26

 

Berkley’s days off went by too fast. As she started her next work week, her mind was on two things…her psych exam and her PT exam, both of which were scheduled for a few days later.

After a particularly difficult call where she had to go with the Department of Children’s Services to remove a child from an unfit home, she drove through Dunkin Donuts drive-thru. The horrible coffee and stale donut didn’t matter. She wasn’t even sure she tasted them. She’d just needed something to refocus her brain.

“South 5—11-80 reported at the corner of Nettles Road and Ranger Parkway,” dispatch said over the radio. At the same time, the call came across the computer in Berkley’s patrol car with a little more detail. It was a three-car accident with reported injuries. She grabbed the mic and pushed the button.

“327—responding, two minutes out,” she said, pressing the gas pedal to the floor as she flipped the switch for the lights and sirens.

“415—responding, ETA four minutes,” Garrett radioed behind her.

Berkley saw a small red car, a dark green SUV, and another vehicle that was so smashed, all she could tell was it was white. From the looks of it, the SUV had run the red light, plowing into the white vehicle, which hit the red car.

She skidded to a stop and keyed the radio. “327—10-98, request EMS.” Then, she grabbed road flares out of her trunk and quickly popped a few to signal oncoming traffic even though there was ample light in the intersection, which was protocol for a multicar accident with major injuries.

“EMS is already en route—327,” the dispatcher replied.

“Is anyone hurt?” she asked, going over to the red car, which was nearest to her.

“My neck is a little sore, but okay,” the twenty-something young man said.

“Sit tight. EMS is on the way,” she told him as she rushed to the mangled wreckage of the white vehicle. The driver, a middle-aged male, was slumped over the steering wheel, which was crushed into his chest, and his legs were pinned in an awkward position under the dash. She reached in through the broken window and checked for a pulse, but got nothing. She grabbed his arm, checking his wrist, then went back to his neck. Nothing.

“What do we have?” Garrett asked, rushing up to her. “EMS was right behind me, about two miles back.”

“This one is DOA. Check the SUV. The guy in the red car is okay, but complaining of pain.”

Dena and Maggie pulled up in the ambulance, with the fire truck coming in front of them. Both women rushed over to Berkley, who was standing next to the white vehicle.

“DOA?” Dena asked.

Berkley nodded.

“Damn, man. I hate those,” she sighed as she went into the bag to get out a stethoscope to double-check. Sure enough, there were no breath sounds, no heart rhythm…no sounds of any kind at all.

Maggie had already gone to assess the guy in the red car, and the two people in the SUV were out, walking around.

Berkley stood aside, watching the firemen use the jaws of life to cut open the door so that they could retrieve the deceased man. As soon it popped open, they quickly cut the steering wheel off and pried the dash up before pulling him out and placing his limp body on the stretcher. Dena covered him with a white sheet.

“Guy in the red car has some neck pain but says he doesn’t need to ride in the ambulance. His friend is on the way and will take him to the hospital. The people in the SUV are shook up, but otherwise fine,” Maggie said.

“What a night,” Berkley muttered as Dena and Maggie wheeled the stretcher into the ambulance. The stark white sheet with the outline of a human body lying under it made her sick to her stomach.

“Yeah, haven’t seen one of these in a while,” Dena said, closing the double doors.

“I had a DCF call right before this.”

“Oh, no. Was it bad?”

“We removed a six-year-old.”

“Aw. Berk, that sucks,” Dena said, squeezing her forearm.

“Yep. Those are the saddest calls…next to having to go tell that man’s family that he’s not coming home tonight,” she sighed. As the senior officer on the scene of a vehicular homicide, she needed to speak with everyone, so she walked away to start with the husband and wife in the dark green SUV.

 

*

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to New Orleans,” Carrie said as she boarded the plane for their national team friendly game against Mexico.

“Me either,” Randi replied, opening a magazine.

“Have you been to the coffee shop this week?”

“If you’re asking if I’ve seen Berkley, the answer is no. I haven’t spoken to her since the party.”

“I didn’t see you talk to her at all.”

“It was brief. She and her friend left right after,” Randi said, watching the guy load their baggage through the window.

“Do you want to talk about the kiss you told me about?”

“Nope.” Randi flipped the page in her magazine.

A few minutes later, the flight crew went through the safety procedures and the plane was pushed back from the gate.

“Here we go,” Carrie said, mostly to herself, feeling the excited nerves she usually got when she flew.

 

*

 

The flight was quick, and as soon as they touched down, there was a chartered bus waiting to take Randi and Carrie to the hotel, along with a handful of other players who had flown in around the same time.

As usual, the two of them were assigned as roommates for the short trip. It was a weeknight game on Wednesday night, so they had plenty of time to get back to Richey for their away game on Sunday in Seattle.

Randi tossed her bag onto the bed nearest the window and flopped down beside it.

“We have a team meeting in two hours,” Carrie said, mimicking her position. “Do you remember our first national team game together?”

“The game or the hotel?” Randi asked with a smile. “Man, that place was weird.”

Carrie laughed. “Oh my God, I thought I was going to die when we accidentally ordered porn on the TV.”

“Me too! You know what’s crazy, we never got asked about it.”

Carrie had tears rolling down her cheeks from laughing hysterically. “I bet they think we watched it!”

“It wasn’t even in English.”

“I bet the subtitles were hilarious!”

“How would you like to have that job?” Randi chuckled.

Just then, both of their phones beeped with a group text. The team meeting was starting in five minutes, then they were having a buffet dinner.