Chapter 3 - Jason comes home
Jason reached the hospital at 4:26.
He entered the pediatric hallway nearly running.
Work boots.
Gray company polo.
Hands blackened around the nails from equipment grease.
“Thomas.”
I stood.
He looked through the glass toward Leo.
Then Maya sleeping against my chest.
“What happened?”
I stared at my younger brother.
For one ugly second I wanted to hit him.
Not because I knew what he had done.
Because somebody needed to absorb the fear that had been building inside me.
I did not.
Instead:
“Leo’s leg was broken before today.”
Jason stopped.
“What?”
“And his wrist.”
His face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Where have you been?”
“Dayton. You know that.”
“Before Dayton.”
He looked toward the room.
“What did Leo say?”
A police officer approached.
“Mr. Reed?”
Jason turned.
“Yes.”
“We need to speak with you.”
He looked back at me.
“Where’s Rachel?”
Nobody had answered that yet.
Police had gone to the house.
She was not there.
Her car was gone.
That did not mean she had fled.
She had left for a dental appointment at 12:30 according to a calendar on the kitchen counter.
The children apparently escaped sometime after she left.
Her phone went unanswered for forty minutes.
Then she called police herself after receiving messages.
She said:
“I’m coming to the hospital.”
Police told her not to come until they arranged an interview.
Jason whispered:
“Did she know?”
I asked:
“Know what?”
“The leg.”
May you like
I stared.
That was the first indication Jason knew Leo had been injured before Tuesday.
