Trail of Secrets. Sandra Robbins

blocked his view into the glass cubicle, and he paused a moment. “Callie,” he said, “it’s Seth. May I come in?”

      “Yes.” Her soft voice was barely audible.

      He pulled the curtain back and stepped into the room. She sat on an exam table with her legs hanging over the side. It might have been two years since he’d last seen her, but he remembered how beautiful she’d looked that night—right up to the time she told him she wouldn’t marry him and had run from the room. Tonight she looked very different. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her mascara had left dark smudges on her cheeks.

      The expression on her face left little doubt to the seriousness of Dan’s condition. “H-how is he doing?”

      A big tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s not good, Seth. He almost quit breathing before we got to the hospital. The doctor came by a few minutes ago and said they’d inserted a breathing tube. They’re taking him to surgery in a few minutes. They don’t know if he’ll make it or not.”

      Seth almost doubled over from the crushing pain that exploded in his chest. He took a step closer to her. “No!” he said. “He’s supposed to retire, not die.”

      Her shoulders began to shake, and she dissolved in tears. “I know. We had such big plans for our summer. Now all I want is for him to live so I can tell him how much I love him.”

      Seth wished he could say something to make her feel better. But even if he knew what to say, she probably wouldn’t appreciate it, coming from him. He jammed his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “And how are you doing?”

      She wiped at her eyes and sighed. “I’m fine. The doctors checked me out and said there were no broken bones or internal injuries. Uncle Dan took the worst of it all.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “He pushed my head into my lap and held it there to protect me.”

      “That sounds like Dan,” he said. He took a step closer. “We’re going to get this guy, Callie. The FBI will join the Memphis Police Department on this case, and I’m sure the U.S. Marshals will be here shortly to offer protection for Dan. You don’t have anything to worry about except taking care of yourself and Dan.”

      “Thank you, Seth.”

      The curtain parted, and a doctor stepped into the room. He glanced from Seth to Callie before he spoke. “Miss Lattimer, we’re ready to take your uncle to surgery. Would you like to see him before he leaves?”

      “Yes, I would.”

      Seth watched her hop down from the table, and then the two of them stepped into the hall where two nurses stood beside Dan’s gurney. Seth didn’t move as they stopped beside his friend.

      Callie leaned close to him and whispered in his ear. “I love you, Uncle Dan. I’ll be waiting for you when you come from surgery.” She kissed him on the cheek, jammed her fist into her mouth to stifle her sobs and stepped away from the gurney.

      Seth bent over and touched Dan’s shoulder. “I’m here, Dan. I promise you I’ll get whoever did this to you.”

      For one brief moment, Dan’s eyes blinked open, and he stared up at Seth before he darted a glance at Callie and then back to Seth. A look of desperation lined his face. Once more he cut his eyes to Callie and back to him, and Seth knew Dan was trying to send him a message.

      Seth’s eyes filled with tears, and he nodded. “Don’t worry about Callie, Dan. I’ll take care of her.”

      Dan’s eyes drifted closed, and the nurses pushed the gurney down the hall. When it disappeared through the doors that led to the elevators for the surgery floor, Callie began to sob.

      Seth searched his mind for something to offer her comfort. Finally, he decided she needed to get out of this area and to a place that might offer some peace. He reached out and touched her arm. She jerked her head up and stared wide-eyed at him.

      “It’s not going to be easy waiting,” he said. “Why don’t we go down to the hospital chapel? Maybe being in that quiet room will help calm you down some.”

      She frowned. “I’m not very religious.”

      He nodded. “I know. That was something else we never saw eye to eye on, but like I tried to tell you then, it’s not about being religious. It’s about finding some peace in life. How about it? You might find it helps to be in a more soothing place for a while.”

      She brushed her hands across her eyes and glanced around the stark emergency room. “Okay. I guess it can’t hurt.”

      A nurse stepped out of an adjoining exam room at that moment, and Seth told her where the doctor could find them before he led Callie out of the emergency room and into the hospital proper.

      When they arrived at the chapel, he opened the door and held it for her to enter. As he stepped into the room behind her, he closed his eyes for a moment and let himself relax into the peace that being in this place evoked in his soul. A table with a cross and an open Bible on it sat at the front of the room, and he led her to seats directly in front of the display.

      They sat without speaking for a while until she finally broke the silence. “This is much better than the E.R. It’s quieter and more peaceful. Thank you for bringing me here.”

      “I’ve been in this room a lot in the past few years.”

      She turned her head, a questioning expression on her face. “Oh? How so?”

      He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is where we bring families when they’re waiting to hear if their loved ones will survive after a violent crime. It’s a peaceful place, and we hope it can afford the families some measure of comfort.”

      Tears pooled in her eyes. “Is that why you brought me here?”

      “Partly. But I wanted to ask you about the shooting, too. I don’t want to cause you any more stress than you’re already under, but I thought it might be easier to talk about it here than in the hustle and bustle of the emergency room.”

      She nodded. “I think it is, but there’s something I need to know, too.”

      “What’s that?”

      She inhaled a deep breath. “From the moment Uncle Dan picked me up I could tell something was wrong. He kept looking in the rearview mirror, and it seemed he almost suspected something was about to happen. When the EMTs were loading him in the ambulance, he opened his eyes long enough to tell me to call you. He needed to tell you something.”

      Seth frowned. “Did he say what it was?”

      She shook her head. “No. But he had to be restrained on the gurney because he was so determined there was something important he had to tell you about the case, he said. Has he been helping you with a case you’re working on?”

      Seth’s stomach curled with fear at Callie’s words. After a moment he shook his head. “No, I’ve been helping him with a case for the past year or so.”

      “I don’t understand. What kind of case would he need help with? He’s not a policeman anymore. He’s a judge, and judges don’t investigate cases.”

      Seth stood up and paced to the far wall before he turned and walked back to stand in front of her. Dan had mentioned several times that Callie knew nothing about the case he’d worked on for years because he knew she would be upset he was investigating a murder. It had been something he didn’t share with many of the people in his life. Seth happened to be the exception to the rule. But it was time Callie knew, especially if that case was the reason Dan was in surgery fighting for his life.

      He dropped back in his chair and nodded. “I guess it’s time you learned about the burden Dan has carried for years. He knew you would try to persuade him to give up if he told you about it, so he never did.”

      Callie clasped her hands in her lap and swallowed hard. “What kind of case is it?”

      He