Deadly Past (A serial killer novel) - FINISHED

Chapter 18

Miranda, Chad and Dan are sitting just outside of the reception area at the hospital. The lady at reception told them to wait there and that the ambulance is on its way. Chad is looking down at his hands. He is afraid of what they are going to see. He doesn't know what Caleb did to her and if she is okay. Miranda takes his hand in hers and squeezes it tightly. The presence of his mother makes it easier, but it still doesn't make the fears go away. Dan is staring at the wall in front of them. He doesn't want to make eye contact with Miranda after what she saw. He is embarrassed to think that she saw him like that. They hear the sirens of an ambulance. A few seconds later the door flies open and paramedics storm inside with a gurney, Miranda jumps to her feet to see if it is Sara. She immediately recognises her daughter. "Miranda!" Hugh yells from the door. She looks at him and sees the blood on his shirt. For a moment she is uncertain if it is his own blood or Sara's. He walks over towards them as the paramedics disappear around the corner. He hugs her when he gets to her. "They said that they have to take her to the OR immediately to close up her wound and give her blood transfusions, but they say she will be okay," Hugh says. Miranda hugs him tighter as the realization kicks in that Sara is really going to be okay. "I don't know how to thank you," she says softly. "You don't have to thank me. I did what anyone else in my position would do. I am just happy that we could find her in time," Hugh says. Miranda lets go of him and he faces Chad and Dan. "How are you doing Chad? Are you following the doctor's orders?" Hugh asks. "I try, but it is difficult. Now that Sara is safe, I might find it easier," he says. Hugh turns to face Dan. "It is good to see you, and I think Sara will be happy to see you too," Hugh says. Dan gets up to greet Hugh. "I can't wait to see her. I just want to apologize for everything I said," he says. "Where is detective Johnson?" Miranda asks. "He took Claude home. He is on his way," Hugh says. "William's husband? What did he have to do with this?" Miranda asks. Hugh sits down on the chair next to the one Miranda sat on a minute ago. "Claude was in a relationship with the man who took Sara. They dated years ago, and it was him who told us about the farm Caleb's parents own. He even risked his own life by taking us there. If it wasn't for him, we would never have found her in time," Hugh says. "I will thank him personally," Miranda says. The door opens and Claude and Peter enter the reception area. "I thought you were taking him home," Hugh says to Peter. "He wanted to come, and I thought that he did enough to be part of this," Peter says. Miranda walks up to Claude and pulls him into a tight hug. "Thank you for everything. Hugh told me what you did," she says. "You are welcome. I would do anything to save her. She is such a special girl," Claude says. After Miranda lets go of him, he walks up to Chad and Dan and greets them too. "Thank you, Claude," Chad says. "You're welcome. How are you doing? Do you feel better?" he asks. "I still get headaches, and get disoriented now and then, but I'm okay," Chad says. Peter sits down next to Hugh. "Thank you for all your help with the case," he says to Hugh. "You did most of the work," Hugh says. "You have to give yourself credit too. How is Sara doing?" Peter asks. "I don't know. They took her to the OR straight away. She lost a lot of blood, but the paramedics sounded optimistic in the ambulance," Hugh says. Chad can feel the emotion well up again. All the stress from the last couple of days reaches a climax as he thinks about how Sara could still die. He gets up from the chair and walks off in the direction of the restroom. He opens the door and enters one of the stalls. He locks the door and sits on the closed toilet seat. He can feel tears rolling down his cheeks. His breathing is fast as a moment of panic overtakes him. He can't imagine life without her. He hears the door of the restroom open. "Chad, it's detective Johnson. Do you want to talk about it?" he asks. Chad reaches out and unlocks the door. Peter opens it and enters the stall. He closes the door behind him. He kneels next to Chad. "What is it that is upsetting you now?" Peter asks. "I don't know if she is going to make it. I just can't lose her. I can't live without her," Chad says between his breaths. "Three years ago I lost my daughter to the same man who took Sara. There was nothing they could do for her since she was dead when they found her. We found Sara in time. I really believe we did. I know how scared you are. The waiting is the worst part, but I promise you that she will be okay," Peter says. He knows he shouldn't make promises, but he knows what Chad wants to hear now. "I am sorry to hear about you daughter," Chad says. Peter can hear the sincerity in his voice. "Thank you," Peter says. Chad wipes the tears away with the back of his hand. "I am not usually this emotional, but this has been the worst few days of my life," Chad says. "There is nothing wrong with letting your emotions come out. It is important. If you bottle up your emotions, you are going to end up in a very bad place mentally," Peter says. Chad smiles at Peter. "Thank you for the talk. I feel better now," he says. Peter pulls him into a hug. "You're welcome," Peter says. He opens the stall door and leaves with Chad behind him. They walk back to the others. "The nurse said we can wait in the waiting area. She says it is more comfortable and quite in there," Hugh says to Peter. "Let's get going then," Peter says. Everyone moves to the waiting area. They sit down on the sofas and wait for news on Sara. "I am going to get myself a cup of coffee. Can I get anything for you guys," Hugh asks as he gets up from the sofa. "Coffee would be great, thank you," Claude says. "We will take coffee as well," Miranda says for herself, Dan and Chad. "I will help you carry everything," Peter says and gets up as well. They head out into the hallway. "Is Chad okay?" Hugh asks Peter. "He is very scared, but I think he will be fine as soon as the stress blows over," Peter says. They walk down the hallway towards the coffee shop. "Do you think she will pull through?" Hugh asks. "I can't say. I really want her to, but she did lose a lot of blood," Peter says. Hugh looks down at his shirt and sees the blood again. He just wants to get out of the shirt. "I have a shirt in my car which you can borrow," Peter says as he notices what Hugh is looking at. "That will be perfect, thank you," Hugh says. It seems strange to him that the man he disliked a few days ago feels like he is becoming a close friend. "We can get it first, and then we can buy the coffee. We don't want to scare their customers away," Peter suggests. They go out into the parking lot and walk towards Peter's car. Peter opens the trunk and unzips the bag inside of it. He takes a shirt from the bag. "Thank you," Hugh says as he takes it. He quickly removes his shirt. "Not a bad sight," someone says a few feet away from them. It is Alice. Hugh quickly puts on the clean shirt. His cheeks are red from the unexpected compliment. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still on the scene," Peter asks her. "I went to the scene. My team is still there. I just want to be here to make sure that she is fine. She put up a hell of a fight," Alice says. "Did she stab Caleb?" Hugh asks. "The evidence points to it. She freed herself and fought against him. I don't know how she overpowered him, but she saved herself," Alice says. "I hope she is going to be okay after that. I will never forget how I felt the first time I killed someone. It was self-defence, but I don't think your brain sees it that way," Hugh says. "She will have to go for counselling, and a lot of it. We don't even know what other sorts of hell she went through. I am just so happy that you guys found her in time," Alice says. Hugh puts his bloody shirt in the trunk and closes it. "We should head back. They are waiting for their coffee," Peter says. They walk towards the coffee shop talking about how the case is finally over. They order the coffees. Alice touches Hugh's shoulder to get his attention. "I think you might've been our lucky charm. We've been working on this case for so long. You have been here for less than a week and the case is solved," Alice says. "I think it is Caleb who made stupid mistakes," Hugh says. The person behind the counter hands them the coffees. "Thank you," Peter says. They take the cups and walk back to the waiting area. "What is going to happen now?" Alice asks. "Now Carl will get his rightful punishment," Peter says. He hates the fact that Caleb got out of his punishment that easily. He wanted him to rot in prison at least. "When are we going to talk to him?" Hugh asks. "When Sara is awake. She is our main priority now," Peter says. "I agree," Hugh says. When they get to the waiting room, they hand everyone their coffee. "Thank you," Miranda says as Alice hands her the cup. "We haven't met before. I am Alice Meyers. I am LAPD's main medical examiner," she says. "It's nice to meet you," Miranda says. A doctor walks into the room. Everyone looks at him with anticipation. "She is stable," he says. Miranda breaks into tears and embraces Chad. She is relieved that everything is really over now. "Can we see her now?" Chad asks. "She is still in the recovery room. As soon as she is moved to a normal room, we will call you," the doctor says. "Thank you for everything doctor," Miranda says. "You're welcome," he says and smiles at her. "It was touch and go for a while. She lost a lot of blood, but she is going to be fine," he adds. Everyone starts talking amongst each other and the doctor leaves. Alice takes Peter's hand and guides him to the door. "I have to talk to you," she says. "We can talk here," Peter says. "No, I prefer to discuss this somewhere more private," Alice says. They walk into the hallway and find a quiet corner. "How are you felling now?" she asks. "Angry," Peter says. "I know you wanted to get your revenge, but Caleb is dead. It is good news," she says. "No, it isn't. That son of a bitch got away with what he did. He escaped," Peter says. "If Sara hadn't killed him, she would've been the dead one," Alice says. Peter realises that he is being stupid. "I am sorry, but it is just not how I pictured this moment in my head. All those times I thought about how he murdered Thalia, I would tell myself that I will do the same to him," Peter says. "The same thing did happen to him. Sara stabbed him just like he stabbed the other girls," Alice says. "It is not the same," Peter says. Alice knows that the conversation is going nowhere and changes the subject. "This is not what I wanted to talk to you about," Alice says. "What did you want to talk about then?" Peter asks. "I think you need to get some help. You need someone to help you get through this," she says. Peter is angry at her for thinking she can fix him. "This is none of your business," Peter says. "It is my business! You scared me last night, Peter. You wanted to put a bullet through your skull and leave the people who love you behind. You are one of my best friends, and it kills me to see you like this. I hate it when you drink like that or try to commit suicide. Just consider others too. All of us want you to get better. Can't you see that? Don't you want to get better?" Alice asks. Tears are forming in her eyes. "It really means a lot to me that you care that much, but I don't want to go see someone. There is nothing anyone can say to make me feel better. She is dead and nothing will bring her back!" Peter says. He can feel the emotion building up inside him again. "You don't have children. You won't understand how it feels when someone murders your child in cold blood. I hate him, and nothing will change that. I hate myself too. I didn't stop it. I was so focused on catching him that I didn't protect my own daughter," Peter says. "Nothing is your fault. How could you have known that he was after her?" Alice asks. Peter can feel the tears forming in his eyes. "This conversation is over," he says and walks off into the direction of the waiting room. She really wants to help him, but he is too stubborn. She composes herself and walks back to the waiting room as well. She tried, and she won't talk to him about it again. She just hopes that the seed is planted now. She enters the waiting room and sits down next to Hugh. "Are you okay? You look upset," Hugh asks. "I am fine. I think it is just the case that tired me out," Alice lies. She glances at Peter who is sitting at the other end of the room staring at the ground. A couple of minutes pass before a nurse enters the room. "We moved Sara to a normal ward. She can have three visitors at a time," the nurse says. "Chad, Dan and I will go in first," Miranda says. Claude approaches Hugh. "I think I am going to head home. It's been a long day and now that I know Sara is going to be fine, I can start to relax," he says. Hugh gets up. "Thank you for everything. I don't know what we would've done without your help," he says and holds his hand out to Claude. Claude shakes it. "I am just going to say bye to Peter, and then I am going home," he says and walks off into Peter's direction. "Do you think he will be okay after what he saw?" Hugh asks Alice. "It will take time, but I think he will be able to get over it," she says. "I will show you to Sara's room," the nurse says to everyone in the room. They get up and follow her through the hallways. Claude goes home. When they get to the room Miranda, Chad and Dan enters. Hugh, Peter and Alice make themselves comfortable in the hallway. When Miranda enters the room, she sees how sunburned Sara looks. She also sees the scratches on her arms and face. She runs over towards the bed and grabs her hand. "I am here Sara, Mom is here," she says. Chad stands frozen at the sight of her. He can see how tired she is when he looks at the dark circles underneath her eyes. He is flooded with emotion as he thinks what she must've been through. He swallows his tears away and walks over to the other side of the bed. Dan stands next to Miranda. "She might be asleep for a couple more minutes while the anaesthesia wears off," the nurse says. "Thank you," Miranda says, and the nurse leaves the room. "Sara, I just want to see that you are okay. Open your eyes," Chad says. There is no response. "Give her time," Miranda says. "Maybe I shouldn't be here. She might still be angry, and I don't want to upset her," Dan says. "Nonsense. She would love to see you. You are going to stay here until she is awake and you talked this thing out," Miranda says and takes his hand in hers. "You said some stupid things, but I am certain that she isn't angry anymore. If she was still angry, she would've have been on her way to talk to you," Miranda says. She squeezes his hand and lets go. Dan sits down on one of the chairs next to the bed. Chad is rubbing Sara's hand with his thumb when he feels her hand move. He looks at her face and sees her eyelids slowly opening. "Sara," he says. It takes a few moments for her to register where she is. Miranda strokes her hair and kisses her on the forehead. "Welcome back, sweetheart. We missed you so much," she says with tears shining in her eyes. "It hurts," Sara says. "What hurts?" Chad asks. "My side," she says. "It is where he stabbed you," Chad says. The memories flash back and Sara is completely aware of everything that happened to her. She starts crying uncontrollably. Miranda puts her hand on Sara's cheek. "Everything is over now. You are safe," she says softly. "I killed someone today! I killed someone!" she says through the sobs. "You did what you had to do to stay alive," Miranda says as she comforts her. "Where is Dan? I have to see him. I have to talk to him," Sara says. She can't see him standing behind Miranda. "I am right here," he says and steps out behind Miranda. There are tears rolling down his cheeks. Miranda steps aside so that he can stand next to her. She grabs onto his hand as soon as he is in reach. "I love you and I missed you," she says. Dan can feel the relief build up. She isn't angry anymore.