CJ walked into ICU. He had brought the tape recorder that Samantha had requested. The poor girl looked worse, if that was possible. She was sedated but sleeping fitfully. A missing ear, missing fingers, deep cuts all over her chest. Her face was swollen and she had large knots on her head. He’d never seen a living person look this bad.
“You’re one tough cookie,” he whispered.
She was mumbling, but it was nothing he could understand. He walked to her bedside and put the tape recorder under her gown. She tried to hit him as he pinned the recorder under the shoulder of her gown. CJ pressed the record button and sidestepped the blow.
“My name is CJ.” He spoke in the same voice that he used with his nieces. “What’s your name?
The girl turned her head away, breathing hard.
“Shhhhh, you’re safe.” He whispered it over and over.
The girl didn’t respond.
CJ took a long breath and sat down beside her bed. “I’m from the FBI. I’m here to help you. You can trust me.”
She blinked but said nothing.
“My name is CJ. You are about the age of my little sister. She’s beautiful like you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“What’s your name?”
Her lips trembled. “Sarah,” she whispered.
“That’s a beautiful name. Sarah, I need your help so that I can help you, okay? Because you know a lot more about what happened than I do. In fact, I don’t know anything at all. And more than anything, I want to help you. Find your family, and get you the justice you deserve. Whoever did this to you shouldn’t get away with it.”
Sarah turned towards CJ. “Who are you?”
CJ pulled his badge out of his coat and held it close for her to see. “I’m with the FBI. You know, you are very brave to have escaped. And I heard that you ran to the people who found you. You’re so strong that you were able to run like you did with so many injuries. I honestly don’t think I could have done it.”
“Am I going to die?”
“No, you’re in the hospital and you’ve got great doctors and nurse taking care of you. It’s just going to take time for you to recover, okay?
“What if he comes for me?” Sarah shivered, and it wracked her entire body.
“Hey, hey, you are safe now, Sarah. We have 24 hour guards on your door so no one can get to you without our permission. Would you feel a little better if I held your hand?”
Sarah nodded.
CJ took hold of her hand. “The man who did this to you is still in the area, we’re sure of it. But we’ve got to try to catch him as soon as we can, before he tries to get away. And you’re the only one who’s seen him. Can you tell me anything about what happened?”
“I woke up in the back of a car. My head hurt. I was tied and had a rag in my mouth. We drove forever. He threw me on a bed and tied my arms and legs. He cut my clothes. He, he raped me.” Sarah began to shake. Her eyes glazed and rolled back. In a matter of a few seconds, her shaking became convulsions. One of the IVs was pulled out, setting off the monitors.
“I need help in here!”
Three nurses entered and approached Sarah, attempting to keep her safe during the seizure. CJ moved out of the way and stood at the door.
A doctor entered. “I need 10mg Ativan stat.”
One of nurse’s ran out of the room and returned less than a minute later. The other nurses pinned Sarah’s arm to the bed while she inserted the IV.
CJ winced as Sarah’s arm continued to thrash with the rest of her body.
“I got it,” the nurse said.
Within seconds, Sarah became still. Her breath rose and fell at a normal rhythm.
The doctor gave more orders to the nurses and left the room.
CJ followed. “Is she going to be okay, Doc?”
“There’s no way to know. She has so many injuries. She has infections that are not responding to antibiotics. She’s going to lose her left hand, what’s left of it. The head injury has caused swelling on her brain. Her ankle is broken. Then the cuts. She has lacerations so deep that they may have punctured liver. We need to do surgery to repair the damage to her intestines and liver, but she’s not strong enough. I honestly don’t expect her to live past dark. If by the grace of God, she does live, she will probably stroke and be a vegetable. But I haven’t given up on her. I’ve asked a neurologist to come from San Francisco. He is supposed to be the best. Maybe he can do something for that poor child that I can’t. Do we know who she is yet? There was nothing found with her, right?”
“No sir, we have no idea who she is other than that her name is Sarah. And with her fingertips gone, we have to hope she can tell us.” CJ put his hand on the doctor’s shoulder.
The doctor stared at the closed door to Sarah’s room. “Hopefully, we won’t have to use dental records.”
CJ returned to the waiting room. It was flooded with officers, local, state and federal.
CJ walked over to the officers guarding the door to ICU. “Do you guys need a break?”
The first spoke up. “Yes, I could use some coffee.”
“Sure. Why don’t you both go. I’ll stay here.” CJ stood guard, studying the faces of everyone in the room. They were all on edge. They knew the Handyman would try to get to Sarah. He had to. She could identify him.