A Shot in the Dark (Dark #1)

by J. G. Sumner

  Skyler rolled his eyes. “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I don’t need any stuffed animals anymore.”

  “You love that dog.”

  “Mom, I loved it as a kid. You love that dog.”

  “I suppose that could be right. I also brought you one more treat.” Rebecca pulled out a big rubber container and opened it up. “Your favorite double chocolate-chip cookies. I made them last night.” Rebecca looked over at Peyton. “Can he eat these yet?”

  Peyton looked at Skyler and saw his eagerness. “Let’s start off with one and see how he tolerates it. He really hasn’t had anything to eat except the tube feeding over the last couple of days. He’s been tolerating clear liquids and the cookies probably aren’t the best thing to start him on next. But I can see how badly you want one, Skyler, so I’ll let it slide this once. You have to promise that it’s only going to be one right now. We can give you more later.”

  “Yes!” Skyler grabbed a cookie out of the container and took a bite of it. He savored it before he slowly swallowed it. He grabbed the glass of water to help wash it down.

  “These are great. I think they’re the best cookies you’ve ever made.” He looked over at Peyton. “My throat is so dry. Is there any way I can get some milk?”

  Peyton smiled, “Now you’re pushing it! But I’ll see if I can get you some.”

  Rebecca offered Laney a cookie.

  “No, thank you. I see a certain guy who probably needs to eat every last morsel when he’s allowed.”

  Skyler popped the last piece of his cookie. “You hear that, Mom? That’s more for me! Pass them over.”

  “You heard what your nurse said. Just one for now.” Rebecca put the lid back on the container and put them on the counter in the corner.

  “Ah, Mom. Just one more?”

  “I’ve been in this room day and night for almost a week wondering if you were going to live. I am not going to do anything foolish now to jeopardize your health. You can be patient and wait until later.”

  Skyler put on a pouty face. “Yes, Mother.”

  “That’s not fair.” Rebecca shook her head as she turned toward Laney. “Thank you very much for all that you did for him. I don’t know if I could bear never seeing his pouty face again.” They both turned back to Skyler.

  The boy put his arms to his chest. “I am pretty irresistible.”

  “And modest too.” Rebecca laughed.

  “I’m just glad I had the opportunity to meet him.” Laney focused her attention on Skyler. “You gave your mom quite a scare. You may want to take a step back from the motorcycles for a while; if not for your own safety, then at least for your mom’s peace of mind.”

  “Well, I won’t be able to do anything until my legs start working. Any idea when that might happen?”

  “From what I understand, everything about your recovery has been a mystery. The fact that you are even alive is a miracle in itself. According to the CT scan, you have no spinal injury. So really, there is no reason why your legs shouldn’t be working.”

  “So, you have no clue when they will work again…if ever.”

  “No, I would say that depends on your own body. Your left arm wasn’t moving at all for a while and you have been able to start moving it even though it is broken. You have feeling in your legs, so I’d expect that the movement should be there anytime.”

  “Good, because I don’t want to have to sit down to pee forever.”

  “Oh, Skyler!” Rebecca looked horrified. “With everything you have been through, you are worried about peeing?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “I’m sure you’re aware, but boys at this age are really into their bodily functions, if you know what I mean,” Laney observed.

  “Yes, I know. When his friends come over, I get a good dose of it. I have to say, my house smells wonderful after they leave.” Rebecca’s sarcasm was not lost on Laney and she couldn’t help but smile. In that instant, Laney’s phone rang.

  “Trauma, this is Laney. Okay, I’ll be right there.” She disconnected and placed the phone back on her pant clip. “Well, folks, it’s that time of day. I have to get back to work.”

  “What do you have coming in?” Skyler asked eagerly.

  “Don’t ask her that!” Rebecca exclaimed. “You were just one of those patients.”

  Laney smiled. “It’s okay. It looks like it’s a motorcycle accident. Someone laid their bike down on the highway. Now, I’d love to stay and chat all day, but I have to get going. I’ll see the two of you soon. Good luck, Skyler. Get those legs moving, will you?”

  “I’m working on it!”

  “I know,” Laney said, waving as she walked out.

  ***

  Rebecca

  “I told you motorcycles are dangerous,” Rebecca scolded. “And who knows how many accidents they’ve had come in since you arrived?”

  “I know, I know.” Skyler smiled at Rebecca. “I could use that milk and some more cookies.”

  “You heard what the nurse said about you eating more cookies. Now just be patient.”

  Almost if on cue, Peyton walked in empty handed.

  “I have some bad news,” she said. “You can’t have the milk. In fact, you shouldn’t even have had that cookie. You are supposed to be going to the OR in just a few minutes to get your arm repaired. No food for you, mister!”

  “Oh, come on. One sip of milk won’t hurt. I just had a whole cookie.”

  “Yeah, an entire cookie that I’m now going to pump out of your stomach with the tube that is coming out through your nose.”

  Quickly, Peyton connected the tube to the suction device on the wall. “And just like that, I can see cookie particles being suctioned,” she told the boy.

  “I promise when you get back from surgery and you wake up, I will have a tray of those cookies waiting for you.”

  “I’m getting a raw deal! I haven’t had food for days. You ladies tempt me with cookies and milk, and then don’t give me any?”

  “You’re going to the OR in less than an hour. I think you can wait a little longer to eat. And really, you are lucky you are here with us at all.”

  “Geez, I was just kidding. No need to get worked up.”

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t think you realize how close we were to losing you.” Rebecca crossed her arms reflecting on those first crucial twenty-four hours.

  “I know. I’m sorry I worried you. I know just how to make it up to you.”

  Rebecca glanced down at Skyler.

  “I’m going to share one of my cookies with Peyton when I get out of surgery, they’re delicious. You should try one.”

  Rebecca shook her head. “How is that making it up to me?”

  “I’m sharing with my caregivers. Now you won’t have to go make more cookies for them.” Skyler winked at Rebecca.

  “You’re too much. I’m glad you’re back, son.” Rebecca leaned over and kissed Skyler’s forehead.

  Chapter 20

  Laney

  Laney entered the trauma room and walked over to the computer so that she could log herself in and maintain the chart on the patient when he got there. She looked up to find Josh watching her. Other members of the trauma team also began filing into the room. It was the same procedure every time. Laney knew the timing and who arrived when down to a tee.

  Josh approached her. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I just got back from seeing Skyler. He looks really good.”

  “I’m amazed at how well he’s doing.”

  “Did you talk to the detective?” She bit her lip, afraid of what Josh was going to say.

  “Yeah, but let’s wait until we get this patient taken care of. I don’t want to talk about it here.” He put his hand on her shoulder.

  She tried to smile but held back the tears. Everyone scrambled as the trauma was rolled in on the gurney and Laney focused on the task at hand.

  “What have we got, boys?” Josh asked as the medics offloaded the patient on the trauma gurney.
r />   The senior medic was the first to respond. “This is a twenty-seven-year-old male who was driving on his motorcycle approximately one hundred miles per hour down the highway. Witnesses report him weaving in and out of traffic when he was clipped by a car changing lanes. He went down on his bike and slid about thirty feet. He was helmeted and wearing protective gear. He was awake and oriented upon our arrival and his only complaint is his left ankle. It’s tender with some significant swelling but no deformity. All his vital signs are stable. His blood pressure is one twenty-four over fifty-six, heart rate eighty-five, respiration’s sixteen, and oxygen stat on room air is ninety-eight percent. We put him on three liters of oxygen via nasal cannula, placed him in c-spine, started at sixteen-gauge IV in his left antecubital, and we splinted his left ankle. There was no further treatment required.”

  “Thanks, guys. Good job.”

  “You’re welcome.” The same medic who gave the report leaned over the patient. “Good luck, man. And try to slow down out there. You may not be so lucky next time.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

  The medics rolled their gurney out of the trauma room.

  Josh went to the patient’s head and pressed on the back of his neck. “Does this hurt?”

  “No, sir.”

  “How about here?” Josh pushed a little further down the neck.

  “No, sir.”

  “No, sir? Are you a soldier?”

  “Marine, sir.”

  “I see. Just out of curiosity, what made you think it was okay to drive that fast?” Josh continued assessing the patient.

  “Sir, I wasn’t paying attention to how fast I was driving. I was enjoying the feel of the motorcycle and the freedom of the road.”

  “You know that you could have died on that road?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, based on my examination, it doesn’t seem like you have any significant injuries. However, we’re going to get an X-ray of your ankle and a CT scan of your belly to make sure you don’t have any internal injuries. If everything goes all right, you may be able to go home this evening.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  “How much trouble are you going to be in with your commanding officer?”

  “Probably a lot, sir.”

  “Well, I suggest you start keeping track of the speed you are traveling next time.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Josh turned to Laney. “Can you please get a complete left ankle X-ray and a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis?”

  “Sure, right away.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be back shortly to check on him.”

  Josh walked out of the trauma room followed by several other staff members. The X-ray crew placed a board under the patient’s leg and shot several films. When they were done, Laney approached the patient.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Cameron.”

  “Cameron, on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, what is your pain at right now?”

  “It’s about a six.”

  “Would you like some pain medication?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Do you have any allergies?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Good. I’m going to give you a little morphine through this IV over here. You should start feeling better in about ten minutes.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “No problem, but please call me Laney.”

  Laney removed the medication out of the Pyxis machine and injected it through Cameron’s IV. It was surprising how much more personable Josh seemed to be now that they were dating. It seemed like they had been friends forever when they were at work. They had always worked well together, but now, he was more patient with her and there seemed to be just something sweet about him. Had he always been that way and she had just now noticed it, or was he really the jerk she thought he was before?

  “Laney, I think I’m going to throw up.”

  Laney grabbed an emesis basin and gave it to Cameron.

  “Sometimes the morphine can make you feel really nauseated. I’m going to give you another medication to stop it.”

  “Thank you, ma’am—I mean, Laney.”

  “No problem.” She injected the medication into the IV. “Let me know when you are feeling better, and we’ll take you to get that CT.”

  Laney got caught up on her charting while waiting for the medication to take effect

  “Feeling better yet?”

  “Yeah. I think I can handle the move.”

  “Awesome. Let’s get you going.” Laney put the side rails up on the gurney, unlocked the brakes, and made her way down the hall to the CT scanner. When they got Cameron situated, Laney went into the closed room that protected her from the radiation. Josh came in through the side door and watched the CT with her.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s doing well. He had a bout of nausea, but I gave him some Zofran and he seems to be doing better.”

  “Great. So, my feeling is he has relatively no injuries. I looked at the X-ray and his ankle is just sprained. Assuming that his CT is negative, we’ll monitor him in the emergency room for a bit and then send him home.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Yeah, he is one lucky guy. Stupid, but lucky.”

  “I can’t believe he was going that fast.”

  “Yeah, another idiot endangering the lives of himself and others makes it to see another day.”

  “You’re such an ass sometimes.”

  “Perhaps. Or maybe I’m just a realist. I’ve just seen too many of these idiots take the lives of innocent people and I’m just a bit jaded now.”

  “I think it is probably the latter. But I think it comes with the territory.”

  “I hate to interrupt, but I believe we’re finished here. Would you like to take a look at the scan?” The CT tech turned toward Josh and motioned for him to look at the monitor as she scrolled through several of the images.

  “Nothing is really standing out. It looks like he’s all clear. Laney, if you could put a splint on him and then turn him over to the emergency department that would be great. I’m going to give the ED doc a heads up on what has been going on.”

  “Sounds good.” She opened the door to go get Cameron back onto the gurney.

  “When’s your next break?” Josh asked.

  Laney looked at her watch. “I can probably take one after I am done getting him situated.”

  “That won’t work. I have to take Skyler into surgery. How about this afternoon?”

  “I can take a late lunch. Say two-thirty?”

  “That’ll work. But if you get too hungry, please go eat lunch. I can catch up with you later.”

  “Okay, I’ll take my first break a bit later to hold me over. I’m not really hungry anyway.”

  “I’ll come and find you once I get out of surgery.”

  Laney helped Cameron get back onto the gurney.

  “You lucked out. No injuries to your stomach or pelvic region. You just have a sprained ankle.”

  Cameron looked relieved. “That’s awesome. When do I get to go home?”

  “We’re going to monitor you for a couple of hours and then probably release you after that. Do you have someone who can pick you up?”

  “I can call a buddy of mine. Do you have my cell phone?”

  “It’s back in the trauma room. I can give it to you when we get back there.”

  Laney moved Cameron back down the hall toward the trauma room. Officer Miller was standing in the doorway.

  “Fancy seeing you here,” Laney said with a smile.

  “Is this our motorcycle accident?” Officer Miller gestured toward Cameron.

  “That would be him.”

  “Mind if I talk to him?”

  “Nope, he’s all clear. I just need to put on a splint. So if you don’t mind me doing that while you’re talking, then he’s all yours.”

  “Works for me. Thank you.”


  She pushed the gurney into the trauma room and once positioned, put on the brakes.

  “Cameron Johnson?”

  “Yes, that’s me, sir.”

  “Can you tell me what happened out there today?”

  Cameron went through his story of how he was joy riding. When he was finished, Officer Miller scribbled on his pad, tore off the page, and handed it to the patient.

  “Unfortunately, son, I have to issue a citation for reckless driving. You were going forty-five miles per hour over the speed limit, and you endangered your life and those around you. You will need to go to court for this citation. You will be mailed a court date. Son, I hope you have learned something from this. You got lucky this time. You didn’t get hurt or hurt anyone else. Don’t do it again.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m sure you will get an earful from your commanding officer. So I don’t need to say much more.”

  “Yes I will, sir.”

  Officer Miller walked toward the door before looking back. “Laney, do you have a minute?”

  “Sure.” She finished securing the splint onto Cameron’s leg, pulled her gloves off, and walked over to him. “What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to see if you were able to contact my friend at the San Diego Police Department.”

  “Yeah, I did. He seems like a really nice guy.”

  “He’s one of the good ones. I assume he took a report.”

  “Yes, he was very thorough. I was staying at my friend’s house and he was nice enough to come out there, take the report, and take the letters into evidence.”

  “Any more incidents since he got involved?”

  “Yes, actually. There was one last night while I was staying at Josh’s house. The guy apparently followed me there and left a note on his doorstep.”

  “Did you call Ed?”

  “Josh was doing that this morning. I haven’t heard what happened. I was going to talk with him in a bit.”

  “I see. You still have no idea who is doing this?”

  “None. It’s very disturbing, though.”

  “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to call me.”