Chapter 62 Annabelle
Annabelle
The police officer escorted Annabelle into the Emergency Room and was able to get her taken up to the Intensive Care Unit right away.
“What’s happening with my daughter?” she asked at the nurses’ station, banging on the glass to get someone’s attention.
A woman looked up and met her eyes. She walked around to Annabelle.
“Are you Scarlett’s mother?”
“Yes. Where is she?”
“She’s being evaluated. She was unconscious when she was brought in, and the doctors sent her for a CAT scan.
Please come sit down.” She led Annabelle to the small waiting room adjoining the unit.
“I know this is scary, and I promise that as soon as we have more information, we’ll update you.
We’re taking good care of your daughter. ”
Annabelle collapsed onto the sofa, numb with shock. This couldn’t be happening. How had her perfect life turned into this nightmare? It took her a moment to register that a man was standing in the corner, looking at her. He walked over to her.
“I’m Detective Stanton. Officer Blake said that your daughter was meeting someone. Do you know who?”
“Some boy named Ben, according to her friend.”
“My partner questioned people at the coffee shop. They said she was talking to a man. Conflicting descriptions, unfortunately. The only consistent thing was a white male in his thirties or forties, average height and weight.”
Annabelle’s heart sank. So it was some predator masquerading as a boy.
She pulled her phone out and went to the text from Avery, showing it to the detective.
“This is who Scarlett thought she was talking to. It’s the first I’ve heard of him.
Her friend said they’ve been texting for a couple of months now. ”
“I have her phone. It was in her backpack. Do you know her passcode?” the detective asked.
Annabelle nodded. He gave her the phone, and she typed in the code. The phone opened. She handed it back to the detective with a shaking hand.
After a few minutes, he looked up. “I don’t see any text chains with a Ben. Only some between her and Avery, some texts from you and your husband and an Olivia.”
“Maybe she erased them?” Annabelle said.
“Probably. I’ll give this to our tech folks and they’ll be able to tell.” He went back to swiping the phone. “Hmm. She has WhatsApp. I wonder if they used that.”
Annabelle looked up, surprised. “She wouldn’t have known about that app. He must have suggested it.” Annabelle knew people used it when they wanted their texts to be encrypted and not easily hacked. Who in the hell had Scarlett been communicating with?
“Are the messages there?”
The detective nodded “Yes. They go back quite a ways.”
She jumped up and held out her hand. “Let me see.”
“Hang on a second.”
She was about to grab the phone out of his hand, but before she could, the elevator opened and James came running toward her. “Any news?”
“No, the doctors are evaluating her. They said they’ll come update us as soon as they know anything.”
The detective introduced himself to James and briefed him on what he and Annabelle had discussed. James’s face turned red. “Who is this son of a bitch messaging her? He had to have done this!”
The doors to the unit opened, and Annabelle stood as a man in a white coat approached them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds?” he asked.
“Yes. How’s our daughter?” Annabelle asked.
“She’s stable. I’m Doctor Jenkins. She’s suffered a blow to the head and has a closed brain injury.
No other injuries, other than contusions on her arms and legs.
Scans showed no bleeding, which is good.
But we’re concerned with brain swelling, so we’ve put her in a medically induced coma to let her brain rest. She hadn’t regained consciousness before we did so.
We’ll be keeping her in ICU where we can keep a close eye on her. ”
“Oh my God! Is she going to be okay?” Annabelle asked.
“She’s on a vent?” James asked.
The doctor nodded. “Yes, we’ve intubated her and have her on midazolam. We’ll continue monitoring her vitals and her neurological status, including intracranial pressure.”
“I’d like to see her scans and take a look at her pupils too,” James said, then stopped.
“Sorry, you don’t know me. I’m Doctor Reynolds, a neurologist. Nothing against you, Doctor Jenkins, but I want Matthias on this.
” He turned to Annabelle. “He’s the chief of neurosurgery.
” He looked back at the doctor. “I want his assessment before we go any further.”
Dr. Jenkins nodded. “I understand. I’ll have Doctor Matthias paged.”
“Can we see her?” Annabelle asked.
“Yes. Someone will be out shortly once we get her settled in a room.”
Annabelle burst into tears again, and James put his arms around her. “She’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay,” he whispered.
But Annabelle took no comfort in his words.