by
phair
Sam hurried into the emergency entrance of City Hospital clutching Rachael’s hand with his left hand and Karla’s hand on his right. He bypassed the reception desk when he spotted O’Malley across the waiting area. The big man was mopping his head with a damp fistful of brown paper toweling. His eyes were puffy red and stood in bold contrast against his paste white skin.
“Senator,” he nodded respectfully with his greeting.
Sam had to swallow to keep his voice steady when he asked the question he’d been dreading during the long ride up from the south shore. “Is she okay? Have you heard anything from the surgeon yet?”
“Triage nurse said she can only talk to you and you should just head over there when you arrive.”
“Me?” Sam’s initial panic was calmed by a gentle squeeze of his hand from Rachael.
“Ms. Heather had the presence of mind to get Coyote to make you her health care proxy in the ambulance. Coyote said she didn’t have one and didn’t know who it should be,” O’Malley explained.
Karla spoke up, “So, she was conscious. That must be a good sign, right?”
“She was awake for most of the ride over,” O’Malley perked up a little. “She’s a toughie. And, fast. She might have got away from them if she wasn’t watchin’ out for Heather. Heather said Coyote doubled back when she started screaming.”
Sam winced. “Why was Heather screaming?”
O’Malley’s face paled a little more. “You got to ask her that yourself, Senator.”
“Fuck,” Sam mumbled and felt tears fill his eyes.
His shirt front was grabbed by Karla and she hissed directly into his face, “Man up! You have to keep it together. You are the only one who can find out what is going on with Coyote and Heather. I know you want to run away because that’s what all of us want to do right now but you can’t.” Karla sighed, “Well, you can but you shouldn’t.”
“I won’t.” Sam said and patted Karla’s hand holding his shirt. “You and Rachael stay here with O’Malley. I’ll go find out what’s happening.”
The three of them nodded agreement. Rachael leaned over and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. It made him want to pretend not to be afraid so he flashed her a cocky grin. Turning toward the triage area, he channeled his inner politician and strutted across the waiting area as if he alone approved the funding for the facility.
“Excuse me, I’m Samuel Allerton, Coyote Nightmoon’s,” Sam paused for the right word but came up blank.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Allerton, let me get Sandra,” the male nurse at the desk said. “Wait right there.”
It worried Sam that he didn’t need to wait more than sixty seconds before a short, stocky nurse in coolots and a print smock hurried out of the back room. Her hair might have been combed at the beginning of the shift but it was a flattened mess at the midway mark.
“Senator, I’m Sandra. I admitted Ms. Nightmoon and Ms. Trent. You are Ms. Nightmoon’s proxy?”
Sam hedged as he answered, “That’s right but I haven’t signed any paperwork. I will sign. No problem. I just want her taken care of. Both of them, that is. I want both of them taken good care of.”
“How are you holding up?” Sandra seemed sincere.
“Me? Fine. Well, I’d feel better once I know more. All I know is there was some kind of attack and Coyote’s in surgery and something happened to Heather. Can you tell me any details?” Sam raised his hand to stop the disclaimer he saw forming on Sandra’s lips. “I understand about HIPPA. I’m not looking for private stuff. I just need to know; are they okay, can I see them, and where the fuck are those fuckers, State fucking Troopers?” Sam lost his cool but did not shout. “I’m sorry, Sandra. I’m not mad at you. I’m just really scared.”
She smiled reassuringly and motioned for him to follow her. “I understand. If you can try not to scream, hit, spit, or draft legislation during your stay in my emergency room, I can forgive your ‘cussin’ out the cops.”
“Thanks,” Sam muttered as he followed her into her office and sat in the plastic chair offered.
“Okay, here’s what I know,” Sandra began. “Don’t be mad at the Staties. They saved the day. The responding officer made it across the park in forty five seconds of the call from O’Malley. Melvin was All State in high school.”
“Thank God for Melvin,” Sam agreed.
“Ms. Nightmoon got the worst of the attack. In addition to multiple facial lacerations, she has a broken eye orbit and three stab wounds. They were suppose to be sending her down to recovery about now. She’ll need four or five days inpatient then a month or two at home to get back to her premorbid status, I’d imagine.”
Sam pushed his horror at the injuries down and pressed on, “Heather, what about Heather?”
“Bumps and bruises. The guy scared the shit out of her by ripping her blouse and grabbing her breasts. He was intent on doing more but…,”
“Melvin?”
“Yep, good old reliable, fucker, State fucking Trooper to the rescue.”
“Sorry,” Sam was remorseful.
Sandra gave a gleaming white toothed smile. “Don’t worry about it, Senator. I just wanted to bust your balls because of the cuts in the Indigent Health Care Trust Fund.”
“I was,” Sam felt a tear run down his face. “I was trying to force the bigger hospitals with more endowments to do the right thing and contribute more to the pool because they divert those patients to your ER.”
Sandra smiled patiently. “That’s what would happen in a Utopia, Senator. Here in the really, real world, nurses and allied healthcare workers lose their jobs and sick people die waiting for care.” Sandra frowned at her own response, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking politics. It’s just you’ve never even seen the inside of our hospital before.”
“Sandra,” Sam wiped his eyes dry. “I’ve never seen a lot of things before. I thought I was smarter than I actually am. But, I have a lot to learn.”
“Before we broaden your educational horizons, do you want to see Ms. Trent?”
Sam nodded. Sandra stood and motioned for him to follow. They walked down a dingy hallway with browning ceiling tiles from leaky overhead pipes. The linoleum was chipped and lifted but what was in place gleamed with a fresh buffing.
Once Sandra hit the wall switch opening the double doors to the emergency room, screams and cries filled the air. Sam found himself stepping closer to Sandra as they walked into the bedlam. Tears and swears flowed with equal ease from behind curtains barely hiding the city’s injured. Sam saw more than two police officers and a security guard but it did nothing to make him feel safer.
“Here we go,” Sandra said as she pulled back a ragged curtain. “Ms. Trent, your friend is here.”
Sam didn’t have a chance to speak. Heather leapt from the gurney and hurtled into Sam’s waiting arms. He expected to hear crying so he was stunned when she began to speak in a low but rushed voice.
“You got to call a lawyer for me. I’m gonna be arrested. The cops are just waiting for the doc to discharge me then I’m getting booked. They’re gonna charge Coyote too.”
“What?” Sam was sure Heather was mistaken, “Sandra, did she get smacked on the head or did you guys give her something?”
“I’ll let Officer Weld explain,” Sandra said before walking away.
Sam pulled free from Heather to get a good look at her. Her face was scraped and bruised. Her lip was split. There were choke marks around her throat. Her shirt was being held together with a series of safety pins. But, the worse damage was the despair in her eyes.
“Heather, listen to me,” Sam spoke calmly and removed his suit jacket. He wrapped the coat around her shoulders and felt a deep shudder run the length of her body. “I need you to stay quiet. Don’t say anything at all. This is going to be hard but no matter what this cop says, keep you mouth shut!”
“But, Sam,” Heather began to argue.
Sam took both her hands in his and murmured, “Trust me, please trust me,” just as a uniformed police officer stepped up behind him.
“You wanted to talk to me,” the cop grunted.
Sam turned around and saw both the security guard and the other officer behind the cop. “Office Weld, my friend believes you’re about to arrest her.”
“She’s correct. She’s being charged as an accessory to assault. She helped that other one smash up a school boy in the park,” Weld stated it evenly but his sneer indicated just what he thought about the ‘other one’ he mentioned.
“Oh,” Sam rubbed his chin. “That is not what I heard about this incident. I heard it was a hate crime by a gang of thugs against two women foolish enough to think they’d be safe to walk in a public park. I wonder how I got that so wrong.”
The cop’s face puckered with his growing annoyance. “A complaint was filed by the boy’s father. The Honorable Charles Jeffers Preston the third doesn’t like it one bit when Charles Jeffers Preston the fourth gets his ass kicked by some biker chick.”
“Oh,” Sam started to feel more comfortable with the situation. He understood the game at hand well. “That’s interiorly different then. A serious crimes have been committed. Chuckie’s criminally indefensible ignorance and his son’s ongoing offense of being a pussy.”
The cop behind Weld hooted a laugh. Weld glared over his should at the man. Once silence was restored, Weld turned his attention back to Sam.
“A crime’s been committed. Doesn’t matter what you think about the victims.
Somebody’s going to jail. The law is the law,” Weld stated with confidence.
“Agreed. A crime has been committed and somebody needs to go to jail. The law is the law for everybody,” Sam said. “We just need to straighten you out on who the victims are and who the perps are. You seem to have your facts confused.”
“I haven’t got time to waste talkin’ to you,” Weld fumed. “Come on, girl, you’re finished here. We need to get you to central processing.”
“Of course, officer, do your duty. I’m not going to stand in your way,” Sam said and stepped aside.
Heather’s jaw dropped but she didn’t speak. Even as Weld grabbed her by the arm, she stayed quiet. Her face, however, was lined with shock at her betrayal.
“No sir, I’m not going to obstruct the course of justice. As a State Senator, I know you can’t interfere with police going about their lawful duty,” Sam stated with a chirpy confidence.
Weld stopped pulling Heather out of the treatment area. “What did you say?”
“Oh, where are my manners? Having my Administrative Assistant and my cousin nearly murdered gets me all flustered. Let me introduce myself, I’m Senator Samuel Allerton. Sorry, I don’t have any numbers after my name. All I got is a degree in business and a seat chairing the public safety budget.” Sam extended his hand for a shake he knew he’s never receive.
“Fuck me!” Weld growled and let go of Heather’s arm. “You’re an ass! Why didn’t you speak up sooner? Make me go through all that shit. You know my balls are in a vice here. You’re screwing around playing head games with me and a detective is upstairs waiting to slap the cuffs on that other dyke as soon as she’s out of recovery. Chuckie is steaming over his kid getting floored by a lezzy.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed and his voice became dangerously deep. “You think he’s steamed? You ain’t seen nothing yet, buddy. You, Chuckles,” Sam pointed to the cop who laughed, “escort Heather to the waiting area. Anybody even thinks of detaining her will be out of a job and up on harassment charges so fast your badges will spin.”
Weld gave a sigh. “Senator, you want some good advise? Bullying us isn’t gonna fix your problem here. You need a big fucker to torpedo this.”
“Who?” Sam was willing to listen to all his options.
“Ed Rice,” the cop who laughed chimed in.
“Don’t be stupid,” the security guard interrupted. “You need Conway. He knows the Municipal Court House better than anybody.”
Weld disagreed. “True, but it could easily be moved to Superior Court and that is out of Conway’s league. Stick with Grover and Elles. They are the ones to get this finished before it hits the docket.”
Sam knew Weld was right. He also knew Grover and Elles were very expensive. He looked over to Heather. Her defeated expression showed she knew the lawyers being discussed could bankrupt her.
“Okay then, Heather,” Sam forced his voice to be cheery. “Chuckles is going to help you out to the lobby while Officer Weld and I go check on Coyote.”
“Sam,” Heather wanted to cry.
Sam smiled a little bigger and winked. “Please, go to the lobby. Rachael and Karla are waiting there. I know they’re supper worried. They’ll feel better once they see you’re up and walking around.”
“Oh Sam, Rachael shouldn’t be in the middle of this! The baby,” Heather blurted out.
“It’s okay, the baby’s gonna be fine,” Sam reassured her. “Now, go ahead with this man so I can go see Coyote.”
* * *
Sam was slightly delayed getting to Coyote’s bedside. It couldn’t be helped. He had to make a phone call if he was going to be able to keep Coyote at the hospital as merely a patient instead of at the hospital as a patient in police custody.
He strolled into her room even though every instinct was screaming at him to run. The police detective was peppering Coyote with questions. For her part, even hooked to IV’s and with tubes sneaking out from under her covers, Coyote presented a formidable challenge glaring at the woman with her unbandaged eye.
Sam noted the handcuff locking Coyote’s right wrist the bed rail. He tucked his anger away. It would not help him at the moment so he needed to move beyond it to deal with the situation. It was a strategy he got used to practicing after his mother died. An analyst once called it compartmentalization. Sam merely thought of it as avoidance.
“You can not be in here. This woman is being interrogated,” a dour female detective said pointedly.
Sam shook his head no. “You better not be interrogating her.”
“Really? What are you her lawyer?” The bleached blonde asked in a nasal tone.
“No, I’m her health care proxy. Her lawyer is parking his Lexus in the garage and will be up in a minute.”
“Sam?” Coyote’s voice was weak. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t say anything,” Sam cautioned her.
“Bad advice, bub!” The detective interjected. “This woman is in a heap of bad trouble and her only chance to cut a deal is talking to me right now. I walk out,” the woman flipped her notebook closed as she flipped her hair with a toss of her head, “and any hope of a plea comes off the table. I’m talking no bail, real time in Framingham, and no mercy for her co-hort.”
“Sam, Heather can’t,” Coyote said as the threat became clear in her medicated brain.
“SAY NOTHING!” A barrel chested man in a starched while shirt and pressed jeans barged into the room.
Sam rolled his eyes, “It’s about time.”
“FUCK!” The detective cursed. “You got fuckin’ Grover himself? Fuck this shit!”
Grover laughed. “Always a pleasant surprise to find you violating my clients’ right, Tricia. How’s the kids?”
She was grabbing her bag and headed for the door before answering. “She’s been arrested. The judge will be here in the morning to arraign her. You should have gotten here an hour ago to save me the paperwork. And, the kids are great. Oliver made the soccer team this year. Thank God, I don’t think my husband could have handled it if Oliver missed the cut again.”
“I hear you. My Richie didn’t get into honor physics and I thought Sheila was going to murder us all. So, want to make a bet my client isn’t arraigned tomorrow morning and all the paper on this attack disappears by noon?”
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole,” Tricia said. “Tell Sheila hi for me. We should have a barbeque or something but give me a couple of weeks to forgive you for screwing me over on this.”
“Great! Looking forward to it,” Grover said, slapping her on the back as she was exiting.
“What’s going on, Sam?” Coyote’s voice was quiet but urgent.
“Mr. Grover is your lawyer. He’s gonna take care of everything,” Sam reassured her and took her bound hand in his own. “Mr. Grover, can’t we get these off her?”
Grover stepped up to the bed and extended his hand to shake, first Sam’s and then Coyote’s. “Sorry, the jewelry is procedural. Once I get the charges cleared they’ll take them off. There won’t be an arraignment here and probably won’t be one at all. One of my associates is clearing up Ms. Trent’s involvement. She should be all set before noon.” He smiled as he pointed at Coyote. “Your issue will take me until dinner time to straighten out. You have a prior arrest and conviction. It makes my work a little harder. But, hey, that’s what you pay me for.”
“Sam?” Coyote sounded really worried now. “I haven’t got his kind of cash.”
Grover frowned deeply at the pair.
Sam stuttered a little before he was able to get his bearings. “It’s okay. Mr. Grover, I have the check for the initial consult in my pocket. I’ll have the rest of the retainer by tonight. I promise. Coyote, you just worry about getting well and helping Mr. Grover do his job, okay?”
Coyote squeezed Sam’s hand tight and whispered, “Where are you gonna get that kind of money, Sammy?”
Sam swallowed hard but managed to smile reassuringly. “I’ve got it covered. No problem.”
