“Yeah. I found her there with a metal cuff around her ankle. She was na**d and my best guess is she was drugged.”
Buzz curses into the phone. “I’m going to need a formal interview from you. I’m on my way to the hospital now to talk to Miss Page. I’ve been told she’s trying to check herself out against doctor’s advice and I need to catch her before she disappears. Think you can meet me over there and I can get your statement after?”
Miss Page? So that’s one more part of the mystery unveiled.
“Sure. I’ll head that way now. But why do you have this case? Shouldn’t it be with someone that investigates kidnapping or arson or something?”
“It is but I’m coming on to assist. I’ve been tracking Miss Page’s boyfriend, who is a mid-level drug dealer, and she could be my best lead in busting him. If I can get him, then he can flip the larger ring.”
So, the drugged and chained Miss Page has a boyfriend? I wonder if he’ll be at the hospital to take care of her? Probably not as I imagine he’s lying low if he knows he’s on the cops’ radars.
“I’ll head that way now and meet you over there.”
“Sounds great,” is all I hear before Buzz disconnects.
Unfortunately, the search for the shaggy beast is going to have to wait a bit more. A different kind of duty calls.
As I walk down the hall to Miss Page’s room, I can hear angry voices that get louder as I approach. Buzz had texted me her room number with a cryptic “could use your help” message after it.
I turn the corner and see her room ahead. The door is open and Buzz is standing just inside, talking to someone else that I can’t see. But I can sure as hell hear her, and I can only assume it’s Miss Page.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what your hospital policy is. I’m leaving and you can’t make me stay. And you... I’m not talking to you either. Just leave me the hell alone.”
Stepping into the room behind Buzz, I immediately take in the scene. The woman I pulled out of the fire is standing on the other side of her bed, wearing a hospital dressing gown. Her skin is pale and her stringy, dark hair comes down to barely brush the tops of her shoulders. She looks tired and wan, but those gray eyes are spitting fire right now.
It’s clear that she’s been through an ordeal, and I get the immediate impression she hasn’t been allowed to bathe, or even possibly eat, in days. But none of that can hide the fact that she has a delicate beauty about her. Her cheekbones are high, her nose is slender and straight, and her lips are generously full. Even her exhaustion can’t cover that up, and I find my interest in her exponentially grow now that I’ve gotten a good look at her.
There’s a nurse standing on the other side of the bed and she looks just as pissed as the lovely Miss Page. Poor Buzz is standing there with his hands in his pockets and his face turned to the ceiling in a look of total frustration.
I knock softly on the doorframe to announce my presence. “What’s going on?”
The room erupts all at once and I hear:
“Who the f**k are you?” from Miss Page.
“She can’t just walk out of the hospital... we have protocols to follow,” from the pissed-off nurse.
“She’s refusing to give me a formal statement,” from Buzz..
This situation is about one second away from all hell breaking loose, so I step forward and put on my best Caldwell charm.
“Miss Page? My name is Flynn Caldwell. I’m the fireman that pulled you out of the house. Pulled your dog out, too. Remember?”
She nods her head slightly but I can tell she doesn’t really recognize me.
I continue, “I came here to talk about your dog... that is your dog, right?”
She doesn’t answer me but starts to chew on her bottom lip in a sure sign of worry. Turning to the nurse and Buzz, I say, “How about you give me a few minutes alone with her, okay?”
The look I give Buzz is one he recognizes... she needs to be calmed down and this is apparently the most calm he’s seen her since he’s arrived so he’s willing to let me have a try.
The nurse and Buzz leave the room, shutting the door behind them.
“Mind if I sit down?” I ask, but I don’t wait for an answer. I move over to the only chair in the room and take a seat.
“Where’s Capone?”
I point to the bed. “How about you take a seat before you fall over and I’ll tell you everything I know. That’s one brave dog you have there. So what’s your first name?”
She looks like she’s going to balk for a second but then she sits on the edge and turns her body to me. I can tell she’s still a bit woozy from whatever drugs were in her system and the fight seems to have gone out of her. “It’s Rowan. Do you have him? Is he okay?”
“I don’t but I was on my way to go look for him when I got a call from Detective Matheson that he needed to interview me since I’m the one that found you. So I had to come here first.”
“Oh God... I can’t believe he’s out there on his own. I have to go and find him.”
She bolts up from the bed and starts for the door. Jumping up from my chair, I gently grab her shoulders and stop her. She’s so tiny—I feel like I can snap the bones in her shoulders with just a firm grip.
“Wait just a minute. I’ll help you find him, I swear, but you literally cannot waltz out of here in that hospital gown. We need to get you some clothes first, and then we can go.”