Page 97 of Inside Silence
“I have lived to see you suffer…you don’t deserve another single moment of happiness.”
I’m suddenly knocked to the ground, the sound of a gunshot ringing in my ears.
Chapter 30
Nate
* * *
I stand by the window, watching Savvy get into her cruiser and drive off.
She’s barely even acknowledged me since her father led her out of the church, covered in blood and looking like a ghost, but still very much alive.
The blood hadn’t been hers, even though, for several very long minutes after I heard the shot go off, I was terrified Brant and Hugo rushed in there too late. Roy had to hold me back from rushing in after them, and he was right, my little girl was traumatized enough and needed me.
“Give her time,” Hugo says behind me.
Our kids were placed together in a room. They’d both asked to be and nursing staff readily agreed. The small hospital only has limited rooms and we arrived with three patients at once. Tatum, Carson, and KC Kingma all had drugs in their system, and Carson also had a head laceration and suffered a concussion.
Apparently, the kid had been knocked back by a Taser, which allowed Maynard to subdue Tate. That gave Carson enough time to regain some muscle control and he tried to fight the much bigger man off, but got his head slammed into the road instead. I have a whole new appreciation for the teenager after finding out he’s also the one who urged Tate to get out.
All three of them were admitted to the hospital for observation, at least until the lab is able to identify what exactly they’ve been drugged with.
So I’ve been stuck in this room for a day and a half now, waiting for a chance to talk to Savvy, but she’s been actively avoiding me, even though I’ve seen her come in and out of the hospital and pass by in the hallway.
“I don’t fucking understand, man,” I complain, trying to keep my voice down for the kids.
“Listen, she’s got a ton to process. She has a severely shorthanded department she has to keep running, she’s got several state and federal agencies milling about in her town, and her father is being closely looked at in the shooting of Maynard.”
“He was fucking holding a gun to her head,” I hiss. “What would they have him do? Ask fucking politely to unhand his daughter? That’s bullshit.”
“Shh,” he shushes me. “I know it’s bullshit, I was there, he was completely justified, but that’s protocol, and believe me, Brant himself would insist every step is followed. He’s retired, a civilian now, there are slightly different standards for a justified shooting.”
Hugo gave me the outlines of what went down in that basement, but I’m sure there’s a lot he left out. I’m still fuzzy on Maynard’s motivations and I’m eager to learn all the details, because the Savvy that walked out of that building is not the same person who went in.
I need to know what changed.
“Look,” he continues. “All I’m saying is she’s under a lot of pressure, so give her a little time. Believe me, I’m feeling pretty damn useless myself, but our job right now is to look after our kids.”
The conversation is over when Doc Wilson walks in with another doctor we briefly saw when we got here.
“You remember Dr. Sharma?” Doc asks.
“Call me Rohan,” the man says, holding out his hand for first Hugo and then me to shake. “I don’t stand on formalities.”
His handshake is firm and his smile seems genuine. I’d guess him to be around my age, maybe by a few years on either side.
“Dr. Sharma is new to town, but I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of him,” Doc informs us. “He’s joined my practice, and will eventually be taking over.”
Then he smiles at each of the kids in turn. “So, how are you guys doing? Think you might be ready to go home today?”
“Yes, please,” Carson is the first to respond. “I’m bored out of my brain.”
“I’m sure you are, kid,” the older man says with a grin. “But I have to tell you, you’re gonna have to take it easy for at least another week with that hit your noggin took. Rest at home, no strenuous activities, I’d advise against too much gaming so limit the screen time, and come check in with me in a week.”
He turns to Tatum. “And you, young lady, should be good to go with another day or two at home. You don’t have to come back, unless you have any complaints. And that goes for both of you.”
Then he redirects his attention to us. “You’ll need to keep an eye out for mood swings, anxiety, any memory loss or impaired cognitive functioning, that kind of thing. Now, I don’t think the kids were exposed to the drug long enough, but it pays to be cautious. They were injected with a hefty cocktail of ketamine and propofol. Although, most of the ketamine should be eliminated from the body after ten to twelve hours after administering, on average, some remains and can be detected in the urine up to two weeks after. Propofol dissipates much faster and is already gone from their system.”
