Blood Orchid

10

Holly woke up at her usual sixA.M., showered, dressed, and put some coffee on. She fed Daisy and let her out, then went to ask Teddy Wright to join her for breakfast. He was nowhere to be seen.

Holly was annoyed. She had not told him to leave at dawn, and she expected her officers to follow her instructions. Then she noticed the canvas chair she had put out for Teddy to sit in as he kept watch. It was lying on its side in some long grass. She walked over to it and found Teddy lying facedown in the grass, and there was blood on the back of his head. Alarmed, she turned him over and felt at his neck for a pulse. It was there, but it seemed weak to her.

She pulled Teddy’s radio off his belt and spoke into it. “Base, this is the chief.”

“Chief, base.”

“Get an ambulance out to my house right now, and tell Chief Wallace to get out here, too, and to bring a crime-scene tech.”

“Roger, Chief.”

Holly dragged over the chair and put Teddy’s feet in it; shock was a good possibility. She brushed the hair out of his face, and for a moment she felt something she had rarely felt before-motherly. Teddy’s face was cherubic in repose, that of a small boy. A lot of her officers adopted macho attitudes in their work, something she had tried to discourage, but Teddy’s face showed none of that now.

She heard an ambulance in the distance, and she walked around the house to meet it. “Back there,” she said to the EMTs who spilled out of the vehicle. “You’ll need a stretcher.”

“What have we got?”

“Unconscious male police officer, apparent blow to the back of the head. Pulse feels weak to me.”

She followed them and watched as they went through their routine-placed a collar on the young man’s neck, took his blood pressure, started an IV. Minutes later, Teddy was in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

“I’ll follow in a few minutes,” Holly said to the driver as he drove past her.

The ambulance had hardly cleared the driveway when Hurd Wallace drove in. He got out of the car. “What’s going on?”

“Somebody hit Teddy over the head last night and left him unconscious in the grass. I’ve no idea how long he was like that before I found him.”

Hurd turned to the crime-scene tech. “Check it out-footprints, and anything else you can turn up. Let’s go in the house,” Hurd said.

“Okay,” Holly replied. “I want to go to the hospital and check on Teddy.” She led the way into the house. “Coffee’s on,” she said.

“Thanks.” Hurd pulled up a stool to the kitchen counter and accepted the cup. “What do you think is going on here, Holly?”

Holly peeled a banana, which was going to be breakfast. “I don’t have a clue, Hurd. What are we working on that might cause somebody to want to bug my phones?”

“It’s been pretty quiet,” Hurd replied. “I can’t think of a thing that would connect to this. Anything in your life that might have brought this on? Anything personal?”

Holly shook her head. “There isn’t anything personal in my life, except Ham.” It hurt to admit that, especially to her deputy chief. She tossed the banana peel and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Maybe you ought to get Phil Sweat to sweep Ham’s place, too.”

“Why?”

Hurd shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt.”

The tech knocked on the back door, and Holly waved him in. “What have you got?”

“Nothing,” the tech replied. “It’s a grassy area, and there were no discernible footprints and no other physical evidence, either.”

She turned back to Hurd. “Finish your coffee, then please call Phil Sweat and get him back out here. I want to know if the bug is back on the phones, then ask him to go out to Ham’s. Call Ham for me, will you? I want to get to the hospital.”

Hurd nodded.

“I’ll see you back at the station.” Holly called Daisy and they hopped into the car and drove away.

The ER was quiet when Holly arrived at the hospital, and she spoke to the young resident who had treated Teddy.

“Blow to the head,” the doctor said, “no fracture, but he’s concussed, and he required eight stitches. He was showing signs of shock when he arrived.”

“Prognosis?”

“He’s going to have a hell of a headache, maybe some dizziness. We’ll keep him overnight to make sure he’s stable, then he ought to take a couple of days off until he feels well again.”

“Is he awake?”

“He’s been conscious, but he’s sleeping now. I don’t want him disturbed, unless it’s very urgent that you talk to him.”

“It’s not,” she said. “Tell him I was here and to phone me when he feels up to it. I do want to ask him some questions.”

A nurse approached. “Officer Wright is awake and asking for the chief,” she said.

“Go ahead,” the doctor said, “but keep it brief.”

Holly nodded and followed the nurse down the hall to a room in which the blinds had been closed. The nurse pressed a button and raised the head of the bed a little.

“How are you feeling, Teddy?” Holly asked, taking his hand.

“I’m sorry, Chief,” he said.

“Nothing to be sorry about. You need to just rest until tomorrow, then we’ll get you home for a couple of days of R and R.”

“It’s my fault,” Teddy said.

“No it’s not; somebody snuck up on you, that’s all.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It was my radio; I left it on.”

“What happened, do you remember?”

“There was a call on the radio, some traffic thing, and I thought, shit, I forgot to turn it off. Next thing I knew I was on the ground, and then I must have passed out.”

“It’s okay, Teddy. You’re not hurt badly, but you’ll be fine in a little while. You just get some rest now, and we’ll talk later.”

“I’m sorry, Chief,” he said again.

“It’s all right; don’t worry about it.” She gave his hand a pat and followed the nurse out of the room.

“Nice kid,” the nurse said. “Is he old enough to be a policeman?”

“Only just,” Holly replied. “Please see that he gets anything he needs and bill the department. When he’s ready to be released, let me know, and I’ll send a car to take him home.”

“You bet.”

Holly thanked the nurse and drove back to the station. She found Hurd Wallace. “What family does Teddy have?”

“Just a mother; he lives with her.” Hurd handed her a slip of paper. “I thought you’d want to call her.”

“Thanks, Hurd.” Holly made the call.

“Hello?” a woman’s voice said.

“Mrs. Wright?”

“Yes.”

“This is Chief Holly Barker, at the police station.”

“Has something happened to Teddy?” There was real alarm in her voice.

“Teddy’s fine, don’t worry. He was on a stakeout last night, and he got hit on the head. They want to keep him overnight at the hospital, but he’s going to be just fine, and I don’t want you to worry.”

“Can I see him?”

“Why don’t you wait until after lunch? He was up all night, and the doctor wants him to get some sleep.”

“Is he really all right?”

“Really, he is. He probably fell off his bike as a kid and got hurt worse.”

“He broke his arm, falling off his bike.”

“This isn’t nearly as bad. Just give him a few hours to rest, then go see him. Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need anything, maybe a ride to the hospital?”

“No, thank you, Chief; I have my car.”

“Please call me if there’s anything I can do. Teddy will be released tomorrow morning, and he’s going to be at home for a couple of days, resting. Don’t you let him come back to work until he feels well again.”

“Don’t you worry, Chief, I’ll take care of him. Thank you for calling.”

Holly hung up and found Hurd standing in her doorway.

“Ham doesn’t want his phones swept,” he said.

“I’ll deal with Ham,” Holly replied. “You just get Phil Sweat out there.”