Chapter 5
This time, as Todd drove back to the alley, he let his siren join his lights.
It felt good to take out his frustration from that crazy exchange with the social worker by going a little faster on the mostly empty roads.
The chances he’d locate the young man at this time of night were slim, but it was worth trying.
He should have finished the bad hospital vending machine coffee before leaving, though, as the night pressed fatigue back into him.
When he arrived back at the restaurant where his evening had started, the parking lot was empty of all but a couple of cars. The sign flickered to “Closed” as he parked.
A face peered out at him, and he approached the door, flashed his badge, and a minute later, the woman unlocked it. He should probably remind her to be more careful. She hadn’t given his badge a careful enough review to ensure he was a police officer.
“Detective Westmont, you never came for your meal.”
Then again, maybe she recognized him. He squinted at her, but he was too tired to remember her. “I ran into some trouble tonight.”
“Thought you’d say that. Can I get you some food?” She moved toward the bar as if expecting him to follow her.
“I won’t keep you. Just have a quick question.”
“I can get you a sandwich while I answer.” His stomach growled, and she patted one of the stools as she passed it. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you on your way, but without all that extra noise.”
“Thanks…” His mind finally kicked into gear. “Doris.”
“I wondered how long it would take.” She smiled at him good-naturedly, but he could see the fatigue in the way her shoulders drooped. “What brings you here so late?”
“I did come here earlier tonight, but a young man stopped me and called me to the alley.”
Her brow furrowed as she slid into the kitchen and started pulling things from a cooler he could see through the serving window. “The alley?”
“Yes, ma’am. He left as soon as I was in the alley, but I found a young girl in there. She’s still unconscious at Bryan Memorial West.”
“I didn’t notice an ambulance.” She slapped slices of bread together, placed the sandwich on a plate, and then poured some potato chips onto the empty space.
“There was a major accident north of Waverly. I transported her in my car. I’m going to examine the alley again, but I wondered if you noticed anyone or anything that didn’t fit or belong tonight.”
“That’s an interesting question.” She frowned as she exited the kitchen and returned to the bar. “It was quiet for a Friday night. Not a lot of activity.” She leaned against the bar as he picked up the sandwich and took a bite.
The ham and Swiss with stoneground mustard exploded in flavor in his mouth. Add the crunch of the lettuce and tomato, and he was going to be one happy man. He chewed then swallowed. “This hits the spot.”
She nodded, then filled a glass with ice and water before placing it before him. “I can’t think of anything that would matter. You’re sure a girl was left in the alley?”
“Yes.”
“What time were you here?”
“About eight thirty.”
“So you were already late to get your food.”
“Guess so.”
“The girl can’t have been there long because my busboy ran the trash out about 8:15.”
“What does he look like?” Maybe this was the young man who had called him into the alley. Though if that was the case, he should have stuck around. And he wouldn’t have known Todd was a police officer. He didn’t remember seeing the busboy on the occasions he ran in for food.
“He’s a typical spindly fifteen-year-old.”
“Then he shouldn’t have been working if it was after seven.”
“Did I say fifteen? I meant sixteen.” Her comeback was fast.
“What’s his name?”
“Travis Darnell. He’s worked here for six months. Good kid. Shows up on time and works hard. Most of the time.”
Todd made a note in his phone app. “When did he leave tonight?”
“Said he wasn’t feeling well, so left by nine.”
“That normal?”
“No, like I said, he’s a good worker.” She glanced at her watch and then crossed her arms.
Todd took the hint and picked up the pace of his eating. “Do you have a to-go box? I don’t want to keep you.”
“It’s all good.”
“The busboy. He about this tall?” Todd held the hand holding a chip up at about 5'9 height. “Skinny like he’s all about growing tall right now?”
She nodded. “But so are half of the kids that age.”
It was true, and he couldn’t pick the kid out in a line-up as dark as it had been. He only had an impression of what the young man had looked like.
He shoved another big bite of sandwich into his mouth and then took a handful of chips. “Appreciate the dinner.”
“Anytime.” Though she didn’t seem as welcoming as she had been when she unlocked the door for him. She started walking toward the door, and he followed her.
“Is the busboy a relative?”
She froze and then slowly turned toward him. “Why?”
“You’re protective of him.”
“I am of all my employees.”
“Doris, we both know that’s not true.” He loosened his stance, tried not to look as big as he sometimes did.
“Look, the kid could be a hero as far as I can tell. He called me to the alley. Without that, the girl could be in even worse shape. I want to speak with him to understand what he saw. That’s it.
” He kept his hands in his pockets even though he wanted to spread them wide as if that would assure her of his sincerity. “Honest.”
She considered him for a minute. “I know how to find you. I need to talk to him first. See if he’s who you think.”
“Fair.”
She unlocked the door and then opened it for him. “Be careful out there.”
“You, too. Thanks again for the sandwich.” Then he stepped into the night, wondering why she’d felt the need to warn him. He turned toward the alley, but after a few minutes of searching knew he’d need to come back at first light the next morning, before anyone else could tamper with the scene.
Dr. Miller returned but didn’t have any updates. She checked the machines and watched the girl for a minute. “She appears stable, but I want to keep her here until we have a better sense about what’s going on. I’ll have someone come to transfer her to a room.”
Bridget didn’t think the girl could be released, not when she was still unresponsive. And she didn’t have a better idea than keeping her here while they looked for her family. There was no way the girl could fend for herself in foster care or a group home. “I’ll stay with her through the transfer.”
“This might be a good time for you to take a break. It can take a little while to get her transferred and settled.” Dr. Miller made a notation on her tablet computer, then moved toward the door. “We’ll take good care of her. Promise.”
A yawn overpowered Bridget, and she rubbed her eyes.
It wouldn’t hurt to stretch for a moment.
She stood and moved into the hallway. It was empty except for a cluster of nurses and techs down at the station with all the monitoring equipment.
Bridget stopped there to let them know she’d be back in a minute.
Her phone dinged as she neared the restroom, so she pulled it out to read the message.
Just got home. You can quit worrying.
Glad to know you’re okay.
She glanced at her watch and frowned. It had taken Jason a lot longer than it should have to get home, but she had to trust that he was being honest. She couldn’t go check on him anyway, and he wouldn’t be happy if she did.
She slid her phone back in her pocket and went into the restroom.
Five minutes later, she returned to the room.
A nurse stopped her on the way. “I’ve got the room number we’re moving your charge to.” She handed Bridget a Post-it note with the number.
“Thanks.”
“She’ll be on the pediatric floor. We considered Pediatrics or ICU, but she doesn’t seem sick enough for ICU. And we need this bed for a couple more cases coming in from the pile up north of town.”
“What’s the difference?”
“At this stage, it’s the ease of monitoring. There’s a lower nurse-to-patient ratio in ICU because the patients are so sick. She’s stable, just not responding. Especially if you stay with her, she should be fine.” The nurse’s nametag had flipped around so that Bridget couldn’t read her name.
“I don’t plan on leaving her as long as there’s room.”
“There will be.”
Bridget thanked her and headed to the curtained room. When she got there, someone she hadn’t seen was leaning over the girl. She didn’t like the way the situation looked. Something felt wrong. “What are you doing?”
The person didn’t look up and instead leaned further over the girl.
“Wait.” Bridget raised her voice. “Hey, I need help in here.” She stepped into the hall and yelled again for help. Then she hurried back to the room. “Get away from her.”
The man looked up and the scorn in his eyes turned her to ice inside.
It reminded her of the way her stepfather had looked at her anytime she spoke up or made her presence known.
She had loathed the man but learned to bury it deep inside under layers of perfection that allowed him to at least tolerate her presence.
She had played the game until she left for college, and then never gone back home.
Jason had already left, and her mother could visit her.
She hadn’t cried a single tear when the man abandoned her mother.
Her only regret was that he hadn’t done so years earlier.
This man was not going to harm Jane Doe on Bridget’s watch. She leaped toward him as she kept yelling for help. It was only then that she saw the syringe in his hand.
“He has a syringe. He may have used drugs of some sort.” If she kept yelling, maybe help would finally arrive.
“You don’t need to do this.” He held his hands up. The words were right, but the eyes were still all wrong. Hard. Cold. Calculating.
“Help. Please. Someone.” She had to get help as the girl’s breath started to shallow and alarms bleated, then blared. She tried to grab the syringe. “Get away from her.”
He ran through her, throwing her toward the bed and causing her to bounce off it and into the wall. Her head hit the wall hard, and she saw two of everything as the man raced out of the door. The noise accelerated.
But all she could do was slouch against the wall and pray she’d done enough to get help.