Chapter 68 Annabelle
Annabelle
Annabelle and James stood on one side of Scarlett’s bed, waiting.
The team’s assessment had determined that it was time to decrease her sedation.
Dr. Matthias was getting ready to extubate her now.
Scarlett’s eyes were open, and she still had enough of a sedative in her system to keep her calm.
She indicated that she understood what he was saying when he explained what was about to happen.
Annabelle held her breath as she watched the doctor extract the tube, and Scarlett begin to cough.
“Doing okay?” Dr. Matthias asked once the tube was out.
“Yeah,” Scarlett croaked, her hand going to her neck reflexively. “Throat hurts.”
“It will for a while. So glad to see you’re back with us, Scarlett!”
James and Annabelle each took one of her hands. Annabelle wiped the tears from her face with her free hand. “Sweetheart, thank God you’re awake.” She wanted answers, but the doctor had warned them to go easy at first.
Scarlett looked at Annabelle. “Him. It was him!”
James and Annabelle looked at each other quizzically.
“What are you talking about, sweetie?”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out and she yawned. Her eyes closed again. Panic seized Annabelle. She looked at the doctor.
“Is she going into a coma again?”
He glanced at the instruments by the bed, then back at Annabelle. “No, she’s just exhausted. There’s still some sedation in her system. She’s just sleeping.”
Annabelle breathed a sigh of relief. “When can we take her home?”
“We’ll need to monitor her for a while. I want her to have some respiratory therapy as well, since she’s been on a vent all this time. We’ll have to play it by ear.”
After Dr. Matthias left, Annabelle turned to James. “What do you think? Is she in the clear?”
He nodded. “I think so. They’ll do some cognitive tests when she’s fully awake again, but her scans and vitals all look good. Looks like there was no damage to her brain, thank God.”
She exhaled. “Okay, okay. What do you think she meant about him ? Do you think she was referring to the man she met?”
“I don’t know. She could be confused. We’re going to have to wait for answers, as hard as that is. I can’t believe the police have made no progress at all. If only that damn alley had cameras.”
“It burns me up. Do you think the person who hit her was the same one she met? Or maybe she was trying to get away, and someone else hit her?”
“We may never know that. They did say it was a white vehicle; that much they could tell from the paint transfer. But that’s not very helpful, is it?” James said.
She shook her head. Why couldn’t she dream about this ? That would be helpful. But since Scarlett had been struck, Annabelle hadn’t had any more dreams—or at least none she remembered.
Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up from the chair where she’d been sitting.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Reynolds?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Detective Stanton. We have some new information. We’ve tracked down the IP address of the person who set up that Instagram account.”
“Who is it?”
“I can’t disclose that yet. But the IP address allowed us to trace it to the physical address where the computer is located. We’re waiting for a warrant now. Hoping to go in shortly. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Why can’t you tell me who it is?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, I promise to give you that information as soon as I can. I know you’ve been frustrated with the lack of progress, so I wanted to let you know we were making headway.”
“Please let me know as soon as you have more information.”
“What was that all about?” James asked when she ended the call.
She filled him in.
“Let’s hope they find this bastard,” he said, his face red. He looked at his watch. “I need to go pick up Olivia from play practice. I’ll bring her back with me and grab some dinner for us all on the way.”
“Sounds good.” She rose on tiptoes to kiss him.
Her phone buzzed, and she saw it was Kiera.
“Hi.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She woke up. I was so scared! She’s resting now. Thank you for the beautiful flowers, by the way.”
“Of course. I’ve been worried sick. We’re all praying for her and for you. Any idea who the hell this guy is that was texting her?” Kiera asked.
“They think they found the address of the person on the Instagram account, so fingers crossed.”
“Well, keep me posted. I’m sorry I couldn’t get there, but with my girl’s flu, the last thing I wanted to do was bring germs to your house.”
“Of course. I’ll talk to you later.”
After she ended the call, Annabelle texted Chase to tell him that Scarlett was finally awake. He’d been so sweet and solicitous, checking in with her several times a day. He texted her back.
Something’s happened that I need to talk to you about. I know you don’t want to leave the hospital, but can you come out to the parking lot for a few minutes? It’s important.
Now that Scarlett was out of the woods, she supposed it would be okay. She typed back.
Ok. When?
I’m on my way.