Chapter 8
“I thought you said he was hit by a car?” Louisa frowned as she fed a breathing tube down the throat of the unconscious guy on the table.
“That’s what Olivia said,” Jake replied.
She pressed her stethoscope to his chest listening for good breath sounds.
Removing it from her ears and wrapping it back around her neck, she looked up at Jake.
“Then why does he smell like a bonfire? He looks as if he’s got at least second-degree burns.
He’s almost certainly suffering from smoke inhalation and that’s not including the giant-ass knife wound in his forearm. ”
“I didn’t see him. I just… I didn’t see him.
I tried to stop in time…” Olivia kept repeating, voice rising with a slightly hysterical note to it, as Jake and Louisa watched her in concern.
“Oh my god, is he going to die? Chief Walcott already thinks I’m a murderer, and now I’ve run over a guy dressed like a pilgrim and it’s not even thanksgiving… .”
Louisa exchanged a glance with her brother.
“Hey.” Louisa moved away from her patient as the nurses attached various tubes and monitors. “Olive, honey, it’s okay.” She gripped her arms gently. “Are you hurt at all?”
“I tried to stop in time,” Olivia repeated. “I called Jake. I didn’t know what to do. Chief Walcott…”
“Hey.” Louisa tilted Olivia’s jaw, forcing Olivia to focus on her.
“Chief Walcott is an asshole, never mind him. This guy, whoever he is, isn’t going die.
He’s hurt, sure, but nothing immediately life-threatening and…
” She hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think you did hit him with your car,” she told Olivia firmly.
“What?”
“His injuries aren’t consistent with the blunt force trauma associated with being struck by a moving vehicle,” Louisa explained. “I think he was standing in the road, and he just collapsed from the injuries he’d already sustained.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Olivia shook her head. “I mean, where did he come from? I didn’t see any other cars. There’s nothing out on that road but acres of woodland.”
“That’s my job to figure out,” Jake answered.
“God.” Olivia rubbed her eyes with a huge sigh. “I shouldn’t have been driving. I was tired, and my eyes kept closing. I was just trying to get home.”
“Olivia?” Louisa frowned. “Have you slept yet?” Olivia shook her head mutely. “For God’s sake, we were up all night. I thought you were going home to bed when I left you this morning.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Olivia murmured, the lines of misery etched in her exhausted face.
“I bet you haven’t eaten yet either.”
“I had something this morning,” Olivia replied.
Jake watched as Louisa turned toward him. “Can you take her down to the cafeteria and get some food in her? Afterward, find Cathy Wilson. She’s on duty tonight and can find Olivia a bed in the on-call room. Then come back and see me. I’ll have a clearer picture of his injuries by then.”
“Sure. I’ve got her,” Jake steered Olivia out of the room. “Come on, Olive,” you’ll feel better after you’ve eaten and rested.”
He took her down to the cafeteria first, but she barely ate anything, she was simply too exhausted.
Figuring she needed sleep more than anything, Jake hunted down the motherly but slightly scary Cathy Wilson, who he remembered fondly from his childhood as she’d stitched him up after numerous scrapes and cast his broken arm when he was eleven.
Cathy showed them to a vacant room. Olivia was asleep before she even face-planted the pillow and with the knowledge that she was in good hands under Cathy’s watchful gaze, Jake made his way back to the ER intending to find his sister, only to find his boss striding through the main entrance instead.
“Chief.” Jake inclined his head.
“Jake,” he replied. “I hear Miss West was involved in a vehicular incident.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Jake asked cautiously.
“Actually, I came to speak with Doc Hughes regarding Adam’s autopsy.”
“It was definitely Adam then?”
Chief Walcott gave a sharp nod. “We ID’d him with what was left of his fingerprints.”
“God damn it,” Jake muttered, shaking his head.
“Have you taken Miss West’s statement?” the chief asked.
“About Adam?”
“With regard to the accident tonight,” he clarified.
“Yes, I have. She was driving home from town and the guy just appeared in the middle of the road. She slammed on the brakes as soon as she saw him.”
“Is he alive?” Chief Walcott asked.
“Yes,” Jake answered. “Louisa was treating him. I was just heading back to check on his status.”
“Shall we, then?” He gestured with his hand, giving Jake no choice but to lead him to the room where his sister was treating the injured man.
“Doctor Linden,” Chief Walcott greeted Louisa in a low voice as he stepped into the room.
Louisa glanced up from the chart where she’d been scribbling notes. “Chief Walcott,” she replied, her eyes wary. “What are you doing here?”
He ignored her question as his gaze fixed on the man in the bed. “Can you give me an update on the victim?”
“The patient,” she corrected with a cool tone, “is stable. He has second-degree burns to his upper thighs, a first-degree burn to his left shoulder, smoke inhalation, and what looks to be a knife wound to his right forearm. He also has a mild concussion and a few bumps and bruises. Which suggests someone landed a few punches to his jaw and ribs. His injuries aren’t consistent with being struck by a vehicle. ”
“Perhaps you are mistaken?” Chief Walcott replied.
Louisa’s jaw tightened. “I can find no blunt force trauma, bruising, or soft tissue damage that is consistent with being struck by a moving vehicle,” she stated emphatically.
“The concussion may have been sustained when he collapsed and hit his head against the road. You’d have to check Olivia’s car for evidence, or rather lack of evidence, but I suspect he stumbled into the road, and she stopped just in time. ”
“That seems very convenient.” His tone was just as cool as Louisa’s had been.
“That he just happened to appear less than a mile from Miss West’s property, injured, only to collapse in front of her car, which she miraculously manages to stop in time, and that her childhood best friend just happens to be the doctor on call? ”
Louisa stepped closer, her blue eyes flashing.
“Be very, very careful, Chief, I will not tolerate anyone calling my professionalism into question. I have already spoken with one of the senior doctors on call tonight and requested a second opinion, which he will attend to himself so there can be no… misunderstandings.”
They stood locked in a battle of mutual distrust before he turned toward a clear plastic bag sitting on a table at the side of the monitor.
“Are these his clothes?” he asked.
“Yes,” she stated flatly, watching as he pulled the clothing from the bag which filled the air with a pungent, smoky odor.
His brow furrowed as he took in the strange, historical-looking clothing. “This is what he was wearing?”
“It’s Halloween.” She shrugged. She watched as he rifled through the pockets. “He has no ID on him, the nurse already checked.”
Chief Walcott ignored her as he pulled out what looked like a stick of graphite wrapped in string and a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, and his brow rose, his smile smug. “Well, what do we have here.”
Louisa looked over his shoulder, her eyes widening. “What the…” she muttered. The picture he held in his hand was a very detailed sketch of Olivia’s face.
“When you interviewed Miss West,” Chief Walcott said to Jake, “did she confirm whether or not she recognized the victim?”
“You mean the patient.” Jake scowled. “And no, she didn’t know him.”
“Well, he seems to know her.” He glanced over at Louisa. “When will he be fit to be questioned?”
“We’ll reassess his condition in the morning. If there are no complications and we’re satisfied he’s breathing comfortably with no swelling to his airways from the smoke inhalation, we’ll remove the tube.”
“Very well.” The chief nodded. “I’ll check on his progress tomorrow. I’ll want to interview him myself.” He cast a glance at Jake.
“Of course you will,” Louisa muttered under her breath.
Before he could respond, the chief’s phone pinged with a message which he glanced at briefly. “I’m needed back at the station. If you’re done here, Jake, you can go and collect the autopsy report from Doc Hughes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and Deputy.” Walcott stopped as he reached the door, staring pointedly at Jake. “I’m sure it’s not necessary for me to remind you that anything pertaining to the autopsy and the investigation is confidential and not to be disclosed to non-law enforcement personnel.”
“Like you said, Chief,” Jake replied, his expression carefully neutral. “Not necessary.”
The chief grunted and walked out of the room.
“Jackass.” Louisa scowled.
“Louisa,” Jake warned.
“You can’t tell me you aren’t worried,” she replied with tight lips. “You heard that. He’s just looking for a reason when it comes to Olivia, and she’s barely been back in town a few days. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know.” Jake reached for his sister, pulling her into a hug. “But I’m going to figure it out, I promise.”
She nodded, unconvinced. “Go on. You’d better go see Doc Hughes, he’ll be heading home soon.”
“Okay.” He stepped back. “After I’ve dropped the report down to the station, I’ll come back for Olive. I had Brody tow her car home. She shouldn’t be driving until she’s fully rested.”
“I’ll let her know when she wakes up.” Louisa nodded, and Jake headed out of the room.
* * *
Dr. Hughes was generally a very happy-go-lucky type of guy. He had a well past middle-aged paunch, a beard as gray as what was left of his hair, and a quick smile. Jake couldn’t remember a time when the old guy didn’t have a wink and a roll of cherry Life Savers in his pocket.