Chapter 21
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young student nurse came down the hallway to the makeshift office that was set up in one of the empty rooms near the waiting room. She knocked lightly on the door, clearing her throat to get someone's attention.
All eyes turned to her waiting to hear what it was she needed. "Um, is there a Lieutenant Swersky here?" she asked timidly.
"I'm Swersky," replied the Lieutenant.
"Lieutenant, I have a phone call for you at the desk. It's Dr. Jamison from the ER," she finished.
"On my way," he said to the young girl and she turned to walk back toward the desk. Swerksy got up from his chair with a heavy sigh. "I really can't afford to have any more of my people injured," he said aloud, figuring that was the only reason that the ER would be calling him.
He made his way to the desk, glancing into Faith and Bosco's room on he way by. He absently noticed a patient in another room of the ICU walking around in his room, not even thinking that usually patients in the ICU are unable to get around on their own. He continued on to the desk and picked up the phone that the nurse indicated.
"Swersky," he said gruffly into the phone. He listened to the voice on the other end.
"Lieutenant, I was in the lounge down here and I happened to look at the bulletin board. I've looked at it a thousand times before and I can't believe I never put it together before," Dr. Jamison said very quickly.
"Put what together?" asked the Lieutenant, losing patience.
"I happened to glance at the bulletin board and saw the flier on that hit and run guy you're looking for. You know, Samuel Benson?" Jamison said.
"What about him?" asked the Lieutenant, getting a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach - the feeling he always got before a case broke open.
"Well, I didn't recognize him right away because he came in looking quite different from the picture you guys have on the flier. But, that guy is a patient of mine - and he's in the ICU right now. He's listed under the name of Simon Crisafulli and he was roomed with Bosco at the time that he coded. That explains how the morphine got into him - Crisafulli must have done it!" Jamison finally finished.
"Get up here!" Swersky yelled into the phone, hanging it up. He looked at the young nurse and asked, "What room for Crisafulli?"
"What?" she said nervously.
"Simon Crisafulli! What room is he in?" he said again, realizing he was scaring the young girl.
She grabbed the patient list and ran her finger down the names. "Room 4," she answered, pointing the Lieutenant in the direction of the room.
The Lieutenant grabbed the microphone from his portable and called down to their makeshift office down the hall for back-up, "This is Swersky. I need you guys in ICU Room 4 for hit and run suspect. I need one man to cover the patients in Room 6," he said, thinking that Benson might try to finish the job on Bosco. "Get someone down to the medic's room on the 4th floor also," he ordered. He heard the chairs in the office being shuffled and saw the first of the officers come out into the hallway, head in his direction and duck into Bosco's room. The Lieutenant held up his hand for them to be quiet as he approached the room. He pulled his gun from his holster and unfastened the safety. He stopped at the doorway and peeked around into the room. He saw the bed was empty and carefully entered the room, checking the dark corners. He flipped on the light and determined that the room was empty. "Dammit!" he said out loud as the fellow officers came in behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jamison hung up the phone, told the nurse at the desk he was heading up to ICU, ran to the elevator and pushed the button. After a moment, the elevator car came to his floor and the door opened. He stepped in, not noticing that Sully and Davis were coming through the ER doors with a drunk with a scalp laceration. He turned to push the button for the ICU when he noticed the man standing in the corner of the otherwise empty car. He looked at the man's face and realized that it was Samuel Benson - the patient he knew as Simon Crisafulli.
"Finally put the pieces together I see, Doctor," sneered Benson as he grabbed the doctor around the shoulders and pulled him toward him, turning his face away from him at the same time. Before he knew what had happened, Jamison was standing in front of the man, his back to him, with a scalpel held to his throat.
"Push the basement button," ordered Benson. Dr. Jamison reached out and pushed "B" and the elevator door closed and the car descended.
Just as Sully and Davis were handing over their patient to the care of the ER, they heard Lieutenant Swersky's transmission over their portable from upstairs. Sully and Davis quickly looked at each other and Sully cuffed their prisoner to the handrail on the gurney and took off.
"You take the south stairs and I'll take the north," he yelled to Davis as the two parted company and headed up the stairwells. Davis yelled over to the security officer in the ER, "Lock down all exits! No one leaves until you hear further." He saw the security guard spring into action. As they were heading up the stairs, they heard another transmission from the Lieutenant, "Central, this is Lt. Swerksy. I need back-up cars to Mercy Hospital. We have a lead on the hit and run driver and need available back-up at my location."
"Central to Lieutenant. I show 55-Charlie at your location. I'll advise and dispatch additional units," came the reply from the dispatcher.
Before the dispatcher could contact them, Sully grabbed his microphone, "55-Charlie - we're on it. My partner and I are taking the north and south stairwells. We have security locking down the exits."
"10-4, 55-Charlie. Lieutenant do you copy?" came the voice of the dispatcher.
"10-4. Sully, this guy is on foot somewhere. We're checking the floor. Report to me upon your arrival," ordered the Lieutenant.
Davis reached the ICU floor first and came out onto the floor, gun drawn. He saw Sully enter the floor from the north stairwell a moment later and the two began a search heading toward the center of the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco and Faith were quietly watching television and resting. Bosco was drifting in and out of sleep due to the pain medication for his broken ribs. They were both startled by the sound of someone entering their room in a rush. They looked up to see one of the detectives, gun drawn, checking on them.
"What the hell's going on Dixon?" asked Faith, trying not to sound alarmed and glancing over at Bosco.
"Hit and run guy is all I heard. I was told to get in here and cover you guys. That's all I got so far," he said looking around the room and returning to the doorway to prevent anyone from entering.
"Perfect," Bosco said weakly. "Just what I need," he said, rubbing his chest lightly, fully awake now.
"He wouldn't be stupid enough to come back in here, Bos," she said, more to reassure her self than Bosco.
Davis made his way up the hallway, checking each room along the way. He passed by Bosco and Faith's room and nodded to them on the way by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy was sitting in Kim's room waiting for her to return from her x-rays when a uniformed officer came into the room, gun drawn. He looked up and stood up quickly. "What?" he asked.
"Who are you?" asked the officer. "Let me see some ID," he ordered.
Jimmy slowly reached into his back pocket for his wallet, "I'm Jimmy Doherty. This is my wife's room, Kim Zambrano. What's going on?" he asked again, showing the officer his fire department identification and his license.
"Hit and run driver may be in the building was all I was told. Where's your wife?" asked the officer.
"She's down the hall in x-ray. Get down there," he said, not wanting to waste any more time here. The officer exited the room and headed for the x-ray department. Jimmy followed him.
They entered the department and quickly located Kim in a room. She was done being x-rayed and was waiting from someone from transportation to bring her back to her room. Jimmy filled her in on what was going on and began wheeling her back to her room, the police officer accompanying them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jamison and Samuel Benson exited through the loading dock of the hospital and made their way to the doctor's parking lot.
"Okay, Doc. I know you've got a car here somewhere. Let's get to it," he ordered. Jamison hesitated for a moment and felt the blade of the scalpel push against his carotid artery. "Don't be a hero," he heard Benson whisper in his ear. He moved toward his car, grabbing the keys out of his pocket as he heard the approaching sirens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.... Soon, I promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young student nurse came down the hallway to the makeshift office that was set up in one of the empty rooms near the waiting room. She knocked lightly on the door, clearing her throat to get someone's attention.
All eyes turned to her waiting to hear what it was she needed. "Um, is there a Lieutenant Swersky here?" she asked timidly.
"I'm Swersky," replied the Lieutenant.
"Lieutenant, I have a phone call for you at the desk. It's Dr. Jamison from the ER," she finished.
"On my way," he said to the young girl and she turned to walk back toward the desk. Swerksy got up from his chair with a heavy sigh. "I really can't afford to have any more of my people injured," he said aloud, figuring that was the only reason that the ER would be calling him.
He made his way to the desk, glancing into Faith and Bosco's room on he way by. He absently noticed a patient in another room of the ICU walking around in his room, not even thinking that usually patients in the ICU are unable to get around on their own. He continued on to the desk and picked up the phone that the nurse indicated.
"Swersky," he said gruffly into the phone. He listened to the voice on the other end.
"Lieutenant, I was in the lounge down here and I happened to look at the bulletin board. I've looked at it a thousand times before and I can't believe I never put it together before," Dr. Jamison said very quickly.
"Put what together?" asked the Lieutenant, losing patience.
"I happened to glance at the bulletin board and saw the flier on that hit and run guy you're looking for. You know, Samuel Benson?" Jamison said.
"What about him?" asked the Lieutenant, getting a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach - the feeling he always got before a case broke open.
"Well, I didn't recognize him right away because he came in looking quite different from the picture you guys have on the flier. But, that guy is a patient of mine - and he's in the ICU right now. He's listed under the name of Simon Crisafulli and he was roomed with Bosco at the time that he coded. That explains how the morphine got into him - Crisafulli must have done it!" Jamison finally finished.
"Get up here!" Swersky yelled into the phone, hanging it up. He looked at the young nurse and asked, "What room for Crisafulli?"
"What?" she said nervously.
"Simon Crisafulli! What room is he in?" he said again, realizing he was scaring the young girl.
She grabbed the patient list and ran her finger down the names. "Room 4," she answered, pointing the Lieutenant in the direction of the room.
The Lieutenant grabbed the microphone from his portable and called down to their makeshift office down the hall for back-up, "This is Swersky. I need you guys in ICU Room 4 for hit and run suspect. I need one man to cover the patients in Room 6," he said, thinking that Benson might try to finish the job on Bosco. "Get someone down to the medic's room on the 4th floor also," he ordered. He heard the chairs in the office being shuffled and saw the first of the officers come out into the hallway, head in his direction and duck into Bosco's room. The Lieutenant held up his hand for them to be quiet as he approached the room. He pulled his gun from his holster and unfastened the safety. He stopped at the doorway and peeked around into the room. He saw the bed was empty and carefully entered the room, checking the dark corners. He flipped on the light and determined that the room was empty. "Dammit!" he said out loud as the fellow officers came in behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jamison hung up the phone, told the nurse at the desk he was heading up to ICU, ran to the elevator and pushed the button. After a moment, the elevator car came to his floor and the door opened. He stepped in, not noticing that Sully and Davis were coming through the ER doors with a drunk with a scalp laceration. He turned to push the button for the ICU when he noticed the man standing in the corner of the otherwise empty car. He looked at the man's face and realized that it was Samuel Benson - the patient he knew as Simon Crisafulli.
"Finally put the pieces together I see, Doctor," sneered Benson as he grabbed the doctor around the shoulders and pulled him toward him, turning his face away from him at the same time. Before he knew what had happened, Jamison was standing in front of the man, his back to him, with a scalpel held to his throat.
"Push the basement button," ordered Benson. Dr. Jamison reached out and pushed "B" and the elevator door closed and the car descended.
Just as Sully and Davis were handing over their patient to the care of the ER, they heard Lieutenant Swersky's transmission over their portable from upstairs. Sully and Davis quickly looked at each other and Sully cuffed their prisoner to the handrail on the gurney and took off.
"You take the south stairs and I'll take the north," he yelled to Davis as the two parted company and headed up the stairwells. Davis yelled over to the security officer in the ER, "Lock down all exits! No one leaves until you hear further." He saw the security guard spring into action. As they were heading up the stairs, they heard another transmission from the Lieutenant, "Central, this is Lt. Swerksy. I need back-up cars to Mercy Hospital. We have a lead on the hit and run driver and need available back-up at my location."
"Central to Lieutenant. I show 55-Charlie at your location. I'll advise and dispatch additional units," came the reply from the dispatcher.
Before the dispatcher could contact them, Sully grabbed his microphone, "55-Charlie - we're on it. My partner and I are taking the north and south stairwells. We have security locking down the exits."
"10-4, 55-Charlie. Lieutenant do you copy?" came the voice of the dispatcher.
"10-4. Sully, this guy is on foot somewhere. We're checking the floor. Report to me upon your arrival," ordered the Lieutenant.
Davis reached the ICU floor first and came out onto the floor, gun drawn. He saw Sully enter the floor from the north stairwell a moment later and the two began a search heading toward the center of the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco and Faith were quietly watching television and resting. Bosco was drifting in and out of sleep due to the pain medication for his broken ribs. They were both startled by the sound of someone entering their room in a rush. They looked up to see one of the detectives, gun drawn, checking on them.
"What the hell's going on Dixon?" asked Faith, trying not to sound alarmed and glancing over at Bosco.
"Hit and run guy is all I heard. I was told to get in here and cover you guys. That's all I got so far," he said looking around the room and returning to the doorway to prevent anyone from entering.
"Perfect," Bosco said weakly. "Just what I need," he said, rubbing his chest lightly, fully awake now.
"He wouldn't be stupid enough to come back in here, Bos," she said, more to reassure her self than Bosco.
Davis made his way up the hallway, checking each room along the way. He passed by Bosco and Faith's room and nodded to them on the way by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy was sitting in Kim's room waiting for her to return from her x-rays when a uniformed officer came into the room, gun drawn. He looked up and stood up quickly. "What?" he asked.
"Who are you?" asked the officer. "Let me see some ID," he ordered.
Jimmy slowly reached into his back pocket for his wallet, "I'm Jimmy Doherty. This is my wife's room, Kim Zambrano. What's going on?" he asked again, showing the officer his fire department identification and his license.
"Hit and run driver may be in the building was all I was told. Where's your wife?" asked the officer.
"She's down the hall in x-ray. Get down there," he said, not wanting to waste any more time here. The officer exited the room and headed for the x-ray department. Jimmy followed him.
They entered the department and quickly located Kim in a room. She was done being x-rayed and was waiting from someone from transportation to bring her back to her room. Jimmy filled her in on what was going on and began wheeling her back to her room, the police officer accompanying them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jamison and Samuel Benson exited through the loading dock of the hospital and made their way to the doctor's parking lot.
"Okay, Doc. I know you've got a car here somewhere. Let's get to it," he ordered. Jamison hesitated for a moment and felt the blade of the scalpel push against his carotid artery. "Don't be a hero," he heard Benson whisper in his ear. He moved toward his car, grabbing the keys out of his pocket as he heard the approaching sirens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.... Soon, I promise.