Page 53 of Just Curious

Casey didn’t answer. Phillipe thought he could hear him crying on the other end of the line. He asked softly, “Shall I call Mr. Mitchell, or do you want to?”

“Um… I’ll do it. Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything?”

“Well, they’re hauling her up over the edge of the cliff now on a stretcher, so I guess that’s good news. I’ll find out what they’re planning to do with her if you want to hold on a second.” There was even more blood than he’d thought. This was definitely bad.

“Yes, please,” Casey said in a strangled voice.

A moment went by as Phillipe conferred with the firemen, and he watched as they loaded Willa into the waiting ambulance. He still thought she looked more dead than alive, but he certainly didn’t want to report that to Casey.

Casey could hear the sounds of a conversation, but there was so much extraneous noise and hollering, it was impossible to understand the words. Finally, Phillipe returned to the phone and reported, “They’re taking her to the ER at Scripps Memorial. I gave them her name and address, but I don’t know anything else to tell them like her birthdate or social security number. They said the hospital may be able to access her medical records with just her name though. Anyway, I’ll be right behind them and see if I can find out anything before you get there. How far away are you?”

“Oh, maybe another fifteen minutes or so from the hospital. We’ll see you there. Thanks, Phillipe, for everything, and please, call us by our first names from now on.”

“Yes sir. Um, Casey. I need to go now.”

Casey and Jackson arrived within seconds of each other and met in the parking lot. After wordlessly giving each other a bolstering hug, they entered the ER. They found Phillipe pacing around the waiting room looking pale and shell-shocked. The poor guy was shaking.

“Oh, there you are,” he sighed. “They won’t tell me anything other than they’re running tests. I’m not her family, and they have all these laws about privacy. I’m so sorry I can’t give you more information. They did say they’d come back with an update as soon as they can though—like if they’re admitting her or whatever.” Then he scoffed, “Like she’s in any condition to go home.” He shook his head sadly.

Miles arrived then after parking the rental car, greeted Casey somberly, and met Phillipe for the first time. He told everyone, “I’m not sure it’s my place to be here right now. I’m going to give you all some space and track down something to eat. I hope this isn’t insensitive, but I ate breakfast at five this morning and haven’t had anything since. I’ll come back and find you soon. I hope Willa’s okay.” He hugged his brother and went off to find a cafeteria.

Just then, a couple of police officers arrived. One of them was the woman Phillipe had spoken to at the accident site. She made a beeline to Phillipe and said, “Excellent work back there, sir. I don’t always endorse the idea of private citizens becoming involved, but you probably saved that woman’s life by finding her so quickly.”

Casey and Jackson both blinked at Phillipe, and he explained briefly and humbly what had happened.

“I guess that explains the cuts and scratches,” Jackson pointed out. “We can’t thank you enough, Phillipe.”

Casey gave his chef a bro hug, clapping him on the back and whispering, “Thanks, man.”

The other officer addressed Casey and Jackson then and said, “One of you is the owner of the car and the one who called in the emergency?”

“I did. It’s my car,” answered Jackson.

They had a lot of questions for Jackson, so they all found seats and tried to relax. After grilling him for about an hour about his suspicions regarding the hacker who’d taken control of the car, and his relationship to the suspected perpetrator, a tired-looking nurse marched into the waiting room.

Looking around, she called out, “Is there a Casey Jackson here? Or a Jackson Casey?”

The two men jumped to their feet and grabbed for each other’s hand.

“That’s us. I mean we’re Casey and Jackson. How’s Willa?” Jackson demanded.

“She’s semi-conscious off and on, and she keeps repeating Casey and Jackson, so we assumed that was one person. Are you family?” she asked.

“Boyfriends,” Casey explained.

Looking at their clasped hands, the nurse rolled her eyes and clarified in a bored tone that clearly expressed that she thought he was thick in the head, “I mean your relationship to Ms. Camden.”

Looking her straight in the eye, Jackson enunciated clearly, “We are her boyfriends. She lives with us. We’re her only family.”

“Okay, well whatever. She seems to want to see you, so follow me if you’re done here.” She looked pointedly at the police. They stood up and said they’d be in touch again if they needed more information. It was obvious the two men needed to see Willanow.

“Charming woman,” the policewoman whispered to her partner as Jackson and Casey made their way out of the waiting room.

At the last minute before the door closed, Casey swung around and said, “Come on, Philippe!”

Phillipe stood a little straighter and thanked the police officers, then quickly followed the others down the hall.

All three of them finally looked cautiously optimistic. At least Willa had saidsomething.

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