36
The police took all of them to Lone Peak hospital.Trevino and Daniel went first in the ambulance, with a police escort.Tean and Jem went later in a patrol car—afterthey’d given their statements.It was too late for Van Cleave.
In the emergency room, a petite doctor with her hair in a SpongeBob scrunchy listened to Tean’s chest, read the list of ingredients in the bear spray, and told him he’d be fine.When he asked about the long-term effects of capsaicin inhalation and the potentially permanent eye damage, she told him to stop being a baby.
Jem hissed and flinched and moaned when a nurse and doctor worked together to remove the blood-stiff jacket from his arm, but because he was Jem, nobody toldhimto stop being a baby.The nurse kept saying how brave he was.And the doctor laughed when Jem asked for a sucker—but she gave him one anyway.
The cut was less than an inch long.The doctor decided it didn’t even need stitches; most of the blood had been transferred from the wolfman’s knife, and so the police kept the jacket as evidence.
“That blows,” Jem said around the sucker.He was lying on the exam table, feet hanging off the end, thumping them with absolutely zero sense of rhythm against the base.“That was my favorite jacket.”
“Your favorite jacket is that hideous windbreaker.You put it in the closet like you’re tucking it into bed.”
“But this was my favorite jacket I got this year.”
As though that made any sense at all.
A rap came at the door.
The man who stood there was balding, his remaining gray hair buzzed short on the sides and back.He had a cop’s clean-shaven look and a cop’s suit.A striped scarf hung limply around his neck.
“Lieutenant Orsino with the State Bureau of Investigation.”He displayed a badge.“May I speak with you for a moment?”
Jem sat up.
Tean put a hand on his knee, but all he said was “Of course.”
After settling himself in one of the remaining chairs, Orsino adjusted his scarf, looked from Tean to Jem and back to Tean, and then he said, “Could you walk me through today’s events?”
So, Tean told him about the drive to the campground out in the Uinta Basin, learning about Rydel’s background, and then the realization that Kazen might have his wallet.
“We called your buddies and told them,” Jem interrupted.“We didn’t keep anything back.”
Tean squeezed his knee.“How is Agent Trevino?”
Orsino sat with his hands wrapped around the arms of the chair.“She’s still in surgery.They stabbed her forty-seven times, by the surgeon’s best count.”
“Fucking animals,” Jem said.
Nodding, Orsino said, “From what we can determine, Agent Trevino and Agent Van Cleave approached the residence and were allowed to enter.There’s no evidence of a struggle until they reach the hallway.”
“They lured them in,” Jem said.“They caught them by surprise.”
“There’s a lot we still don’t know.”
“I bet it was that asshole, Zeb,” Jem said.“He probably opened the door for them.Told them how glad he was they were there.”
Orsino said, “What happened at the house?”
“We got there,” Tean said.“There wasn’t any sign that anything was wrong.”He frowned.“The driveway was empty.”
“Someone moved their vehicle into the garage.”
“Jem thought we should check the place out before we went inside.”
“He means before we knocked on the door,” Jem said.“Because we weren’t going to do anything illegal.”
“Right.But when we got to the back of the house, we heard them arguing, and then one of them came outside.”