So sorry for keeping you wait! Really sorry to Donny. Didn't mean to go on hiatus there. Please review. We put the time into write, you can at least review. Thank you!
Chapter 2
Dr. Linda Calder was almost out the door. Her ten hour shift was almost over when a nurse came rushing up to her.
"Dr. Calder. We have a badly injured child coming in," explained the nurse. Calder paused for a moment and sighed. There goes a relaxing evening at home. Calder turned on her heels and followed the nurse down towards the emergency room.
"How bad of an injury?" asked Calder, quickening her pace.
"Stab wound to the abdomen," replied the nurse.
"How old is the child?" asked Calder.
"Eleven," answered the nurse.
"How'd an eleven year old kid get stabbed?" asked Calder.
"Home invasion. He was home with his older sister when they were attacked by an intruder. The sister was killed and he's barely holding on," replied the nurse. Other nurses were getting the emergency room ready. Calder and the first nurse went out to greet the ambulance. It was going to be a long night.
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Jake wasn't sure if he was dreaming. He could hear voices around him. Some were calling his name. The last thing Jake remembered was being stabbed. Was he dead? If he had survived, he knew he would need surgery. No big deal. He had undergone surgery before. Most everyone in the family had. Who had it last, Jake asked himself. Sarah. That's right. Last month she had her appendix removed. That cost a lot of money. Mom and Dad would be in debt for sure now, thought Jake as he felt himself being moved. His vision came back into focus for a moment. He was staring up at people wearing surgical masks. Yep, he was going to have surgery. Jake descended into blackness, glad to escape the pain and fear.
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The Bakers arrived at the hospital twenty minutes after Jake was taken into surgery. The only news was that his spleen may have been damaged. His pancreas would probably have to go as well. It was just too soon to tell. Jake would be in surgery for awhile. Kate was still in shock over Nora's violent death. She knew that it would hit her with full force later. Everyone got settled down in a private waiting room. Kate pulled Tom aside.
"I want your brother on this," began Kate. Tom rubbed his chin.
"David's only a private investigator now. He's not a homicide detective," replied Tom.
"Nora was murdered tonight and Jake may never be the same again. I'll only trust family with this," exclaimed Kate. She fought back tears. This wasn't the first time she had almost lost Jake. A year ago he'd been hit by a drunk driver and needed extensive orthopedic work on his legs and hips. Now he'd been stabbed and worst, Nora was dead. Tom sighed and caved.
"I'll call David. Get his take on things," assured Tom. Kate nodded and threw her arms around Tom, finally letting it all out.
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David Baker watched with pride as his nine-year-old son hit a home run and won the game for his little league team. Ryan Baker was grinning from ear to ear as he rounded the bases and got lifted up into the air by his teammates. David groaned as the moment was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.
"Yes," said David, answering.
"David, it's Tom," replied the caller. David sucked in a breath. He hadn't spoken to Tom in awhile. He listened as Tom explained to him that Nora had been murdered in a home invasion and Jake was in surgery from a stab wound. The surgery was entering it's second hour. Tom wanted David to look into it.
"I'm sure homicide is more then capable of looking into the case," answered David.
"Kate wants you to look into for us. She trusts you." Ryan was running over to David.
"I have to go." David hung up before Tom could respond. He held his arms out as Ryan leaped into an embrace.
"Did you see my homerun, Dad?" asked Ryan, still grinning.
"I did. It's in the next county by now," answered David, putting Ryan down. The boy looked just like his mother. Black hair. Big brown eyes. A button nose. Unusually full and sensual lips that always seemed to be curled into a smile. He was the spitting image of his mother. Ryan collected his things and followed David to their car. They didn't notice the man watching them from a black El Dorado. The man smiled and blew out a puff of cigarette smoke as David pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.