Chapter Four

"I'm coming with you," Jesse said, pulling on a tee-shirt.

"Jesse, no. You've got class in 7 hours. Go back to sleep, and I'll call when I get news, okay?" He looked uncertain, but sat back down on the bed.

"Be careful. And call me as soon as you get there, okay? You know I don't like you wandering around the city after midnight." I nodded, gave him a quick kiss, grabbed my purse, and left the apartment.

I hurried to the nearest bust stop, but had to wait nearly 15 minutes before the bus came. Aggravated, I paced back and forth before it pulled up. What the hell was going on? Krystal was murdered… Mara was hit by a car. Could the two be related?

No. It couldn't. How crazy and insane would that be. My life wasn't some soap opera or crime show… it was just my life. It must just be a horrible coincidence. Someone was speeding, hit her, and then was too much of a cowardly jackass to stop.

The bus finally showed up, and I hurried on and paid my fare. The rest of the 15 minute ride, I sat nervously, chewing on my fingernails and running my hands through my hair.

Suddenly, I heard the familiar ring on my phone, and I pulled it out of my purse. I checked the number, and it was Lisa's.

"Lisa. Hey. What's happened?" I asked immediately.

"She should be coming out of surgery within the next half hour. And her survival chances are up to 95." I let out a sigh.

"Thank God. Listen, I should be there within, like, 5 minutes, okay?"

"Okay." I hung up, so much more relieved.

Once at the hospital, I called Jesse as I was walking through the doors, and finding the elevator to get to the 5th floor. I told him the news, and he seemed much happier as well.

I found Lisa sitting in the waiting room, and Krystal was there too, unbeknownst to her. "Hey," I said, sliding into the chair next to her. "Any news?"

"She's in recovery, waking up from the anesthesia. We should be able to see her in about half an hour." I nodded. There was a silence, but then Lisa continued talking. "God. What is happening? Krystal is murdered… Mara is hit by a car, and nearly dies…" So she had the same thoughts that I did.

"I know… it must be a weird coincidence, though. It has to be. This whole situation is just… horrible, and it's making us get paranoid. It's natural, after having a friend die, especially at the hands of another person. And here we go, having one friend get murdered, and the other gets hit by a car." I found I was talking, not only to convince her, but myself. "By the way… did they make any arrests?" She shook her head.

"I got a call at about quarter after midnight from her mom. They said that a woman found her, next to her car, while she was taking her dog out. She called the police, and then called her parents, who she had as contact information in her purse, then Catalina called me, to ask if I knew what had happened."

"Where is Mrs. Lowell?"

"She lives about 2 hours away, with Mara's step-dad. She is on her way."

About 20 minutes later, a doctor emerged from a door, and called, "Lisa Hathaway?" We both stood up. "You two are here for Miss Lowell?"

"Yes… can we see her?" I asked.

"She is awake, but still very groggy. She broke her leg, three ribs, her collar bone, and her left arm, so she won't be able to move for a while. Are you her family?"

"No, we're her friends. Her mother is on her way." He nodded, and led us into her room.

Mara lay there, her usually glowing tan skin gray and bruised. Her lip was cut and swollen, and there was a gash on her forehead, covered by a slightly bloody gauze.

"Hey, guys… what's shaking?" She asked hoarsely.

"Oh, God, Mara, we're so glad you're alright!" Lisa cried.

"What happened?" I asked. She twisted her face in concentration.

"I don't really remember that well. I know that after I left your building, I went over to my car, which was parked on that side street. I was trying to find my keys in my bag, I think. Then I just heard the rev of an engine, and I turned, and saw two headlights… and that was it. I vaguely remember waking up for an instant, I heard a dog barking, and a lady yelling." That must have been the woman who called the police.

At that moment, Mara's mother rushed into the room.

"Oh, my baby…" She rushed over and kissed her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Mara said weakly. Lisa and I (and Krystal) politely stepped out of the room, giving Mara and her mother privacy. However, after about ten minutes of waiting in the hallway, talking much more animatedly than we were before, we saw two police officers talking to the nurse at the nurse's station, then she pointed over towards Mara's room. They went in, and about twenty minutes later they re-emerged, looking around. One spotted us, and came over.

"Excuse me, ladies. Can we talk to you?" she said. Her badge said "Officer Leah Hopkins" on it.

"Of course…what do you need?" Lisa asked hesitantly.

"We just spoke to Mara Lowell about her hit and run, and she informed us that she was over at your apartment moments before it occurred."

"Well, it isn't my apartment—it's my boyfriends. I'm just staying with him for the next few months, since there was a fire in my building. But yeah, she was over. So were the rest of our friends—Beth and Angela Postmouth, Cate Jackson, and of course Lisa here, and Mara."

"Where was your boyfriend at the time?"

"Jesse was there for some of it, but then he went out for a walk. He came back at about 10:30, then went to bed." They wrote all of this down on their little notebook.

"What time, approximately, did the guests leave?"

"Oh God… let me think." I brought my memory back to the previous night. Jesse came home…

"Well, our friend Angela left soon after that. Then Cate, then Beth… did you leave before Mara?" I asked Lisa. She shook her head.

"We left at the same time, but I was taking the subway back to my neighborhood, and she had her car parked in the opposite direction, so I said goodbye to her in front of the building."

"For clarification, your boyfriend—Jesse?—returned before Mara Lowell left, correct?"

"Yes. I'm positive. She in fact told me that she knew Jesse was trying to sleep, and that's why she left."

"Do you know what he did while he was out? Did he meet with anyone, possibly a potential driver in this incident?" My eyes bulged out of my sockets.

"What the hell! Are you suggesting Jesse was in on it? How the hell do you know that there was even a plan, or anything? Jesse didn't do anything. Mara was just hit by someone going to fast, then was too cowardly to stop," I exploded.

"We do not believe Jesse was 'in on it.'" Officer Leah said. "However, we also do not think that it was merely an accident, and an act of cowardice. Mara was found on a side street, barely narrow enough to drive through when another car was parked on the side. There isn't a conceivable way that she was hit by a speeder, without their own car crashing into hers. And the tire marks suggest that the driver in question hit her, then backed up and hit her again, several times."

"What? You mean, some one was out to get her?" Lisa asked hoarsely. All of my previous fears rushed back.

"Yes. Which is why we would like to question Jesse, to see if he perhaps saw anyone suspicious." I put my head in my hand.

"When?"

"As soon as possible. We'd like to send an officer over now, if possible. The more time it takes to get evidence, the more likely it is that Mara's attempted murderer gets away." I sighed.

"Just let me call him and give him a heads up, okay?" They nodded. I pulled out my cell phone.

"Mmm… hello?" After about 6 rings, Jesse picked up. It was clear he was still half asleep, and I felt bad about waking him up.

"Jesse, it's me. I'm really sorry to wake you."

"Querida, it's fine." He yawned. "But what is it?"

"The police want to come talk to you."

"To me?" he asked, sounding a bit more awake. "What for?"

"They need to question you about last night, and the, uh, walk that you took." I emphasized that last bit, so that he knew that I told them that, when he went out to mediate that ghost, he was taking a walk.

"When I went to the park?" He asked carefully.

"Yes. I would ask them not to bother you until later, but they said that the sooner they get evidence the better, and otherwise whoever hit her could get away."

"Of course, Querida. I understand. I'll be expecting them."

"Thank you so much, Jesse. I love you."

"I love you too." He hung up, and so did I.

"He's expecting you," I told Officer Leah. She nodded in thanks.

"Would you like a ride back to the apartment? Or would you prefer to stay here?" she asked.

"Thanks. I'm just going to go say goodbye to Mara." She nodded. I knocked gently on the door, then went into Mara's room. Her mother was sitting on the chair next to the bed, and when she saw me, she put her finger to her lips. I saw that Mara was asleep, so I crept over and whispered to Catalina, "When she wakes up, tell her that I'll come by again later." She nodded, and I left the room, and followed Officer Leah to her cruiser.

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Sorry it took a while. I got busy. Now, review, and maybe I'll make time to write more.