***Willow Pond***
Jennifer is getting ready. There is a ladies' luncheon today, and she is excited about attending. It's pool party themed, so she is picking out her bathing suit and her outfit to go over it.
She packs a bag with beach towels and sunscreen, and heads out.
Jonathan is working at the office all day, and taking her to dinner later that night.
Jennifer pulls up to Susan Montgomery's house, where the party is taking place.
She is escorted back to the patio, where the ladies are getting into the pool.
"Hello everyone".
"Hello Jennifer".
"I brought everyone some of my husband's famous margaritas".
She set the jug down and spread out her beach towel.
Everyone had brought snacks to share, or drinks.
There were about 6 of them. The only one that Jennifer knew really well was Marcy. She knew the other ladies too, but she and Marcy were close.
"What did everyone bring?"
"Well, Jennifer brought margaritas. I made champagne soaked gummy worms, Ally made bushwhackers, Sonya made frozen grapes, and Natalie brought face masks that you wear in the sun and it will take care of wrinkles and fine lines."
"Sounds great".
Everyone got their masks on, and then went to lay out. They were snacking and drinking and chatting.
"Ok, Natalie. How does this mask work?"
"Well, you put it on for an hour. I set a timer and we have 20 minutes left. Then, you put this serum on, and close your eyes and lie really still for 45 minutes, and let the sun work the serum into your skin. Then, you rinse off and put the sunscreen on."
"Sounds marvelous".
Jennifer was loving the champagne gummy worms. She couldn't stop eating them.
"Normally I stay away from sugar, but what the hell?"
They all chatted and soaked up the rays. By the time the serum was to be applied, Jennifer had eaten tons of gummy worms and had at least 3 margaritas. She was feeling good.
They all applied the serum when the timer went off, and then laid back. Jennifer actually fell asleep.
She and the other ladies were dozing. At one point, one of the women got up and tiptoed around the others and sprinkled something in their drinks, and then laid back down.
***A few hours later***
Jennifer was feeling rather sluggish and super, super relaxed. She was floating in the pool and could have floated all day long without a care. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost 4, so she went inside and changed clothes to go meet Jonathan.
She sauntered back out to the pool and said goodbye to the ladies and thanked them for a marvelous time, and then headed out.
She got in the car and headed towards Hart Industries.
She was about ½ way there when her eyes closed for just a second, and she drifted into the other lane. She heard it and felt it before she saw what was happening. She had hit another car, and spun into three others. She was banged up pretty well-laceration across her chest, a broken wrist, and cuts on her face, among other things. She was conscious, but moaning. She crawled out of the twisted metal and stumbled to the curb.
A passerby had called an ambulance, and they stayed with her till the ambulance got there. She laid down on the grass and said "Call my husband please. Hart Industries. Jonathan", and then fell asleep.
***Hart Industries***
Jonathan was in his office. His secretary buzzed him and told him that he had a phone call.
"It's from someone named Angela, and she says it's an emergency".
"Put her through".
"Hello?"
"Hi, may I speak to Jonathan?"
"This is Jonathan Hart, how can I help you?"
"My name is Angela. I am on Sunset Blvd and 45th parkway. There has been an accident, and there was a lady who was in the accident who crawled from the car and asked that someone call you."
"Did she give you her name?"
"No, but she has red hair, about 5'6, brown eyes, and her car looks to be a Porsche SUV, that has a specialized license plate, it says 4 Harts".
"Ok, can I speak to her?"
"I'm sorry, she passed out. The paramedics are working on her now. They are going to take her to Cedars".
"How were you involved?"
"I was just passing by and stopped to help".
"Well, that's my wife, and I want you to know I appreciate it very much. Please, come by Hart Industries, and come to the 34th floor and leave your name and address with my secretary, Kelly. We want to thank you properly".
"Yes, sir. I hope she's all right".
"Thank you".
Jonathan hung up and headed to Cedars.
***Cedars Sinai***
Jonathan went inside and asked about Jennifer.
"Are you family?"
"I'm her husband".
"Right this way, sir. She is still in the ER, but she will be admitted soon".
He found her in a triage corner, and pulled up a chair and sat next to her.
Her face was covered in cuts and scrapes. The nurse was splinting her left wrist. She had a big bandage across her chest. She was laying back against the bed, and had her eyes closed. Machines beeped to show her heart rate and blood pressure.
In her other arm, there was an IV.
"She has a skull fracture, and that should heal on its own. She will need to be here for observation for at least a day though".
He nodded. He turned to Jennifer.
"Darling, can you hear me?"
She stirred a little, but didn't open her eyes.
The nurse finished splinting her wrist and then took a few vials of blood.
She was trying to talk but she was having a hard time.
"Darling, it's alright. Don't fight it, right now. Just sleep. You're in the hospital, but you will be ok".
She nodded. She drifted off to sleep again, and he settled back and held her hand the whole time.
He called his office to tell them he wouldn't be in for the rest of the day and that tomorrow was highly doubtful.
"I will cancel your appointments, Mr. Hart".
"Did I get any messages?"
"Only one. From Daniel Evans. He wanted you to know that he had some Hart Industries stock, and he was going to be putting it to use".
"That sounds odd. If he calls back, please tell him I will call him as soon as Jennifer is out of the hospital".
"Will do. Please give Mrs. Hart my best".
"I sure will. Thanks, Kelly".
He hung up, and looked over at Jennifer. She was sleeping so soundly.
The police came in, and asked to speak with her.
"She's sleeping. Can I help you?"
"Were you in the accident with her?"
"No, I was not".
"Well, our questions are more about the accident".
"I see. Can you tell me how it happened?"
"Our investigation so far has yielded only that she crossed the center line and hit a car head on, and then spun into three others."
"Is everyone okay?"
"The driver of the truck that she hit is going to be fine. The three cars that she spun into were driven by a 17 year old girl, a 32 year old man, and a 28 year old lady."
"And how are they doing?"
"The 17 year old is pretty shaken up. She has several broken bones and injuries. The 32 year old man has a broken leg, but he will be ok. The 28 year old lady, unfortunately succumbed to her injuries".
"Oh man. I hate to hear that".
He didn't know how he was going to break it to Jennifer when she woke up. She was going to be absolutely devastated.
"Mr. Hart, do you know what your wife's activities were before the accident?"
"She went to a lunch with her friends".
"Do you know where?"
"It was at her friend's home."
"Could she have gone anywhere else?"
"She told me that she was going to her friends for a lunch, and then she was going to meet me at my office so that we could go to dinner. I suppose it's possible that she could have gone somewhere else, but if she did, I am not aware of it".
"Has she said anything about the accident at all?"
"Not since I have been here. She was trying to talk when I first got here, but she was so asleep that it wasn't understandable".
"Well, when she wakes up, please call us. We need to question her about this accident".
"Will do".
Jonathan took the card of the detective and put it on the desk.
The police left and it was just Jonathan and Jennifer in the room once more.
"Oh Red…how am I going to tell you this?"
He sighed, and put his head in his hands. He hated giving her bad news. He hated seeing her upset.
About an hour later, the surgical tech came in.
"Hi. I am here to cast Mrs. Hart's wrist".
He nodded.
"Her x-rays indicated that her wrist is broken in 2 places. She will need to be in a cast for about 12 weeks".
"ok".
"Do you know what color she would like?"
"Pink, I think".
"Yes sir".
The tech took care of wrapping her wrist and hand and forearm in a pink fiberglass cast, and letting it set.
The doctor came in right behind him, and was accompanied by another police officer.
The police officer was asking questions for the police report.
"I already answered the questions that your colleague had. And as I told him, I wasn't with my wife when the accident happened, so you will have to wait till she wakes up to find out what you want to know".
"I just need demographic information, like what kind of car was hers, how old she is, stuff like that".
Jonathan filled out the report to the best of his knowledge and handed it back.
The doctor looked at him.
"She sure is sleeping well for someone with a high BAC like she has".
"What do you mean high BAC?"
"Her BAC-we ran it when we ran her blood test. It came back that her BAC was .12".
".12? That's impossible. My wife doesn't drink and drive".
"Well, something caused her to have a high BAC. We also found doxepine in her system".
"What is that?"
"It's the clinical term for Silenor, a sleeping pill."
"My wife never takes pills like that. She hardly ever takes an aspirin".
Jonathan knew something wasn't right here, and he was determined to figure it out.
"Well, we won't know what happened till she wakes up".
He nodded.
The police officer stepped forward.
"Mr. Hart, please call me when she wakes up. It is imperative that I speak with her".
He nodded.
They left, and the doctor said that she would be moved to a room shortly.
He laced his fingers through hers, and leaned forward and kissed her.
"Come on, Red. Come back to me. We can fix this, if you can just come back to me".
He kissed her again, and then grabbed the phone.
He called his lawyer, Mark Watson.
"Hello, Mark? It's Jonathan. Can you come to Cedars? I think Jennifer is going to need some legal advice".