The Trooper watched Jesse in his rear-view mirror. The woman in the backseat was not the woman who he saw in the office just a few minutes ago. That woman had smiling blue eyes and she looked relaxed and happy. The woman in the back seat looked unblinkingly as he drove them away from the resort. There was no emotion on her face, she did not respond to his jokes or questions. She was a vacant shell. He shook his head as he pressed the accelerator to the cruiser and navigated the twisting back roads to the rural hospital. ******************************************************************************************* It was Nell who stepped in front of Terri as the State Trooper Cruiser pulled away and grabbed her by the shoulders and looked in her anguished face. It took everything she had to keep her emotions from in check. To stand by and watch what just unfolded was unbelievable. “Petey….get the car….we’re going to the ER.” Nell quickly took charge. The next thing she was on the radio giving Kim a quick rundown of the events that had just transpired. Terri shrugged her shoulders after Petey released her then spun on her heel and headed to her truck. But Petey was one step ahead of her and blocked the driver’s door. “Look Terri…..I want to help Jesse….and you are in no condition to drive…so let me and Nell take you to the hospital so we can get Jess.” Petey said evenly. “Petey….get outta my way….” Terri order hoarsely. “Well….that’s not going to happen…..Terri….I’m not letting you behind the wheel in your frame of mind….” Petey looked Terri squarely in the eye and stood her ground. “Terri….my car….we need to get to the ER now!” It was Nell’s voice that jolted them both out the tense moment. Terri shook her head and flipped her keys to Petey and followed her and Nell to company car parked nearby. ******************************************************************************************* The ER was a madhouse as the Trooper escorted Jesse through the maze that was gurneys, IV poles, wheelchairs and portable computers on rolling carts. They reached the center of the ER and the Trooper caught the attention of the Resource Nurse. “Hey Mack! What brings you to our little corner of Hell?” The tall dark-haired nurse flirted with the State Trooper. “Hi Shelley, nice to see you too!” he laughed easily. “I have a special delivery for you.” He said as he nodded toward Jesse who stood quietly amid the mayhem of the busy Emergency Room. “This is Jesse Martin and she was brought in for 24 hour involuntary by Lynn Knight. Can we get the Quiet Room?” He asked as he bent toward the nurse. “Ahhh….we have been expecting Ms. Richards….her therapist has been beating a path back here for the last 30 minutes. What is it….drugs?” the nurse grabbed some paperwork and came out from behind the circular desk and led the three toward a cubicle that had a sliding glass door. “I am not sure, Shell….I mean I have been on hundreds of these calls….especially after Virginia Tech. I have seen crazy in just about every form there is….” The Trooper shook his head as they enter the glass cubicle and the door swooshed shut behind them shutting out the din from the ER. “But ….this lady was in her office, she wasn’t wielding a knife….or coked out…. or incoherent. She was cooperating and it wasn’t until I slipped on the cuffs that I literally watched the light go out of her eyes. It was the eeriest thing I have ever seen. One minute she was there….then….just a blank.” The Trooper said as he led Jesse to the gurney and motioned for her to sit on it. Once Jesse was on the gurney, the Trooper took out the handcuff key and gently unlocked the cuffs and quickly slipped them into the holster on the back of his belt. “We’ll take it from here Mack.” The nurse said as she looked at Jesse intently. “I want to speak to her therapist Shell….” The Trooper insisted as he made some notations in his notebook. “Sure Mack….I’ll page her right now….we have to get her undressed and registered before she goes to Behavioral Health….” The nurse motioned for some help from a passing Tech who entered the cubicle. “Wait out by the desk and I have her therapist stop to talk to you.” “Ms. Martin…..” The Trooper said in almost soothing voice. But Jesse did not respond to him and he squeezed her small hand in his big one in a good-bye gesture and headed back out into the unruly tempest of the Emergency arena. The Trooper only waited a few minutes when a very attractive blond woman approached him with nurse Shelly at her side. With an extended hand she introduced herself in a self assured manner. “I’m Lynn Knight. Thank you for bringing my patient in safely officer.” She almost purred. “M’am” the trooper acknowledged tightly; ignoring the hand the therapist offered. “You reported Ms. Martin as being a threat to herself or others...” he read from his notebook. “When I met Ms. Martin, she seemed calm, coherent, non-threatening. At no time in my interaction with her did she threaten to harm herself or anyone in her vicinity. I am a bit confused here m’am.” The Trooper stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Now officer….I know that you are on the front lines….and have a very fundamental grasp of the complex psychology of the people that you deal with everyday. Rest assured that I have documented very carefully my observations of Ms. Richards. I am her therapist, a court-ordered therapist….” Lynn said evenly. “I appreciate your concern….but you have only met Ms. Martin one time…today…am I right?” Lynn expertly turned the attention onto the Trooper’s lack of expertise in one Jesse Martin. “I have been Ms. Martin’s therapist for over a year now….and she needs to be observed…do you think that she is responding normally now?” Lynn almost smiled as the Trooper lowered his eyes. The Trooper was just about to respond when a Tech came running up to them both and announced that there were three women in the Triage area demanding to see a patient named Jesse Richards. “Officer…..I may need you….” Lynn smiled as she led the way toward the waiting room area. Click On The River To Continue To Chapter 63 Labinky Park 2008 Labinky Park Enterprises 2008 Check Out River's Designs! If you take a Pic using any of our Products we will host you on the site for the World to See! Just submit pics to www.labinky@labinkypark.com Writer's Blog Sign The Guest Book See The Slide Show See The Labinky Park Painting Come To Life By D. Stone |
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Chapter 62
