Cop Hunch

Part 6

"Cassy what's wrong?" Harry asked worriedly from the top of the hole. He felt helpless being stuck at the top, when Tom was seriously wounded below, but he couldn't leave their prisoner. "Cassy…is he okay?"

"Harry, he's bad. I can't get him to wake up…Damn it…where's the ambulance!" As if responding on demand, Cassy heard the sirens approaching. Within minutes, a paramedic had climbed down the ladder and kneeled next to her. She maintained her pressure on the gunshot wounds as the paramedic performed a preliminary exam of her injured partner. From over the edge, Cassy saw a second paramedic.

"Here," he called down, "I need someone to take this." The second paramedic lowered medical supplies over the edge.

"Keep pressure on the wounds," the first paramedic rose to get the supplies from his partner. He sat the case down at Tom's side. Harry and the second paramedic climbed into the hole. Cassy knew that police backup must have taken Pamela Harper into custody.

The first paramedic had cut Tom's shirt away, exposing the two wounds on his front. "These are both exit wounds, I think. Roll him over…gently." The second paramedic and Harry gently, but firmly, pushed Tom over to his side. "Yeah," the first paramedic nodded, "here are the entry wounds. He's losing a lot of blood from all four wounds. We've got to get dressings on these to stop the bleeding." The sound of another siren approached. Harry pulled Cassy away from Tom's side. "Let's give them some room to work." Cassy didn't fight him, only meekly nodded. Harry put his arm around her shoulder and felt her shivering. "He's going to be okay. Don't worry. He's a fighter."

Two ambulance attendants peered over the edge of the hole. "What do you need down there," one asked. As medical terms were thrown back and forth between the two crews, Cassy turned to Harry. "Why…why didn't he wait for back-up?"

"I don't know Cassy."

"It's his damn hunches. He just wanted to prove he was right. Now look at him. He could die, Harry…" Cassy's voice trailed off as she turned to look into the eyes of her boss.

Harry gathered Cassy into his arms and held her. He could feel her body trembling against his. Suddenly, she pushed herself away, attempting to regain control over her emotions. She left Harry and walked to the area where Johnson's body was buried. Harry followed. "My God, I didn't realize he was down here," Harry said to no one in particular.

"Yeah. Tom found him." Harry looked over Cassy' shoulder at the paramedics surrounding Tom. An IV had been attached to Tom's uninjured arm. Dressings had been placed on the four open wounds. He tried to tell if Tom had regained consciousness, but he saw no movement from his detective. The ambulance attendants had lowered a cervical collar and backboard to the paramedics. Tom was carefully strapped into the equipment. There was a sudden groan from him. Cassy started forward, but Harry placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. Next came a stretcher, which was attached to a rope. Tom was lifted onto the stretcher, which was raised to the surface with a wench. The paramedics followed the stretcher to the surface. Harry guided Cassy to the ladder and she followed them to the top, Harry behind her. The ambulance attendants had already loaded Tom into the ambulance. The driver had rushed to the front of the vehicle, preparing for departure. The second paramedic locked the back door and slammed his hand against the side of the ambulance, yelling "GO!" The ambulance had taken off before Cassy and Harry could stop it.

"Where are they taking Tom?" Cassy asked, running to the first paramedic's side.

"To Memorial. It's the closest."

"How is he?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

"As I said before, he's lost a lot of blood and suffering from shock. I'm sure the bullet wound to the right shoulder has damaged the scapula. I also heard breath sounds from the right lung. I'm pretty sure it was nicked by the other bullet. I'm positive that he has broken ribs on the right side also. About the only good thing is that both bullets exited the body. That'll make the surgery easier." The paramedic looked around the area, as if for the first time. He saw Carol Johnson's body lying at the edge, a coroner's blanket placed on top of it. He shook his head and went back to the hole to retrieve his equipment.

Harry also looked around the site. Three police cars were parked next to the car he and Cassy had arrived in. He saw the woman that he had arrested in the back of one of the units. She was looking straight ahead. "I pulled her ID while you were with Tom. Her name is Pamela Harper. She's the owner of the construction company working here. She's not talking, yet. But I have a feeling she will." Harry paused, watching the coroner and a police officer lifting Carol Johnson's body into the back of the van. "Cassy, what the hell went on here tonight?"

"I'm not sure, Harry. But she can tell us for sure," Cassy pointed to the woman in the back of the police cruiser.

"Yeah, but later. We need to get to the hospital." Harry turned to the officers who had Pamela Harper in custody. "Take her in and book her…murder one and attempted murder of a peace officer." The two police officers immediately returned to their vehicle and left with their prisoner.

"Cassy went to the car. Harry started to follow her, but suddenly remembered that no one had told the coroner about the second body in the hole. After a few minutes discussion, he returned to the vehicle to find Cassy inside, sitting quietly. Before joining her, he turned to one of the remaining officers who had been securing the area, "I want you to stay here. No one goes in or out who's not authorized. I'll be at Memorial Hospital if you need me. Oh…and have impound take Detective Ryan's car in. I don't want it sitting out here all night. He'd kill me if I let anything happen to it…" Harry grinned at the thought…then realized that Tom wasn't here to appreciate the humor. A sick feeling gathered in the pit of his stomach.

Harry climbed into the car and looked at Cassy. She continued to stare straight ahead. "He is going to be okay."

"We don't know that Harry," she responded quietly.

"Hey, you have to think positively…for him."

She ignored his comment. "We need to call his parents. They need to be here with him."

"When we get to the hospital, I'll give them a call."

"Thanks, Harry. I don't think I'm up to it right now." Harry could see that Cassy was barely maintaining control of her emotions. She was on the edge. He had not witnessed that very often. He started the engine of the car and drove down the dirt road to the main highway.

Within twenty minutes, Harry and Cassy had found themselves at the hospital. They entered through the emergency room entrance and immediately found themselves confronted by a duty nurse. The nurse looked concerned as he examined Cassy's appearance, "Where are you hurt at?"

Startled, Cassy didn't know what he was referring to, until she looked down at herself. The darkness of night had hidden the blood which had soaked the knees of her jeans and the front of her sweatshirt…Tom's blood. "I'm not hurt. Where's Tom?"

"Who?" The nurse asked, looking with questioning eyes at the two police officers.

Harry spoke up; "Detective Thomas Ryan should have been admitted through the emergency room a few minutes ago. Multiple gunshot wounds."

"Oh yeah…the cop. He's in ER right now. I haven't heard about his status. If you'd like to have a seat in the waiting room, I'll see what I can find out for you," the nurse volunteered.

"Thanks," Harry led Cassy to the waiting room, which held four other people. He directed her to a seat in the corner and went to the coffee machine, pouring each of them a cup. As he handed it to her, he remembered "Oh, I'm going to call Tom's parents. I'll be back in a minute."

Harry disappeared around the corner to a quieter area and pulled out his cell phone. After a few minutes he returned to Cassy. "How'd they take the news?" Cassy asked quietly.

"They were upset, but they're handling it okay. There's an ice storm in Boston right now. They're going to try to catch the next flight here, but it'll probably be delayed. They hope to be here by morning."

The emergency room nurse returned to the waiting room. Harry and Cassy both stood. The nurse approached, his look not revealing his thoughts.

"Dr. Miller is still working on Mr. Ryan. He says its too early to tell the extent of his injuries. He will be out to see you as soon as he can. It may be awhile, though. They are trying to get him stabilized before going into surgery. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

"Thank you." Cassy was simply relieved that Tom was still alive. She realized now that she had been carrying a fear inside of her ever since she had seen Tom in the hole, covered in dirt, ever since she had kneeled in his blood. At that moment, a part of her was convinced that Tom was going to die. She looked down at herself again and saw the blood that had soaked through her clothes. "I'm a mess. Wish I had a change of clothes here."

"Don't worry. I've taken care of that for you. I called Frannie and she's coming down with something clean for you to wear."

Cassy was grateful for her Captain's thoughtfulness. Suddenly, a frown crossed Cassy's face. Harry, worried, looked around, "What…what's wrong?"

"Oh Harry, I forgot…someone should call Erin. She's probably worried sick about Tom."

"Erin…who's Erin?"

"Tom's new girlfriend."

"I didn't know he had one. Is it serious?" Harry asked curiously.

"Could be. She needs to know what's going on. I'll call her."

Cassy reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Tom's home number.