“Think what through?”

“Do you really believe that Hernandez managed to fend off your father? I know he’s a good detective. But he was taken by surprise in the dark by an experienced killer. Does it sound like Hernandez is alive because of his skills or for some other reason?”

“What are you talking about?” Captain Decker asked, not following.

But Jessie did. Despite her anger and anxiety, the gears in her head began turning. Dolan was right. If Thurman had gotten close enough to stab Ryan in the abdomen, then he was close enough to have stabbed him in the chest or head or to have slit his throat. Ryan was alive because her father didn’t intend to kill him.

But why would he let him live?

The second she asked herself the question, the answer was obvious. Dolan clearly knew it too as he was looking at her expectantly. She said out loud what they both realized.

“Thurman didn’t kill Ryan because he wanted him to be taken to the hospital. He would have followed the helicopter from the ground to see where they took him. He knows I’d feel responsible for Detective Hernandez’s injuries and want to see him. He couldn’t find me any other way so he created a way. He’s waiting for me at the hospital.”

Dolan nodded in agreement.

“And that’s why you absolutely can’t go,” he said.

“But we can,” Decker noted emphatically. “We can flood the hospital with officers to look for him. This might actually be our chance to turn the tables on him.”

“Or,” Murph suggested from the corner, “you could go a less overt route and do what we did last night. Have someone who looks like Hunt go to Hernandez’s room. Give him a wide berth. Then, if he shows up, pounce.”

“That didn’t work too well for you last night,” Decker countered.

“Do you stop fishing and go home because your first piece of bait didn’t work?” Murph asked. “Or do you put another piece of bait on the line, drop it in the water, and settle in for the long haul?”

Decker was apparently a fisherman because he nodded at the analogy.

“We’ll set it up,” he said before turning to Jessie. “You stay far away from that hospital. You’re lucky I don’t keep you locked in that cell until this is all over with.”

“Captain, do you really think anywhere is secure for me until this is all over with? The best way to keep me safe is to catch the people who want to do me harm.”

“Easy for you to say,” Decker retorted gruffly. “If you die, the commissioner will execute me herself.”

“How does Malibu sound for far away?” Dolan suggested, clearly sensing this dispute couldn’t end well and quickly moving on. “I can’t think of any better way to get your mind off this than to interrogate a real-life movie star. You in?”

“I’m in,” Jessie said, following his lead.

Besides, as far as mental distractions went, this was a pretty good one.