******
Phyl glanced down at her watch and saw that it was now four thirty in the morning, and suppressed a yawn, as she listened to Thad answer what she hoped was the last question from the officer. She was anxious to see Jonathan and let him know that his parents were on their way. But, she wondered, would his parents be in danger as well? They hadn't seemed the least bit concerned the day they had spent with them, but things had changed, and she hoped they could get the lawyer to start the ball rolling, and they could get home safely, taking Jonathan with them as well.
"That is all we need from you, Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher." Officer Williams slid the papers into the manila envelope and sealed it. "You may see your friend now, and after you are finished, we will escort you to your hotel, and monitor the area. You will also be escorted to the airport for your flight to Nassau in the morning."
"Thank you." Phyl stood and shook the officer's hand. Thad followed suit, and they turned and clasped each others' hand and headed toward the hallway.
"That was excruciating, but necessary, I guess." Phyl glanced up at her husband and sighed. "Well, let's see if we can get in to see him."
"I wonder if Scott and Leah have made it over." Thad yawned and shook his head. "There's been enough time for a flight here, if they were able to get one at that hour."
"That's true." She sighed again. "There's no way to contact them, so I guess we'll just have to leave, even if they're not here."
"I have no qualms about that." Thad looked down at her. "Everything is settled here. We're going home." He squeezed her hand warmly, and she nodded up at him, as they neared the desk at the end of the hall. The nurse at the desk looked up at them expectantly, then past them, and they turned and saw that Officer Smith was walking up behind them.
"They can go in to see Jonathan Martin now, if he's able to have visitors." Officer Smith smiled at the nurse, then turned to the couple. "I will be taking the first shift."
"Certainly." The nurse flipped through some papers and removed her reading glasses, peering up at them. "He's in Room 405 now." She smiled dismissively, reset her glasses, and returned to her paperwork.
"I'll go up with you." Officer Smith turned and held his arm out and the trio retraced their steps back to the elevator, taking the short ride up to the fourth floor. They all peered around as they exited the elevator, and again, the officer extended his arm in the direction of Jonathan's room. They walked down the gleaming hallway, and Phyl let her eyes roam along the huge windows to their left, and the large, nondescript paintings on the walls to their right as they neared the nurses' station. Thad scratched his beard as the officer leaned toward the young nurse, who looked up expectantly.
"We're here to see Jonathan Martin." Officer Smith smiled at the nurse. "I will be stationed in front of his room, as I'm sure you've been notified."
"Yes sir." The nurse nodded. "We've been informed of the situation." She studied each of them in turn. "Please do not try to wake him. He's still under sedation and will not be aware of your presence."
"How is he?" Phyl's voice was low, and Thad squeezed her hand softly.
"He's doing very well." The nurse stood up. "Please limit your visit to fifteen minutes."
The trio turned, then Phyl remembered something and swung back toward the nurse. "Have you heard from his parents, by any chance? They were on their way here by plane from Nassau."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we received a call a few minutes ago from them." The nurse clasped her hands. "They had just landed at the airport and should be on their way to the hospital."
"Oh, that's good." Phyl exhaled. Now she wouldn't feel so bad leaving. She was so very anxious to get home. She turned and the group resumed their walk to Jonathan's room.
"Here it is." Officer Smith stopped at the room. "I will go in with you for a moment, then get myself positioned outside the door." He pushed open the wide door for them to enter the darkened room.
Phyl let go of Thad's hand, and the officer hung back, as she walked slowly toward the bed. She stood looking down at Jonathan, lying so still, with his shoulder bandaged, and the mass of tubes that seemed to go in every direction possible from his bed to the two machines whirring softly beside it. She stared at his face, noticing how pale he was - the oxygen tube stretched across his upper lip - his eyes shut, mouth slightly open. She turned at the sound of the door opening and saw that Officer Smith had left, and she nodded to Thad, who came up to stand beside her.
"He looks pretty good, considering." Thad offered in a deep whisper.
"I'm so glad you saved him, Thad." Phyl grabbed his hand and he squeezed it softly. "Suppose we hadn't found him. He might not be alive now." They stood together at the side of the bed for a few minutes more, then upon hearing familiar voices outside the room, turned and left.
"Phyl, Thad! Thank you...oh, thank you." Leah grabbed each of their shoulders as they exited the room, then she gave Thad a huge hug, holding her hand across her mouth in horror after pulling back and seeing her son's blood on his clothes. She quickly regained her composure, turning to hug Phyl. "We are so grateful to you both."
"I'm glad that we were there at the right time." Thad kept his voice low as he received a hug from Scott as well. Jonathan's father pulled back and shook his hand, tears in his eyes.
"We can't thank you enough." Scott continued to hold Thad's hand in both of his. "You two need to leave all this behind now, and head home." He turned to hug Phyl. "You've done so much, we can never repay you."
"We're just glad Jonathan is all right," Phyl gazed seriously at both of them. "I'm so glad you were able to get here so quickly, but we worry about your safety as well."
"We were lucky enough to find a small plane available on short notice." Leah held a tissue to her eyes. "We'll be fine, don't worry about us." She hugged Phyl again. "Take care. Let us know when you get home. We'll be here until he's released and can travel."
Phyl knew that Leah was anxious to see her son, so she and Thad bid their farewells, thanked the officer, who told them that an unmarked blue car was waiting for them in front of the hospital, and they headed toward the elevator.
"I can't even tell you how relieved I am that we are out of here." Thad exhaled loudly, and Phyl squeezed her husband's hand in agreement. However, their relief was cut short by the sight of Officer Williams heading toward them, a stern look on his face. "Why do I think we're about to get some bad news." Thad muttered.
They stopped as Officer Williams approached them.
"I'm sorry, but I've just received a message from Sergeant Dawes." He looked at both of them with a tinge of sympathy. "He wants you to come to the station and talk to him again, as well as make a positive identification of the suspect." His words were met by sighs.
"I guess we have no choice." Phyl looked up at Thad. They were both exhausted to the point of collapse in her opinion. Thad nodded at the officer and the three of them took the flight down to the first floor and he escorted them to the curved portico at the front of the hospital.
A blue car was parked out front as the officer had said, and they entered the back, totally spent, but at the same time anxious to have this all behind them. Officer Williams shut the car door and waved at the driver, who, after returning the acknowledgement, turned back and smiled at them. He turned on the engine and maneuvered the car away from the hospital toward police headquarters.
The next two hours seemed to drag by and Phyl was sure that she could not sign another paper. She just couldn't hold the pen any longer. Cups of strong, black coffee were delivered to them as they prepared to leave the headquarters.
"Thank you." Phyl sipped the coffee gratefully. They only had a short time before their flight and to say that they both were anxious was an understatement.
A Pale Paradise Page 19