The One who got Away

“Thank you, doctor,” I replied.

“Other than that, I suggest you go home,” he continued. “There’s nothing more for you to do here anyway, and we’ll call you if there’s any change.”

I nodded, shook his hand, and made my way back to the waiting room. Jenni was sitting on one of the bigger couches, Kelly curled up in her arms and asleep. I sat down next to them, stroking Kelly’s hair and quickly pulling away when her body shook like a leaf. Jenni kissed her head, rubbed her shoulder and attempted to calm her down.

“What did the doctor say?” Jenni asked.

“Told us to go home,” I said. “And that the Sheriff’s downstairs if I want to leave a statement.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked.

“I want to take Kelly home,” I replied. “I’ll pass by the Sheriff in the morning.”

“I’m so sorry, Alex,” Jenni said, gently shaking Kelly awake. I watched as my daughter’s eyes fluttered open, her face scarred with tear streaks. She sat up slowly, looked around her in confusion, then stiffened when she realized where she was.

“Grandpa?” she asked, looking at me with eyes that quickly watered.

“He’s okay,” I said. “Still asleep, but the doctors tell me he’s going to be just fine. We’ll go home and come back in the morning.”

Kelly quickly shook her head. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“It’s not up to us, sweetheart,” I said. “They’re kicking us out anyway. There’s nothing we can do here anyway.”

“I don’t want to leave,” she sobbed. She leaned into my arms and began to cry again. I held her tight, the fury inside me burning. A part of me knew that if I came across Heath right now, I’d probably kill him.

“I know,” I said, kissing her head. “Come on, we’ll be back in the morning. That’s only a couple of hours away.”

Kelly nodded and let me pull her to her feet. She held Jenni’s hand, leaning into her as we made our way to the elevators and rode one down. The hospital was empty this time of the night, the fluorescents casting an eerie glow as we walked down the narrow hallway and turned a corner into the emergency room. A single nurse manned the station there, chatting quietly with a man I assumed was the Sheriff. He was dressed casually and looked like he had been dragged out of bed.

He caught my eye, said something to the nurse, then walked up to us.

“Mr. Logan,” he greeted, sticking his hand out. I took it. “I’m Sheriff Baker. I’m terribly sorry about Samuel. He’s an old friend, and when they told me about what happened I came down right away.”

“Thank you, Sheriff,” I said. “If it’s okay with you, I need to get my daughter home. She’s had quite the shock for the day.”

“I can only imagine,” the Sheriff sighed. He looked at Jenni, then quickly back at me. “Any idea who was responsible for this?”

I nodded. “Heath Collins.”

The Sheriff frowned and looked at Jenni again. “Are you sure?”

I turned to Kelly who nodded. “Yes,” I said. “I’ll give you a full statement in the morning. But for now, I suggest you arrest Heath and keep him overnight.”

“That’s going to be difficult without a full statement,” the Sheriff said, scratching the back of his head, his eyes darting between me and Jenni. He looked uneasy, and I began to understand what Jenni meant by the force’s incompetence. This man should have been in his car by now, calling in the arrest.

“I don’t see how,” I said, already knowing that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. And that only made me angrier. Heath could be halfway across the state by now. “If you want a statement now, I’ll give you one. But the longer you wait to make that arrest, the more likely you won’t be able to do it. If Heath has a brain in his head, he wouldn’t stick around and wait.”

“How about you pass by the station tomorrow,” the Sheriff said, “and we’ll clear all this up.”

“What the hell is there to clear up?” The anger in my voice was apparent, and the Sheriff took a step back, his hand falling on the holster at his waist.

“Alex, let’s go,” Jenni said.

“The fuck I am,” I said. “I don’t know how you got that badge, but this is ridiculous!”

“Dad,” Kelly said. “I want to go home.”

My eyes locked on the Sheriff’s, and a hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips. He looked at Kelly. “I’m sorry about