The driver, who astonishingly spoke English as his first language, told me he’d just made a drop off, but hadn’t picked up anyone from this curb for hours.
Mrs. Rainey asked her daughter again and found out she’d meant that she saw someone get into a taxicab, not that taxicab, which, of course made sense, but still, it frustrated me.
Another setback.
The streets were surrounded by officers. No other taxis in sight.
Margaret had arrived and was walking down the sidewalk toward me.
This day was just getting better and better.
I called to the officer I’d spoken to a few minutes ago and told him to get some men to check all the drop-offs and pickups of DC cab companies along this street over the last twenty minutes.
He eyed my arm. “Are you okay, sir?”
“I’m fine. Are you listening to me?”
He didn’t look away from the bloody sleeve. “Yes, sir.”
I described the suspects and explained that we didn’t know if they were traveling together or separately.
“If we find their cab and they’re in it, don’t let the driver stop until we can get some undercover officers there waiting for the suspects. Got it?”
“Yeah.” He was still looking at the blood.
“Go.”
He hesitated. “Is your arm-”
“Go on.”
He left.
I started for the bench again, but Margaret was catching up to me. “So you got shot?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question.
“I did.”
“Apprehend anyone?”
“No.”
“Shoot anyone?”
“No.”
“Did you see the suspects well enough to identify them?”
“No, Margaret.” I made it to the bench. “I did not.”
A small sigh. “Well, then, sit down before you collapse.”
“Good idea. Did we find Mollie?”
“Not yet.”
I lowered myself onto the bench and cradled my arm in my lap. Tried to calm my breathing.
She took out her radio and called for a paramedic-ASAP-then addressed me again. “That stunt you pulled at the press conference, oh, that was…” She shook her head in lieu of finishing her sentence, then added, “You have no idea how tenuous your job is right now.”
Firing someone with my seniority wasn’t easy, but Margaret was a resourceful woman, and with the congressman on her side it wouldn’t be a tough sell to Rodale. “I might,” I said.
“I will be writing an official reprimand to be placed in your personnel file.”
That wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of concerns at the moment. “Okay.”
“But, you led us here. You were close to catching the suspects, and you were wounded by adversarial action, so I won’t be submitting the reprimand. At this time.”
I blinked.
How about that.
“Thank you.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She listened carefully as I filled her in on the chase and the shooting. “Mollie Fischer must be somewhere in that hotel,” I concluded.
“Yes,” Margaret said vaguely. She was looking at Mrs. Rainey and her kids, who were still standing amidst the swirl of law enforcement activity. “You said those children saw something?”
Beyond her, at the end of the block, I saw an ambulance pulling to a stop at the hotel entrance.
“Just someone entering a taxi-I think. I’m not even sure about that. They’re not really excited about talking to strangers.”
“I’ll speak with them.”
“Um, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“I’m good with children,” she said, and before I could dissuade her, she’d paced over and knelt beside the twin girls.