CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Jessie looked at the clock again. It was almost 9 p.m. She should be home by now.

Instead, she was stuck in this hospital waiting room, hoping to get word on Charlie Warner's status. He'd been in surgery for a couple of hours, and they'd supposedly get an update soon. Once they had that, they could leave him in the care of the medical professionals and the officers who would watch him until he could be transferred to the infirmary at the jail.

Margot Howell, charmer that she was, had already left. She'd been treated for a slightly sprained ankle and a neck contusion. Other than that, she was fine, except for her attitude. During her surprisingly combative interview, they'd learned how she had initially escaped from Warner.

She had opened the front door of the mansion for him and immediately recognized him. "I could tell he had something bad in mind and started running. He chased me, but I grabbed the vase and smashed it on his head. He fell back toward the front door. He was blocking my way out. I knew I couldn't run up the stairs in this skirt, so I hit the button for the elevator. The door opened right away, and I got in before he recovered. You can guess the rest."

They could but made her go over it all anyway. The whole time, she complained about having to give a statement at all, at having to repeat herself, and even at having to conduct the interview in a cramped, hospital meeting room just off the emergency room waiting area rather than in a "more expansive conference room on an upper level where I can get away from all the noise of addicts and screeching children." The experience was excruciating. By the end of it, Jessie half-wondered if she should have just let the woman fall out of that window.

Once she left, they updated Captain Parker. In return she filled them in on the press conference that Chief Decker had scheduled. He hoped that word of Warner's capture would make the 11 p.m. news and calm the rattled nerves of the city's residents.

"I guess we'll see you down here once you're done at the hospital," she concluded.

"I guess so," Ryan acknowledged before hanging up.

Jessie groaned. She'd conveniently forgotten about all the paperwork they'd have to deal with to wrap up the case.

"Don't worry," Ryan told her once they ended the call, "I'll close out the file. That is, under one condition."

"What's that?"

"Maybe you could whip up a nice post-serial-killer-catching dinner that would be waiting for me when I get home?"

"You bet," she assured him, debating whether to admit to him that "whipping up" dinner would likely entail take-out pizza. Before she could decide, she saw a familiar face walking down the hall and quickly turned back to Ryan. "You mind if I run to the restroom?"

He shook his head that he didn't, and she hopped up, moving quickly in the direction of her intended target. Her stomach did little flips with every step. The woman walking down the hall saw her and was about to say "hi" when Jessie shook her head and indicated that they should go around the corner.

"Everything okay?" Dr. Capaldi asked.

"Yeah," Jessie said, "I just wanted a little privacy to chat."

"Of course," Capaldi, said, pushing her long, blonde hair out of her eyes. "I assume you got my e-mail? Is that why you're here?"

"No," Jessie said, "I'm here because of a case. I was waiting to hear from you, but I must have missed it. I've had a bit of a crazy day."

"Oh, okay," Capaldi said. "In that case, should I just fill you in now?"

Jessie felt the stomach flips pick up speed.

"Might as well," she said.

She tried not to look too nervous as she waited for her OB-GYN's response.

"All right," Dr. Capaldi replied. "We got your test results back. The short version is: despite all the physical trauma you've suffered in the last few years, including the miscarriage, it hasn't impacted you in any way that compromised your fertility or your reproductive system in general. If you choose to, there's no medical reason that you can't have children."

Jessie felt a wave of conflicting emotions wash over her. She could identify relief among them, but also dread. And somewhere in there she thought she sensed an inkling of joy too.

"Are you all right, Jessie?" Dr Capaldi asked.

"Yeah," Jessie said. "I guess I'm just processing this."

"Well, take your time," Capaldi said. "Now you just have to decide what you want to do next."

"Oh, is that all?" Jessie asked, her voice full of in terrified giddiness.

Capaldi smiled.

"I'll wait to hear from you," she said, giving Jessie's forearm a little squeeze. "Have a great weekend."

Jessie watched her walk out the front doors, then turned her attention back to Ryan, who was on the phone, almost surely conferring with the team back at HSS. She stared at him with a mix of happiness and trepidation, unsure what to tell him and when.

Before she did that, she needed to decide what she wanted. The truth was that at this moment, she had no idea.