma. I think the admin guy in Houma is relieved that it’s out of his hands.”

“Because he doesn’t expect him to survive.”

“He didn’t come out and say it, but that’s what I gathered.” Wiley ran a hand around the back of his neck. “I hate this for Morrow. He told me yesterday morning after Kinnard was apprehended that he was damned glad he hadn’t had to use his weapon. Said he hoped to go his whole career without ever having to hurt anybody. He must’ve jinxed himself.” He paused before adding quietly, “I’m sure we’ll hear from him when…when he has something definite to tell us.”

Jordie lowered her head and stared vacantly at the chipped edge of the particleboard table. Her ears were echoing the doleful beating of her heart.

“Shaw Kinnard was, is, a violent man, Ms. Bennett,” Hickam said. “With heinous crimes to his credit.”

She merely nodded.

Wiley said, “I know you have mixed feelings about this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”

She raised her head and looked at Wiley, who seemed genuinely puzzled. “He wasn’t violent with me. He frightened me, but didn’t do anything heinous. He was offered a lot of money to kill me.” She raised her shoulders. “He didn’t.”

No one said anything for a stretch of time. Then Wiley said, “That’s not the only development we’ve had this morning. The other relates to your brother.”

She covered her mouth, whimpering, “Oh, God. No. Don’t tell me—”

“He’s alive,” Wiley said quickly. “At least he was a few hours ago.”

When he saw a question forming on her lips, he held up a hand. “I’ll start the official questioning by telling you what we know. Uh, Hick, would you hit the switch on the video, please?” Then to her, he said with apology, “Procedure.”

When the camera was on and recording, he continued. “The canines picked up Josh’s trail in the woods and tracked him to a storage facility that was three miles from there, give or take. The security cameras at the facility caught him before he disabled the system.”

“How did he do that?”

“It was old. Hardwired. We think he simply cut the power source. Management of the place provided us records. Josh rented the space using a fake name and paid for twelve months in advance. His unit was empty save for a motor oil stain in the middle of the floor.”

“He kept a car there?” she asked.

“Looks like.”

“He sold his car before being sent to Tennessee.”

“And the single mother who bought it still has it,” Wiley told her. “Hick checked on that this morning.”

The other agent confirmed that with a nod.

“Your brother has a different set of wheels,” Wiley continued. “We don’t know what kind, because no one spotted him driving away from that storage outfit. But he’s no longer so confident of his escape.” He paused to take a breath. “He called me this morning a little before dawn.”

Having had to absorb the shocking news about Shaw, Jordie now suffered another jolt. She listened without comment as Joe Wiley recounted his most recent conversation with Josh.

“He sounded different from when I talked to him night before last,” Wiley said. “He got really spooked when I told him that I had talked to Billy Panella last night.”

Jordie flinched. “What?” The shocks just kept coming.

“I used Bolden’s phone. Same as Kinnard did. Just hit Redial.”

“Panella answered?”

“He expected it to be Kinnard demanding payment for services rendered. I identified myself and told him that his hired gun had been apprehended and that you were alive and well. Plan foiled.”

“What did he say?”

“Garbled some obscenities, then hung up. Now that he knows we have Bolden’s phone, the one he answered is probably in pieces.”

Jordie murmured agreement to that. She was aware of Greg Hickam standing with his back to the wall, watching her intently and gauging her reactions to everything Wiley was telling her. Keeping her expression schooled, she said, “My brother is my main concern. Any indication of where he is, how he is?”

“If I knew where, he’d already be in custody. But I don’t think he’ll keep running much longer. He sounded strung out, jumpy, on the brink of falling apart. He was crying when he hung up.”

“I’m sure he’s scared.”

“I think so, too,” Wiley said. “Told him he should be. But what, in particular, do you think has him scared enough to bawl like a baby?”

“You don’t have to answer,” Adrian Dover said.

Jordie disregarded her. “He’s scared of being recaptured because he knows the punishment he’ll face.”

“Years in prison.”

“Yes, and that will be torture.”

“It isn’t meant to be fun, Ms. Bennett.”

“Of course not. But for Josh, the lack of privacy is his worst nightmare.”

“You’re referring to his scars,” Wiley said quietly.

She nodded and lowered her head sorrowfully. “They’re unsightly, and Josh sees them as being even worse than they are. He’s extremely self-conscious of them. Pathologically so.”

No one said anything for the next several moments, then Jordie raised her head. “I can’t bear the idea of imprisonment for my brother and his being subjected to, well, everything that it entails, but I’ll do the right thing, Agent Wiley. I’ll answer truthfully any questions you put to me.”

Adrian Dover said, “Unless she exercises her constitutional right not to.”

Wiley began, and for approximately an hour they reviewed everything Jordie had already told them about her abduction. She found it almost impossible to speak Shaw’s name without her throat seizing up.