Chapter 2
By the time we reached St. Catherine Children's Hospital, I had repeated the rules over the radio twice.
Nobody approached Daniel.
Nobody confronted Sophie's mother.
Nobody interfered with security.
We weren't there to become another problem Sophie had to survive.
We parked across two designated rows Aaron had arranged with hospital administration.
Ninety-seven engines shut off.
The sudden silence felt enormous.
I removed my helmet.
Calvin came beside me.
"Tablet changes things."
"It changes nothing for us."
He understood what I meant.
The evidence belonged with police.
Our job was still Sophie.
Aaron came through the entrance before I reached the doors.
He looked younger than I expected.
Maybe thirty-five.
Exhausted eyes.
Wrinkled shirt.
A man who hadn't slept properly in days.
"Graves?"
I nodded.
He grabbed my hand with both of his.
"Thank you."
"Where is she?"
"Fourth floor."
"And Daniel?"
"Security removed him from the unit."
"Removed him from the hospital?"
Aaron looked away.
"No."
I didn't like that answer.
"Her mother?"
"With Sophie."
"Does Sophie want her there?"
He hesitated.
"I don't think she knows what she wants anymore."
We walked inside.
Only five of us went upstairs.
The others remained outside because turning ninety-seven riders loose inside a children's hospital would have helped nobody.
Calvin came.
Maria Jenkins joined us.
So did Lena Ortiz, a trauma nurse, and Marcus Webb, a retired school counselor.
People who understood how to enter a frightened child's room without filling it with more fear.
Aaron stopped outside room 417.
"Before you go in."
I looked at him.
"She knows you're coming."
"All of us?"
"She thinks there are maybe ten riders."
Calvin almost smiled.
"Little surprise."
Aaron didn't.
"When Daniel came earlier, she had a panic attack."
My expression hardened.
"Why was he allowed close enough for her to see him?"
"Her mother told staff Sophie wanted him there."
"And did she?"
"No."
Maria inhaled sharply.
Aaron continued.
"Daniel stood in the doorway. Sophie started screaming."
I looked through the small window in the door.
A child lay curled against one side of the hospital bed.
Dark hair.
Thin shoulders.
Bandage around one wrist.
Her mother sat near the window.
Rebecca Mercer looked exhausted too.
But not frightened.
Defensive.
That worried me.
Aaron knocked.
Sophie looked up.
When I entered, her eyes went immediately to my vest.
Then my face.
"You're Graves?"
I stopped several feet from the bed.
"Unfortunately."
She blinked.
Calvin whispered behind me.
"Good opening."
A tiny smile appeared on Sophie's face.
That was enough.
I pulled a chair over but didn't sit until she nodded.
"I'm Russell."
"I like Graves better."
"Most people do."
She studied me.
"Uncle Aaron said you're a biker."
"I ride motorcycles."
"That's not the same?"
"Depends who you ask."
Her mother stood.
"Why are all these people here?"
Her tone was sharp.
Aaron answered before I could.
"They're supporting Sophie."
Rebecca looked at me.
"I don't want strangers interfering with my family."
Sophie immediately became smaller in the bed.
I saw it.
Maria saw it.
Everybody except Rebecca seemed to see it.
I kept my voice calm.
"Nobody's here to interfere."
"Then leave."
Sophie whispered.
"No."
Her mother turned.
"What?"
Sophie gripped the blanket.
"I want them here."
Rebecca stared at her daughter.
Something passed across her face.
Anger.
Then she buried it.
"Sweetheart, you don't even know them."
Sophie looked at me.
"Do you believe me?"
The room went completely still.
I chose my words carefully.
"I believe you deserve to be heard."
Her eyes filled.
That distinction mattered.
I wasn't there to investigate.
I wasn't there to decide guilt.
I was there to make sure she knew her voice mattered.
She whispered.
"I didn't fall."
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"Sophie."
"I didn't."
"Sophie, we've talked about this."
"No."
Her voice got louder.
"He pushed me."
Rebecca looked toward us.
"She's confused."
Sophie flinched.
I saw Maria step forward.
Not aggressively.
Protectively.
Sophie looked at her mother.
"I'm not confused."
Rebecca crossed her arms.
"You were angry."
"He grabbed me!"
"Sophie."
"You saw him!"
That sentence changed everything.
Aaron went still.
"What?"
Rebecca's face emptied.
Sophie stared at her.
"You were there."
My pulse jumped.
Aaron turned toward his sister.
"Rebecca?"
She shook her head immediately.
"No."
Sophie started crying.
"You were at the bottom of the stairs!"
"That's not what happened."
"You told me not to make him mad."
Aaron stepped forward.
"Rebecca."
"Stop."
"You told me you were at work."
"I came home early."
Aaron looked stunned.
I stood slowly.
This was no longer a family disagreement.
This was information investigators needed.
I looked at Maria.
"Call the detective."
Rebecca snapped.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
She immediately softened her voice.
"I mean there's no reason to upset Sophie more."
Sophie stared at her mother.
Then something inside that child seemed to harden.
She reached toward the bedside drawer.
"My tablet recorded it."
Rebecca went pale.
Aaron had told me the tablet was missing.
Sophie opened the drawer.
Empty.
"I left it here."
Rebecca said nothing.
Sophie looked toward her.
"You took it."
"No."
"Mom."
"I didn't."
Sophie turned to me.
Her face was terrified.
"He knows."
"Who?"
"Daniel."
"Knows what?"
"That I recorded him."
I crouched so I wasn't towering over her.
"How?"
"He saw the red light."
A knock came at the door.
Hospital security entered with a police detective.
Detective Hannah Cole introduced herself.
Before she finished, Sophie said one thing.
"My mom saw him push me."
Rebecca moved toward the door.
Detective Cole stopped her.
"Mrs. Mercer, I'd like you to stay."
Rebecca froze.
Then my phone buzzed.
A rider downstairs had sent a message.
GRAVES. PROBLEM IN PARKING LOT.
I stepped into the hallway and called.
"What happened?"
A voice answered.
"Man matching Daniel's description just tried getting into a blue SUV."
"So?"
"Security stopped him."
"Why?"
The rider paused.
"Because the SUV belongs to Rebecca."
My eyes went toward the hospital room.
"And?"
"He had a backpack."
My stomach tightened.
"What kind?"
"Purple."
Aaron had described Sophie's tablet bag as purple.
I looked through the doorway at Sophie.
Then I heard the rider finish.
"Graves, security opened it."
May you like
My grip tightened around the phone.
"The tablet's inside."
