Hostile Witness (30 page)

“Then he moves away and I can’t hear what he’s saying, just the yelling. I almost have the sprinklers fixed when I hear this big crash. I dived onto the grass because I thought it was a gunshot.  It wasn’t. Somebody threw something and it hit the window frame just where I was standing.” Rene shook his head remembering the day. “I would have been in big trouble if that thing hit the window because I was just underneath it.”

“What happened then?”

 “Nothing,” Rene answered matter of factly. “They said a few more things I couldn’t hear, and then I was done and I left.”

“When was this?” Archer asked.

“One, maybe two days before the fire.”

“Anything after that?”

“Not that I know. Nobody was living here after the fire. I just kept the grounds.” Rene’s eyes narrowed and he nodded toward the circular drive. “They’re back now.”

Archer followed Rene’s gaze. Linda Rayburn had come out the door. She was dressed in a long, filmy gown the color of cantaloupe. It didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“What a babe,” Rene sighed.

“Yeah,” Archer answered, “A real sweetheart.”

“Faye?”  Josie jogged the last few steps, hugging Faye Baxter with her free arm, pulling away long enough to grab her keys and rush to the front door. “My God, I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so happy to see you. I’ll say it. I missed. . .”

“Josie, I’m sorry. . . . I couldn’t get you on the phone,” Faye talked fast but Josie was talking over her. Faye tried again, louder to make herself heard. “I tried your cell but couldn’t get through.”

Josie pushed open the door and motioned Faye in with a nod of her head.

“I was downtown. Probably out of range. Come on in. How long have you been here?”

“About twenty minutes. Josie, I’ve got. . .” Faye inched closer.

“Just a sec. I’ve got to let Max out. I’ve . . .” Josie was a step inside the door when Faye clamped her hand on Josie’s shoulder.

“Josie, stop,” Faye cried. Then more softly, “Stop.”

“What? What is it?”  Josie dropped her briefcase. Faye had her attention.

“It’s Hannah. She’s been hurt.”

“Where? Where is she?”  The blood rushed to Josie’s cheeks.

“She’s in Long Beach Memorial Hospital.”

“Long Beach? What in the hell is she doing there?”  

“I don’t know. I only know she’s hurt pretty badly.”

“Please tell me she didn’t try to kill herself?” Josie pleaded.

Faye shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. It was an accident. She was hitchhiking. A truck swerved to miss a car on Pacific Coast Highway and hit her. She was in Huntington Beach and the paramedics took her to Long Beach Memorial. Hannah had your card with the office number in her pocket. The nurse in ICU didn’t go through her clothes until this morning. Hannah’s been there since late last night.”

“Does Linda know?”

“Not from me. I told the police who Linda was so I’m sure they’ve contacted her by now.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Josie balled her fists on her hips. “I swear, I don’t know what Linda was thinking leaving Hannah alone. What a mess. Hannah running away is unbelievable. I told her. . .” Suddenly Josie stopped. She put a hand to her brow. “Oh God, then Hannah’s alone at the hospital.”

“I just don’t know anything else, Josie.” Faye clasped her hands in apology.
“I know. It’s okay. I appreciate you going out of your way, Faye. I really do.”  Josie walked a circle. She slapped the wall with her open palm and stormed across the room. She ripped the receiver off her cradle.   “Linda wants the mother of the year award and then leaves Hannah alone to do whatever she wants. God, she’s stupid.  Norris will have Hannah back in jail before Linda can blink and it will be her fault. She. . . .”

“Norris may not have time to revoke Hannah’s bail, Josie. From the little I know, Hannah may not live that long.”

Josie held the receiver away from her ear. Faye could hear the ringing of Linda Rayburn’s cell phone go unanswered and then Linda Rayburn’s voice came over the line. She wasn’t home but if the caller would leave a message she could get back to them.

 Faye picked up the receiver and listened just as Josie ran out the door.

32

“
Are you family?”- Nurse/Intensive Care

“Yes.”- Josie

Hannah wasn’t beautiful anymore.

She was swollen, raw, shaved, bruised and broken.

Her face was red and black on one side, her skin shredded where she hit the pavement; microscopic flecks of blacktop were still embedded in her skin. A patch of hair had been shaved from the top of her head to her right temple. A long, ugly line of stitches ran from the edge of her eyebrow into the bald patch. A monstrous bit of machinery had her head locked steady, bolting her into a box that would keep her from moving if she ever woke up.  One arm was bandaged from fingertip to shoulder. The other was in a splint. Josie could see the outline of Hannah’s legs and breathed a sigh of relief when she counted two. Without her make-up, her piercings, without being able to see those green eyes, Hannah suddenly became what Josie had always argued she was – a hurt child.

Josie touched the sheets that were so tightly tucked around Hannah.  Her fingertips quivered.  Her arm felt heavy.  The memory of the Davis children, dead under pristine white sheets, flashed into Josie’s head. She snatched her hand back.   Instead of looking under the sheet, Josie leaned forward and touched what was left of Hannah’s hair and whispered.

“Hannah, what have you done to yourself? Hannah?”

Hannah didn’t answer but someone else asked:

“Who are you?”

A small woman in big green scrubs walked into the room like she owned it.  A surgical mask and stethoscope dangled around her neck.  She glanced at Josie, grabbed Hannah’s chart, spent some time with it, looked at the monitors and finally at Hannah, yet it was clear she was waiting for an answer.

“Josie Baylor-Bates.” Josie slid her hand away from Hannah.

“You don’t exactly look like a relative? Only relatives are supposed to be in here.” The woman in scrubs hung the chart back on the end of the bed.

“I’m her attorney. The cops called my office. I just got the message.”

“Attorney, huh?” The woman actually smiled. “Guess in some cases that might qualify as family. You must have got here before he did.”

“Who?” Josie looked over her shoulder.

“There’s a cop outside,” the woman said matter-of-factly.  “He’s not supposed to let anyone in or out.  I told him it’s not like this baby is going anywhere any time soon, poor thing. I told him he might as well go home, but he looks like he’s digging in.”

The woman adjusted the drip tube on Hannah’s IV. She looked at a monitor above the bed once more.

“I’m Fran Taglia. I caught her in emergency.”  Doctor Taglia stepped back, her expression one of compassionate detachment. “She doesn’t look like a murderer.”

“This one isn’t even close,” Josie muttered. “Do you know what happened?”

“Not the details, just that it was a car accident. They must have hit her hard.” Taglia sighed and crossed her arms.  “I’d like to say she’s a lucky girl, but I don’t think this kid has had a stroke of luck in her life. I was following her trial.  I figured you worked things out, because I haven’t heard a peep lately.”

“We’ve had a recess. Unfortunately, we’ll be back on the front pages when the press gets wind of this.  She was supposed to be monitored twenty-four/seven.”

“You don’t have to worry about that now. We’re a twenty-four/seven kind of place.”

Doctor Taglia put her hand out and held onto the IV stand like she was leaning on a fence post.  From across the hall came the sounds of Jeopardy.  A muted call bell rang. Dinner trays clanged while they were collected. The scents of alcohol and medicine, bodies long unwashed, salves and creams overwhelmed Josie. Taglia was immune to it all.

“We’re going to keep Hannah heavily sedated so she won’t move her head,” she said.  “There’s some swelling on the brain. Her neck’s bad. There’s a hairline crack at the base of her skull and a big one on the right side of her head. We’ve already been inside to take care of the internal bleeding. She had a ruptured spleen, and a collapsed lung.  Taken together it seems overwhelming, but Hannah is young, she’s in good shape. She’ll get over everything if she wants to.” Doctor Taglia straightened up. “I saw her arms. She’s a cutter. There’s a lot of hurt with cutters. Maybe she’ll just lie there and wish herself away.”

“No,” Josie answered positively, “she won’t do that. We’ve come too far for her to do that.”

“Unless she didn’t want to go as far as you did,” Taglia mused.

“I guess we won’t know until she wakes up, will we?” Josie raised her brows.

“Guess not.” Doctor Taglia checked her watch. She had better things to do than debate a lawyer. “There’s a call button right behind her head. If she moves, ring.”

“If anyone calls you it will be me, not her.” Linda Rayburn filled the doorway for an instant then stormed into the room. “I want that woman out of here now, and I want to know who let her in. Only family is supposed to be in here and I sure as hell don’t count her as family. Now get her out.”

“Hey,” Doctor Taglia stopped Linda with a word and a hand on her shoulder. “I think you better keep your voice down.”

“And you better keep out of my way.” Linda ripped Taglia’s hand off her shoulder.  “I’m Hannah’s mother and I want to be alone with my daughter until the doctor who treated her can spare some precious time to come up and talk to me.”

Linda tried to push her way past Taglia but the doctor wasn’t easily moved. This time she had Linda’s arm and she gave it a yank, keeping her tone friendly and concerned.

“Well that’s just fine because I’m the doctor in charge. Now let’s calm down or that man outside this door will help you into the waiting room so you can cool off.”

 Doctor Taglia cocked an eyebrow, silenced Linda, and took her hand.

 “Good girl. I’m glad you’re here. Hannah needs a reason to come back to the land of the living. What she doesn’t need is a knock down drag out at her bedside. She’s drugged up pretty good but that doesn’t mean she can’t hear and feel. So, are we on the same page?”

Linda drew herself to her full height and pulled her hand away from Taglia.

“Yes. Now, may I please request that only the family be allowed in this room?”

“Linda,” Josie said, “Give me a few minutes. That’s all I want.”

The look Linda shot Josie was loathsome.

“It’s your fault she’s hurt, Josie. She was running away. She couldn’t take this fighting and bickering any more. She didn’t want you to. . .”

Josie moved away from Hannah’s bed, mindful that the sleeping girl might hear her. Instinctively, Linda shadowed Josie.

“Linda I need to know where you were last night before I talk to Rudy Klein and Judge Norris. I need to know, now.”

“You’re going to lay this on me? That is rich.”  Josie turned her head away from Linda’s venomous whispers.  Linda ducked hers to make sure Josie looked at her. “What do you know about being a mother? You never even had one. You don’t know about the choices you have to make to protect your kid. Last night I was damned no matter what I did.  You don’t think this is going to make me feel like shit for the rest of my life?”

 A deep fury exploded inside Josie, but she lowered her voice even further so Linda would be the only one to hear what she had to say.

“You were doing what you wanted to do last night; I just don’t know where you were doing it. I swear, when I find out where you were I’m going to recommend Norris charge you with contempt and child endangerment. That means jail time, Linda.”

“You want to have it both ways, Josie? You want Hannah to be an adult until she screws up, and then you want it to be my fault because I didn’t babysit her.  Screw you, Josie.”

Josie backed off, reading Linda’s danger signals. This wasn’t going to do Hannah any good.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s time for us to be adults and let Hannah be the kid.  But when she’s better, Norris is going to want her in a monitored place.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Linda had had enough, but Josie was insistent. As much as it tore at her to see Hannah hurt, Josie was a lawyer and knew that contingency plans had to be made.

“Linda, mistakes have been made on both sides.  I apologize for mine, but the fact of the matter is we need to be together on a plan for the court.” Josie paused almost convincing herself that leaving Hannah alone was a mistake and not a selfish indulgence.  “I want Norris to release Hannah to me instead of putting her through the system. That way you can have access to her and. . . .”

Linda grabbed Josie’s arm and spoke through clenched teeth.

“What is wrong with you? My marriage is ruined, Hannah’s lying there unconscious, and you’re worried about who the judge is going to let her live with? How about just worrying whether or not she is going to live? How about that, Josie?”

“Mrs. Rayburn.  Mrs. Rayburn.”  Doctor Taglia called to Linda as she pried her fingers loose. “Stop now. This isn’t doing anyone any good.”

Linda blinked, looking at the doctor as if surprised to find her so close.

“She wants my daughter to live with her. How can she ask me to make that kind of decision?” Linda asked quietly, as if Doctor Taglia had the answer.

“You don’t have to make any decisions right now,” Taglia assured her as she walked Linda to the bed and settled her.  Linda seemed as weak as her daughter, the fight gone out of her.  When she spoke, it was as if she were only a curious observer in all this.

“Does she hurt?  If she’s going to die, will she hurt?”

Taglia caught Josie’s eye as she put her hand on Linda’s shoulder.

“She’s not in any pain. I promise we haven’t missed anything on your girl. Hang in there for seventy-two hours, okay?  I promise she won’t die.”

“Are you sure? You’re really sure?”

Doctor Taglia hesitated. It wasn’t the question that was odd, only the way it was asked, as if Linda wanted Taglia to look again.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Taglia answered, patting Linda’s shoulder.  “If Hannah knows you’re here everything will be fine. Okay?”

Linda’s shoulders were hunched; her head was bent. Doctor Taglia eased away but not quickly enough to miss the next question.

“Did she say anything about me?” Linda whispered.

Josie moved forward, curious to hear the answer.

“Hannah couldn’t ask for you, but I know she would want you here,” The doctor answered. “Maybe she said something to the people who transported her.”

“Who did that?” Linda’s eyes were still on her daughter.

“The paramedics? Their names will be on the report. I’ll make sure you get it. Right now just stay with your daughter.”

Doctor Taglia shrugged and melted away. There were other patients, other people to be cared for.  Josie moved to the foot of the bed.

“Linda, I’d like to stay with you.”

“Don’t talk, Josie. Just go away,” Linda muttered.

“Hannah needs both of us now,” Josie insisted quietly.

“Go away Josie or I swear, I’ll kill you. Linda’s voice was dull and dark. It made the threat seem terrifyingly real.

“I care about her, too,” Josie breathed, stunned to find out how much truth there was in that, but Linda was unmoved.

Linda’s head swiveled toward Josie. Her green eyes were so much like Hannah’s and yet so different: harder, worn, and unforgiving.