First Impressions
Parts 33-34
By Kellie
Danny stood outside the garden gate waiting for his opportunity to slip into the house unobserved. As soon as Abuela gave her a nod, Michelle flung open the door to the house and shouted, "Help! There's something wrong with Mrs. Santos. Hurry! Come help us!"
Jimmy came running out the door with Dietz following close behind. Danny noticed the suspicious look Dietz gave Michelle before he turned and headed for the nearest door.
"What happened?" Dietz questioned Michelle as he knelt beside Abuela's wheelchair.
"We were sitting here talking and she said that she felt faint and asked me to get her some water. I stood to go get the water and I noticed that she looked rather pale and unsteady. That's when I went to the door and called for you," Michelle said.
"I'm fine. Michelle, you're worrying everyone unnecessarily. Dietz, promise me you won't bother Carmen with all of this while she's at the hospital with Mick. She has enough to worry about. I'll make sure to speak with my doctor about my lightheadedness at my appointment on Friday," Abuela began, pausing to rest her head in her hands.
"Mrs. Santos, I'm not so sure you're alright. Jimmy, go get her a glass of water," Dietz ordered.
Jimmy walked over to a cart in the garden and began pouring a glass of water from the pitcher located there. He could hear Michelle speaking to Abuela, "Mrs. Santos, have you had any dizzy spells like this before?"
"No, dear. I'm sure it's nothing to worry over," Abuela added.
As they continued their little charade, Danny slipped in the kitchen door and made his way to Carmen's office. He quickly opened the back of his graduation photo and pulled out the scrap of paper with the safe combination. Making his way across the room, Danny opened a cabinet in the built in bookcase. Behind the door was the safe. In a few moments, Danny was rummaging around inside the safe. Finding an expanding folder, he pulled it out and quickly looked through it. "This is exactly what I need," he said to himself before closing the safe and slipping back outside. As he rounded the corner outside the garden, he approached the gate. Standing outside the gate, Danny quickly hid the folder and prepared to enter the garden. "Dietz, is something the matter with Abuela?"
"Daniel, what are you doing here? I thought you would still be at the hospital," Abuela remarked.
"I didn't want you to wait here alone for word on Mick. I left as soon as they released me. Now, are you alright?" Danny asked.
"I think she'll be fine," Michelle said. "She probably got too hot out here in the garden. I think we need to get her inside in the air conditioning."
"Yes, I think Michelle's probably right. Dietz, Jimmy please take me inside. Danny, why don't you show Michelle around the gardens? She was admiring the roses before I started feeling light headed," Abuela said.
"Yes, Abuela. Send Jimmy after us if they call from the hospital," Danny said as he knelt by her wheelchair and grasped her hands.
"Jimmy, you can handle getting Mrs. Santos inside. Carmen asked me to entertain Ms. Bauer before she left," Dietz remarked.
"Dietz, I'm sure Daniel can entertain Ms. Bauer without assistance. Jimmy can't hold doors open and push this wheelchair at the same time, so get over here and start pushing," Abuela ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Dietz answered as he reluctantly began pushing the wheelchair through the door Jimmy was holding open.
As soon as Jimmy closed the door, Michelle commented, "Your grandmother certainly knows how to handle Dietz."
"Yeah, she does," Danny chuckled.
***********
Frank stood in the ER waiting room listening to Carmen rant and rave over Danny's disappearance from the hospital. He could tell that Rick was being patient, but this could not go on much longer. Carmen had become the focal point of the entire waiting room.
"Dr. Bauer, how can a patient in this hospital vanish without a trace? Are there not procedures, ways of keeping track of patients?" Carmen fired on demanding questions after another without giving Rick a chance to respond.
"Mrs. Santos, the hospital can't do a thing if a patient walks out the door of his own free will and refuses treatment. That's what your son did. I can't do a thing about that," Rick firmly explained when he got a chance to get a word in. "I've got to get back to work. Dr. Young will be up in a few minutes to explain the details of your son's surgery."
"Dr. Bauer, what do you know about Mick?" Carmen's tone changed to one of concern and worry as her focus changed from demanding answers about Danny's disappearing act to focusing on Mick's condition.
"Mrs. Santos, Mick came through the surgery. He is still in critical condition. Dr. Young can give you more details. He'll be down as soon as he's finished getting Mick settled in ICU."
"Dr. Bauer, what will Mick's prognosis be?"
"It's still too early to tell. Mick had a massive head injury and how he responds over the next few days will help us determine the his prognosis."
Carmen nodded, "How long until Dr. Young gets here?"
"Just a few minutes." Rick's pager began to shriek, "Mrs. Santos, I have to answer this page."
As Rick walked away, two uniform officers walked into the ER and approached Frank. "Where's the prisoner we need to guard?" the first officer asked.
"ICU, I'll ask Dr. Bauer about where we can post you," Frank answered.
Carmen looked across the room at the group of officers and walked over to them, "Detective Cooper, why are you still here? I thought you had finished your accident report."
"Yes, I have finished the paperwork about the wreck, but I'm not done here. Mick is wanted for questioning in the death of Detective Grant. We have to post guards on Mick until he can be questioned. Somehow he has managed to evade the Springfield PD for days. He was even seen in some very public places, but left before officers could be dispatched to apprehend him," Frank stated.
"Yes, I'm aware of your wish to speak with Mick, but he's in ICU with massive head injuries. It'll be days before you can even think about questioning him. He's not going anywhere in this condition, so your guards won't be necessary," Carmen firmly stated.
"Mrs. Santos, department policy requires guards on any hospital patients wanted for questioning in a felony case. Now if you will pardon me, I need to speak with Dr. Bauer," Frank authoritatively replied.
_____________________________________________________
Danny led Michelle out the garden gate and down the path towards the gazebo. Neither said a word as they walked. Danny nodded for Michelle to sit while he reached up into the eaves of the gazebo and pulled down the folder he had taken from the safe. "Dietz is probably already on the phone with my mother. I'm sure there will soon be guards posted at the gates to make sure we don't leave before she returns."
Michelle nodded as she watched Danny quickly go through the folder. He couldn't help but notice the worried look that was etched on her face. "Michelle, I promise that you'll be safe."
"That's not what I'm worried about. For some reason, despite the fact that you have evasively answered a lot of my questions and flat out lied to me at times since we met, I still trust you. I'm worried about what that says about me," Michelle said as she stood and turned her back to Danny.
"Michelle, it means that you have good instincts. You intuitively know who is trustworthy, even if that's not the impression you get from them," he answered as he walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe I should have stuck with my first impression of you, then I wouldn't be here wondering what kind of danger I'm in and how we're going to get out of it. I've known you less than a week and my life has been turned upside down." Michelle paused as she tried to find the words to explain what was going on in her head. "I don't know how to explain this and I know we don't have time to go into it right now."
"Michelle, I know you need answers. I've only given you part of the pieces to this puzzle that I've involved you in and you need all of them for this to make sense. I promise I'll explain everything soon," Danny finished as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Now, we need to get out of here and catch up with Frank before Dietz has time to get those guards posted." Danny grabbed Michelle's hand and led her back up the path towards the house.
***************
"Mrs. Santos, there's a call for you at the nurses' station," Lillian said as she began checking monitors in Mick's room.
"Is there any way I can take it in here?" Carmen looked up and asked.
"You can use the hospital phone outside the door. Follow me and I'll get the call transferred," Lillian replied.
A few moments later, Carmen was on the phone, "Dietz, I'll call you when I'm not in the middle of a hospital hallway in plain sight of a police guard." She paused and listened to him, "Yes, do whatever is necessary to keep Daniel at the house. I'll be there after I speak with Mick's surgeon." Carmen quickly hung up as she saw the doctor enter Mick's cubicle in ICU. Quickly making her way inside she asked, "Doctor, what can you tell me about my son?"
"You must be Mrs. Santos. I'm Dr. Young; I did the surgery on your son. He sustained a serious head injury. The blood work returned with a positive result for the use of illegal drugs. Until these substances are out of his bloodstream, our treatment options are limited due to the dangerous drug interactions that could occur if we treat him with certain types of medications. At this time, he is in a coma. I need to know Mick's history with substance abuse. Do you have any idea of the types of drugs he has been using?"
"Dr. Young, I've been aware of my son's drug use for some time. I'm not really sure what drugs he's been using himself."
"Mrs. Santos, I'm going to be blunt, I am quite aware of your family's reputation and business dealings in Springfield. I'm sure that you know exactly what your son does and which substances he deals. If you want Mick to have any chance at coming through this, you're going to have to give me the facts. Don't worry about the police, this issue involves doctor/patient confidentiality and I will not be revealing any information you give me."
Carmen clutched her fist with rage, "How dare you address me that way!"
The doctor got right into her face; "I will dare to speak to you any way necessary. Mick's life depends on the answers you give me. If we give him the wrong medications while we wait for the detailed blood analysis I've ordered to come back from the lab, he will die. Now tell me what I need to know."
Carmen relented and quietly spoke, "Crack, cocaine, heroin, LSD are the things I'm aware of."
"Thank you, Mrs. Santos. This information helps us more than you could know."
"Doctor, what exactly is Mick's prognosis at this time?"
"Honestly, his chance of a complete recovery are slim. His chances of surviving his injuries are about 50/50. Your son has serious brain damage and he faces a long road to recovery. Until he comes out of the coma, we cannot assess the extent of the brain damage he sustained."
"I see. I will be having specialist brought in from New York to give me a second opinion." Carmen firmly stated.
"That's your right. Now, I need to examine your son. Ask a nurse to give you the card listing the visiting times for ICU. Immediate family members may see your son at the appointed times for 10-15 minutes. No more than 2 visitors at a time. Do you have any other questions?"
"Not now, but I'm sure I will later," Carmen said as she whipped out her cell phone.
"Turn that damned thing off! Cell phones interfere with sensitive equipment in ICU, including some machines that are being used to monitor your son."
Carmen turned the phone off and stalked towards the nurses' station. Seeing the card displaying the visiting hours for the ICU, Carmen grabbed a copy and determinedly headed for her car.