Hot Call! Chapter 2
Greg and Jules pulled up at St. Pat's ER and hurried in to the desk. Greg related that they were investigating an officer involved shooting. The nurse directed them back through the electric doors to the trauma room. Shelley was sitting in a hard arm chair in the hallway across from the room. The area created a small alcove which gave them a modicum of privacy. Shelley looked composed but her hands were wringing on her lap and her eyes were red from previous crying. The officers could see movement behind the curtains, but couldn't get a glimpse of their friend at all. Shelley looked up expectantly and stood to greet first Jules and Greg. After quick hugs, Greg urged the pretty blond woman to sit. Jules pulled up a chair next to her and the sergeant sat across from the women.
"Shelley, I'm so sorry. Have they told you anything? Was Wordy able to talk to you?" Greg made a conscious effort to slow himself down and took a deep breath. Shelley spoke quietly, "Thank you both for coming. They said they would come talk after they examined him. It's been about fifteen minutes. I've seen them bring in some blood and the x-ray machine was here earlier. Wordy was awake when I got to him in the driveway. He worried about the girls so a neighbor took them. He was shot in the upper belly on the left. Right under the rib cage. It was a lot of blood, Greg. I put pressure on it, but I'm scared." Jules hugged her friend and said, "We all know Wordy's tough, Shell. He's going to be okay."
Greg also spoke reassuringly and then asked, "Did you see anything, Shelley? I hate to ask, but we're trying to get a handle on this thing." Wordy's wife shook her head negatively. "I heard the shots, but by the time I got to him there was no one. Lillie said it was a brown car, but she was hysterical and that was upsetting Wordy so I let the neighbor take her. Oh, the girls, Greg, have you heard about the girls.?" Shelley's voice sounded back on the verge of tears.
The sergeant took her hand and smiled gently, "They're okay, Shelley. I had Spike talk to them. The little ones made him a snack and seem relatively unaffected. Lillie's having a harder time, but Spike said he thought about what Wordy would do and calmed her down." All three adult allowed themselves a small smile at that picture. Greg continued, "Lillie saw a dirty brown car, but not much else. Sophie was coming to pick them up. They'll all head back to the Lanes' house. I sent Dean that way too. Eddie will put some cruisers over there just as a precaution. Your neighbors, Grace and Darby, were on top of things getting them ready to go." Shelley shoulders relaxed a bit with that update. Before they could continue, a doctor came out of the curtain and addressed them.
"Mrs. Wordsworth? May I have a word?" Greg and Jules stood to give them room, but Shelley grasped their hands and said, "Stay, please?" Three sets of eyes looked toward the scrub clad doctor. He was kind, but business-like. "Mr. Wordsworth is stable and we will be taking him to surgery in a few minutes. I believe the bullet hit his spleen. I won't know if we will have to remove it or if there's other damage until we get in and look around. He is on his second unit of blood and we have more ready if we need it. I'm going to let you have a couple of minutes with him before we take him up." Then he looked toward the officers. "One of you wouldn't happen to be Sergeant Greg Parker, would you?" Greg acknowledged, "That would be me." The doctor smiled and went on, "Mr. Wordsworth is insistent that he is not going to surgery until he has spoken to you. He has a bit of pain medicine on board, but he is remarkably stubborn for someone in his physical state so I've cleared you to go in. Try to keep it short and tell him his job is to heal now." The doctor turned again to his patient's wife. "I'm going up to get ready for surgery. I'll come to the Surgical Waiting Room when we're done to give you the update. Don't worry if things seem to take a while the first part of surgery will be putting in some monitoring lines and an epidural for post-op pain management. He'll go to the surgical ICU tonight after recovery and then we'll re-evaluate tomorrow. Get yourself a bite to eat and try and rest while you're waiting." With that the doctor turned on his heel and headed toward the elevators.
Greg looked to Shelley and said, "You go ahead. Jules and I will get the update from the team. If Wordy is up to it after you see him, I'll take a minute." She turned toward the curtain and went in.
Greg used his phone to call his team leader who picked up immediately. Ed first question was about his long time friend, "Greg, how's is he?" Parker responded with "The doctor says he's stable. Headed for surgery. Shelley is in with him now and then I'll just have a quick minute. Shell didn't see anything, Ed."
"Okay, tell him he'll be buying two rounds for this shindig. We don't have a lot to go on here. Guns and Gangs is working with us, but Wordy's new there. He's not up to speed enough to have anything going on his own. They're hitting the neighborhoods putting the pressure on, but no one's hopeful. Spike is checking the traffic cams. It's a lot of territory and like looking for a needle in a haystack." Ed took a minute for a frustrated face scrub. His boss chimed in, "I'll try to find out what Wordy knows. He may not be able to give us much either. Jules and I will head your way as soon as I'm done here. What's the status on the girls?"
His team leader gave a small laugh and replied, "Those little girls are chatterboxes. Lillie is quiet though. Sophie's taken them back to the house. Dean and Clark are there as well. I put a car in front and one on the side. They'll be okay. Let me know when you're on the move." The sergeant agreed and hung up just as Shelley was coming out the curtain.
Wordy lay on the stretcher as his wife went to get his good friend and former boss. If felt good to see her before surgery, but he wanted a minute with Greg. The doctor was fairly reassuring, but the patient knew he'd be able to tell more by talking to Greg and Ed. He knew exactly how they responded when one of their own was in trouble. Their demeanor would give a clue of what the doctor was thinking. He turned his head toward the curtain to watch Greg enter the room.
"Kevin Wordsworth, what trouble are you up to now?" Greg said with a smile as he moved toward his friend. "How are you doing?" he asked as he took in the lines and wires. Wordy felt a measure of relief. Greg was using his "this is a walk in the park and I'm on it with you" voice. However, his concern seemed appropriate without forced cheer.
"I've had better days, boss. Shelley said the girls are okay?" The patient turned that last statement into a question. Greg told him the girls were safe and doing okay with Sophie. He then switched to sergeant mode.
"Any clue about who this was, Word? Have you had threats?" Greg knew he only had a short time and didn't want to tire his friend out.
"Yes, I have a pretty good idea. Last week, at the town pool, I stepped into a situation in the parking lot. Don't know the family's name, but the husband was just berating the wife. She had that look, boss. One girl was Lillie's age and they had been playing together just a while before this. I just walked up and asked the guy to slow it down and take a time out. No one wanted to hear that stuff. If he's like that in public, I can't imagine what it's like at home. I gave the wife my card with the domestic violence hotline number on the back. He was none too happy with me. As we headed toward the cars, his parting shot was "If I was you, I'd watch out for you and yours." I didn't think much of it, but the car was the same today. It was a brown Honda sedan. Maybe around five years old. Didn't see the plate." Wordy's voice was losing strength and Greg help up a hand and said, "Okay, buddy, that's good work. It's time to leave it to us. I'll get the team right on this. Your job is to listen to the doctors and rest up."
The patient wasn't done yet. He had one more task before surgery and asked for a favor, "Greg, call Ed for me. I need a moment then they can take me up." His former boss gave him a long look, but did as he asked. A nurse came in to hang medication through the IV and checked the monitor for his vital signs. As she was leaving, she called over her shoulder, "Five minutes and we'll be transporting you."
Greg handed Wordy the phone and stepped back to give him privacy. Using his arm with the least amount of equipment, Wordy brought the cell phone to his ear. He heard, "Kevin Tucker Wordsworth, if you needed to talk to me, there are easier ways to go about it. What's going on, buddy?" His injured friend listened closely to Ed's voice. He knew that when the team leader got worried about those he cared about his voice softened considerably. He was satisfied that, like Greg, Ed seemed concerned, but not overly worried. He wanted to get through this last request so they could all get on with the next steps. "I'm doing okay, Ed. Pain meds good. Listen, the doctors are telling me all should be okay. Just in case though, Ed, you'll be there for Shell and the girls, right? I need to know…"
His long time friend broke in, "Wordy, I've got your back. We all have your back—no matter what. However, your orders are to get better quick. You hear me, Word? You hear me?" He waited and heard, "I'll get right on that, Eddie." Wordy handed the phone off to the boss, closed his eyes and seemed to drift off to sleep. The sergeant spoke to his team leader, "We'll be on our way. I'm going to get a Uni on the surgical waiting room until we get this guy." He took one more look back at Wordy on the stretcher. His friend had been tested this year. He always responded with courage and grace. Greg hoped it could last through this latest setback. He shouldn't have been surprised when despite his closed eyes, the constable spoke one more time. "Boss, stop worrying over me and get on with it. I'm just resting here. I'll be fine. Go. And thank you."