Chapter 3

Mark was about to end his shift at 8 p.m. when he was called to the ER.

"What do we have?" he asked the EMT.

"Victim was hit by a car and beaten up. Haemorrhaging in the left leg and upper left abdomen. Suspected broken rips and ruptured spleen. Shock. BP 60/40. Heart rate 110."

"Ultrasound, X-ray and prepare OR for emergency..." Then he saw the patient's face and gasped. "Jack!"

Mark's friend was unconscious and deadly pale. Having recovered from the initial shock, Mark gave orders to the nurses and requested another doctor to assist him. The ultrasound showed that the spleen was indeed ruptured – a removal was unavoidable.

"Okay, get him into the OR!"


About three hours later, Mark came out of the OR. He was greeted by many worried faces – Amanda, Steve and an elderly couple he didn't know. The woman looked close to tears. Amanda was the first to ask the question everybody wanted an answer to. "How is he?"

"The operation went well. We had to remove the spleen, but he will be alright. He has also two broken ribs and his leg is badly bruised. It will give him some trouble, but should heal nicely."

Everybody was relieved to hear that.

"Do we know what happened?" Mark asked his son.

"We don't know very much, yet. Mr and Mrs Miller here heard the commotion outside and went to have a look. When Mr Miller went to help Jack, the attackers ran off. We hope Jack will be able to tell us more."

Mark nodded and then turned to the Millers. "You are Phil's parents? I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Dr Sloan. We knew that Phil was in some kind of trouble, but he never answered when we asked him. He was always so secretive," Harry Miller said.

"Do you know why he went to see Jack?"

"We didn't know that he wanted to meet him at all. After all, they haven't been talking to each other since their final high school year. It was quite a shock when we suddenly found him in front of our house. Thank God that he will be alright," Caroline Miller explained with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Is there anybody else Phil might have confided in? Friends, girlfriends, relatives?"

"He didn't have many friends and we don't know any of them in person. And he didn't have a girlfriend, either. Oh wait, Ellie called last week asking for him."

"Who is Ellie?" Steve asked.

"Ellie Clarke. She was in Phil's high school class."

"Oh, I remember her!" Mark said. "She was Jack's girlfriend, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Well, she had been until that day..."

"The day Phil accused Jack of drug dealing," Mark finished.

"It was his biggest mistake. He lost his best friend just because of a girl," Harry said darkly.

"Do you know how we can contact this Ellie Clarke?" Steve asked.

"She lives in Seattle, but right now she has business in Los Angeles. She told me when she called."

"Where does she stay?"

"Sorry, I don't know that."

"Thank you, Mr and Mrs Miller," said Steve giving them his card. "Please call me if you remember anything else."

"Sure. And please call us when Jack wakes up."

"Of course," Mark answered.

When the Millers had left, Mark stifled a yawn.

"Dad, I think you should go home, too."

"He is right, Mark. Jack won't wake up before tomorrow morning anyway."

"Okay, okay, I surrender. See you tomorrow."


Jack lay in his hospital bed and stared at the ceiling while he tried to comprehend everything that happened the night before. He had woken up one hour before feeling like crap, which was proof enough that he didn't dreamed it up – Phil's death, the accident that really wasn't one and Harry Miller coming to his rescue. A nurse had informed him of his emergency spleenectomy and fetched a doctor to adjust his pain medication. With the physical pain reduced to no more than a dull ache, his feelings of guilt came back with a vengeance. Maybe he could have saved Phil by helping him, but instead he behaved like an idiot. He didn't even ask what that favour was. And then there were also the two guys who had attacked him. They were somehow connected to Phil's murder – that much was for sure. All Jack knew was that they were looking for a package. A package that must have been in Phil's possession. Jack knew that he needed to find that mysterious package. Maybe it would give him some thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Mark.

"Good morning, how are you doing?"

"Not bad considering that I got hit by a car and beaten up, I'm missing a spleen and my leg's colour resembles that of my car. But I guess I'm pretty doped up right now."

Mark smiled and said down on Jack's bed. "And how are you coping with everything else?"

"I'm fine."

"Jack, I have known you for how many years. I can see that you are not fine. But you have to understand that there was nothing you could have done to prevent Phil's death."

"Really? He needed my help and I turned him down. Some friend I am."

"To be so hard on yourself. They probably would have got him sooner or later, with or without you helping him."

"That's what I will never find out."

Mark sensed that for Jack the discussion was over, so he changed the subject.

"Want to talk about what happened yesterday?"

Jack sighed. "I went to see Caroline and Harry, Phil's parents, when they attacked me. They were looking for a package. That's all I know."

There was another knock and Steve entered.

"Hey, glad to see you awake. How are you?"

"I'm good. Can't wait to get out of here."

"Which won't happen for at least another two days."

"Ah, come on, Mark!"

"No arguments or I'll make it three days!"

"Yes sir," Jack mumbled, which earned a grin from Mark and Steve.

"Jack, I have to talk to you about Miller's death and what happened last night," Steve then said more seriously. So Jack explained everything a second time.

"Would you recognise the two guys?" Steve asked when Jack had finished.

"I'm not sure. I was already pretty out of it when they got out of the car. I'm sorry, Steve."

"Don't worry about it. Harry Miller could give us a rough description. We will find them."

"I owe my life to Harry. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't been there."

Mark was painfully aware that Jack was right. He could have easily bled to death internally without Mr Miller. It was Steve who changed the subject.

"Guess what, we found out where Ellie Clarke stays. Somebody is on his way to question her."

Jack looked confused. "Ellie Clarke? What is she doing here?"

"Mrs Miller told us that she tried to contact Phil last week. Anything you can tell us about her?"

"Nothing recent. She used to phone every now and then after we left school, but I haven't heard of her for at least four or five years. She was working for a logistics company then, although she always wanted to become a police officer. That's why she left LA. Didn't want to accidentally bust any of her old friends," Jack explained.

"Like Phil Miller?"

"Believe me, that's just the peak of the iceberg."

"Were Ellie and Phil a couple?" Mark asked.

"No, they went on a date, but it didn't work out."

"Why?"

"She was angry at him. He didn't make a lot of friends in his last year."

"Seems that he lost some, too."

"Yeah," Jack said darkly. "Listen, I'll need a few things from my apartment. Could somebody stop by and get them for me."

"I've already asked Amanda. She should be there right now.