Piper, her parents, and Nora sat in the ER waiting room. They looked up every time the door opened, straining to see into the treatment room. Eventually Dr. Robbins came out to speak with them.
“Thankfully Roz is alive, but she’s delirious,” he said. “She’s pretty banged up.”
“How serious are her injuries, Cryder?” asked Nora.
“At Roz’s age any injury can be a serious one,” said the doctor, unwrapping the stethoscope from around his neck. “We’re going to keep her here for observation. We want to make sure she’s not bleeding internally and doesn’t have a head injury. I don’t like that she’s so confused. We’ll run some tests in the morning.”
“Did she say anything about what happened?” asked Piper.
“Not really,” said Dr. Robbins. “But she keeps asking for Sam.”
“Poor thing,” said Nora. “I should call Roz’s daughter and let her know what happened.”
“She’s already been called,” said Dr. Robbins. “Roz had that contact information in her purse. Roberta is flying down first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Good,” said Nora. She gestured toward her brother-in-law. “Vin talked to the police. They think somebody deliberately forced Roz off the road.”
Dr. Robbins looked with concern at Vin. “Do they have any idea who?”
“Some fisherman said he saw a dark-colored car,” said Vin, “but the guy didn’t get a tag or have any other details to offer.”
Dr. Robbins sighed and shook his head. “You’d think after all these years I’d get used to seeing people injured, but I don’t. It’s a little easier, though, when it’s a relative stranger. Roz is such a sweet old gal, it’s especially hard to see her brutalized.”