That explained why her right side was jacked up. Her arm, shoulder and hip were screaming bloody murder and it didn't seem like anyone was listening. She wanted her mother. Yes, she was a grown woman, however in this moment, she let the tears from the pain flow down her face and wished for her mother. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

  "Your mother is downstairs waiting for you to return. You will see her soon."

  She must have called out for her mother, Rachel thought, as her eyes fluttered open. A woman was leaning over her.

  "My name is Angel. Your parents are asking to see you.” She smiled. "As soon as the doctor reviews the scans, we'll get you settled in a room with some medication to ease your discomfort. Okay? For now, relax."

  Rachel squeezed the woman's hand, closed her eyes and wished like hell her yoga breathing would take her mind to a place in time of no pain. That was not to be. Her mind went back to the truck coming towards them. It did not try to avoid them, but it also wasn't coming at a high speed. It was as if they meant to hit them, but didn't mean to hit them. She hissed. That did not make any sense at all. She closed her eyes, then they suddenly popped open.

  "Hey, where is Wade? Can anyone tell me if Wade is all right?"

  "Was he the gentleman in the vehicle with you?" the nurse Angel asked as she took her hand.

  "Yes."

  "Don't move," the nurse said as Rachel began to turn towards her. "He has a minor concussion. Nothing broken. Like you, he will be sore for a few days."

  Rachel took a relaxing breath. "Good," she sighed. "Not good, but not bad."

  "I understand what you mean.” Angel smiled. "Is he your husband?"

  Rachel tried to shake her head, but couldn't. "No, he's my boss. Not my boss. My boss's boss. He and his family just bought out our network."

  "Hold still," Angel said.

  "Like I have a choice." Rachel exhaled as her mind went back to the truck. There was something she needed to remember, but her brain was all foggy and nothing was coming through clear.

  "All done, Ms. Fontaine," Angel said. "One of the techs will take you to a room."

  "I'm not going home?"

  "No. The doctor says we have to observe you for a day or two. Then if you behave he'll see about letting you go home."

  "I can't stay here," Rachel said as she attempted to sit up. She quickly realized she wasn't going anywhere. "Okay," she said as she laid back down. "Maybe a night, but then I'm going home."

  Angel smiled.

  "Don't do that. Don't laugh at me."

  "I would never do that Ms. Fontaine," Angel argued. "What I will do is take you to your room myself. I'm certain your parents are anxious to see you."

  Angel and an orderly moved Rachel onto a gurney.

  "You're a pretty nice person, do you know that," she said as Angel put a blanket over her.

  "What you put out is what you get back," Angel said as she guided the gurney into the hallway. "Once we get you settled, we'll give you a little something to ease your discomfort; however, the doctors want you alert for a few hours. Then we'll give you something a little stronger."

  "In other words, I'm going to be in pain for a while."

  Angel nodded as they settled into the elevator. "Just for a little while."

  "Then you will give me the good stuff?"

  "Another nurse will administer your meds."

  "Why can't I keep you?" Rachel asked as the door closed.

  "I work downstairs in emergency," Angel explained. "I shouldn't be here with you now, but your parents seemed so concerned. I want to be able to assure them you are all right. The only way I could do that was to put eyes on you myself."

  "My daddy threatened you, didn't he?"

  "Not exactly,” Angel laughed.

  Chapter

  8

  “Frank.” Clayton stood and extended his hand as Chief of Police Franklin Williams, did the same. “Thank you for coming.”

  “I would have come sooner had I known,” Frank replied as he hugged Abby. “Hello, Abby. How is Rachel?”

  “We’ve been here for close to two hours and still haven’t seen her or received an update on her condition,” Clayton explained.

  “She has a sprained shoulder, a few bruised ribs and some scrapes,” Frank advised. “They are wrapping up in x-ray but wanted to do a cat scan to make certain there is no brain damage. She regained consciousness.”

  “How are you able to get that information so quickly? Abby asked. “We’ve been waiting for two hours.”

  "I'm the Chief of Police. It's kind of hard to deny me information." He took a seat next to them. “Let me tell you what I know about the accident. It seems the driver of the truck disappeared."

  “You mean to tell me it was a hit and run?" Clayton asked.

  Frank nodded his head, "I'm afraid it is. I have one of my top men tracking the surveillance in the area to see what we can pick up. We will find him Clayton, don't you worry about that."

  Clayton nodded his head. "I appreciate that, Frank."

  "I understand there was a young man driving the vehicle.” Frank said as he stood. "I'm going to step in to have a few words with him and then I'll be right back out with you."

  "Wade Tyson is his name," Clayton offered. "He has been moved into a room to be observed overnight."

  “Yes, I know. I plan to go upstairs and talk with him. I'll check back with you in a minute. Rachel should be coming back downstairs soon.”

  "Do you mind if I go with you, Frank?” Clayton asked. “I want to hear what the young man has to say.”

  "I thought you would. Let's go."

  Clayton turned to Abby. “Send me a message if Rachel comes down before I get back."

  "Go, go do what you have to. I will call you as soon as she comes back down.”

  Frank and Clayton stepped into the elevator. Clayton waited until the elevator door was closed and no one else was on there with them before he spoke.

  "I understand Rachel was arrested earlier in the evening. What do you have to say about that, Frank?”

  "I thought you might want to know something about that so I had one of my men check into it." Frank sighed. “It seems that Rachel was arrested for disturbing the peace and assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon." He chuckled. “The young officer indicated he received the call complaining about people gathering on the corner near Chimborazo Park. We get calls in that area frequently. We set up an officer nearby. He was dispatched to the area to break up the small crowd. It seems your daughter had other plans.”

  “Deadly weapon?" Clayton stood straight up glaring at his friend.

  Frank held his glare. “Yes. The officer declared her mouth a deadly weapon. I can't imagine where she would have gotten that trait.”

  Clayton nodded his agreement. "I am sure she gave him hell for stomping on her rights to a peaceful assembly."

  “She is your daughter," Frank chuckled.

  “That she is." Clayton hesitated. “Frank." He paused. "I don't know if any of this can be connected to the accident. I am going to call it that for now. Rachel was working on something that could be interesting. I don't know all the details only what she has shared with me. A few days ago she asked about a case of a young man who was accused of petty larceny. She was questioning the sentence he received. I answered her questions and thought nothing more about it, until I got word that one of my colleagues had some rough words with Rachel. From what I was told Judge Reid was quite upset when Rachel left her chambers. In fact, she ordered one of her clerks to do a full background check on Rachel. I in turn did the same on her.“

  “Are you talking about Judge Paula Reid?”

  Clayton nodded. “The one and only."

  “Do you know what case Rachel questioned her on?” Frank asked.

  Clayton shook his head as the elevator door opened. “In fact, I do. A young man by the name of Chad Perkins. Now, again I don’t know if this is connected in any way, but if this turns out to be anything more than just an accident I'll be curious to know what role Judge Reid had in that case.”

  As they stepped off the elevator Frank nodded. “I would too.”

  They walked into the large private room to find Wade sitting up in bed with one young man standing by the window looking out and another sitting next to the bed with his feet propped up and the television remote in his hand.

  “Good evening gentlemen," Frank spoke as they stepped inside the room. “My name is Chief Williams with the Richmond Police Department.” He nodded towards Wade. “Are you Wade Tyson?"

  “Why do you need to know?" the young man standing at the window turned to ask.

  Wade waved his hand towards his brother. "I'm sure the man is here to do his job, Dane." He looked at Frank. “Yes, I’m Wade Tyson.”

  Frank nodded. “How are you doing, sir?"

  “I've had better days. Is there any word on Rachel Fontaine?"

  “She is still being examined," Frank answered. "I would like to ask a few questions to get a better idea of what happened tonight. Do you feel up to it?"

  “Anything I can do to help," Wade replied.

  “Our older brother Monty is an attorney,” Dane offered then turned to Wade. “It may be best to wait until he gets here."

  "I don't need an attorney, Dane. Chief Williams, have a seat." Wade motioned for Drake to move.

  “That isn’t necessary.” Frank smiled. “This is Judge Clayton Fontaine, Rachel’s father.”

  Wade extended his hand. “Good evening, sir.”

  Clayton walked over to shake the man’s hand. “I met your brothers earlier tonight. They indicated you were concerned about Rachel, thank you for that.”

  “I am concerned. She took the brunt of the hit.” Wade turned to Frank. “Any information on the other driver? Were there any other injuries?”

  “We don’t know,” Frank replied. “That’s why I need to hear from you what happened.”

  “There isn't much I can tell you. One minute we were in the car singing along with the song on the radio, next minute there was a collision and everything went black."

  “You were singing?" A surprised expression appeared on Drake’s face. “How pretty was this woman?”

  “Let's focus here," Wade suggested.

  “You did not see the vehicle as it was approaching,” Frank asked.

  “No, in fact it seemed as if he came out of nowhere.”

  Frank nodded. “Take me through the evening."

  Wade took a minute then walked Frank through his evening. “I’d just finished unpacking some boxes, had taken a beer out of the refrigerator. I opened it and sat down next to my fire pit when my cell phone rang. It was a call from the news desk indicating one of our reporters had been arrested. I changed clothes, went to the station, signed the release papers for Rachel. We walked outside the building and got into my car where she told me about an investigation she was working. I pulled off in hopes of taking her to her car where we could meet up with her informant. A song came on the radio that we both knew so we were singing. The truck hit on her side. I don't remember much after that."

  “First question," Frank said. "Did you drink the beer that you took out of the refrigerator?"

  “No, it's probably still sitting on the table next to the fire pit."

  "Good. Now I want you to think. Look back into your mind. You indicated it was a truck. You are in the driver’s seat. Did you look over at Rachel at any time?"

  "Yes. That's when I saw the truck."

  “That's good.” Frank nodded. “Now close your eyes." Frank waited until he complied. “Think about the song that you were singing. The lyrics are flowing in your mind. Now look at Rachel. The truck is coming towards the window. What kind of truck is it?”

  “Black Ram Dodge pickup truck.” Wade’s eyes popped open. “There is a Caucasian man with a cap on driving the truck.”

  Frank smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Tyson. You've given us our first lead.”

  Clayton’s phone buzzed. He looked at it. “Rachel is back downstairs. I have to go.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Frank stated.

  “Judge Clayton, please let me know how Rachel is doing.”

  “I will, son,” Clayton said as he and Frank left the room.

  They reached the elevator just as Clayton’s phone buzzed again. He checked the message. “They are admitting her and bringing her up here to a room on this floor. We might as well wait here.”

  “Is she awake?” Frank asked.

  “Abby didn’t say. I can tell you this, Frank. If I don't see my baby soon, I'm going to break something in here.”

  “Rachel is going to be fine. This could be a simple hit and run accident.”

  "I realize that.” Clayton nodded. “But my gut tells me something different."

  Frank looked off into the distance." Yeah, my gut is saying the same thing.”

  Clayton stood up straight as he saw Abby get off of the service elevator with the orderly pushing Rachel on the gurney. He ran towards them. When he reached the gurney he could see that Rachael’s eyes were closed. He saw that her arm and shoulder were in some type of sling, keeping it immobile. Bruises on her face brought tears to his eyes.

  Abby rubbed her hand down his back as they walked along with the gurney. "It is not as bad as it looks, thank goodness."

  Clayton and Abby stood aside as the nurses settled Rachel in the bed. “Now that we know something, we better call the girls." Abby stepped outside of the room to make the call. Before she dialed her oldest daughter’s number, one of the young men she’d met earlier approached her.

  “How is your daughter doing?" Dane asked.

  “Bruised ribs are the worst of it and just a sprained arm and some cuts on her face. But other than that she should be okay."

  “Thank you. My brother will be relieved to hear that."

  As the two continued to talk Frank’s cell phone sounded. He took a step away to answer the call.

  “Williams here.”

  “Chief,” the dispatcher started. “We have a 10-35 on 28th and Broad street near Chimborazo Park. Major Crimes Team B is active on the board. We are dispatching Team B to the site.”

  Frank nodded. “Ten-four…..” Frank stopped. “Did you say Chimborazo Park?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Frank hesitated as he turned to glance into the room where Rachel lay on the bed. “Call in Team A.”

  “Sir, Detective Reigns is on vacation.”

  “I’m aware of that. Call him in. Tell him I want him on this case.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Frank disconnected the call. He glanced at the Fontaines then stepped back into Wade’s room.

  “Mr. Tyson, I have one more question for you. You mentioned Rachel was telling you about an investigation. Can you share some of those details with me?"

  Chapter

  9

  “How incompetent can you be Callie,” Jerry cursed through the phone line. “You were at the meeting. I’m no longer the General Manager. Call him with the emergency.”

  “And you wonder why that is, Jerry,” Callie replied.

  “I am still over you. Do not speak to me in that way….ever.”

  “You get what you give, Jerry. Now listen. Mr. Tyson and Rachel were in a car accident tonight.”

  “Together?”

  “Yes, Jerry, they were together and now they are both in the hospital.”

  “What were they doing together? Do they know each other? Did Rachel conspire with the Tyson group to take my job?”

  “Jerry, everything in life is not about you. I suggest you get back to the station because there was a murder in Chimborazo Park and you need to assign a reporter and a cameraman to cover it.”

  “That’s no longer my job.”

  “How do you know, Jerry? No reassignments have been made. Mr. Tyson may make you News Director. Maybe you should take this as an opportunity to show the new owners what you can do. But I’m incompetent. What do I know?” she said then hung up the phone.

  Jerry held his cell phone in his hand. “No, she did not just hang up on me.” He pushed the cell back into his pocket then went back to the drink in front of him. A news flash about the murder came across the television monitor at the bar. The reporter was from a competing station. Jerry huffed. “Shit,” he exclaimed as he stood, pulled a few dollars from his pocket to tip the bartender then walked out the door.

  Ten minutes later Jerry was at the station. “Callie,” he called out, “Send Juan and Ken to the cover the murder at the park. Call Dan in to handle the news desk. I want the best on this first breaking story for Tyson Broadcasting.”

  “All right, Jerry. May I suggest you say the name with a little less sneering?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Just make the calls.” Jerry huffed then walked off to his office…or was it still his office? Hell, he didn’t know, but that’s where he was going to work until someone told him something different. As long as his stuff was still in there, in his mind it was still his office. “The hell with Tyson,” he said as he walked in and dropped his backpack on the chair.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Lisa asked from the doorway.

  He looked up to see she had just completed makeup for the eleven o’clock report. “Tyson was in a car accident, with Rachel, of all people.”

  “Rachel. When?”

  “Sometime tonight. They are both in the hospital.” He looked up at her. “Did they know each other before the buyout?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Then why would they be in a car together? And what would they have to talk about?”

  “Again, Jerry, I have no idea and don’t care.”

  “What did your father say?”

  “Only that Tyson made a very generous offer. One that could not be ignored.”

  “Do we all still have a job?”

  “According to Wade Tyson, they are not letting anyone go. You heard him say that.”

  “Yes, I heard that. I also heard he was in a car with Rachel. You know we had just had words about her getting her chance to be in front of the camera.”

  “Maybe you should consider it.” Lisa shrugged. “I mean, she’s good.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19