Again, the officer shook his head. “I’ll call you if we get anything useful.”
“Thanks, man.”
Jake returned to his patrol car and began a slow search of the nearby streets. If the man had any brains, he’d be long gone. But then again, who wears a bright red hat to commit murder? He couldn’t be the sharpest tool in the shed.
White male, medium build, black coat, and jeans described half the men on the street. Assuming he lost the hat, they had virtually nothing to go on. After searching a four-block radius and coming up empty, Jake gave up and made his way to the hospital. He parked in the emergency vehicle parking and headed into the ER.
God, he hated hospitals. His job required that he frequent them often, usually to follow up on an accident victim, but sometimes to supervise an injured bad guy. Every once in a while, it was for someone he’d pulled over who was so drunk they needed medical attention before they could go to jail. He coped with all that because it was never anyone he was close to. He would put on his “trooper mask” and endure it. The trooper mask hid any emotion he might be feeling—sadness, anger, irritation, even amusement—and he had to wear it a lot while on the job.
Work-related visits he’d come to expect and could deal with. Personal visits, not so much. The hatred stemmed from the last time he’d been at a hospital for someone heknew. And loved. At eleven-years-old, he’d been called out of class by the elementary school principal and whisked to the hospital nearest their home, along with his brother Mitch. His other brothers had come in the same fashion from the junior high and high schools. While he’d been studying fractions, his dad had collapsed and died of an undiagnosed brain tumor. Paramedics brought him to the hospital, but it was too late. Jake associated hospitals with the smell of disinfectant, the drab white walls, and his mother’s sobs.
A nurse led him to Hannah’s bed but advised him that she still hadn’t regained consciousness, so he wouldn’t be able to talk to her yet. Hannah’s hair was a mess of tangles and mud. Her porcelain skin marred by a variety of cuts and scrapes. A butterfly bandage held together a gash under her left eye.
Fury flowed through him at the thought of someone hurting her, but he tamped it down. He’d have to deal with that later. Tenderly, he touched Hannah’s hand and swallowed hard to remove the lump in his throat.
“We set her arm, which was miraculously the only broken bone. Now we’re waiting on an MRI and a room upstairs. As soon as they’re ready, we’ll admit her. Do you know who her emergency contact is?”
“I don’t. She’s estranged from her family and doesn’t have a significant other. I’m not sure there’s anyone to call.” He imagined her waking up scared and alone, no one by her side, and the thought depressed him. “When she wakes up, you can call me. I’d like to be there for her.”
“You’re friends, then?” the nurse asked. “Or is this official stuff?”
“Yes, we’re friends. Bellevue PD is handling the investigation, but I’ll take care of any personal needs.” He gave the ER nurse his personal cell number in case dispatch called him away before Hannah woke up. He was still on duty and could be assigned an emergency call at any time. While they moved her upstairs and got her settled, he stopped by the gift shop to buy some flowers and balloons.
When he returned, he introduced himself to the sixth floor ICU nurse, who let him in to sit with Hannah. She was as pale as the white sheets she was sleeping on, and the bed seemed to engulf her tiny frame. He wondered if therewasanyone he should call. He and Hannah were friends, but not the know-everything-about-each-other kind of friends. When they first met, and he’d asked about her family, she’d curtly stated that she didn’t speak to them and hadn’t seen them in years, then changed the subject. That didn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t want to be here for her in an emergency, though.
He hated feeling helpless, but until she woke up and could tell him what she needed, there wasn’t much he could do. After making sure the ER nurse had passed on his information to the nurses on the sixth floor and verifying they knew to call him when she regained consciousness, he left to finish his work shift.
A couple of hours later, after getting off duty, showering, and changing clothes, he returned to the hospital. The same nurse he’d seen before was still taking care of Hannah.
“Any news?” Jake asked her.
“You’re the trooper who was in here earlier, right?” she asked without answering his question.
“Yes.”
“Thought so. I just wanted to make sure. I don’t know who else to tell, but some guy showed up claiming to be Ms. Preston’s husband. You had mentioned she didn’t have a significant other, she doesn’t wear a wedding ring, and there’s no one listed as an emergency contact at her place of employment, so I thought it was suspicious. When I called him on it, he just turned around and left. It was odd.”
“Hannah’s not married. Did you get a good look at him? Physical description?”
“Sorry, not really. He had brown hair and was wearing jeans. I wanna say his eyes were brown, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. He was carrying a laptop which seemed weird. And he seemed impaired…maybe drugs or alcohol?”
“Okay. Thanks for telling me. Given the way she got hurt, it’s definitely suspicious. Has Bellevue PD been by?”
“Yeah, but they showed up before he did, and I haven’t had a chance to call them. You’re the first person I’ve told.”
“All right. You mind if I sit with her?”
“No, go ahead. She had her MRI, but I haven’t seen the results. We won’t be able to share medical info with you since you’re not family, but I’ll let the nurse who is replacing me know you’re a trooper and a friend.”
“I appreciate it. Thanks.” He entered Hannah’s room and was assaulted by the smell of the flowers he’d purchased. Thinking it was too much, he moved them to the windowsill so the scent wouldn’t be so strong. Then he pulled a chair over to Hannah’s bed, sat down next to her, and put his hand over hers.
Wires sprung from her head, and another was hooked to her finger. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat showed on the big monitor that displayed all her vitals. Her face was relaxed, and he took a minute to study her. Come morning, she would have quite a shiner on the eye with the cut. Long, auburn hair, dotted with bits of gravel, lay in a pile next to her face. Her dainty, button-like nose had a tube coming out of it, and her normally rosy lips were pale. Usually, her face glowed with happiness, and she looked different without bright eyes and a big smile.
Once again, the anger welled. Jake silently vowed to find the bastard who had done this and bring him to justice.
The fact that someone had come here pretending to be her husband was troubling, and Jake could only assume it was whoever had tried to kill her returning to finish the job. Knowing that, he couldn’t in good conscience leave her here alone. When the night shift nurse introduced herself, he let her know he would be spending the night. And if Hannah’s “husband” showed up again? He cracked his knuckles. Even better.
CHAPTER SIX
