Page 74 of After Midnight

“Hello, Mr. Galbraith?” the voice asked as we held our collective breath.

“Yes, it is. May I help you?”

“Yes, sir, this is Fran at Denver Health’s Emergency Department. The police brought in your godson, Dominic Lawson, and we understand you are his emergency contact. Can you come down to the hospital and fill out some paperwork for us?”

“Oh my God, yes, of course. Is he okay?” Jeffrey asked, sounding both relieved and panicked. It was no use trying to get any medical details from the receptionist, though.

After Jeffrey confirmed he’d be there soon and ended the call, we all jumped up ready to tear through the front door.

“You all go. I’ll stay with the girls until I hear from you,” Miss Rita said. “But you call me the moment you find out about him. Not one second after you see him, you hear me.”

Ashton pulled his sister into a hug and through his own tears, said, “I’ll call you the instant I know anything, okay?”

She nodded, buried her face in her brother’s shoulder for a moment longer, then let him go and all but shoved us out of the house.

I rode to the hospital with my dads, and Jeffrey and Ashton went together. I bit my nails, a nervous old habit, as we got closer. The moment we parked near the ER, I jumped out of the car and ran, not even waiting for my dads. Jeffrey and Ashton had arrived a minute earlier and beat me to the front desk. Just as I reached them, a woman holding a clipboard approached Jeffrey. “Mr. Galbraith?” When he nodded, she said, “If you could please come with me, I have some paperwork for you to fill out regarding Mr. Lawson.”

My fathers joined our small group then, just the detective who’d been our hostage negotiator walked over. I hadn’t noticed him in the waiting room. “We need to speak with Mr. Galbraith first. The patient is a crucial witness to an ongoing police investigation,” he said, and led us all into a small office behind the ER front desk.

“A doctor will fill you in on all the details about Mr. Lawson’s condition, but I wanted to share with you what I know because the ER is considerably backed up tonight. It might be a while before you talk to his doctor or actually get back to see him. He’s suffered a concussion, probably dating back to the night of the kidnapping, and he’s receiving IV fluids because of dehydration. But for the most part, he appears to be okay, physically.”

“Physically?” I asked.

“He’s also a bit traumatized, but I can’t go into detail on that. There are privacy rules to consider, and the active investigation. I will say, though, if Mr. Lawson has a therapist, best call them.”

“Did you find that horrible woman?” Miss Rita’s voice filled the little office space and we all turned to see Ashton holding up his phone. Apparently, he had his sister on speakerphone.

The detective let a small smile cross his face when he heard the voice. Anyone who knew her understood Miss Rita was the leader of our gang, even when she wasn’t there.

Then he grew more serious, and he said, “We found her.”

“Good, now we need to get her put away for life,” Miss Rita said matter-of-factly.

The detective shook his head. “She’s not going to pose any more problems for your family.” When we all look perplexed, he added, “Ms. Raven Dames, the woman you know as Margarette Shipley, is deceased.”

We were all stunned to silence for several beats, even Miss Rita. “How?” I asked, and realized I was the only person here who probably cared enough to ask. Not that I really cared, after all she’d done, but it felt like we all had a right to know. Certainly, Dominic did

“We believe Ms. Dames was involved in some sketchy activity, if the people we suspect killed her are any indication. She could’ve been involved with any number of things, from grand larceny to trafficking in illegal drugs and arms, to earn enemies on that scale.”

I let out a relieved sigh knowing the nasty human wouldn’t be able to inflict more pain on Dominic ever again.

“Was she alive when officers found her?” Dad asked.

The detective shook his head again. “It looked like she’d been dead for a couple days. In which case, that’s why she didn’t answer the phone when we attempted contact. We’ll meet with you tomorrow to discuss it more before we release information to the press. Meanwhile, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. There’s a young man who would like to see his family.”

I could barely contain my anticipation of seeing Dominic. After being dismissed by the detective, we all moved quickly, and the ER staff let us go back to see him one at a time.

Despite being desperate to see him, I elected to go last, mostly because I felt like I shouldn’t be one to keep his family waiting any longer. I paced the waiting room as everyone went in and came back out, their faces still registering concern.

When I finally got into his room, Dominic had fallen asleep. I’ll admit, I was disappointed. I needed to talk to him and tell him how I felt and do it this very moment. But as I looked at his sleeping form, appearing so peaceful and content as his body recuperated, I felt a rush of relief that he was still alive.

I went over and sat next to his bed, taking note of the scrapes on his face and his battered hands and wrists. Despite the injuries, happy tears slipped down my face. I sat on the chair and let them flow quietly, hoping not to wake him up.

“Hey, why are you crying?” I heard him ask, voice weak but steady.

“Because I’m a silly queen and cry even when I’m not sad anymore,” I said, smiling as I looked into his sweet eyes. I stood up next to his bed and took his hand, very gently. “Babe, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret I bet no one else has said. You look sorta awful,” I whispered the last bit into his ear, making him chuckle. I drank in the sound.

“Spending four days in a pitch-black room with nothing but a stinky old mattress will do that to ya.”

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