Chapter 7
Lucien rushed into the emergency portion of the hospital to find they were just preparing Reginald for surgery. He offered his assistance and the surgeon on duty, Doctor Bart Sullivan, took it. That left Matthew to speak to the ambulance crew and Sergeant Bill Hobart, who had followed them down to the hospital.
"What happened Bill?" Matthew wanted to know as the two stood outside the hospital in the side parking lot. He'd already gotten a bleak picture from the ambulance crew. The bullet has possibly nicked an artery and that there had been a lot of blood.
"We got a frantic call from Mary that Reginald had been shot in the shoulder. She was doing the best she could to stop the bleeding. So, I rushed out there while the ambulance was called. When I got there one of the Chinese farmhands had managed to get the blood flow to slow. The other farmhands wanted to go out and find the shooter, but Charlie managed to convince them otherwise. I don't think we have to look far for the suspects though," Bill admitted.
"The Wagners?" Matthew suggested.
"There's no one else out there. I doubt that one of his fellow farmhands did it," Bill said.
"We've got to pull the family into the station. I want them all formally questioned. Blake is in there trying to save Reginald's life, so I'll speak to the head of the Wagner family myself," Matthew told him.
"You got it," Bill nodded. The radio inside his car crackled to life and the Chief Superintendent answered it.
"Constable Benson to Chief Superintendent Lawson," the voice said.
"Go ahead Benson," Matthew told him.
"Charlie is bringing Mary into the hospital. She insisted that she be there. Meanwhile, he told the other farmhands to remain at the farm for questioning. Sergeant Parks and a couple of cadets are down there now, over," the constable said.
"All right. Sergeant Hobart and I will wait for Charlie here before heading to the Wagners, over," Matthew let him know.
"Very good sir, over," with that the radio call ended. It wasn't long before Charlie's car came into view. He'd barely stopped the car before Mary jumped out of it and ran into the hospital.
"What if we're looking at this wrong?" Matthew suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Bill was confused.
"People who have been near Mary get hurt," the Chief Superintendent pointed out. Mary lived inside the house with Arnold. Arnold had been killed and now she was standing near Reginald, who'd gotten shot.
"You think they're after her? She doesn't have much money or own any property. Why try and hurt her?" Bill wanted to know.
"I'm not sure but you make sure you're not standing too close to her," Matthew told him. The sergeant nodded as Charlie walked up to them.
"We've got some Wagners to round up. Ready?" Matthew asked.
"Let's go. The farmhands had some interesting information for us," Charlie told them.
"Oh?" Matthew gave him a look.
"Robert Wagner was a sniper in the War," Charlie said.
"Well then, he didn't miss. He wanted Reginald to suffer. Come on," the Chief Superintendent said. The three quickly got into their individual cars and headed back out to the Wagner farm. There were some questions that needed to be answered quickly before anyone else got hurt.
Meanwhile, Lucien and Bart worked to save Reginald's life, the nurses were rounding up blood from the hospital's supply. Things were not going well and in the back of Lucien's mind, a little voice told him so. Still, he'd seen too many good men die and he wasn't willing to give up, not now, not ever.
To Be Continued…