Bloody Point by Linda J. White

of nature to his two children. Cassie’s brother was a
park ranger in Utah.
    Jim leaned down and kissed his daughter. He threw his hat
onto the bed. He sat down and began pulling his boots off. His khaki pants were
stained and Cassie knew he’d been in the field all day, working on something.
He might be retired, but Jim Davison still studied.
    He looked at his daughter and he dropped the first boot on
the floor. “What are you up to?”
    Cassie stood up and turned toward him. “Dad, something came
up. They moved Jake. There was some kind of threat. I don’t know what. Craig
Campbell just got him out as fast as he could.”
    “Out of the hospital?”
    Cassie nodded. “They had a helicopter and everything. Just,
zoom, and off he goes. I went there after my appointment with Foster. Oh, and
by the way, guess what? He won’t let me come back. He says I blinked.” Her
heart was pounding now and she began to realize how angry she was.
    “Whoa, wait. The Bureau won’t reinstate you?”
    She waved her hand. “How’s that for a crock? They say there
is a mandatory six-month review process. Anyway, so after that I went to see
Jake and he was gone, the room was empty. I was frantic. Nobody would tell me
anything. Dad, it was so scary. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive.”
    “How’d you find out?”
    “Finally Craig called, and he told me the story. Except, Dad,
get this, he won’t tell me where they’ve taken him, just that wherever it is,
Jake will be able to get the rehab he needs.” Cassie sat back down at the
computer and her father rose from the bed. “It’s probably that idiot Foster who
won’t let him speak. The guy’s a total jerk. I can’t believe it.
    “So look,” Cassie continued, “I’m not stupid. I’m figuring it
is some place away from the population centers, away from either coast. I
looked up head injury on the Net, and now I’m in the process of identifying
rehab centers.” She sensed her father moving close behind her. “Now, they’ll
register him under a false name, but the diagnosis will be the same, so all I
have to do is …”
    “Cass,” her father said softly.
    “… figure out the most likely centers. I mean, I’ll check
them all if I have to …”
    “Cass.” Davison squeezed his daughter’s shoulder gently.
    “What?”
    “Come here.” He put his hand under her arm and guided her to
her feet, then he took her in his arms and held her close to his chest. “Cass,
you’re going to have to let him go.”
    She pushed back. “What?”
    “Come here, come here.” He held her again. “You’ve got to let
Jake go. They don’t want you to find him. It’s no use trying.”
    “But …” She could feel heat rising in her face.
    “Listen, sweetheart. You need to just let him go. Let the
Bureau do what they need to do. Let Jake hide somewhere. Don’t try to find
him.”
    She pushed him away. “You don’t understand! You don’t know
what I did to him! This is all my fault!”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “The argument we had. It was because of me. He was
preoccupied I’m sure. That’s why he didn’t see it coming, that’s why he
couldn’t defend himself. There’s no other reason, Dad. He’s the best, the best
at street survival. It was because of me. And the things I said …”
    “No, sweetie. No.”
    “Yes it was, Dad! It was my fault.”
    “No, Cass. You’re not responsible for him being hurt. And you
can’t save him, either. That’s up to God.”
    Her temples were throbbing now and she put both hands up to
them as if to squeeze the anger back inside, the anger that was spilling out of
her in waves. It wasn’t fair. What happened to Mike, what happened to Jake, it
just wasn’t fair. Anybody could see that. She couldn’t do anything for Mike
anymore, but Jake … that was a different story.
    “He needs me, Dad. That’s all I know, he needs me.” Cassie
struggled to keep her voice calm.
    “And don’t you think that, if it was truly a