| |
Emma Lynn Chu. 20 years old. Student at the University of North Texas in Denton. Her parents had flown in from DFW as quickly as they could. In only his second spring break as a detective, Tommy Wallace was already over it. The town of Cape Madre had gone eleven months without any action, then turned into a circus overnight. He had gobs of interviews to do, including with Emma herself — assuming she woke up — but the signs all pointed to the same place. The same thing. The same inexplicable phenomenon that got swept under the rug the first time.
Tommy regretted becoming a cop. He’d felt bad ticketing spring breakers for arbitrary infractions. Not to mention his numbers were always low, his car was always dirty, and his clothes were always disheveled. He thought moving to detective would make things better, but he was wrong. It had made it worse. Now he had more responsibility, seemingly less power, and had added about twenty more pounds to his gut. He went from svelte, wide-eyed rookie to overweight jaded detective in record time. At least he held a record in something.
He crinkled up yet another burger wrapper and tossed it into the backseat of his car. The old Crown Vic could hold an impressive amount of trash in its backseat, so he didn’t have to empty it that often. Usually someone remarked on his slovenly ways before it ever got full, which would occasionally shame him into doing something about it. Depending on who was making the comment, of course.
Full up on fast food carbs, Tommy stepped out of his car into the parking lot of Emergency Plus. When he grew up, hospitals boasted impressive-sounding names like Metro Central and Harris Research Center. Now they just sounded like discount clubs where you could go and stock up on all your medical needs — in bulk. He imagined stepping up to the counter, ordering a box of syringes, then being told that he could only pay with Discover.
He banged through the dirty glass doors of the hospital and landed immediately into an overflowing waiting room. A quick glance showed largely minor injuries. Mostly kids. Well, college kids, really, who were only his junior by a few years, but he still called them kids, because they acted like children. Whenever spring break rolled around, they lost all their damn marbles. They’d jump off piers into a rocky jetty, or maybe try to dance in the burning embers of a hot fire. Some animals strutted their brightly-colored feathers to attract a mate, but humans had evolved—or devolved— down a much more embarrassing path.
The desk staff knew him, but didn’t put themselves in any hurry to attend to him once he stepped up to the counter. They all clicked away on computers, conveniently protected from any judgment. Maybe they were working. Maybe they were playing Tetris. Maybe they were swiping right and planning their evenings.
After what felt like an eternity, one of the receptionists looked up from her computer, didn’t bother standing, and finally acknowledged Tommy’s presence. Tommy could have forced his hand. He considered throwing around the weight of his badge, but why bother? Emma Chu wasn’t going anywhere.
“Hey, Detective. Here to see the Chu family I assume?”
Tommy nodded as the receptionist pointed down one of the long hallways. “Room 166. Her parents hardly ever leave, so I’m sure they’re in there.”
Each hallway had a color associated with it to help patients find their way. Tommy took off down the purple path. He didn’t rush down the hallway, but took his time, dodging the carts and gurneys and noticing every staff member to see if maybe they had hired somebody new. It didn’t look like it today. One of the friendlier nurses smiled at him as he walked past. Alice. No, Anna. Something with an A. He made a mental note to remember next time.
Room 166 waited for him with its door slightly ajar. He listened for a few seconds to get a sense of who might be inside, but heard nothing. He rapped lightly at the door as he let himself in.
Darkness enveloped the room. Emma stretched out, nestled in the bed, looking fairly healthy with the exception of the bandages around her midsection. On a small, cheap couch against the wall sat two people that Tommy could only assume were her parents. They both looked up from their phone screens, and immediately stood up to greet him. At least someone had some manners around here.
Tommy offered a hand to the father first, and then the mother, “Mr. Chu? Mrs. Chu? I’m Detective Wallace. I’ve been assigned to Emma’s case.”
It was hardly a case. There was no crime here. A girl had gone out swimming in the vastness of the Gulf of Mexico and had a run in with the local fauna. If it wasn’t for the previous incident, the police department probably wouldn’t have dispatched a detective at all. This case wasn’t of interest to the law. It was of interest to the Chamber of Commerce. No one wanted to visit a potentially deadly beach.
As an afterthought, Tommy fished into the pocket of his jacket for his badge, only to find it missing. Did he leave it in the car again? He searched his back pockets and then his front, only to come up empty. He did find a stack of business cards, though, so he held one out to Mr. Chu as if that had been the plan all along.
Mr. Chu took the card and lowered his head slightly, revealing a shiny bald pate. He looked like the type of man who had weathered a stressful life; judging by Mrs. Chu’s ageless beauty, though, Tommy suspected the stress had been something Mr. Chu shouldered alone. Tommy could respect that — protecting loved ones from the harsh realities of life.
Unfortunately, there was no protecting them from this.
Tommy motioned over to Emma. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to the doctor. How is she?”
Mr. Chu walked over to his daughter’s side before answering, pausing to run his hand over her forehead. “Some internal bleeding. They did the surgeries already. They’ve just got her on sedatives. She should be okay.”
Mrs. Chu sniffled a bit and reached for a tissue from the box next to the couch. It was empty. Tommy carried a handkerchief for occasions like this. He handed it over to Mrs. Chu without skipping a beat. She took it and murmured a “thank you” before using it. Carrying a handkerchief was a tradition way too archaic for someone his age, but as a detective, he ran into a lot of crying people. He was an old soul anyway. Possibly ancient.
Sedatives meant that Emma would be awake soon. “That’s great to hear. When she’s well enough to talk to me, I’d love to hear what she has to say.”
Mr. Chu nodded. “Of course. Do you know what did this to her? The doctor doesn’t seem to know.”
Tommy had his suspicions, and although he made a habit of disobeying orders, the ones on this case were extremely clear and unbreakable, so instead of the truth, Tommy offered up what he could. “No, sir. I’m afraid not. Some sort of sea life, I suppose. Sometimes injuries can seem weird and inexplicable, but they usually have mundane causes. Emma just got unlucky is all. Even though this isn’t a crime, I’ve been assigned to figure it out. For the public safety.”
“Of course,” Mr. Chu responded.
“There’s not really a lot for me to do here until Emma wakes up, but I just wanted to meet you two and let you know that I’m on the case. If you need something, you’ve got my card. It would help me if I could talk to anyone who might have been with Emma at the time. Do you know who she came here with?”
The two exchanged a glance. More tears trickled down Mrs. Chu’s face. Tommy had clearly hit a nerve. He didn’t press the issue, choosing to just stand awkwardly while Mr. and Mrs. Chu shared a silent conversation.
Mr. Chu finally settled his gaze on his daughter’s peaceful face before answering quietly, “We don’t know. She didn’t tell us she was coming. She was, um, supposed to be studying. Her grades haven’t been ideal.”
This revelation didn’t surprise Tommy. Most parents wanted to promote themselves as having total control over their children. College kids were all too eager to escape the bonds of their parents, though. They had minds of their own. Though Tommy felt bad for stereotyping, he suspected that the academic pressure on Emma Chu was high.
“No one’s come to see her? Who came into the hospital with her?”
For the first time, Mrs. Chu spoke up. “Not since we’ve been here. I think one of her friends came with her, but she was gone when we arrived. Maybe one of the nurses would know?”
Tommy nodded. “I’ll check with them. Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”
Both parents murmured their gratitude as Tommy slipped out of the room back into the hallway and toward the nurses’ station. The friendly one manned it now. Amy. No, Amber, maybe? She flashed him a genuine smile as he approached.
“Well, howdy, detective,” she said, not really with as much of a drawl as one would expect of someone using the word howdy unironically.
“Hi there, A —” he paused, flustered. “I’m sorry. What was your name again?”
She pointed to the tag on her ample chest. “Kristine. But you can call me Krissy.”
Kristine. That very clearly did not start with an A.
“Krissy. Right. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about Emma Chu in Room 166?”
“Of course, of course. Shall we find a private room, or is here fine?”
Tommy spent a half-second parsing the inflection in her voice when she said the word ‘private’ but then decided that he might be reading into things. Maybe he was lonelier than he knew.
“Here’s fine. Mostly, I just need a lead on someone I can talk to. Someone, you know, conscious. Who might have seen what happened to Emma.”
Krissy leaned over the desk between them, propping up her chin with one hand, and searching the ceiling for an answer. Tommy fought with himself to avoid looking down her top. Luckily, she zoned back in before he lost the fight.
“A girl did come in with her,” she said. “Another Asian girl. I don’t know if we kept notes on that since she wasn’t a relative. I think her name was Hannah, maybe? That sounds right. You got a card? I could call you if I remember anything else.”
Tommy detected the slightest hint of mischief in her eyes.
Ok. This couldn’t be an accident. Krissy was definitely flirting with him, right? It had been a while since Tommy had even dipped his toes into the dating pool, so he was a bit rusty, but there were just too many signs here. Then again, until five minutes ago, he thought her name had started with A, so he hardly knew her.
He glanced down to his gut, considered the possibility that someone might find him attractive, and then dismissed the entire idea. No way. Couldn’t be.
Tommy fished a card out of his front pocket and slid it across the desk to her. She took it, studied it, and, in a move that Tommy was not anticipating, slipped it under her top into what he could only assume was her bra strap.
“Okay, Detective Tommy. I’ll let you know if I hear something. Or if she drops by.”
Tommy instinctively rapped his knuckles on the desk and willed his heart to slow down just a smidge. “Sounds great. I look forward to hearing from you.”
He turned and shambled back down the purple hallway. Look forward to hearing from her? Seriously? That wasn’t a very professional answer.
Work. He needed to work. He picked up his pace, snaked his way through the waiting room, and collapsed back into his Crown Vic, inadvertently glancing into his rearview mirror as he did so. What kind of slob left his car like this? With no leads, and time to spare, Tommy put the car in drive and pointed it towards the local car wash.
