A/N: Sam said I had to write some author notes… I put them at the end… Cokie
By the way, if you read the story on our blog whump2go dot wordpress dot com, you'll get the full experience with pictures and all. ;-)
U-Turn
Chapter 3
"How's he doing?" Sheriff Salomon asked the doctor looking at a CT scan.
"Oh, hi Ken," Dr. Turner greeted his brother-in-law. "He was really lucky. Look at this," Turner said and pointed to a spot on the scan.
"What am I supposed to see?" Ken looked at the picture and then at Phil Turner.
"He was obviously hit with great force. I'd say with an iron pipe, probably the same one that sliced his back," Turner said and shook his head about such brutal force. "Here is a tiny crack in the skull, but there is no swelling or bleeding. Which is rather unusual after such a blow."
"So, he will be OK?"
"Well, we're keeping an eye on his head injury, but it looks like he got away with a concussion. His left arm was not that lucky, it's a mess. Fractured in three places, they're screwing it together as we speak."
"He's in surgery?"
"Yeah, and it was rather urgent. There might already be nerve damage, but we'll see," Turner explained.
"Nerve damage?"
"From the looks of the bruising, our guess is that he suffered the injuries at least twelve hours ago. That's a long time without treatment. Anyway, they'll do their best. He was in and out of consciousness and in severe pain from various deep bruises all over his body." Turner slightly shuddered thinking about the condition his patient was in when he was brought in. "He must have been in one hell of a fight before he ended up in that dumpster. In addition to his left arm he also broke a few bones in his right hand, surely from defending himself."
"Any internal injuries?"
"Again, he was lucky, nothing life threatening. Bruised kidney and liver, a couple of cracked ribs, but none broken. His left knee took a serious sideways hit. It will be a few weeks before he'll walk without a brace again," Turner further explained about the sprained tendons. "His nose is broken but doesn't need setting. Severe swelling and bruising around his left eye, but no fractures. But I doubt even his wife would recognize him right now."
"How do you know he's married?" Ken wanted to know.
"I don't, but he was wearing a ring on a necklace," Turner said. "I assume it's his wife's or girlfriend's ring."
(You can find the story about the ring on our blog whump2go dot wordpress dot com. The story 5.03 Lost and Found is under season 5 exclusives.)
"OK. That needs to go into evidence. I want to take pictures of his tattoos, hopefully they can help ID him. And the forensics are going to take his fingerprints."
"You'll have to wait a couple of hours, until he's out of surgery. Are there any missing persons' reports?"
"Not on this island, no."
"Alright. I need to go back to work. Listen, I'll call you as soon as you can see him. How's that?"
"OK. I need to go back to the crime scene anyway. Maybe we can find out how he ended up in that dumpster."
Sheriff Salomon said his good-bye to his wife's brother and left the Hilo Medical Center.
H50 – H50 – H50
Grover heard Danny's comment just as it registered that Steve was not the man in the bed. He shook his head and quickly stepped back into the hall, reaching for his phone.
"How is he?" Chin's anxious voice said over the line.
"Don't know," Lou replied. "This ain't him."
"What?"
"You heard me. Have you found any more John Does?"
"Nothing yet," Chin admitted. "Man, I thought we got lucky."
"Yeah, me, too," Grover agreed. "Hey, have you gotten a lead yet on Steve's two friends?"
"Kono just got off the phone. Here she comes. I'll put you on speaker. Lou said the person in the hospital isn't Steve," he said, filling Kono in on that bit of bad news.
"What?" she asked.
"Kono, do you have any information on the friends he met?" Grover asked.
"Yeah, Lt. Parker Dennison and Chief Petty Officer Zac Wilson. Neither of them made the flight to Texas."
"I'm pulling up their jackets now," Chin said. "Huh, Dennison is African-American—"
"-this ain't him either," Grover confirmed.
"But Wilson has the same coloring as Steve. I'm guessing you might have found him."
"Send me those photos," Lou requested. "I'll keep you posted."
"Yeah, do that. We'll keep searching."
H50 – H50 – H50
Grover quickly headed back into the room, holding out his phone to Danny. "Meet Chief Petty Officer Zac Wilson," he said. "One of the guys Steve met with this weekend. And get this," he added, turning to Dr. Makani. "When he said 'Steve' and 'Parker', he was asking about his friends. The other guy's name is Parker Dennison."
Danny handed back the cell phone. "But… the question is, where are Steve and Dennison?"
H50 – H50 – H50
Sheriff Salomon was driving away from Hilo when he got a call from dispatch.
"Go ahead, Alani. What do you have?"
"You're not gonna believe it, but we have another John Doe."
"Well, hells bells. Don't tell me I have to do another dumpster dive."
"Not this time. He was found on the beach at Koholo Bay. When I got the call he was still alive and they are on their way to Puna with him."
"I'm just leaving there," the sheriff replied with a sigh. "Guess I'll head down the coast. We got people dropping like flies around here."
H50 – H50 – H50
18 hours earlier
Steve locked the rental and walked the last distance. He looked up to watch the A 318 on its final approach to Hilo International. There are not many airports in the world where one could get this close to the actual airstrip.
Steve watched the smaller Airbus touch down and kept moving closer to his destination; a shipping container parking lot. Steve could see shipping containers of different sizes but also pony trailers, and even a few smaller trucks. This was obviously the holding lot of the shipping company whose logo he had just passed.
Steve was well aware that he would be an easy target with the approaching darkness and the unknown location. But the request to meet here had been reasonable. The informant, Zac's friend, worked at the airport in maintenance; it was his job to check the airstrip and surrounding area, and clean it up if necessary. So, it would be inconspicuous to meet close to, practically on the airstrip.
He had reached the lot's grounds when he heard a sound to his left. Steve turned towards it but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. His right hand automatically went to his holster as he walked between the containers.
It didn't take him long to reach the middle of the lot from where he thought the sound had come.
"What the…," Steve cursed under his breath.
He now pulled his weapon and made a quick sweep around. Then he rushed forward to the two feet he could see peeking out from under a small, low trailer. Steve holstered his weapon again when he reached the man and grabbed his feet to pull him out.
Steve gasped when he saw the face. "Park? What the hell?" Steve didn't have time to wonder why his friend who had left the hotel early this morning to make his flight back to Pearl, was not on his way to Texas but was lying unconscious in front of him.
It was almost at the same time that he heard the crunching sound behind him and felt pain exploding in his lower back.
Steve cried out and fell forward, trying to get away from the brutal force with which the metal pipe was again slashed across his back. This time drawing blood, and bringing more breathtaking pain.
Steve managed to half turn on his side to block a foot that flew towards his face. He grabbed the attached leg and twisted it, putting all his anger and pain into it. He heard with satisfaction the cry of pain and the snapping of the knee.
Unfortunately it didn't take long to be on the receiving end again. The pipe swinger was back and caught Steve at his right hip. Steve's leg gave way and he fell to his knees. His hand again flew to his weapon, but a guy from behind suddenly kicked the gun out of his hand.
He knew he had to get off the ground if he wanted to have a chance. Not sure if his hip was broken or just bruised he tried to get to his feet. He managed only to get halfway up before more guys came at him. All with short clubs and pipes in their hands.
Steve fought them valiantly, but when one of them smashed his arm he knew that he had lost. He managed to knock out one more of them, but then he got hit in the head a second time.
Steve slowly sank to his knees and was felled with a last brutal hit to the side of his head. He crashed to the ground and the last he felt was one of them stomping on his already broken arm.
H50 – H50 – H50
Sheriff Salomon entered Puna Community Medical Center and headed straight for the emergency room admissions desk. "Heard you had a John Doe brought in," he said to the clerk on duty.
"Yes Sir, Room 12. From what I heard, he's been beaten pretty badly. You can go on back."
"Yeah, thanks," Salomon mumbled. "My day just keeps gettin' better and better."
The sheriff could see the frenzy inside room 12 of the emergency room and waited in the hallway to speak to the doctor. One, he didn't want to be in the way, and two, even though this was part of his job, he didn't like any of the medical stuff and even after years on the job, hospitals still squigged him out. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long for the doctor to emerge followed by the gurney carrying the patient.
Salomon got a good look at the man's battered face as the gurney was rushed toward the elevators.
"Doc, what can you tell me?" he asked, then held out his hand. "Sheriff Melvin Salomon."
"Dr. Kiele," he replied. "Let's go to the lounge and grab a coffee."
Once they were seated, the doctor reached for his iPad and his notes. "From what I gathered, the patient was found at Hawaiian Paradise Park at Koholo Bay by a couple of runners this morning. They called EMS who brought him here."
"And there was no ID?" the sheriff asked.
"Nothing. No phone, ID, wallet, jewelry. He wasn't dressed in running clothes, so he wasn't out jogging. Hawaii PD is out there now trying to find some clues, so you might check with them."
"Is this guy gonna make it?"
"We'll see," the doctor replied with a shake of his head. "Multiple blunt force trauma. Pretty nasty head wound with a serious skull fracture. Three broken ribs on the right side. He needs surgery to repair damage to his lung from one of the ribs but with the head trauma, it will have to wait. That was a brutal beating he took. I'd say they wanted to beat him to death," Dr. Kiele concluded.
"So, you're telling me that I won't be able to talk to him anytime soon, right?"
"'fraid so."
"It's crazy," the sheriff said after draining his coffee cup. He stood and shook his head. "This is the second John Doe I've had today. Both were beaten up… there has to be a connection," Melvin mumbled under his breath.
H50 – H50 – H50
"Chin, I hope you have good news," Danny said into his phone.
"No news on Steve?" Chin asked.
"Not yet," Danny replied. "We're headed to Hawaii PD to see what they can tell us about Wilson."
"I talked to their CO at Pearl. Both men had leave for the last three days prior to heading to the base in Corpus Christi. He was unaware they had not made the flight until Kono contacted him. He is sending someone to the hospital there."
"Hey, Chin," Grover said from the driver's seat of the rental. "Can you start pulling Steve's credit card and phone records? Hell, for all we know, he might not have even met up with these guys."
"Kono's working on all that right now," Chin assured them. "We'll keep you posted."
"Thanks. Same here. We'll let you know if we hear anything," Danny said before disconnecting the call.
H50 – H50 – H50
A/N: OK, we have had a flashback, giving you a glimpse of Steve. We also had another John Doe show up. Just how many unnamed, unconscious men can this story hold? I guess you will have to wait and see… Chapter 4 is written and will be posted next Thursday. I hope you like this little story only half as much as Sam and I have had writing it. Like we said, even WE don't know where it is headed, so please bear with us. Thanks, Cokie
A/N: Well, Cokie is slightly exaggerating. We DO now our final destination, we have the plot planned out, but we have no idea what way the other wants to take. So, it might take a while to get to where we want this to end. Actually, I love what she threw in my way to our destination so far.
Thanks again for reading. I'm really sorry, I couldn't reply to any reviews this week. I will do better in the future. … Sam