A Shot in the Dark (Dark #1) Read online

  She continued cleaning up all of the trash and equipment that she didn’t get to before. As she did, she noticed Skyler’s clothes and helmet scattered on the floor.

  “Darn that tech,” she muttered to herself. “They never get all of the belongings together.”

  She picked up Skyler’s things and placed them in a belongings bag. Reaching for the helmet, she noticed several scratches and a crack down the left side. Lucky he had this helmet on. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have even made it to the ER.

  She proceeded to pick up the pieces of the riding shirt that had been cut off Skyler’s body. It had long sleeves with built-in pads, with red-and-blue sleeves and a white logo in the middle of it. It seems all the kids are coming in these days with Foxx riding gear. It must be the cool clothing.

  She picked up the pants and noticed they were also padded in the bottom and in the legs. She reached in the pocket to check for any other items. There was some loose change and keys, one of which was a car key and a couple of others appeared to be house keys. She continued to dig in the pocket and pulled out a pack of spearmint gum and a business card.

  Laney flipped the business card and studied the front.

  Curt Dillon

  Sports Master

  Handling all of your sporting needs

  Call for sponsorship opportunities

  And there was a phone number.

  What the heck? Was the kid so good he was trying to get sponsored? How tragic would it be that he’d worked this hard, only to crash and die before he made it as a professional rider? And really, he was only seventeen years old.

  Ugh, this is definitely the worst part of my job.

  She picked up Skyler’s riding boots, socks, and gloves, placing all of them into the belongings bag. Then she took a long look around the room, searching for anything else that might be his. Now, she needed to get the room stocked in case another patient came in. After that, she could take the bag to Rebecca.

  She stocked the IV supplies, making sure that each gauge of needle was available. Knowing that Skyler was intubated, she restocked the endotracheal tubes, wiped down the equipment, the ventilator, the heart monitor and wires, the gurney, and the computer. When she finished, she took another quick look around the room.

  As she turned to return the items to Rebecca, Laney bumped into a police officer with a North County police uniform.

  “Sorry! I’m such a klutz.”

  “Hey, Laney! I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?”

  Laney regained her composure. It was Stephen Miller, an officer who was often in the ER following up on cases. “My fault, I wasn’t watching where I was going. What’s going on?”

  “Did you happen to take care of the kid on the motorcycle out at Pala?” he asked.

  “Yes, I did. Is there something I can help you with?” she asked, her guard up. The police often asked questions and looked for medical information she was not allowed to give because of privacy laws.

  “Can you tell me where I can find the young man who came in from the accident? I assumed he was in the trauma room, but he’s not there.”

  As always, there was a part of her who admired him. He was strikingly handsome with blond hair, brown eyes, a great tan, about six-foot three, and a smile that could melt even the most hardened soul. He looks like a Ken doll.

  “Laney? Is everything all right?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. He’s actually in the operating room right now.”

  “So his injuries are bad?”

  “Yes, they’re pretty significant. He may not make it.”

  “Wow! Really?”

  “Yeah, I wish that I could talk about it. But you know those darn HIPPA laws. Needless to say, it’s going to be a rough recovery.”

  “That’s awful. Does he have any family here I can speak with?”

  “His mom is here. She’s in the OR waiting room. I was just getting ready to go that way. I can take you there if you’d like.”

  She grabbed Skyler’s bag of belongings and turned back toward the police officer.

  Even though she had encountered him numerous times, Laney couldn’t stop herself from checking out Officer Miller every chance she got. Although she tried not to make it too obvious, she had a feeling that he was aware.

  Laney motioned Stephen to follow her down the hall.

  “Are you guys busy today?”

  “It’s not too bad,” Laney responded quietly. “This is our first trauma of the day.”

  It dawned on her the police usually didn’t come to the ER unless there was an investigation or crime.

  “Stephen?” Laney stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked into his deep brown eyes.

  “Forgive me for asking, but what are you doing here?”

  “Excuse me?” Stephen’s eyebrows shot up.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think that came out right. Usually when the police come to our department there’s an investigation. Didn’t this kid just fall off his motorcycle during a jump?”

  “You’re correct. However, there are definitely some concerns we have.”

  “I see. Any ideas what may have caused the accident?”

  “It’s too early to say. It could have been as simple as a mechanical failure, or someone may have tampered with his bike. That’s what I’m here to find out.”

  “Why would someone do that?”

  “This was a pretty important race that this kid was in,” Miller explained. “There were several sponsors out there looking for the next big thing. My understanding is that Skyler was up and coming and was expected to be sponsored if he did well. Someone may have not wanted him to get that for whatever reason.”

  “I didn’t realize the sport was so competitive that someone would sabotage a rider. I can’t even imagine the things you see in your job.”

  They continued until they reached the end of the hallway, where the elevators were located. They stepped inside the next available one.

  Stephen looked at her. “So how are things going with you?”

  “I’m good. I’ve been busy working. You know how it is.”

  The elevator opened to the third floor. Stephen held the doors open. “After you.”

  “Thank you,” Laney replied. “The waiting room is this way.” She motioned down the hall, trying to take her mind off just how hot Stephen was, and the awkward silence that seemed to be looming.

  She decided to engage in some small talk. “What got you into law enforcement?”

  “When I was in my early teens I got mixed up with the wrong crowd. My mom was single and worked two jobs with long hours. My dad wasn’t in the picture. So I had time on my hands.”

  “So what was your turning point?”

  “I had a neighbor who was a police officer. One day, my friends and I decided that it would be funny to break into his car and turn on all of the lights and sirens. I had progressed into busting locks on cars and stealing stuff. So my friends thought I was the perfect one to get inside the police car. My friends were supposed to be looking out for me. Just as I popped the lock, the officer ran out and my buddies had vanished. He said he wouldn’t report me if I volunteered for their junior police program and spent my afternoons at the police station helping out.

  “For the next couple of years, I was down there every day. The last thing I wanted was for my mom to find out what I had done. After that, I just kind of felt it was my calling to give back to my community.”

  Laney and Stephen paused at a large sign that read, ‘OR Family Room.’

  “I was incredibly lucky. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Someone was looking out for me.”

  “Do you ever talk to him?”

  “Unfortunately, he was shot and killed in the line of duty a few years back.”

  Laney put a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

  Stephen shifted. “I vowed to follow in his footsteps. I now run the Junior Police program.”

  Laney turned toward the waiting
room door. “I enjoyed hearing your story, but here’s the OR family consultation room.”

  Stephen gave her a heartwarming smile that made Laney a little weak in the knees. “Yeah, I kind of figured as much.”

  She opened the door to the OR family room and looked around. The lighting in the room was dim and the walls were painted a soft pink. Several chairs were placed throughout the room to provide maximum seating space for visitors. A water cooler in the corner clunked as the air adjusted in the large bottle.

  “This’ll give you a private place to talk. I’ll go get Rebecca.” As Laney ushered Stephen into the room, she noticed Rebecca already sitting by herself with head down and a box of Kleenex in her lap.

  “Rebecca?” Laney called gently.

  Rebecca lifted her head. Her eyes were red and puffy.

  “I thought you’d still be in the family waiting room.”

  “I was, but I wanted something a little more private. Everyone kept staring at me and asking if I was okay. So one of the volunteers suggested this room.”

  “I’m glad she was able to help you. I was getting ready to come get you anyway.”

  Laney motioned to Stephen. “This is Officer Miller. He has some questions to ask you.”

  Stephen looked down at his paperwork, seeking out Skyler’s last name. “Hello—Mrs. Smith?”

  “Call me Rebecca.”

  Stephen took a seat across from her while Laney sat down next to her.

  “Rebecca, I have a few questions for you.”

  Before anyone could say anything else, they turned their heads toward the figure in the doorway.

  Dr. Stone was standing in his green scrubs and matching hat, a lab coat slipped on. His face was solemn. Laney recognized that look. It was an expression that said there was no good news to share.

  Chapter 5

  Josh

  Laney gazed at the fragile woman sitting next to her.

  “This is Dr. Stone. He’s the trauma surgeon who has been taking care of Skyler. This is Rebecca Smith, Skyler’s mother.”

  Josh made his way toward Rebecca, making eye contact as he took the empty seat next to her.

  “How’s my baby doing? Is he okay? Is he going to make it?” Rebecca looked down at her hands that were tearing apart a damp tissue and holding on to it for dear life. Tears began flowing down her cheeks again.

  “Rebecca, I’m so sorry…”

  Her tears turned into sobs. “Oh no! This can’t be happening!” Rebecca buried her head into Laney’s shoulder.

  Josh shifted in his seat. “Skyler made it through surgery.”

  Laney shot him a glare that could kill. Jesus, what did I do to piss her off?

  Rebecca stared at Josh. “Do you mean he’s still alive?”

  “Yes, he is. We performed CPR several times. The last time was for about twenty-five minutes. When we took him to get scanned, we found he had an aortic tear and he was bleeding out quickly. We had to rush him to the operating room for any chance to save him.” Josh glanced up at Laney and saw she was still glaring at him. Okay, so maybe he didn’t start that conversation off right.

  Normally he was really good at talking to families, but being on call for so many hours and then performing a lengthy surgery made him forget his usual social grace. Laney wasn’t his biggest fan, but he wanted her to know how much he really did appreciate everything she had done to help Skyler. She was the only nurse who could’ve pulled off what she did.

  Josh looked at Laney and gave her a nod and a smile to indicate a job well done. He continued. “Skyler was losing a lot of blood. We took him right to the operating room and opened up his chest. I was able to sew up the tear and stop the bleeding. He needed a lot of blood to replace what he lost—approximately fifty units. In addition, he has a broken collarbone and numerous fractures in his humerus bone. The humerus is one of the bones in the upper arm.” Josh pointed to the location on his own arm.

  “He’ll need surgery down the road to fix his arm. However, he’s too unstable right now to worry about it.”

  “Is he going to be okay?” Rebecca asked hesitantly.

  “Like I said, we did CPR for a long time. And he lost a lot of blood. It’s hard to say how much perfusion, or blood, went to his brain. Ultimately, that’s going to be the difference of him waking up or not. Unfortunately, he hasn’t woken up yet on his own. We have placed him in a medically induced coma to protect his brain from further stimulation. For now, he’s stable but in critical condition. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are going to tell us a lot.”

  “Oh my God. This sounds so awful. How could this have happened? He had all of the necessary safety equipment. I made sure of it,” Rebecca protested.

  “First, let me say that none of this is anything you could have prevented. The only way to make sure this didn’t happen was for him to not have gotten on that bike at all. But he did. I’m not sure of the specifics behind the accident. However, if he flew off his bike, there could have been a traumatic shearing force that would’ve caused the aorta to tear.”

  “Why did I let him on that bike? I knew it was too dangerous. He just loved it so much that I hated to take that away from him.” Rebecca grabbed another tissue and blew her nose.

  “There’s some good news. We did perform a CT on his brain. Fortunately, there’s no bleeding. My guess is because he was wearing a helmet and did not take a direct impact on his head. He most likely will only suffer from a concussion from the accident. Assuming there is not an anoxic injury from a lack of oxygen during CPR, he may return to his normal state.”

  “Thank goodness for tiny miracles.” Rebecca squeezed Laney’s hand, put her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes.

  Josh continued. “Because of everything he’s been through today, we’re going to need to rest his body. At this time, he’s on a breathing machine. We’re going to keep him in a medically induced coma for the next twenty-four hours to give his body a chance to stabilize and heal. If everything looks good tomorrow, we’ll try to wake him up.”

  “What if he doesn’t wake up?”

  Josh couldn’t help but notice how Laney squeezed Rebecca’s hand and looked over at the policeman, who was busily jotting down the information on his notepad. I wonder what he thinks about all of this.

  “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. We need to be grateful that he made it through surgery and focus on the next twenty-four hours. This is the tough part.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “He should be on his way to the ICU. It’ll take them about an hour to get him settled in his room. At that time, you’ll be able to go see him. It’s really important you be as quiet as possible while you’re at his bedside. We need to make sure there’s very little stimulation in his room. Any noise can cause his heart rate to increase and that can rupture the aorta and ultimately cause death.”

  A brief smile fluttered across Rebecca’s face. “I promise, Doctor. Thank you so much for all you’ve done to save my son. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you. You’re truly a gift from God.”

  Josh stood up, with Rebecca following. He took her hand. “I appreciate your kind words. However, this young lady here was instrumental in getting Skyler to the OR. She was valiant with her CPR efforts.”

  Rebecca and Josh looked over at Laney. As he smiled at Laney, her cheeks begin to turn a rosy shade of red. Rebecca turned back to Josh. “She’s been an angel. She’s been by my side since I’ve arrived. You’re all so great here.”

  Laney smiled at Rebecca and offered to take her to the ICU waiting room.

  “If you don’t have any other questions, I’d like to go check on Skyler and make sure everything is going smoothly in the ICU,” Josh said.

  “Thank you for your time, Doctor. Please let Skyler know that I love him.”

  “I’ll do that.” Josh reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my office number if you need anything. They can page me i
f you have any questions. I’ll also touch base with you daily and give updates on his status.” Rebecca took the card and shook Josh’s hand. “If you need anything else, please let me know.”

  “Thank you so much. You’re too kind.”

  Josh turned to leave the room when Officer Miller stood up. “Excuse me, Doctor. Could I have a word with you? I just have some questions about this case.”

  Josh looked at Rebecca and then back toward the policeman. “I’m sorry, but it’s against HIPPA regulations for me to discuss this case without permission from the patient’s guardian unless you have a court order.”

  Rebecca looked at Dr. Stone. “It’s all right with me if you talk with him. I’d like to find out what happened.”

  Josh nodded at Rebecca and turned toward the officer. “Can we talk and walk? I really need to get up to the ICU and check on Skyler.”

  “Sure, that’s fine with me.” Miller looked back at Rebecca. “Is it all right if I talk with you after I’m done with the good doctor here?”

  Rebecca nodded. “Of course. I won’t be leaving here anytime soon.”

  “Thanks. I’ll catch up with you in a little bit then.”

  Miller followed Josh and headed out of the waiting room.

  “Officer, how can I help you?” Josh hated cops. Every time there was a trauma, it seemed there was a cop investigating how the trauma happened. More often than not, they interfered with his work.

  “I wanted to make sure that I had all of Mr. Smith’s injuries correct. He had an aortic tear, a fractured clavicle, a concussion, and you mentioned several broken areas in his humerus. Is this correct?”

  “Yes, those are all of the injuries that I’ve found up to this point.”

  “You also mentioned that you felt that the aortic tear could be from a shearing force. Do you feel it was the actual cause?”