SOLITARY WITNESS
It was about 12 midnight when the phone rang on Bridger's island. Bridger and Kristen Westphalen were
asleep when the phone rang. Bridger grumbled and rolled over and fumbled around in the dark trying to
find the phone in the dark. His hand reached the beside lamp and he flicked the switch and opened one
eye as the table was covered in a dull hue from the lamp.
"Hello" he answered in a thick voice. He didn't know who was calling at this hour of the night. He didn't
really care either at the moment.
That sentence changed when the voice on the other end of the phone introduced himself as Inspector
Daniel Rowlands of the City Police Department. Bridger suddenly felt all of his fear settle in the pit of
his stomach about what the caller on the other end of the phone had to say.
Bridger knew that Lucas had intended to spend a night out with Ben Krieg and then stay overnight at the
Krieg's residence until returning to the island the next morning. Bridger sat up straight in the bed and
cleared the fog from his brain before letting the voice on the phone continue. He wasn't sure he was
ready for whatever the man had to say but he wanted to hear it when he was fully alert.
"Captain Nathan Bridger of the SeaQuest is it?" Rowlands asked.
"Yes this is he" Bridger answered whilst trying to arouse Kristen on the other side of the bed. Kristen could
sense the worry coming from Nathan and she too sat in bed waiting to hear what the telephone call was
about.
"Are you the legal guardian of one Lucas Wolenczak?" the voice asked. This question immediately sent all
sorts of alarm bells off in Bridger's head. What had happened? Had Lucas been in some sort of accident?
"Where is he and is he alright?" Bridger asked as she heard Kristen gasp out loud behind him as she realised
just who the telephone call was about. She heard the words Lucas and "was he alright" in the same sentence
and she now felt her own fears multiply with concern over the teenager.
"At the moment Sir he is down at the City police station waiting in one of our cells" Rowlands continued to tell
them. "Don't worry he's not in any sort of trouble if that's what your asking. But he's a little more than shaken
up. I don't think it's really appropriate to be discussing what has happened over the telephone. Shall I wait for
you to arrive?" he asked.
"I'll be there in less than an hour" Bridger said.
"Oh and Captain Bridger, do you have the contact name of the boy's physician?" Rowlands asked.
"Why is the boy injured?" Bridger asked nervously, wishing that he was hearing something else. They were asking
for the boy's doctor. That meant something bad had happened. Where was Ben? Why wasn't Ben with him?
"I'm bringing her with me" Bridger answered and hung up hurriedly, not wanting to waste any more time on small talk.
"They asked for Lucas's doctor too" Bridger said to Kristen realising she had already heard most of the conversation.
"Ill be ready before you" she answered as they both rushed to dress and leave for the main land and Lucas.
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Around forty-five minutes later, Bridger and Kristen pulled up in a cab outside the police headquarters and got out.
They both rushed to the door wanting to know what had happened to Lucas. They approached a large officer
man at the front reception desk and asked to talk to Inspector Daniel Rowlands. The man informed him that he
would get the Inspector for them.
What seemed like a few minutes wait for Bridger and Kristen actually felt like forever. Bridger almost tore a hole
in the pockets of his jeans as he jammed them in so tightly out of nervousness.
"Captain Bridger" Rowlands said as he walked forward and shook the Captain's outstretched hand.
"This is Doctor Kristen Westphalen" Bridger said as he raced through the introductions "Now where is Lucas?"
Rowlands put his hand up gesturing for the anxious pair to slow down "I know you are anxious to see him.
He probably is just as anxious to see you, but I think there are a few things we need to discuss before I take
you to see him."
"What do you mean a few things to discuss?" Bridger said trying to quell his anger and the delays in seeing his
son.
"Well I haven't told you yet why Lucas is here" Rowlands said "And what condition we found him in a few hours
ago" he continued. "Please if you would both just allow me a few minutes, I promise then I will reunite you
with Lucas."
Reluctantly Bridger and Kristen followed the Inspector into a formal interview room behind the front counter.
Both of them were liking this situation less and less as time dragged on. Both of them just wanted to see
Lucas and make sure he was alright. What did the Inspector mean by "the condition we found him in"?
"Can I offer either of you a cup of coffee or tea?" Rowlands asked.
"Inspector, I hate to be rude, but I think we just want to know what happened to Lucas" Bridger said still trying
to be polite while his insides were screaming to find Lucas.
"I understand how you feel Captain, but believe me once you have heard what I have got to say I think you will
regret having that cup of coffee or something more stronger." the Inspector replied.
"Let me start out by saying that no physical harm has come to Lucas" Rowlands said and saw both of the people
in front of him physically relax at that admittance. "On the other hand, it's his mental and emotional state that
concerns me the most at the moment."
Rowlands saw that Kristen was about to ask what happened but he motioned to her to let him complete the
story in his own words.
"Your son, or should I say Lucas saw a murder tonight" Rowlands blurted out. He left it unfinished because he knew
that Bridger and Kristen would need to comprehend what he just said first before he continued any further.
"A MURDER" Bridger cried out in alarm and then put his hands to his head as he tried to contemplate how a sensitive
and gentle person of Lucas's personality would react to seeing something such as another person killed.
"That's not all I'm afraid" Rowlands said interrupting the voice in Bridger's head. "Not only did he see the murder, which
was a vicious cold-blooded killing, but the victim, a Mr John Taylor must have been alive for sometime after he was fatally
wounded. It seems that the man lived for some period of time after the killers left and actually spoke in depth with Lucas.
Then it would appear that Mr Taylor died while laying in the boy's lap." he paused during his story again.
"Oh my God, poor Lucas" Kristen said as she tried to contain the tears she held inside for Lucas.
"I know there's a lot more to this story than we will be able to figure out tonight, and I know you are desperate to see
you son, but I thought it necessary to inform you about what Lucas saw before we take you to see him. You can
take him home tonight of course, but there will need to be a lot of time spent with investigators over the next couple
of months whilst we figure out who the killers were." Rowlands explained.
"Do you know who the killer's are" Bridger asked.
"No, but we are hoping that once Lucas is able to talk to police that he will be able to give us a comprehensive description
of who the killer was." Rowlands said. "I'll take you to see him now. Doctor, I thought it necessary to call for you because
I think the boy might need some medical attention." Kristen nodded and she and Bridger both got up and followed the
Inspector through a set of doors through to the cell area of the police station.
"Why is Lucas is a prisoner cell Inspector?" Bridger asked as they approached a cell door. "I thought you said he wasn't
in any trouble."
"He's not Captain, but given the emotional state that Lucas was in when we found him, we were worried that Lucas might
be a danger to himself. He's actually been placed in a secure cell that it used for prisoners who show signs of wanting
to harm themselves. This revelation was not one that Bridger was hoping to hear.
Inspector Rowlands opened the door to the cell and allowed Kristen and Bridger to go in first.
The sight that greeted Bridger when he and Kristen first walked into the cell was almost more than he could take. Bridger
closed his eyes for a second hoping that the image before him wasn't real and that it would simply go away.
Lucas was over in the far left hand corner of the room. He was sitting on the padded floor with his knees drawn up to
his chest and his head bowed down so he wasn't looking at those coming to the room. He didn't even bother to look
up as he heard someone enter the room.
Bridger walked over to Lucas and quietly knelt down to the teenager and tried to put a comforting arm around the boy's
hunched shoulders. It was at the feeling of this touch that Bridger heard the loudest piercing scream he had ever heard
from Lucas.
Bridger was almost taken aback as Lucas started to scream hysterically as he Dad tried to console him. He didn't
think that his simple touch would provoke such a violent reaction from the emotionally strained boy.
It was only after a few minutes of screaming and Bridger pulling his face up so he could see who was talking to him
that the boy stopped screaming and did the exact opposite, crumbling into Bridger's embrace and crying his heart
out. Bridger could feel the tremors running through the boy as he cried long and hard into his dad's shoulder.
"How long has he been like this?" Kristen asked as she fought hard to control her emotions over Lucas's obvious
distress.
"He had basically been like this since we found him with Taylor in the factory." Rowlands reported sadly.
It was now for the first time that Bridger noted that the front of Lucas's shirt and jeans was covered in blood stains.
Blood stains obviously gained from cradling the dying man in his lap. The sight of such a thing wouldn't make it
any easier for the boy to come to terms with what he had witnessed.
"Couldn't you have at least given him some clean clothes or something" Bridger said with cynicism etched in his
voice. "How could you leave him clothes covered in blood?"
"We already tried to give him some clean clothes Mr Bridger, but every time somebody went near him we got the
same reaction as you just now. He just screamed and screamed to be left alone. Told us that he didn't want
anybody to touch him. That's when we decided to put him in his cell for his own safety and call you." Rowlands
replied.
"I didn't do it Dad. Tell them that I didn't do it" Lucas said as he looked at Bridger with his tear-stained face.
Kristen could tell that the teenager was at the end of his emotional rope. He needed to calm down now or he was
in danger of having a full panic attack. She had brought her medical bag with her as a precaution when the telephone
call came through to the island.
She now fished around it until she found the vial of sedative she was looking for and a fresh syringe. She knew that
the only way Lucas was going to calm down at the moment while in such an emotional state was by artificial methods.
Lucas had seen Kristen hold the syringe towards him and he now tried to back further away into the corner to get away.
He couldn't go anywhere and eventually gave up on escaping from his fate and turned his face away into Bridger's
shoulder once more while the sedative was administered. He barely felt the sting of the needle as it penetrated his
upper left arm. Within a few minutes, Bridger could feel Lucas's body relax in his embrace signalling that the boy had
succumbed to the medicine's effects. He moved Lucas so Kristen could take a closer look at the now sleeping boy.
Kristen checked the teenager over as best she could without her equipment at hand. She could see that the boy's
eyes were very red and puffy from crying. The boy felt slightly cold to the touch signalling he might be suffering from
some kind of shock Kristen asked for a blanket and then proceeds to drape the one handed to her over Lucas as he
slept.
"Let's take him back home so he can rest properly" Kristen said.
"I'm sorry but for now I can't assign any witness protection teams to Lucas until some become available" Rowlands
said as he saw Bridger and Kristen get the sleeping teenager ready to go home.
"What does he need witness protection for?" Bridger asked with uneasiness as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck
stand on end.
"Mr Bridger, Lucas was the sole witness in this case and as far as we are able to determine this murder was more than
just a opportune killing. Mr Taylor was connected with some of the Mr Big's of the mob underworld. We will need Lucas
to testify once we have located the right suspect and that might put Lucas at risk from some very unscrupulous characters."
Rowlands said. "I will check in on Lucas tomorrow to see if he is up to talking to police yet." he added.
"Lucas will be ready to talk to police when I say so Inspector, and only when he says he is ready to me" Kristen warned
with her doctor's voice. "Under no circumstances is he going to talk to anybody if he doesn't want to. And as for
testifying in court, well we'll just see how things work out along those lines."
"Ms Westphalen, may I remind you that although Lucas might be under your supervision, if he is a witness in this
case then I will put every available resource at my disposal to see that he testifies to what he has seen. I don't want
to be the ogre in this case but the truth remains that Lucas is at risk if he testifies or not. Take Lucas home and
we can talk more about this tomorrow." Rowlands said as he walked out of the cell and prepared to leave the case
rest for tonight.
HOPE YOU ARE ALL ENJOYING THIS ONE !!!!!!!!! - MORE TO COME
ANOTHER BEGINNING I JUST HAD TO GET OUT OF MY HEAD FOR THE TIME BEING –
LOTS MORE TO COME.
IT ISN'T LAWRENCE EITHER – HE IS IN THIS ONE BUT ONLY HAS A MINOR ROLE.
IT ISN'T PAUL SANDERSON COME BACK FROM THE DEAD EITHER.
THIS IS A WHOLE NEW PLAYER TO THE GAME……………… ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!