“What about those men?”
“What men?”
“The ones talking at the back of the truck, when the paramedics got out of the cab.”
The cop pointed his pen at the paramedic. “You know who she’s talking about?”
He nodded. “Couple of guys were in the truck, administering CPR. Don’t know who they were.”
Casey tried to sit up, but was held down by the straps. She strained her neck as far as she could. The men weren’t at the back of the truck anymore. She couldn’t see them anywhere. “You have to find them. They know something.”
“Nothing to know, ma’am. It was an accident.”
“An accident involving vehicles parked across the road. Why were they there?”
He looked at her. “There’s all kind of construction going on—”
“Where are the workers?”
He paused. “I don’t know.”
Casey’s head swam, and she dropped it back onto the gurney.
“We gotta go,” the paramedic said.
“No!” Casey said. “Wait!”
But the cop stepped back and closed the door. Casey raised her head high enough to see out the back window, just in time to see Death walking in the opposite direction, carrying Evan’s spirit like a baby.
Chapter Two
“Name?”
“Casey Jones.”
The young admissions clerk scribbled on her clipboard and cracked her gum. “ID?”
“Don’t have any.”
That made the girl look up. “You don’t have any ID?”
Should Casey give her the whole story? How she’d left it hidden in a garage back in Ohio, hanging with the rest of her earthly belongings? Her wedding ring, Omar’s baby cap, her dobak, her money… Should Casey tell the girl she was wanted for the murder of a Louisville thug? Or for questioning about the death of one of the Ohio town’s citizens? Or by the psycho CEO of Pegasus, the car company that killed Casey’s family?
“My wallet got stolen,” Casey said. “I don’t have anything.”
“Well…” The girl chewed her gum harder, as if it helped her to think. “We need to have information. Address. Insurance. You know.”
“Sure. Leave the paper with me, and I’ll fill it out the best I can.”
“You have a phone, at least? So you can call somebody?” The girl looked hopeful.
“No.”
“Oh. Well.” The clerk floundered in a tight half-circle, her feet shuffling on the tile floor.
“You do have phones here at the hospital?”
“Phones? Here? Oh, I see. Yeah, you can use one of those, I guess.”
Casey took a deep, calming breath. “I’ll fill out what I can, and then find a phone. Okay?”
The girl held out the clipboard, then took it back, then held it out again. “I’m really supposed to fill it out myself. From the ID.”
Casey snagged the clipboard, yanking it from the clerk’s hand. “I’ll do it.”
“Well—”
“So, what have we here?” A doctor in a white coat flapped through the dividing curtain, beaming at Casey from more beard and mustache than Casey thought should be allowed on a medical professional.
“Doctor Shinnob,” he boomed. “At your service.”
The clerk took the opportunity to scuttle away, casting a worried glance back toward Casey. Casey smiled wearily and held up the clipboard, nodding to the girl in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion.
A petite, dark-skinned nurse dressed in lavender scrubs with cats on them stood slightly behind the doctor. She scribbled on yet another chart. “Name?”
“Casey Jones.”
“Birthdate?”
Casey made one up.
“Social security number?”
Casey rattled off nine non-sequential numbers.
“Done, are we, then, Felicia?” The doctor held out his hands.
The nurse frowned, crossing her arms over her paperwork and holding it against her chest.
“So, you were in a little accident, were you?” The doctor lifted Casey’s chin and shone a flashlight in her eyes. “I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“The driver—”
“Got the worst of it. Yes, I’m sorry about that, too. Did you know him well?”
“No, not all that well.” She wasn’t about to tell him she’d just met Evan that morning, when she’d desperately hitched a ride.
“I see.” He flicked the light away, and then back. “How’s your vision?”
“Blurry.”
“What I thought. I’m afraid you have a concussion, my dear.” He rubbed his fingers together beside her right ear. “Can you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“And that?” Her left ear.
She nodded.
“Good, good. Now, breathe in and out deeply, mouth open, please.” She obliged, and he nodded, pursing his lips as he listened to her back through his stethoscope. He moved the instrument to her chest, listening to her heart. “Good. Can you lie down now, please?” He pushed gently on her stomach. “Does that hurt when I do this? Or this? No? That’s good, that’s good.” He smiled at the nurse, who gave him a stare right back. He leaned toward Casey. “Don’t worry about Felicia. Trauma makes her grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy.” Felicia’s voice sounded brittle.
“Whatever you say, whatever you say.” The doctor winked at Casey. “Now, you tell me if anything hurts.” He felt her from top to bottom—her arms, her ribs, her legs. Nothing hurt, except for the cut on her arm. She tried not to show it, but he noticed anyway. “Tell me about this injury. That’s not from the accident.” He peered at her above the rims of his glasses.
“Got cut yesterday. I tried to fix it up.”
“Didn’t do a very good job of it, did you?” He clicked his tongue. “Felicia, how about some antiseptic wash?”
Between Dr. Shinnob and Felicia they cleaned out the cut and covered it with sterile gauze and an Ace bandage. Casey did her best not to scream at the pain.
“I can’t stitch it,” Dr. Shinnob said. “It’s too swollen, and the tissues have already begun to heal themselves. I’m afraid you’ll have a scar there, as a reminder of whatever you did.”
Great. “Thank you. It will be fine.”
He studied her face, then broke back into a big grin.
“There are some police officers in the waiting room who want to talk with you. Are you ready for them?”
Casey looked at Felicia. “Do I have to be?”
The nurse shook her head.
“You don’t have to be ready at all,” the doctor said. “They can’t see you until I say they can, and I think I’ll have them wait a little longer. Not that they aren’t doing their best—I just don’t want them disturbing you before you’re up to it. There’s plenty of time. Now, we’ll be setting you up with a CT scan, to make sure there’s nothing going on inside your head that we can’t see.”
“Internal bleeding? Wouldn’t we know by now?”
He tilted his hand back and forth. “Maybe, maybe not. I like to be thorough, don’t I, Felicia?”
The nurse rolled her eyes.
“She loves me,” Shinnob said. “She just doesn’t know how to show it.” He took the clipboard from Felicia, scrawled a few things on it, and handed it back to her. “Felicia will take care of you now, Ms…Jones, was it? I’ll see you again soon.”
Casey and the nurse watched as the doctor strode out through the curtain, greeting someone else at high decibels. Felicia closed her eyes briefly, then turned to Casey. “I’m sorry, I just can’t be as happy-go-lucky as he is.”
Casey shrugged. “Who can?”
Felicia held up her chart. “So I need to know a few more things. You’re not pregnant?”
Casey let out a surprised laugh. “No.”
“Taking any medications?”
“Nope.”
“Eaten anything in the last six hours?”
Casey had to think. “Drank some water. That’s it.”
Felicia nodded. “You hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Best to wait till the test is done, then we’ll get you something, all right?” She pulled out some syringes. “I need to get some blood samples. Check things out, especially since you have…well, since this isn’t all your own blood. Usually they do this right away when you come in, but with all the excitement today about the driver, and all…”