Page 56 of Fighting for Brielle
Dooley looked at Justice. “Chief, is that okay?”
“Absolutely.” Justice nodded his assent.
As soon as he left the conference room, he received a frantic phone call from Cynthia.
“Chief, Rosie’s in crisis at school. She’s locked herself in a bathroom and refuses to come out. We can hear her crying and screaming.”
“I’ll be there in five,” he promised as he sprinted toward his Explorer.
Punching the gas, he flipped on the siren and tore out of the parking lot. He cursed himself for not anticipating this sooner. She wasten, for God’s sake! He knew her stoicism was just a façade.
The principal, Cynthia, Rosie’s teacher, and a custodian were gathered outside the single stall bathroom in the classroom. The students who were freaked out by Rosie’s breakdown had been ushered into another teacher’s classroom.
Hearing Rosie’s pitiful cries broke Justice’s heart. He signaled for the custodian to unlock the bathroom door and called, “Rosie, sweetie, it’s Chief Justice. I’m coming in, okay?”
Cautiously, he pushed open the door and found her huddled against the far wall, shaking and crying. Instead of hurtling herself at him, she stayed rooted to the spot, her eyes wild. He crouched on the floor next to her, and she whirled on him in a fury.
“He killed them! He killed them all! Mom! Dad! My aunt and uncle and cousins! Arnie did it! And he was going to kill me, too, but…but…” Her eyes grew even wilder as the shock of what she’d witnessed finally hit her full force. “You! You shot him! You shot him!”
Rosie let out a loud wail that ended on a choking, guttural sound as she struggled to breathe. Recognizing the signs of a panic attack, Justice tamped down on his helplessness over her accusation and shoved her head between her knees.
“Breathe, kid. Breathe. With me. In…out…in…out… That’s it. You’re doing great.”
When her breathing partially returned to normal, Justice lifted her into his arms and rushed out of the bathroom. “She’s had a panic attack,” he reported, his voice grim. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”
“I’ll follow you,” Cynthia replied.
Two hours later Justice stood with Cynthia and the pediatrician outside Rosie’s room in the pediatric wing of Mission Hospital.
“You’re right, Chief McQuaid,” Dr. Gregory addressed him. “Rosie suffered a major panic attack. She’s in fight or flight mode, and her anxiety is high. I’m keeping her overnight.”
“She needs to see a therapist,” Justice stated.
“I agree. I’ve got a call in to the best child psychologist in the area. I expect to hear from her within an hour.”
“I don’t want the kid medicated,” Justice declared in a voice that would brook no argument.
“I’m sorry, Chief, but that’s not up to you,” Dr. Gregory replied. “You’re not Rosie’s guardian.”
“I’m her guardian,” Cynthia interjected. “And I agree with Chief McQuaid. We’re not pumping Rosie full of meds.”
“If that’s what you want. She is sedated at the moment, though.”
“May I see her?” Justice asked.
“She’s sleeping due to the sedative we gave her. And under the circumstances it might be best to wait until after Dr. Chichester has evaluated her. She associates you with what happened, Chief. She saw you shoot her brother.”
Justice’s heart dropped into his stomach. The thought that she might not want anything to do with him now that she’d begun to process the traumatic events of Saturday killed him. He looked at Cynthia. “Keep me posted?”
“Of course. And don’t worry. She knows how much you care about her.”
He nodded but didn’t take comfort from her words.
Later, Justice’s day got worse when Cynthia called him with an update. Dr. Chichester diagnosed Rosie with anxiety and recommended she avoid school and, unfortunately, Justice, too. Not being able to visit Rosie caused him such anguish that he endured a miserable week. And the lack of progress on the team’s investigation increased his frustration. When were they going to get a break?
During the shift change on Friday, Justice received a call from the sergeant on duty in the evidence room.
“Hey, Chief,” he said in a low voice, “Officer Carson is here asking if an HK416 and a box of Beta C-mags were taken into evidence.”
