Immortal Born (Argeneau #30)(2)
Author: Lynsay Sands
“Possible life mate,” Magnus corrected, mostly for his own benefit. He was trying to keep from getting too excited until he knew things would work out. He’d lived a long time and for most of that time had longed for a mate. Getting his hopes up only to have them be crushed would be unbearable. It was better he hold on to a “wait and see” attitude.
Tybo grunted, but continued. “Mortimer came into the kitchen where we were talking, just in time to hear her name was Allison Chambers.”
“Allie,” Magnus corrected. “Marguerite says she prefers Allie.”
“Right. Allie. Anyway, it seems he’d just heard on the police radio that an Allison Chambers had been arrested for robbing a blood bank and he was going to send—”
“What?” Magnus interrupted with horror. “My Allie robbed a blood bank?”
“Yes. Well, we’re quite sure it was your Allie. It’s the blood bank where she works. Mortimer was going to send Valerian and me to the hospital to see if this robbery was immortal related or not, but once he realized she was your life mate—”
“She robbed a blood bank?” Magnus repeated, still stuck on the fact that she’d robbed anything. Then Tybo’s latest words sank in and he asked with alarm, “Why the hospital? Was she hurt?”
“Mortimer wasn’t sure why the police took her to the hospital. You know that officers only radio in the bare basics.”
Magnus scowled at the lack of information, now worried that his possible life mate might be injured, or even dying. That would be just his luck. Find a life mate just as she died.
“So, we’re going to the hospital to find out what’s what,” Tybo finished solemnly.
Magnus nodded and then shook his head. “Why the devil would she rob a blood bank? Marguerite said she was mortal.”
Tybo shrugged. “That’s something Mortimer wants us to find out. If she was actually robbing the place,” he added meaningfully. “I mean, she works there, after all. Maybe the police made a mistake.”
“So you’re saying this was all a big mistake?”
Allie ignored the dry skepticism in the older police officer’s tone and focused her attention on the much more sympathetic younger officer as she answered, “Well, it is if you think I was breaking and entering the blood bank. I didn’t break in. I have keys,” she pointed out. “I work there.”
“And you just went there to move some product. At eleven o’clock at night?” the older officer asked dubiously.
Allie nodded firmly. “I needed to move some blood pegged for the hospital to the proper refrigerator. I forgot to do it before I left earlier today.”
“And you thought this was a good idea at eleven o’clock at night?”
Allie shrugged. “That’s when I left the party and thought of it.” Offering a wry smile, she added, “Mind you, I’d been drinking, so my judgment might have been off. Still, I didn’t want my boss to have to do it in the morning. She’s older and her arthritis has been acting up.”
She paused to eye both men to see how they were accepting what she’d said. “Besides, what would I steal from the blood bank? There’s no money or drugs or anything there. All there is in the place is blood. Who would steal blood?”
Much to her relief, that seemed to be a convincing argument since the younger officer nodded as if what she’d said made sense, and the skepticism on the older officer’s face eased considerably. Then the older one asked, “And your outfit?”
Allie glanced down at the black jeans and black blouse she was wearing, but knew it was really the black cat mask that they were talking about. Fortunately, at the last minute she’d thought to add it just in case something unexpected happened and she got caught. Thank goodness, since she’d fainted midway through the ordeal, and cracked her head on the hard tile floor when she fell. She’d apparently been found by one of the cleaners when they arrived at midnight. Which is how she’d found herself waking up here in the emergency department of the hospital with a doctor and these two officers staring down at her, full of questions.
“It was a costume party,” she said now, giving the excuse she’d come up with ahead of time. “I went as a cat . . . not a cat burglar.” She added that last bit with a quirky smile and silently prayed they’d buy her excuse. Noting the way the younger officer’s lips twitched, Allie felt sure she was convincing them. “I must have left my ears at the party. They were on a headband and it was kind of tight. Started to give me a headache as the night went on. Or maybe that was the booze,” she added, although she hadn’t had a single drink tonight. It was better they think she was a tipsy idiot than a blood-stealing fiend. She simply couldn’t go to jail. Who would watch Liam?
Allie fretted about that as she waited for the policemen to make up their minds about her. What would happen to her son if she went to jail?
“All right.”
Allie glanced up quickly at those words from the older officer.
“This is obviously a case of . . .” He grimaced and shook his head. “I’m not even sure what you’d call it besides bad judgment under the influence. In future, ma’am, when going to parties where you intend to drink, leave your work keys at home. Hopefully that will prevent something like this from happening again.”
“If she’s allowed to keep her work keys,” the younger officer commented, and gave her a sympathetic look as he explained, “We had to call your supervisor and tell her what happened. She was on her way to the blood bank to check out the situation and calm the cleaning staff.”
“Yeah,” the older man grunted. “Finding you unconscious on the floor in that get-up and surrounded by a pool of blood gave the cleaning crew quite a scare.”
“Oh, no! Some of the blood bags burst?” Allie asked, dismayed at the thought of the waste. Blood banks were always struggling to keep up with the need for blood by hospitals and such.
“No. The bags were fine. The blood was from your head wound,” the old guy said grimly. “You took quite a knock as you fell.”
“Oh,” Allie sighed, and instinctively reached up to touch her head, encountering cloth there she supposed was bandages. She’d fainted in the middle of the robbery. Her dizziness had come on quickly. She’d been a little weak, but fine up until then, but as she was carrying a box of the bags of blood across the room everything had suddenly started to spin and then the floor had come up to meet her. Apparently, she’d hit her head as she fell. Great. She’d lost more blood.
“Well.” The older officer shifted and closed the notepad he’d been jotting in since she woke up. “We’ll head out and let them get you settled in a room.”
“A room?” she asked with alarm.
“The doctor said they want to keep you twenty-four hours for observation,” the younger officer said gently. “You really took a bad blow when your head hit the floor. Skull meeting hard tile is dangerous. They want to make sure all is well. No swelling on the brain or anything.”
“But we’ll expect you down at the police station when they release you tomorrow,” the older officer said sternly. “You’ll need to sign the paperwork this little jaunt of yours has caused.”
“Yes, of course,” Allie murmured, but knew she really couldn’t stay. Liam was special. He couldn’t be left alone for long.
“Officer Mannly?”
The older patrolman turned at that soft enquiry and smiled at the young nurse who had appeared at the opening in the curtain. “Yes?”
“There are two detectives talking to Dr. Whitehead. I think they’re here about Ms. Chambers, so I thought I’d give you a heads-up.”
“Detectives, huh?” Mannly said with disgust. “Thanks. We’ll go head them off and tell them they wasted a trip.”
When the nurse nodded and slipped away, he turned back to smile crookedly at Allie. “Get some rest. But don’t forget to come to the station tomorrow. And maybe without the cat costume.”
“Yes.” Allie managed a smile and murmured, “Thank you,” as the men slid through the opening in the curtain and out of sight, but her mind was on how to get out of there. Surely the hospital couldn’t hold her if she wanted to leave? She wasn’t under arrest. Thank God.
Deciding to just slip out to avoid any hassle, Allie slid off the gurney she’d awoken on, and then had to stop and grab at it to steady herself when the world wobbled around her. It was a full minute before the floor stopped moving, and then she released a small sigh and shuffled to the opening in the curtain. She was in bad shape, worse than she’d ever been. Allie loved Liam to bits, but that love was killing her.
Pushing that thought away for now, she paused and peered out. There were several doctors and nurses bustling around, moving from one curtained-off area to another. There were also two tall men all in black talking to the doctor who had treated her. One of the men was dressed in black leather pants, a black T-shirt, and a heavy black leather coat. The other was in a black suit and long coat. The detectives, Allie supposed as she watched Officer Mannly and his partner approach them.