The Blackout Girl ✔️

chapter forty-one

Chapter Forty-One

Mr. Esperanza was awake and talking.

When Nolan and Kaytee walked into his small hospital room, the grumpy man was poised upright in bed, squinting with one eye at the nurse who was analyzing his chart. Despite the fact that he was hooked up to numerous machines and had a cannula in his nose, he seemed hellbent on leaving.

"Sir," his nurse protested. "You can't light a cigarette near an oxygen tank."

"And why the hell not?" he demanded.

"Because it could combust—"

"Fuck that shit. I want a cigarette. I don't need a pansy telling me what to do," Mr. Esperanza spat. He waved his hand as if shooing the nurse away from him. "Go away, boy. I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

The young man sucked in his cheeks, trying to maintain his composure as he tried to explain, again, why he was in Mr. Esperanza's room in the first place. He fidgeted with his stethoscope. "Sir—"

"Get out!" Mr. Esperanza thundered.

With that, the nurse left, clearly giving up on his task.

"I don't know what his problem is," Mr. Esperanza said, tugging at his cannula impatiently. "He thinks he knows everything. Now, who are you?"

Nolan stepped further into the room with trepidation, fumbling for his badge. He flicked it open and tried not to stutter. It was hard to face the intimidation head-on without breaking.

"My name is Nolan Foster, I'm with the FBI—"

"Feds," Mr. Esperanza scoffed. "Damn feds. What do you want with me?"

"We're here to ask you a few questions about the woman who stabbed you," Kaytee answered straightforwardly.

"Are you the new nurse?" the older man interjected.

"No, I'm a federal agent," she said, trying not to lose her temper.

"You're too pretty to be a cop," Mr. Esperanza remarked.

"You're too kind," Kaytee said humorlessly.

Nolan could see how Mr. Esperanza was consistent with the killer's MO almost immediately upon meeting him. He was sexist, to put it lightly, and his brash, insensitive comments were making it hard for Nolan to be patient. Mr. Esperanza was lucky he and Kaytee were interviewing him. If it were Price, he would be getting eaten alive right now.

"I'll talk to the toothpick," Mr. Esperanza snapped.

Kaytee's face reddened. "You—"

Nolan reached for her wrist. "Kaytee."

Her name was just a word, but he breathed it, trying to get her to ease up a little. There was something calming in his voice that got her to relax, even though she was staring daggers at the man before them in the hospital bed. He was a Grade-A asshat, but he was a victim above all else, and Nolan reminded himself of that as he sat down beside Mr. Esperanza.

The man was pale, his bronze skin losing some of its color from his injuries. The bandage over his face was huge and gauzy, covering what was undoubtedly a horrible sight below. Under his gown, there were multiple stab wounds. Nolan knew what kind of damage this killer could do, and this poor man had probably faced some of the worst of it.

"She broke into my house through the back door," Mr. Esperanza said before Nolan could ask. "I left it open to let some of the cool air in. I fell asleep in my chair, and when I woke up she was there with a knife."