The Witness
Chapter 16
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Bosco awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He didn't know how long it was ringing, but he reached over to grab it. He was still a little groggy from the pain medication he took late last night and his voice was a little hoarse from just waking up.
"'Lo," he said into the phone.
"Bosco? Are you awake?" came Faith's voice over the phone. This was starting to become a habit.
"I am now," he said, opening one eye and looking at the clock. It was 10:00 a.m. He hadn't wanted to sleep that late because he had to call the doctor to get an appointment. Now he probably wouldn't be able to get one until tomorrow.
"Have you talked to Katy Logan?" Faith asked him.
"Uh, no. Not since the day before yesterday. Why?" he asked, sitting up because he knew Faith wouldn't have asked if something wasn't going on. He grimaced with the pain of his ankle as he tried to move his foot out from under the covers.
"She's in the hospital. It was on the news last night and this morning. She was attacked by someone," Faith said.
"What?! Where is she?" Bosco said, sliding to the edge of the bed and grabbing for his sweats. The pain rushed back into his ankle as he dangled his foot down and the blood rushed back to this injured area.
"She's at Mercy. You want me to come get you?"
"Yeah. I'll be ready when you get here," he said, remembering she had taken his car home last night. He stood up and reached for his crutches. With his other hand, he reached for the remote and turned on his TV, turning up the volume, hoping to hear a news brief.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith had come up to the apartment to get Bosco because she didn't want him navigating the stairs by himself until he became more familiar with using the crutches. She noticed the pain on his face and made him take another pill since she was driving anyway. On the way out the door, she grabbed his x-rays that were propped on the floor by the door figuring that they'd kill two birds with one stone while they were at Mercy.
Now they were riding up to the 5th floor in the elevator. Bosco had grilled her on the way over as to what had happened and all that Faith could tell her was what the news said; that Katy had been attacked outside the offices of the Department of Child & Family Services. The report continued to say that there were no witnesses and that the victim was hospitalized and could not be questioned by the police until she regained consciousness.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped off. They stopped at the nurse's station to see where Katy's room was and were directed two doors down. There was a police officer outside of the room, no doubt stationed there in the event she regained consciousness, even if only briefly. They approached the room and were asked for their identification. They each showed their identifications and badges and were allowed into the room.
They walked up to the bed and saw Katy laying there, her head bandaged and a cast on her right arm. There were multiple cuts and bruises to her face and arms. They couldn't see her legs under the covers. She had an oxygen mask and IVs running and was hooked up to a heart monitor.
"God," Bosco said. "What the hell happened?" he said and Faith saw the look of anger and concern on his face. "I gotta find whoever did this."
"Bos, you're out of work, remember? I'll keep on top of it and let you know what's going on. You should be here with her. I wonder why her family's not here?" Faith said.
"She doesn't have any family," Bosco said quietly.
"What?" Faith asked.
"She grew up in the system. Foster parents until she was 18 and then she was booted out of the system. That's why she's been helping me with Cole. She tries to help all her cases - kids - get placed permanently before they're 18. Too many, like her, outgrew the system and were turned out onto the streets with no clue how to fend for themselves or get jobs," he explained, never taking his eyes off her. Faith could tell he'd grown quite close to Katy in the time they'd spent together on Cole's behalf. He never talked about her and Faith thought it was all business. But, by the look on his face now and the way he talked about her, she realized that it must be serious for him not to talk about his exploits during their shifts.
"I'm gonna go see if I can find a doctor or somebody to find out exactly how badly she's hurt," Faith said.
"Okay," Bosco said, turning to watch Faith leave.
"Well, at least I know you were listening to me when I told you my life story," came a soft whisper and Bosco turned back to Katy quickly.
"Katy?" Bosco said. "My God. Are you okay?"
"I'd say no since I'm hooked up to all this stuff," she said, beginning to drift off again.
"Did you see who did this to you?" Bosco asked her before she passed out again.
Too late, she was out again. Faith came back in with the doctor and Bosco told them that she was just awake for a second. Faith went to get the officer that was stationed outside so that he could be in the room in the event she came to again.
The doctor explained her injuries and how lucky she was. She had a concussion and some eye damage. They weren't sure whether she'd regain full sight in her left eye, but the doctors were optimistic. Her right arm was fractured in two places from where she'd tried to ward off the blows from some type of weapon. She had some broken ribs and a bruised spleen.
"Was there any sign of sexual assault," Faith asked, knowing that Bosco wanted to ask but couldn't bring himself to.
"It doesn't appear that way from our examination, but we'll have to wait until she wakes up to see if she remembers," the doctor explained.
"No," came Katy's voice again.
"What?" Bosco said again, immediately at her side.
"No sexual assault. Wasn't this enough?" she tried to joke.
"Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humor?" he joked back. "So, did you see who did this to you? Can you describe the person?"
"I can do better than that. I can give you the names," she said, grabbing everyone's attention fully.
"Katy?" Bosco urged her to go on.
"It was Raven and his Latin Lords," she said, anger heavy in her voice. Bosco slammed his hands on the bedrail and turned to go, eager to get after her attackers. "She grabbed at his arm with her good hand and added. "Bos, they took my files. They wanted to know where Cole was." He put a hand over hers and then turned to leave again.
"Bosco! I don't want you going after them by yourself. I want it done by the book so that these scumbags are off the street for a long, long time," Katy said.
"Relax, Katy," Faith said, coming up alongside of Bosco. "He's not gonna be running anywhere with a broken ankle. He's on the disabled list for at least three weeks. Now, you need to give the information to this officer so he can file a report and get the ball rolling on picking up Raven and his boys. I'm gonna call the station and let Lieutenant Swersky know about it. Then, I'll call and alert Cole's doctor to step up security at the Center. You need to concentrate on getting better so you can testify and put them away. And Bosco, you need to get down to Dr. Adams' office to get a cast put on your leg," she said, turning to Bosco.
He looked at her wondering when she'd set up the appointment. "I ran into him at the desk outside when I went to find Katy's doctor. I handed him the x-rays and he said he can see you right now. Third floor, Room 392," she said, stepping aside so he could maneuver past her with his crutches.
"Call the Center first, then Swersky," he told his partner. "I'll be back as soon as I get this taken care of," Bosco said to Katy. "You'll be okay?"
"I'm not goin' anywhere," she said. "Faith. I need to hear this story. You know, for future ammunition," she joked.
"Oh, I'll tell you all about it after you finish talking to Officer Duncan here," Faith said. She walked out to call the Lieutenant and watched Bosco hobble down to the elevators and get in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He didn't know how long it was ringing, but he reached over to grab it. He was still a little groggy from the pain medication he took late last night and his voice was a little hoarse from just waking up.
"'Lo," he said into the phone.
"Bosco? Are you awake?" came Faith's voice over the phone. This was starting to become a habit.
"I am now," he said, opening one eye and looking at the clock. It was 10:00 a.m. He hadn't wanted to sleep that late because he had to call the doctor to get an appointment. Now he probably wouldn't be able to get one until tomorrow.
"Have you talked to Katy Logan?" Faith asked him.
"Uh, no. Not since the day before yesterday. Why?" he asked, sitting up because he knew Faith wouldn't have asked if something wasn't going on. He grimaced with the pain of his ankle as he tried to move his foot out from under the covers.
"She's in the hospital. It was on the news last night and this morning. She was attacked by someone," Faith said.
"What?! Where is she?" Bosco said, sliding to the edge of the bed and grabbing for his sweats. The pain rushed back into his ankle as he dangled his foot down and the blood rushed back to this injured area.
"She's at Mercy. You want me to come get you?"
"Yeah. I'll be ready when you get here," he said, remembering she had taken his car home last night. He stood up and reached for his crutches. With his other hand, he reached for the remote and turned on his TV, turning up the volume, hoping to hear a news brief.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith had come up to the apartment to get Bosco because she didn't want him navigating the stairs by himself until he became more familiar with using the crutches. She noticed the pain on his face and made him take another pill since she was driving anyway. On the way out the door, she grabbed his x-rays that were propped on the floor by the door figuring that they'd kill two birds with one stone while they were at Mercy.
Now they were riding up to the 5th floor in the elevator. Bosco had grilled her on the way over as to what had happened and all that Faith could tell her was what the news said; that Katy had been attacked outside the offices of the Department of Child & Family Services. The report continued to say that there were no witnesses and that the victim was hospitalized and could not be questioned by the police until she regained consciousness.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped off. They stopped at the nurse's station to see where Katy's room was and were directed two doors down. There was a police officer outside of the room, no doubt stationed there in the event she regained consciousness, even if only briefly. They approached the room and were asked for their identification. They each showed their identifications and badges and were allowed into the room.
They walked up to the bed and saw Katy laying there, her head bandaged and a cast on her right arm. There were multiple cuts and bruises to her face and arms. They couldn't see her legs under the covers. She had an oxygen mask and IVs running and was hooked up to a heart monitor.
"God," Bosco said. "What the hell happened?" he said and Faith saw the look of anger and concern on his face. "I gotta find whoever did this."
"Bos, you're out of work, remember? I'll keep on top of it and let you know what's going on. You should be here with her. I wonder why her family's not here?" Faith said.
"She doesn't have any family," Bosco said quietly.
"What?" Faith asked.
"She grew up in the system. Foster parents until she was 18 and then she was booted out of the system. That's why she's been helping me with Cole. She tries to help all her cases - kids - get placed permanently before they're 18. Too many, like her, outgrew the system and were turned out onto the streets with no clue how to fend for themselves or get jobs," he explained, never taking his eyes off her. Faith could tell he'd grown quite close to Katy in the time they'd spent together on Cole's behalf. He never talked about her and Faith thought it was all business. But, by the look on his face now and the way he talked about her, she realized that it must be serious for him not to talk about his exploits during their shifts.
"I'm gonna go see if I can find a doctor or somebody to find out exactly how badly she's hurt," Faith said.
"Okay," Bosco said, turning to watch Faith leave.
"Well, at least I know you were listening to me when I told you my life story," came a soft whisper and Bosco turned back to Katy quickly.
"Katy?" Bosco said. "My God. Are you okay?"
"I'd say no since I'm hooked up to all this stuff," she said, beginning to drift off again.
"Did you see who did this to you?" Bosco asked her before she passed out again.
Too late, she was out again. Faith came back in with the doctor and Bosco told them that she was just awake for a second. Faith went to get the officer that was stationed outside so that he could be in the room in the event she came to again.
The doctor explained her injuries and how lucky she was. She had a concussion and some eye damage. They weren't sure whether she'd regain full sight in her left eye, but the doctors were optimistic. Her right arm was fractured in two places from where she'd tried to ward off the blows from some type of weapon. She had some broken ribs and a bruised spleen.
"Was there any sign of sexual assault," Faith asked, knowing that Bosco wanted to ask but couldn't bring himself to.
"It doesn't appear that way from our examination, but we'll have to wait until she wakes up to see if she remembers," the doctor explained.
"No," came Katy's voice again.
"What?" Bosco said again, immediately at her side.
"No sexual assault. Wasn't this enough?" she tried to joke.
"Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humor?" he joked back. "So, did you see who did this to you? Can you describe the person?"
"I can do better than that. I can give you the names," she said, grabbing everyone's attention fully.
"Katy?" Bosco urged her to go on.
"It was Raven and his Latin Lords," she said, anger heavy in her voice. Bosco slammed his hands on the bedrail and turned to go, eager to get after her attackers. "She grabbed at his arm with her good hand and added. "Bos, they took my files. They wanted to know where Cole was." He put a hand over hers and then turned to leave again.
"Bosco! I don't want you going after them by yourself. I want it done by the book so that these scumbags are off the street for a long, long time," Katy said.
"Relax, Katy," Faith said, coming up alongside of Bosco. "He's not gonna be running anywhere with a broken ankle. He's on the disabled list for at least three weeks. Now, you need to give the information to this officer so he can file a report and get the ball rolling on picking up Raven and his boys. I'm gonna call the station and let Lieutenant Swersky know about it. Then, I'll call and alert Cole's doctor to step up security at the Center. You need to concentrate on getting better so you can testify and put them away. And Bosco, you need to get down to Dr. Adams' office to get a cast put on your leg," she said, turning to Bosco.
He looked at her wondering when she'd set up the appointment. "I ran into him at the desk outside when I went to find Katy's doctor. I handed him the x-rays and he said he can see you right now. Third floor, Room 392," she said, stepping aside so he could maneuver past her with his crutches.
"Call the Center first, then Swersky," he told his partner. "I'll be back as soon as I get this taken care of," Bosco said to Katy. "You'll be okay?"
"I'm not goin' anywhere," she said. "Faith. I need to hear this story. You know, for future ammunition," she joked.
"Oh, I'll tell you all about it after you finish talking to Officer Duncan here," Faith said. She walked out to call the Lieutenant and watched Bosco hobble down to the elevators and get in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...