Chapter 6 The Aftermath
There was nothing short of pandemonium for the next several minutes as police made sure that no one else was in the suite and paramedics raced into the room. Pete made sure Karen was not armed and EMT's carefully pulled Myka back so that they could attend to Helena. The sound of people yelling all blurred in the background as Myka grabbed HG's left hand as they strapped her onto a stretcher. Over and over again she heard herself assuring Helena that she would be ok, that it would be ok. The truth was she wasn't sure what she meant. There were no bullet wounds but it was obvious to the paramedic that HG had sustained burns across her abdomen from what he deduced was a Taser gun. Her right wrist was swollen and they packed it in ice so they could x-ray it when they got to the hospital. They also said she might have a slight concussion based on the swelling lump on the back of her head. Myka did not let go of her hand the entire trip to the ER where doctors ripped the rest of Helena's clothes to assess where any damage was. More than once they remarked that they had never seen burns like that from a Taser.
It would seem almost ironic that a second team of EMT's were now bringing Karen Carson, in far worse condition, to the same hospital.
Myka waited outside while the doctors examined Helena but only after she was practically pushed out because her presence just made things more difficult. A young detective from the Yankton police would make the mistake of approaching Myka as she paced the floor outside the room. "We'll need to talk to your partner to find out what happened," he said with far less concern that Myka deemed necessary.
"You want to know what happened? I'll tell you what happened. That maniacal woman came back for her. After being taken away and institutionalized for weeks, they let her out! And she was crazy enough to work her way back and get to Helena. And no one saw it. Do you hear me? No one knew it was happening – right in front of us, dammit. I saw that God damn car and did not do anything," she yelled and now realized she was holding onto his jacket lapel.
Fortunately for Myka, the young detective knew what it was like to have a partner injured and he just stood there and let Myka vent. He may not have understood what happened yet but he recognized that Myka was scared and guilty.
Helena's burns were assessed as second degree, serious but not enough to cause scarring or need grafting. She would be tender for a while and it would be difficult for her to bend given the position of the burns across her left side. The MRI of her head showed a slight concussion and the one of her wrist showed that it was a scaphoid fracture. She would not need surgery but her arm would be in a cast for a few weeks. The doctors could only assess that whoever did this to such a physically fit woman, was in a rage.
Dr. Calder was called in immediately and she spoke with the doctors before reporting back to everyone who waited in the visitors' room. Myka didn't ask to see her, she simply pushed past the doctor to get back to HG.
"Gloria is on her way," Vanessa said to Artie and that made everyone feel better.
Myka walked in the room with more attitude than the attending nurse thought she could handle and so she simply moved out of the way. Helena's face had been cleaned up but her lip was still swollen where Karen had slapped her hard. Anger and sadness jockeyed their way for first position inside of Myka. How could she not see this coming? She saw that black car more than once. She now assumed it was Karen's. She fought with herself while she slowly and gently touched Helena's forehead.
The pain had not yet subsided anywhere for HG and her body fought to protect her by keeping her asleep but nothing could deter her from Myka's touch. She wasn't sure where she was but she had to see if Myka was really there or if she was dreaming. Those dark eyes opened slowly and Myka gasped. "I am here Helena," is what she said trying not to cry. The slightest smile came across HG's face and it took a second to notice it through the puffy lip.
"I am ever so grateful that you are," HG said before closing her eyes again.
She held onto Myka's hand and tried to lift her right arm, aware that something heavy was on it but unable to discern what it was.
"Everything is okay now, Helena," Myka said softly. Again, Helena smiled.
"How is Michael?" she asked with her eyes closed.
"He is okay. Much better. The fever broke, Helena. Gloria is on her way here," Myka said and now could not hold back. Soft tears that were building in her eyes slipped down her cheek and she didn't move to wipe them away.
"Of course she is," HG said as if she had no doubt and drifted back into her analgesic slumber.
Gloria had grabbed her purse and nothing else when she left Michael's room. She told Myka what she knew and said she was on her way to the airport. Claudia worked her mojo from Univille and by the time Gloria got to the airport, her ticket was ordered and paid for. She practically ran through security which she knew was not smart but she was operating on pure adrenalin. She had to get to Yankton and quickly. The only reason that town had such a beautiful hotel as the Ritz was that it was strategically located near an airport hub. She was pleased to see the car waiting for her that Mrs. Frederic sent and they made their way directly to the hospital.
Pete and Artie helped the detective with as much information as they could give. They told them that Karen was a former IRS Agent who had come to help Helena with some papers months before. But she had attempted to blackmail HG and held her against her will. This resulted in Karen being incarcerated to a mental health facility in Sioux Falls. She went through the program and seemed to be off the grid after the IRS placed her on indefinite leave. She must have fabricated a new identity and got herself a job at the HG Wells Foundation - all for the purpose of getting back to Helena.
"That's taking your obsession to whole new level," the young detective said summing it up.
Mrs. Frederic joined them in the room and they all discussed what had happened. Pete admitted he never felt a vibe about any of this and could only assume it was because HG never felt in danger. Mrs. Frederic admitted to Artie that this was a complicated issue given that all of this happened because she had insisted that Helena allow Karen to help her out of the IRS mess her foundation seemed to be in. Artie rarely saw emotion in his boss, but there were mounds of guilt in her eyes. Only Artie seemed to think that there was not anything any of them could have done to prevent it.
Gloria had called in a favor from an old friend who had moved from Colorado to Detroit years ago. When Michael woke up and saw a new face, he worried that he had dreamt that he had told someone that HG was in trouble. The new nurse assured him that he did tell Gloria and that she immediately took action. Helena was safe is all she told him because she did not want to elaborate on the details just yet. The police would be sure to do that soon. His fever had broken and he was out of the woods, well on his way to recovery.
Helena slept peacefully for the next couple of hours. It was dark outside now and Myka had not left her side. She refused to eat when Pete said they had ordered food. "She's okay now," he said to Myka more than once. He was also assuring himself because when he looked down at Helena in that bed, she looked like she was a lot worse. He kept Claudia up to date as she sat back in the Warehouse keeping an eye on things. Something she would complain to Artie about when he returned. It was driving her nuts not to be able to see HG or talk to Myka.
Artie and Pete had done what they could and decided to grab some sleep. Pete woke up when he heard the familiar voice of the woman that the entire staff had come to associate with things being okay. He went out to the nurses' desk where Gloria was introducing herself and getting clearance and the update on the woman she said was her private patient. The young attending doctor attempted to say she had no notice that there would be a private nurse and Pete smiled when he saw the tenured nurse shoot her a look that made her say she would look again.
"How is she?" Gloria asked Pete as she hugged him even though she had just been apprised of her condition. Resting comfortably was what the nurse had told her.
"She's ok. It could have been so much worse," Pete said holding onto her, imagining what Karen would have done if she had more time alone with Helena. She walked right into HG's room where Myka sat in the chair. She stood up and walked over to Gloria and could not hold back anymore. She collapsed onto the shorter woman's shoulder and cried, no sobbed because she knew Gloria was the only one who would not stop her. "She's okay, Myka. She's okay," Gloria said looking at HG in the bed asleep. It wasn't the monitor's beeps or even the notes the nurses had read about HG that made Gloria so sure. It was her heart. She knew if something was terribly wrong with Helena Wells, her own heart would tell her.
Myka pulled up and wiped her tears and allowed Gloria to get a closer look at her patient. She returned to her chair she had not moved from in hours and took HG's hand again. Gloria looked under the blanket and gently pulled up the side of the gown HG was in to see the burns. She gently put it back and covered her. She looked down at the cast on her wrist and then looked closer at her lip. The swelling had gone down considerably and only the cut remained. She put her hand across her forehead and looked at her eyes, even though they were shut.
"Oh she is going to have a fit when she sees this," she said to Myka as she looked at the cast. "Good Lord she is going to make a fuss over that!" Only Gloria could come in and assess what was going to happen with Helena because she knew her so well. It was the first thing that made Myka smile in hours.
"OK, I am here now," she said affirmatively. "You will go outside and get some sleep," she said to Myka who started to shake her head. "Agent Bering, you know better than anyone what she is going to be like when she wakes up tomorrow and realizes what is going on. She will be fit to be tied. I will need all the help I can get with her and you will be of no use if you're exhausted," Gloria said truthfully and Myka knew it. She finally relinquished but told Gloria that HG would expect her to be right there so she would sleep in the recliner in the corner.
The police in Sioux Falls went to the apartment complex where Karen Carson lived. Months before, she had instructed Helena to bring money and attempted to hold her there. When the police entered, nothing seemed terribly out of place until they entered the bedroom. It was a scene like out of a movie, the cop would later say in his report. One entire wall was covered in pictures of Helena that Karen had been taking from that black sedan.
Helena may have been asleep but she was already aware of Gloria's presence and her breathing relaxed just a little more and her heart beat slowed down.
Someone was there to take care of Myka - she thought, deep in her sleep.
Thank you to all who posted comments - I hope this chapter/follow up does you all justice.