Chapter 2 - WHAT THE HOSPITAL FOUNDEli had two cracked ribs.
A sprained wrist.
A mild concussion.
Multiple bruises.
Cuts on his bare foot from pavement and landscaping gravel.
No internal bleeding.
No broken spine.
No skull fracture.
No serious abdominal injury.
Nothing that would make the story more dramatic than it already was.
Dr. Lena Ford, the emergency physician, looked directly at me.
“He is stable.”
“Stable means?”
“His injuries are painful, but at this time none appear life-threatening.”
I nodded.
Then asked the question parents always ask even when they know nobody can answer perfectly.
“Is he going to be okay?”
“I expect him to recover physically.”
Physically.
That word stayed.
Eli slept for nearly an hour.
I sat beside him.
My phone kept buzzing.
Dad.
Mark.
Dad again.
Then a text.
MARK: Call me before you do something stupid.
That sentence nearly made me call.
Instead, I showed it to Detective Sarah Vega when she arrived.
Vega was forty-two.
Plain dark suit.
Hair tied back.
No theatrical cop attitude.
She read the text.
Then:
“Do not respond yet.”
“What do you think they did?”
“I don’t know.”
“My father called asking whether Eli was still safe.”
“I heard the recording.”
“So?”
“So it’s important.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all I can responsibly say right now.”
I hated her.
Temporarily.
She asked where Eli had been supposed to spend the afternoon.
“With my father.”
“Why?”
“Summer job.”
That got her attention.
“What kind?”
“My family owns Carter Building Supply.”
Three stores.
A warehouse.
Contractor accounts.
Lumber.
Hardware.
Nothing glamorous.
Eli had been doing basic scanning and filing during summer break.
“Was your brother there?”
“Mark manages operations.”
“Your father?”
“Founder.”
“And you?”
“Former employee.”
“Former?”
“I left eleven years ago.”
“On good terms?”
I laughed.
“No.”
Vega wrote that down.
Fair.
Then she asked for the yellow coupon.
I pulled it from my pocket.
“I folded it.”
“I see that.”
“I shouldn’t have touched it.”
“You were helping your injured son, not processing a crime scene.”
Still, she handled it carefully.
The coupon went into an evidence bag.
Martin’s Market.
Ten dollars off a purchase over eighty.
Expiration next week.
At first, meaningless.
Then Eli woke.
The first thing he asked was:
“Did Grandpa come?”
“No.”
“Mark?”
“No.”
He relaxed slightly.
Then:
“My phone.”
“What about it?”
“They have it.”
“Who?”
May you like
His eyes closed.
“Mark.”
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