Karen opened her eyes. Stared up at the ceiling. For a moment, she was positive that yesterday had been a nightmare. It hadn’t happened. But the thought passed instantly. Of course it had been real. That’s why she was here in the hospital and not at home, in her bed.
She still couldn’t believe how close everything had been. Last night, she’d gotten the entire story of what had happened. Officers had arrived at the campsite they’d traced Shane’s phone to just as Shane and Joshua were leaving. A minute later, and they would’ve missed them. There was a car chase, the officers crashed, and Joshua had caused Shane’s car to flip before they could get away. Shane had chased Joshua down and was about to shoot him . . . and then an officer from one of the crashed cars had arrived. He’d sprinted more than a mile after he saw their car go off the side of the road. The officer started firing just as Shane was about to shoot Joshua. He didn’t stop firing until Shane was dead.
Joshua had been taken to Mercy Hospital. He had a concussion and a dislocated shoulder . . . but he was alive. They’d gotten the miracle she’d hoped for.
One second, one mistake, and the ending could have been far different. Had the police arrived a few minutes later, had the car crashed at a different angle, had the officer’s aim been slightly off . . . things would have been far, far different.
After arriving at the hospital, she’d kissed Joshua. Hugged him like she’d never hugged him before. He’d undergone tests to determine what injuries he’d suffered in the crash, and she’d waited for him. By the time everything ended, it was nearly four in the morning. The doctor who treated him decided to keep Joshua overnight as a precaution. A nurse let Karen into a patient room that wasn’t in use and she slept at the hospital. Not that she’d had much of a choice. Their house was still a crime scene. At least, it had been last night. Her bed was still soaked in Amber’s blood.
“You’re awake already, I see.”
She looked up. One of the floor nurses she’d spoken to briefly last night was standing at the edge of the room.
“Yeah,” Karen said. “I’m awake. Not sure how alert I am, though.”
She glanced at a bedside clock. Six thirty a.m. Only a few hours had passed since everything ended.
“You have visitors here,” the nurse said. “Wanted to see if you’re up for guests.”
The nurse gave her some names. Karen recognized them all. Her coworkers.
“Send them in,” she said.
The nurse smiled and disappeared. A moment later, a group of her coworkers entered the room. Ten of them in all. Carmella was with them—Karen hadn’t seen her since the breakout at the hospital.
There was barely enough space for all of them in the patient room. Some sat down on the edge of the bed; most remained standing. They all walked over and hugged her.
“How’d you know I was here?” she asked.
“Word travels quickly around the hospital,” her coworker Dan said. “We heard what happened. At least, parts of it.”
“Like what?”
“Three people took you and Joshua hostage. The woman being broken out of the hospital, that was you who did that. There was a shoot-out at a car dealership. A car crash. Two people are dead—two of the people who took you hostage.”
“Yeah. That’s the story. Some of it, at least.”
“How’s Joshua?”
“Concussion, separated shoulder,” Karen said. “He won’t be swinging a golf club for a while. Not that that really matters.”
“What can we do? Anything?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I’m still in shock, to be honest.”
“We’ve all been calling your phone.”
“My phone is . . .” What had happened to her phone? She remembered when she returned from the hospital, Ross had taken it from her. She had no idea what he’d done with it. “My phone’s gone. Can’t imagine how many messages I have.”
They talked some more. Every few seconds, she’d hear the same phrases: So sorry . . . We’re here for you. . . . Everything will be fine. . . .
She did her best to answer their questions and hold up her end of the discussion, but she felt so gloomy. Considering the circumstances, things could have ended far worse than they had. That was little consolation, though. She’d meant what she said earlier; she really felt like she was in shock from it all. But as down as she felt, it was good to see her coworkers. Good to be around them. It was nice to have the support.
“We should get going,” Dan said after a few minutes. “We just wanted to stop by. Tell you we’re here for you. We’ll talk later, once things have died down.”
They each hugged her on the way out. After everyone else left her room, Carmella stayed behind.
“Hey,” she said to Karen.
“Hey.”
“I’m glad things are fine. I’m probably the five millionth person to tell you that, but it’s true.”
“Thanks.”
“I keep wondering if there was something I should’ve done,” she said. “When you came to me. I didn’t mention you to the police when I spoke to them after the breakout, and I keep thinking things would be different if I’d said something to them.”
“No. You did what I told you. I thought it was the right thing to do. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. In the end, I guess everything worked out.”
“I finally came clean this morning. A police detective called me and wanted to get my story again. And I told him everything this time. I told him I lied earlier, and that you forced me to help you break the woman out. I gave the detective the truth. I couldn’t keep lying.”
“That’s fine. You’re not in trouble, are you?”
“I don’t think so. I’m supposed to talk to some hospital administrators later on.”
“I’ll tell them the story. Tell them I forced you to help me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Carmella said. “At least, not now. You have more important things to focus on.”
Karen stopped by Joshua’s room. He was sleeping, so she went down a floor and visited Teddy. She hadn’t forgotten about him, even with everything that had happened. She’d briefly spoken with him last night after she talked with Joshua. The surgery to stitch up the bullet wound in his leg had gone well. There was some muscle damage but nothing serious.
The door to Teddy’s room was open, and she walked in. He lay in the patient bed, head turned to the side, staring out the window, his blond hair a little disheveled.
“Feeling better?” she asked.
He looked over at her. A brief smile. “Yeah. Don’t think I could feel worse than last night if I tried.”
She sat down in a chair at his bedside.
“Joshua?” Teddy asked.
“Still sleeping. Unless something changes, we’ll go home later.”
“Sounds like they’re kicking me out, too.”
They sat in silence for a long time, both of them staring off and avoiding eye contact. Just sitting there, a million unspoken words between them.
“So, what happens next?” Teddy eventually said.
“I still have to talk with the police. Give them my full statement. That’s supposed to happen today.”
“You haven’t talked with them yet?”
“I did earlier. When Joshua was missing. I told them everything I could about Shane. But I didn’t tell them about the accident. The hit-and-run that started this all. We were so focused on finding Joshua that there wasn’t time to tell them everything. And then last night, it was nearly four in the morning by the time they brought Joshua in and finished with him. By then, the detective was gone. He said he’d get my statement tomorrow. Today.”
“Guess it’s time to come clean, then,” Teddy said. “Admit everything. Do what we should have from the start. Tell the police everything. We don’t really have a choice.”
“We might.”
“How so?”
“Earlier, I was thinking. I was thinking about the body.”
In fact, she’d been thinking about it constantly. That had been the main reason she’d gotten hardly any sleep last night: she was thinking about the body. Now that everything had slowed down, she’d had time to truly consider their situation and the events that had led them here. The accident. The body. And now, the punishment.
If she told the police about the dead body and the cover-up, Joshua would be looking at jail time. She didn’t see any way he would avoid it. He was eighteen. In the eyes of the law, he was an adult. Some people might have compassion because of everything they’d been through, but the facts were the facts: he’d killed someone and left the scene without reporting it.
She couldn’t even imagine how crushing it would be, if Joshua was locked up in jail. After all they’d been through, not just over the past few days but over the past eighteen years, she didn’t think she could handle him being taken away from her.
She recalled what Teddy had said earlier. If they told the police everything and Joshua was convicted of manslaughter or a similar crime, he could be looking at years in jail, maybe many years. Locked up in jail instead of graduating high school or starting college. Still locked away as his friends finished college and moved away to different cities, maybe started families of their own. The conviction would be on his record forever, following him around for the rest of his life. Eighteen years old, and his life could be ruined.
“The body, it’s still out there in the forest,” Karen said to Teddy. “No one’s found it yet.”
“I know. I’ve been looking at the news. There’s been no mention of it.”
“We might not have to tell the police about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you know exactly what I mean. I know this is a person’s life. I know it’s terrible and wrong to even think about not telling the police what happened. But I just can’t get it out of my head, Joshua going to jail. His life being ruined.”
She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”
But she did know. She’d already thought about it last night. Thought about it endlessly. And no matter which angle she looked at it from, there was just no way she could convince herself that telling the police about the body was the right thing to do. She couldn’t turn Joshua in.
That was her decision. There’d been so many paths and choices that led to this point, and now this was the final decision to make. She couldn’t believe she was even considering such a thing, but she was. Actually, no, she wasn’t considering it—her mind was made up.
“I’m not going to say anything to the police,” she said. Teddy stared at her. Not much of a reaction on his face. It was like he expected her to say exactly that.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I’m not sure about anything. But this is my decision.”
She stood up from her chair.
“I have to go,” she said. “The police will be back soon to talk with Joshua and me. I want to make sure our stories are straight. Just wanted to come here and let you know what I decided.”
She walked toward the door.
“Karen?” Teddy said.
She turned back to him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “This whole thing, it’s all my fault. But I did it for Joshua. You have to believe me.”
She believed him, but it was impossible not to feel some anger toward Teddy. The feeling wasn’t much, though. Here she was, faced with the same situation, and making the same decision. Covering up what had happened to protect Joshua.
There was plenty she wanted to say to Teddy, but it would have to remain unspoken for now. Too much else to focus on.