They showed their badges at the desk and were informed Stephanie Morris was in intensive care on the second floor. They took the elevator up and when the doors opened, Jason was relieved to see two uniformed officers guarding Stephanie Morris’ room. He walked up to them and showed his badge.
“Has she had any visitors?”
“Just one, that girl sitting over there.”
Jason looked over in the direction the officer pointed. Sitting alone was Brooke Donald. Jason turned to Vanessa.
“I’m going to talk to her. Can you see if you can find the doctor?”
“Sure. Be back soon.”
Jason walked towards Brooke and she gave him a half-hearted wave when she recognized him.
“Hello, detective.”
“Hi, Brooke. How you holding up?”
“Okay. She came out of surgery about an hour ago but they said I won’t get to see her until this afternoon at the soonest.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure the officers know that you’re allowed in when the doctor clears it.”
She gave him a slight smile.
“Thank you. I knew something wasn’t right. I kept hoping I was wrong but when the phone rang during the night, I wasn’t surprised.”
“If it helps, Stephanie may be the key to catching this guy. If she’s seen him and can describe him, we’ll get him. I promise.”
“I know you will. Thank you, detective.”
Jason saw Vanessa coming down the hall.
“Will you excuse me, Brooke?”
“Sure.”
Jason patted her on the hand before meeting Vanessa down the hallway.
“Did you find the doctor?”
“Yes. Surgeons name is Mary Nance. She operated for five hours.”
“What’s the prognosis? Is our girl gonna make it?”
“She said that the bullet missed the heart, hit the shoulder blade and bounced around until landing near her spine. She got it out but doesn’t know if she will have any paralysis.”
“Poor girl. When does the doc think we can talk to her?’
“Dr. Nance said the girl lost a lot of blood and will likely be in an induced coma for at least 24 hours, maybe 48.”
“Well, I guess we wait. We need to interview the two guys that found her and go to the scene. Let me tell Brooke what we know and we’ll head out.”
Jason spoke to the officers and then went over to where Brooke was sitting.
“She’s doing okay. They’re going to keep her sedated for at least 24 hours.”
“Okay.”
“Do you need anything? A ride?”
“No. I’m just going to stay near her for a little while longer.”
Jason gave her a smile.
“You do that. Stay as long as you want. I’ll check with the doctor to see if you can sit in the room.”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
****
Jason spoke to the surgeon and got permission for Brooke to sit in the room. He took her in before going downstairs to find Vanessa. She was in the lobby and hung up her phone as Jason approached.
“Lieutenant gave me an address for each of the guys that found her. North part of the city. They’re loggers, cutting for Weyerhauser. They were at the end of their day when they stumbled onto the girl.”
“We need to visit them, but first, you want to take a ride to the woods?”
“Sure. We need to get out there before they clean it up.”
“Works for me.”
****
The scene was well lit when they arrived but didn’t yield much in the way of evidence. The wine glass had been bagged for evidence. The killer had left nothing else behind, as usual. Officers at the scene had interviewed the two men who found the girl. Jason and Vanessa reviewed the notes.
The sun had started to come up and Jason was hungry.
“Wanna get a bite before we go interview the loggers?”
“Sure.”
Jason drove them to an IHOP and, after some eggs and coffee, they left for the first loggers house. It was Joe’s and he answered their knock on the door with no apparent surprise.
“Yes.”
“Joe Dixon?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Detective Jason Strong and this is my partner, Detective Layne. We’d like to ask you some questions about last night.”
Joe stepped back and opened the door for the detectives to enter.
“Sure, come in.”
Joe, like his name, was average in every way. Average height, average build, average brown hair, etc. He led them into a small living room. A beer sat keeping an easy chair company. Joe sat next to the beer.
“I told the cops everything I could remember, last night.”
Jason took a chair across from Joe but Vanessa remained standing. She opened a pad to make notes and let Jason ask the questions. It was their routine. One asked the questions and watched the face of the person they were questioning while the other observed the surroundings and took notes.
“I haven’t had a chance to read the report but we like to follow up the next day, anyway. Just to make sure nothing occurred to you.”
“Okay. I don’t mind. I called in today, didn’t feel like working. Nothing has come to mind but I’m glad to help.”
Joe took a sip of the companion beer and leaned forward.
“How’s the girl? I tried calling the hospital but they won’t tell me anything.”
“She’s doing okay. The doctors put her in a drug induced coma while she heals. You almost surely saved her life.”
Joe was clearly uncomfortable with the idea that he was some sort of hero. Vanessa was impressed with his quiet demeanour.
“Detective Strong is right. You most likely saved that girls life.”
“I just did what my friend, Jonathon, told me to. He was the calm one.”
“You’re both heroes to that girl.”
Jason turned the man’s attention back to the details.
“You said you were walking back to your truck after cutting wood. It was kinda late, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I was chewin’ Jonathon out for just that when I fell. He helped me up and we had gone just a short distance farther when we saw them. Actually, Jonathon saw them and pointed them out to me.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“This guy standing over someone who was sitting against a tree. Then things just took on a life of their own. Jonathon yelled at him, a gun went off and we dove for cover. When we got up, he was gone.” He paused. “That poor girl. It was awful.”
“Could you describe him or his vehicle?”
“It all happened too fast. I didn’t get a good look at either one.”
Jason looked at Vanessa. She just shrugged and put away her notebook. Jason took out his card and handed it to Joe.
“Do you know if your friend is home as well?”
“He is. He called in, too.”
“Joe, thanks. You think of anything, please call.”
“Sure. If you get a chance, let me know how the girl’s doin’.”
“You bet.”
****
The stops at Jonathon’s went the same. It was clear that these two men had been thrown into a situation that was as bad as any they could imagine. They had done above and beyond what could be expected from any normal person, so it did not surprise Jason when Lieutenant Patton gave them the news.
They had just returned to the station when the lieutenant waved them into his office.
“The mayor wants to present those two men with medals from the city.”
Vanessa, however, was surprised.
“Shouldn’t he wait until they make sure she’s going to make it before doing a publicity stunt?”
“The mayor’s people are telling him that she’s going to be fine.”
“The mayor’s ‘people’ are idiots.”
Jason smiled. Vanessa was not one to prance around an issue. Still, it did seem too soon. Jason still hadn’t had a chance to talk with her, never mind knowing if she was going to be ‘fine’.
“Has anyone talked to her doctors since this morning?”
The lieutenant shook his head.