She twisted the throttle a little farther; she didn't think of herself as a thrill seeker, despite her past, but she did love her motorbike. The back roads that she had been driving on for the last ten minutes or so were perfect. They were almost always empty, especially at this time of night, and just winding enough to make keeping control of the bike a challenge. She slowed down as she came to a blind corner, practically a hairpin turn.
The driver of the car didn't manage to react in time.
She tried to swerve, but the car was nearly on top of her by the time she saw it. The road was narrow, and the light rain that had been falling since that morning had made it slick. She had just enough time to feel a shock of fear run through her before the car slammed into her front tire. The brief moment of weightlessness made her stomach churn, and she wished she was back on solid ground again. And then she landed hard, heard glass splintering, and a blinding pain took her breath away. It kept growing, getting unimaginably worse until she finally passed out.
The car's tires were screeching on the damp asphalt as it finally came to a stop. The driver's face was sickly pale and he stared at the limp figure sprawled on the road in front of him. He wasn't sure how long he sat there; he thought it must have been about an hour, every second praying the person he had hit would get up. In fact it was only about two minutes before a jolt of adrenaline had him fumbling with the seatbelt and clambering out of the car.
Joshua Simmon was not a bad man. He was a fair boss and doting father. He donated to charity. His first instinct as he hurried over to the bike rider was to get his phone out and dial 911, but he froze part way between his car and the wrecked bike, phone half out of his pocket. He already had points on his license, and something like this would mean, at the very least, he would never drive again. If he lost his license, it would sink his business. At the worst, this would mean jail time, and a criminal record would absolutely be the end of him. He'd seen his brother-in-law struggle for years after serving a few months for possession of cannabis. He went from making six figures to working two jobs just to make ends meet. How hard would it be with someone's death on his record?
Everything flashed through Joshua's head in a second, all the maybes and possibles. Maybe the person hadn't seen his face or license plate? Maybe they would wake up with amnesia? Was that even a possibility, or was that something they made up for the movies? Was it possible that the rider was still alive? Was there any chance that his wife would stand by him if he had killed someone? Even without the troubles they were already trying to work through, that seemed like a remote possibility.
Joshua let his phone drop back into his pocket and walked the last few steps over to the body of the bike rider. This close, he could see it was a woman and felt his stomach twist as his wife's face swam before his eyes. He knelt and stretched out a shaking hand, pressing two fingers lightly against the woman's neck. Nothing. No pulse. He wasn't sure if he was horrified or relieved, but he was soon telling himself it was for the best.
He knew a guy, James, who worked night security in a junkyard and owed him a favor; he could get his windshield replaced for a few bucks. Maybe a few extra for James to make sure he didn't tell anyone. He could explain away the dent on the hood as an unfortunate encounter with a stray dog or something. A wild animal in the road maybe? Maybe just kids playing ball. All he needed to do was get to James without being pulled over for driving with a damaged windshield.
Well, almost all. There was just one more thing, and his skin crawled to think of it. But it had to be done for the sake of everything he held dear.
"After all," he said, surprising himself by speaking steadily while staring at the young woman he had killed, "it's not like you care. You don't care about anything anymore." And then he sobbed, an ugly gasping sound that tore out of him and pulled against muscles he hadn't even realized were aching.
"I'm sorry," he choked, tears streaming down his face as his entire body shook. "I'm so sorry, but I'll lose everything if I don't." He patted the woman's shoulder as if trying to offer her some sort of comfort and then slid his hand along the outflung arm to the slender wrist. Two deep breaths and he wrapped his fingers tightly around her wrist, cringing at the thought that he was touching a dead body, trembling at the thought that he was a murderer. It took a few more deep breaths before he was able to make himself move again, to reach out for the other arm and grasp the other wrist.
"It's really lovely out here," he offered as he started dragging the body toward the lush, dense forest that lined the sides of the road. "Peaceful." He was still crying, struggling to speak. "You can rest here," he managed before his voice cracked.
It took him nearly ten minutes to move the woman's body to a distance he felt was far enough back from the road. He went back for the bike and used the flashlight on his phone to scour the area, looking for pieces of glass from the shattered headlight. He'd seen enough crime documentaries and police procedurals to know it was the smallest details that people often overlooked.
Then he dragged the wrecked bike to the same small, natural clearing where he had left the body. It took even longer to haul the wrecked machine through the forest and he was sweating and panting by the time the body came into view. Joshua stood in silence for a few minutes, feeling guilty and helpless, like nothing would ever be right again. He knelt by the body one last time and tugged at the crash helmet, seized by a sudden compulsion. His fingers fumbled with the chin strap until he finally managed to remove it and look down at the face of the woman whose life he had ended.
"You're so young," he whispered. "I'm so very sorry." And he stood and walked away, a weight on his chest that he was pretty sure would never go away. He didn't see the woman wince slightly at the all-consuming pain she was feeling. He didn't see her mouth open as she tried to call for help. He didn't see her shift as she tried to sit up and the pain flashed into every nerve ending, sending her crashing back down into unconsciousness. Joshua walked away without looking back.
A short while later the sound of an engine could just be heard in the clearing. Then it died away as Joshua headed to the junkyard, and all that could be heard was the wildlife and the sound of the rain pattering against the leaves.
Magnum sighed as he woke, luxuriating in the feel of the sun on his skin. A deep breath and a long stretch, and he finally opened his eyes, only to yelp and scramble up the bed. Zeus and Apollo were standing on his bed, staring down at him, and he wondered if it were possible for them to have bitten him without waking him up. Their teeth were certainly sharp enough.
As the seconds ticked by and neither of the dogs barked, he risked slowly extending a hand, expecting a growl to greet the movement. Instead the dogs both started to whimper, and his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on.
"Okay 'lads,'" he said quietly, easing himself off the bed as slowly as he could, watching the now silent Dobermans as they watched his every move. "Let's just see if we can't get Higgy in here before you start trying to eat me for breakfast." He kept his eyes fixed on the dogs, unsure if maintaining eye contact was the right thing to do but unwilling to look away. If death was coming for him on four legs, he was going to see it coming. One hand brushed the top of the bedside table and bumped his phone, and he held the home button, thanking whoever came up with fingerprint phone access for quite possibly saving him from being mauled in his own bedroom.
"Call Higgins," he instructed as his phone beeped to tell him it was awaiting a voice command. The whining commenced again at the sound of Higgins' name, and Magnum cocked his head in confusion. The robot lady on the other end of the phone was telling him that the number he was dialling couldn't be reached and he was starting to have a really bad feeling.
He grabbed the shirt he had thrown over the back of the chair the previous night, moving faster now, and looked away from the dogs to pull his shoes on. "Come on then," he called as he headed for the door, hearing the padding sounds of soft paws following after him. "First things first, we're going to check all through the house to make sure she hasn't just shut you guys out of her room."
Magnum did just that, checking every room in the main house, shadowed the entire time by the two worryingly docile dogs. He even risked his life by walking into Higgins' bedroom after not getting an answer when he knocked, determined not to start letting his bad feeling run away with him. He ended his search in the garage and immediately noticed the empty space where Higgins' motorbike should have been.
"I'm sure I heard her leaving on that thing last night," he mused out loud, seeing the dogs tip their heads as if considering his words. "Didn't she come home last night?" He hurried to Higgins' office and woke up her computer with an impatient jiggle, quickly loading the security feeds. One thing she hadn't been able to fight him on was his need as security consultant to have access to the cameras, and he was grateful for that now as he rewound the footage and watched her ride out through the gate.
"Okay, she left at ten-fifteen. Let's see…" He didn't bother fast-forwarding the footage, instead checked the gate log. If Higgins had returned, she hadn't done so through the main gate. The dogs were whimpering again, and one of them, he wasn't sure which, actually put a paw on his leg. "All right, guys," he said, trying to make his voice sound reassuring without making himself sound like a helpless creature ready to be snacked upon, "let's call in some reinforcements."
It may have been mid-morning on a Saturday but, once Magnum explained to Rick and T.C. that he wasn't calling to ask for a case-related favor, both his friends were willing to hear him out. When he told them he was worried about Higgins, they both headed over to Robin's Nest. T.C. arrived about twenty minutes after Magnum's call and Rick about five minutes later.
"So she went out on her bike last night and never came back? You're sure?" T.C. was asking as Rick walked in.
"I'm sure. I checked the security feeds and the entire estate. There's no sign of her or her bike. And her cell is going straight to voicemail. I'm telling you guys, something is wrong. Even the dogs are worried." He gestured to his couch where Zeus and Apollo were both slumped down on the cushions, the very picture of misery.
"Okay." T.C. grabbed his cell. "So I guess we start with hospitals and go from there?"
Rick pulled his cell out, too. "I know some people I can call," he said, scrolling through his contacts list. "Maybe I can track her bike down? It might have ended up in a chop shop."
Magnum and T.C. split the hospital listings they found on Google between them. It took longer than any of them would have liked to make their way through their various call lists, and none of them had any luck.
"So, Private Investigator," said Rick, "what now?"
Magnum sighed. "Now I ask Katsumoto if any fatalities were reported last night." He looked troubled, and Rick and T.C. exchanged a look.
"Thomas, you don't really think…"
Magnum cut Rick off. "I don't know what to think yet. But she didn't come home and she's not in hospital. The morgue is the next logical step." He dialed and, catching sight of the concern on his friend's faces, put the call on speaker.
"Not a good time, Magnum," Katsumoto said, bypassing a greeting.
"Just two seconds, please. Were any traffic collisions reported last night? Maybe involving a Jane Doe?" It was a stretch; Magnum knew Higgins would never take out a vehicle without her license. He was pretty sure she didn't leave her bedroom without photo I.D. of some kind, but the professional in him made him ask.
There was a pause as Katsumoto covered his phone's mic, and, when he came back, the background noise had dropped considerably. "A Jane Doe?" he asked. "What's going on, Magnum?"
"We think Higgins is in trouble. We already tried hospitals and some of Rick's contacts and got nowhere. We can't find her."
"Nothing came across my desk," came the reply. "Keep your phone on. I'll ask around." He hung up before any of the trio could thank him, leaving them staring at the silent cell.
"So, do we just sit here and wait for him to call back?" T.C. didn't sound happy at the thought and Rick and Magnum didn't look thrilled either.
"Hell no!" Rick exclaimed, grabbing his keys. "We'll go drive around aimlessly and hope we stumble on something useful, right?" He smirked and the other two chuckled.
"All jokes aside though," said Magnum, "I don't think that's a bad idea. I know she likes to take the back roads around the estate. If we split up and drive along them, then one of us actually might find something."
They took a few minutes to plan out three routes and throw water, granola bars, and first aid kits into their cars, wanting to be prepared if they did manage to find Higgins. After making him swear to call them the second he heard from Katsumoto, Rick and T.C. left Magnum staring at the dogs sitting in the back seat of the Ferrari.
"No way, guys, not happening."
The dogs ignored him.
"Uhh…" He tried snapping his fingers, having seen it work so often for Higgins. "Come along, lads," he called, trying to mimic her accent.
The only response was a yawn and he wondered if that was the equivalent of an eye roll in dog terms.
"All right then," he conceded, climbing into the driver's seat. "Just remember, if you kill me while I'm driving, I will crash this car and take you both out with me." He didn't exactly relax as the dogs utterly failed to attack him while he started the engine, but he did manage to let his shoulders drop just a little. When that didn't prompt growling or barking, he shook his head. "Okay lads," he said, not even realizing he was using Higgins' form of address once again. "Looks like we have ourselves a temporary truce."
Magnum wasn't sure how Rick or T.C. were conducting their searches, but he'd decided to take advantage of Zeus and Apollo and the lack of other cars on the quiet roads. He kept a close eye on the odometer and stopped every time it told him he had traveled a mile. He would scout around looking for clues while the dogs would sniff around for scents. It was slow going, but he didn't want to miss something small that could tell him what had happened to Higgins.
The dogs started whining and barking at the same moment he spotted what he thought were skid marks on the road. He snapped a picture before hurrying over to the mark the dogs were pawing at. The rain that past night hadn't been heavy enough to wash it away, and he found himself looking at a smear of blood.
"If Higgins was in an accident here, then where is she now?" A bark had him scrambling a few steps back, just in case the dogs had decided they were close enough to their mistress and didn't need him any longer. They were both straining as if held back by an invisible lead and understanding dawned.
"You boys think you can smell her?" He was treated to the most scornful look a canine was capable of producing and then found himself staring as the two dogs took off into the forest at top speed. "Hey!" he yelled, taking off after them.
They quickly left him far behind, but there was a clear trail of broken branches and crushed plants for him to follow. Distant barks helped him keep orientated, and he stretched out his legs, pushing himself into a sprint.
The first thing he saw was the ruined bike, its front wheel almost completely off and the handlebars turned more than the steering column should have allowed. A few steps farther and he could see past the bike to where Zeus and Apollo were lying next to a figure on the ground. Her helmet was a few feet away from her, and he could see how pale she was, how the blood had soaked into her hair, how her left leg was sitting at an angle the human body was never meant to achieve. He took it all in as he ran to her, dropping to his knees with none of his usual grace.
"Higgins?" he called, feeling a cold rush of fear. "Don't do this to me." He pressed his fingers against her neck and tipped his head so his ear was over her mouth. The relief that surged through him when he felt a pulse beneath his fingers and her breath against his cheek was indescribable, but it was tempered by how weak the pulse was, how shallow the breath seemed.
He grabbed his phone and dialled 911, explaining the situation as quickly as he could, including the fact that he was unable to move Higgins any closer to the road. The operator assured him an ambulance would be dispatched with a cot instead of a gurney.
"Just a few more minutes, Higgy. You've held on all night. Just hold on a few minutes more." He kept talking as he hit speed dial, Rick answering on the second ring. "I found her. I think she was hit by a car."
Rick swore viciously before replying. "I'll go grab T.C. Let us know which hospital they take her to, and we'll meet you there." He hung up, and Magnum went back to talking to Higgins.
She hadn't shown the slightest sign of a response, and he knew he was only talking to give himself something to do. But he did it anyway, keeping an eye on his watch as the minutes ticked past.
"I don't know if you can hear me or not, so I'll just keep talking until you wake up and tell me to hush." He searched her face for a flicker of consciousness. "Come on, girl," he muttered, "you can do this."
A breathy whimper caught his attention, and his eyes flicked over to Zeus and Apollo.
"You're really upsetting the dogs, you know. They've been so out of sorts they haven't even tried to eat me once today. I wonder how long that'll last once you're back on your feet. It'd be nice if I didn't have to worry about them ripping me to shreds while I sleep for a while."
Still nothing from Higgins, but one of the dogs huffed as if offering an insult.
He was saved from having to figure out how to defend his intelligence against sarcastic hounds from hell by a shout sounding a short way off and two EMTs walking into sight. Magnum listened closely as they talked over Higgins, filing away phrases like "blood pressure dangerously low" and "possible compound fracture." Part of him, a small part that usually never made itself known, wanted to keep a list of everything she had gone through so he could make whoever was responsible suffer in kind.
He was feeling dangerously angry, and he welcomed the dark-haired EMT interrupting his thoughts.
"We're ready to transport. Are you planning on coming along?"
"I'll follow in my car." Magnum gestured in the vague direction of the two dogs, on their feet now and watching the EMTs with great interest. "I doubt this pair will be allowed to sit in the waiting room."
"We'll be taking her to St. Katherine's; just go straight to the nurses' station when you get there." And with that they headed off, moving as quickly as they dared over the uneven ground, the cot swaying slightly between them.
They were a quiet, solemn group as they sat in the hospital waiting room. Higgins had been taken to surgery shortly after the ambulance brought her in. Katsumoto had swung by to take a brief statement from Magnum and used his badge to get them an update. The nurse had told them that, between her blood pressure and body temperature both being so low, her condition was critical. She'd looked solemn as she told them in no uncertain terms that the only reason they were risking an operation on someone so weak was because the internal bleeding just wouldn't wait.
Katsumoto had left shortly after, making them promise to call him as soon as they heard anything. For over three hours now the trio had been sitting in silence, looking up at every footstep.
"Family of Juliet Higgins?" The young nurse smiled as they stood. "The surgeon will be out to see you shortly, but the operation went well. The internal bleeding has been stopped and the damage to the internal organs was repaired. There's some bruising to her kidneys, but we'll be keeping an eye on that. And it turns out that, while her leg was broken, it was a clean break and not a compound fracture as we first thought. There's still a chance that the head wound will cause issues, but the initial scans are very promising. The biggest issue really was the hypothermia; she was in shock when she got here, and it took longer than we would have liked to get her body temperature back up."
"But she's doing okay now?" T.C. sounded nervous, and Magnum and Rick's faces were echoing the emotion.
The nurse gave them a smile and a nod. "Your friend is one strong lady." She looked back to her notes for a moment before continuing. "It looks like she's going to be kept in recovery for a while before we try to get her settled in a room. I'm sorry, but you probably won't be able to see her today." She watched as the men standing in front of her tried and failed to hide their disappointment and was struck by their concern. She'd been doing her job long enough to recognize genuine worry when she saw it. "Maybe I can arrange for one of you to slip in, just for a minute? If you don't mind hanging around for a bit."
Three blinding smiles met her words.
There was no question it would be Magnum who went in when the pretty nurse came back hours later. While Rick flirted with her shamelessly, hanging over the edge of the nurses' desk and T.C. smirked at his friend's antics, Magnum moved silently across the darkened room to the side of the bed.
"Hey there," he whispered, having been threatened with various horrible injuries if he should somehow wake the patient. Higgins was still pale, but her breathing was deeper, more regular, and the monitor to the left told him her pulse was steady and strong. "Rick and T.C. are just outside. We can't stick around too much longer, but I'll be back first thing tomorrow. Maybe you could do me another huge favor and wake up soon?"
He let his hand touch hers, lightly, just to feel the warmth. "It's okay if you can't, we can wait." He crept out as silently as he had entered. With all the drugs and pain meds she'd been given, there was no chance of Higgins waking up any time soon. Still, once he got back to the guest house, Magnum didn't even try to go to bed. He told himself he wasn't worried, that Higgins was one of the strongest people he knew and that she was in good hands. It didn't work, but he tried.
The TV was playing something that he thought was meant to be a comedy, certainly the audience seemed to be laughing. But Magnum's stomach was rumbling, and there was no way late-night TV was going to be compelling enough to distract him from it. He was halfway to his kitchen when the thought struck him that he hadn't seen either of the dogs since he got back and that he hadn't fed them at all. He took a second to call himself an idiot before rushing through to the main house.
"Zeus? Apollo? I hope you guys know where Higgins keeps your food." He stopped as he rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and saw the dogs lying outside the door to Higgins' bedroom. They were flat on their bellies and, even though he was pretty sure they were his mortal enemies in canine form, Magnum couldn't help but feel awful for not thinking of them.
"C'mon fellas," he called, patting his leg in the hopes they would follow him. "How do you feel about steak?"
It didn't take long for the three of them to finish off the meat that Magnum pulled out of his fridge. He'd been surprised by his own appetite and ate until he was feeling an actual pain in his stomach. Forcing himself to move to refill the bowl of water he'd put out for the dogs was the last thing he did before falling fast asleep.
He was woken hours later by barking and felt a moment of panic as his eyes sprung open, hands already coming up to protect his throat. Both dogs were staring at the coffee table, barking at his vibrating phone. He lunged to reach it.
"Hello?"
"Magnum? I was just about to hang up."
"Katsumoto? What happened? Is something wrong?" Magnum couldn't help the panic that flared up.
"Nothing's wrong. I just got a call from the hospital telling me that Higgins is awake and ready for visitors. I'm going to head over, see if she remembers anything about what happened. I thought you might like to know."
Ten minutes later, after managing to unearth two tins of dog food, Magnum was headed back to the hospital. He saw Katsumoto walking in as he pulled the Ferrari into a parking space and jogged to catch up. They walked into Higgins' room together and neither of them could hide a sympathetic wince as she turned her head to greet them. Her right eye was swollen half-shut thanks to the cut just above her eyebrow, and she was still pale.
"It's all right, gents." Her voice was quiet but steady. "I know I must look an absolute fright." She gave a small smile, trying to stop the two men from looking so worried.
"You look like you just survived an ordeal," Magnum said, moving to stand by her bed and patting her shoulder gently. "Nothing 'frightful' about that." His words elicited a genuine smile, and he grinned to see it.
"I need to ask you some questions." Katsumoto walked around to the other side of the bed, taking out his notebook.
"I don't know that I can tell you much," Higgins sighed. "I remember riding my bike and then just a few fragments. Mainly pain and… fear." The pause wasn't lost on either man and Magnum squeezed the shoulder his hand was still resting on. "I'm not even certain how I came to be injured." Her voice shook slightly.
Magnum threw Katsumoto a look that clearly asked, 'Do you really have to do this now?'
Katsumoto took the hint and closed his notebook. "All right," he said, as gently as he could. "Magnum can fill you in on the details. If you do remember anything, just call me. Any time."
The only response he got was a small nod, Higgins clearly feeling the effects of her injuries and painkillers.
As the door closed, Magnum dragged a chair over to the bed and, keeping his voice low, told Higgins all the information he had. He started with how her vicious, evil dogs had snuck up on him while he slept just to see her smile again. By the time he'd gotten around to telling her about the tread marks he'd found, how he suspected she'd been hit by a car and dragged off the road by the panicked driver, she was more than half asleep. He stayed where he was, figuring that the medical staff would kick him out if they needed him to leave.
He was still there hours later when Katsumoto called to say that they were issuing an appeal for information and asking him to tell Higgins.
"We're not too hopeful to be honest. It's pretty much our only shot. The scene didn't give us anything to go on."
Higgins, who had been waking up at odd intervals throughout the day, slept through the call, only waking when the dinner trays were brought around. Even though it was nothing but clear liquids and jello, she announced she was feeling far too 'fuzzy' to eat anything and told Magnum he was welcome to her jello before falling asleep again. The nurse didn't seem at all surprised and explained that it was all perfectly normal, that they expected her to stay awake for longer and longer periods quite quickly.
Magnum gave Rick a call, knowing T.C. was out with a tour, and gave him a quick update on Higgins' condition. Then he settled back down in his chair with her jello in his hand.
Higgins only woke once more before Magnum was chased out of her room by an irate-looking nurse. Higgins seemed more alert than she had been all day, and Magnum was sorry to have to leave her alone. But, like the scary nurse snapped at him, she was still weak and still needed plenty of rest. Higgins gave him a wry grin as he hurried out of her room, hands raised in a gesture of surrender.
"I'll be back in the morning," he called over his shoulder, hearing her quiet, "I'll be waiting," as the door closed.
He spent some time on the beach that evening, watching as Zeus and Apollo ran up and down the sand, chasing each other into the waves. Magnum thought about joining them but quickly realized he still felt exhausted from the stress of the previous day. He stood still, breathing deeply, letting the lingering heat from the last few rays of the sun warm his muscles. He called the dogs, not really expecting them to respond to him, and was pleasantly surprised when they followed him back to the house.
The knowledge that Higgins was well on the way to recovery help ease the remaining tension, and he slept well that night, not even bothered by the snoring of the two dogs sprawled at the foot of his bed.
When Magnum woke up, it was still early, and he had enough time to get breakfast for Zeus and Apollo and call Rick and T.C. before he left for the hospital.
"Some idiot tried to drug his date," Rick told him, disgusted. "I'm still dealing with the cops here. Tell Higgy I'll swing by as soon as I can, okay?"
"I got five tours booked today." T.C. sounded almost regretful, and Magnum was quick to reassure his friend that Higgins wouldn't want him losing money over her.
"She was only just starting to wake up when I left last night," he said. "To be honest, her doctor would probably appreciate us not all piling in at the same time."
He got to the hospital just as visiting hours were starting and couldn't hide his smile at the sight of Higgins sitting up in her bed. She still looked pale and confided in him that moving, even via the adjustable bed, had been 'an exercise in agony.' But she seemed more awake, more her usual self, and they chatted for a while before she suddenly turned to him with a serious look on her face.
"Did I dream it, or did you say you spent the entire day with Zeus and Apollo?"
Magnum laughed. "It wasn't a dream. I wouldn't have found you if it weren't for them."
"So you figured it out then?" she asked. She was already starting to look tired again, but he wasn't about to start an argument by trying to insist she rest.
"Figured it out?" He frowned. "Figured what out?" He was even more confused when Higgins gave a small laugh, being careful not to pull on any of her injuries.
"Those dogs adore you."
He opened his mouth to argue but she kept talking.
"They're dogs, Magnum. They like to chase things."
"Right. Because if they catch me, they get to eat me."
Her laugh was louder this time. "If they catch you, they'll fawn all over you. They know that if they growl at you, you'll run. To them you're a big stick with long legs that's always willing to drop everything to play with them at a moment's notice." At the look on his face she said, "Try it sometime. Let them catch you." Then she looked away from him to try to hide a yawn.
He stood and made a show of stretching before complaining about how uncomfortable the chair was. Just as he'd hoped, Higgins immediately told him to go for a walk to ease his cramped muscles, and, when he looked back in the room just ten minutes later, she was fast asleep.
While Magnum waited for Higgins to wake up, Rick and T.C. arrived. T.C. had bought a bunch of flowers, which he placed on the rolling table so Higgins would see them when she woke up, and Rick was carrying a small stuffed bulldog with a British flag wrapped around its neck. The toy was set on top of the flowers, and the three men made themselves comfortable. When Higgins woke up again, she seemed thrilled to see them all, and the four were talking quietly when Katsumoto walked in.
"Detective," Higgins smiled, her voice strong. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Katsumoto started, getting everyone's attention, "but we have the driver of the car that hit you in custody." He looked as surprised as they all felt. "When he saw the appeal on his social media and realized he'd left you in the forest to die, he walked straight into the station and turned himself in. Apparently he was distracted trying to change the station on his radio, and, when he looked up, he was too close to you to react."
Higgins looked astounded and let out a huff of air. "I have to admit that, from what Magnum told me, I didn't expect to see you find the person who did this." She smiled at T.C. as he patted her arm then looked back at Katsumoto. "What'll happen to him?"
"Depends on how generous the D.A. is feeling. He'll do time for sure."
Higgins was quiet, and the four men watched as her forehead creased in a frown. "It's funny," she said after several long seconds. "I don't feel as relieved as I thought I might. I almost feel sorry for him."
"That's the downside of punishing people for accidents." She looked at Magnum as he spoke, and he took a deep breath as he felt the anger that had been burning inside him suddenly fizzle away with a realization. "What he did was wrong, and he's going to pay for it, but it wasn't deliberately evil… He did a terrible thing, and he's got to suffer the consequences for it, but it was a terrible decision and not a malicious attack…" He looked at her hesitantly, suddenly terrified he had just put his foot in his mouth. When she nodded ever so slightly, he pushed forward. "You feel like it's less like you're getting justice and more like everyone loses," he finished.
She sighed softly and nodded again. "Precisely."
Magnum offered her a smile and put his hand on top of hers. "Whatever happens next, I'm just glad we didn't lose you over this."
Rick and T.C. both echoed Magnum's words and even Katsumoto nodded. The four men stayed for a while longer, lowering their voices as Higgins' eyes started to drop but still keeping the conversation going. Finally, after her breathing had evened out, they all stood and slipped quietly away.
The last one out, Magnum carefully pulled the blanket a little higher over her and flicked the overhead light off before he left, making sure she would have a peaceful night.