Nightingale

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Confession

Eddie burst through the emergency room doors to find an unlikely group of people occupying the waiting room. The only thing they had in common was Sam. This couldn't be good. His eyes roamed from face to face searching for answers. Marli stood staring straight ahead as if in shock; Charlie was standing at her side, his shirt covered with blood. Claudia looked as if she'd been crying and had her arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders. Sarah had her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking. George sat by the door with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Eddie's eyes were drawn to the chair next to George where Samantha's notebooks sat.

Eddie felt rage take over his entire body as he lifted George, and threw him like a ragdoll. "What did you do?" he roared as George slid across the floor.

George struggled to stand, but Eddie jerked him up by his throat and slammed him against the wall. "Everything she said was true," George choked out.

Eddie felt as if the air was being squeezed from his chest. "Where is she?" he asked and stumbled backward. The rage he'd initially felt was quickly replaced with guilt. He was no better than George - he hadn't believed her either.

Everyone in the room turned to face Darcy as she came out to give them an update. Eddie felt sick when he saw the blood covering her scrubs - Sam's blood. Darcy cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Michael has taken her to surgery. The storm is too bad to fly her out of here, so we're doing the best we can to get her stabilized."

Eddie sat hard on the padded bench and stared at the floor. Darcy walked quickly there and sat beside him. Eddie didn't look at her. He didn't really want to know the answer, but he had to ask. "Is she going to be okay?"

Darcy cleared her throat. "Like I said, we're trying to get her stabilized. We've gathered the best surgical crew we could from who's here. But so you know, Michael will most likely be suspended when this is over. He refused to call in any other doctors once we found out the helicopter wouldn't be coming. He said he wouldn't put her life in anyone else's hands. For what it's worth," she said quietly and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand, "I had a good time last night after the party. Thanks for the ride home. I'm here if you need me." She stood and made her way out of the waiting room.

He smiled to himself as he watched her walk away. "Sam would be so pissed if she knew I took you home in her car," he whispered. He kneaded his forehead with frustration. "Hope you stick around, Sam, so I can rub your nose in it."

"In what?" a voice asked.

Eddie looked up to see Marli standing right in front of him. He looked away uncomfortably. "Nothing. I was talking to myself. Did you need something?"

Marli sat beside him. "Yes. I need your help finding who did this. If Sam...when Sam pulls through, the person who tried to kill her will most likely come back to finish the job. It's up to us to figure it out before that happens."

"And where do you suggest we start?" he asked with agitation.

"Don't get pissed off at me; we're all to blame here. None of us helped her when she needed it, and now she's fighting for her life. We at least owe it to her to find who did this before that fight comes to an end. Are you with me or not?" she asked heatedly.

Eddie nodded in agreement. "Now what?" he asked.

Marli grabbed the notebooks and handed one to Eddie. "The answer has to be in here somewhere."

George approached them and handed Marli the list of people from the party. "After you left, Sam and I had a long talk. She thinks the person who killed Peter and Jake is the same one who tried to run her down in the garage. She said she thinks it was someone at the party." His eyes were full of remorse when they met Eddie's. "I got a few shots off at the driver. One might've made contact. He or she won't come here for treatment, so I put out an alert to all the local hospitals." He flipped the old notebook to the page Maggie had pointed out. "Maggie thinks that looks like an 'M' carved in his chest. You might want to check into it. I'm taking myself off the case; it's all yours," he said quietly and walked out the door.