by J. G. Sumner
“Yup.”
Rebecca watched Skyler eat. “What part of slow didn’t you understand?”
“Mom, I’m hungry.”
Rebecca sat down next to Skyler’s bed. The thought of never again seeing him put another bite of food in his mouth made her study him intently as he happily emptied his tray.
He ate in record time and he searched for more.
“Can I have some of those cookies you brought yesterday?”
“No, you ate your breakfast too fast. You need to let your food settle. We’ll see how you feel in about an hour.”
“Come on, Mom!”
“We can wait two hours if you would like.”
“Fine. Can you at least turn on the TV or some music?”
“Sure.” Rebecca got up, turned on the TV, and flipped around until she came across a show about catching alligators. Skyler demanded that she stop there.
Skyler made it through the arm surgery remarkably well. They were able to finish in just a few hours, and he woke up not too long after that. Rebecca was afraid that with the use of sedation, Skyler might not wake up for another couple of days. She had sat vigilantly in the waiting room biting her fingernails and praying for a positive outcome.
When she was finally allowed to see him, Skyler was smiling and already asking for a Sharpie so she could sign his cast. A smile crept across her face and she couldn’t help but laugh. He was almost back to his normal self.
He was restless, and kept twitching. “Skyler, stop doing that!”
“I’m tired of sitting here in this bed. I want my legs to work so that I can stand up and move around.” He bent over and picked up his left leg and then dropped it onto the bed. The thud of his leg hitting the mattress was like hearing him beat his head against a wall over and over.
“Do you honestly think that by picking it up and dropping it it’s going to all of the sudden start working?”
“Well, lying here in this bed sure isn’t doing anything for me.”
Peyton appeared in the room. “Feeling a little restless, huh?”
“You could say that,” Skyler replied.
“Want to go outside?”
“Can I?” His face brightened and his eyes went wide like a child’s on Christmas.
Rebecca’s heart raced. Was she hearing things?
“I think we can probably swing that.” Peyton smiled.
“C-can he really go outside?” Rebecca stammered.
“Skyler is about ready to move out of the ICU. He’s doing very well, and all of his vital signs have been stable for days. I’ll help him into a wheelchair and put him on a portable monitor so we can go out to the patio. It might actually do him some good to get some fresh air.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Rebecca raised a hand to her chest. This was unbelievable. Could Skyler really being well enough to go outside?
“He’s doing great. He should have left the ICU yesterday, but Dr. Stone wanted him to have extra attention a little while longer. He’ll be leaving the hospital in another couple of days for sure.”
“But his legs aren’t working.”
“Yes, but the rest of his body is in very good shape. We’ll order some physical therapy to help him.”
It was as if a hundred-pound weight had been lifted from Rebecca’s shoulders. “Wow! Things are starting to move quickly. I can’t believe he’s going home soon.”
Peyton turned her attention back to Skyler. “Are you ready?”
Skyler looked as though he was going to jump from the bed. “Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting for someone to break me out of this prison. Let’s go!”
“All right, let me go get the wheelchair and monitor. I’ll also need to find some help to move you since this is the first time you have been up and out of bed.”
“Well, get going! And don’t be gone too long. A man could die here waiting.” Skyler laughed.
“Skyler!”
“Oh, Mom! I was just kidding.”
“Don’t Oh, Mom me. You were almost the one who died here while I was waiting. It’s nothing to joke about.”
“Relax. I’m sorry.” Skyler’s smile faded.
“I’ll be right back.” Peyton hurried out just as Stephen Miller entered, wearing his uniform and looking business-like.
Rebecca’s already big smile had broadened at the sight of him. “Hey! You’re just in time to witness a momentous occasion!”
“I heard Skyler was awake and talking, but I didn’t imagine he would be sitting up like this. You look good, man.”
“Thank you.” Skyler glanced at Rebecca. “If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”
“Officer Miller has been the one investigating your accident. He’s been here every day checking up on you to see how you’re doing. He’s been very supportive.” Rebecca focused her attention on Stephen and smiled.
“So am I under arrest or something?”
Stephen looked at Skyler. “No, son. But I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“All right, but you have to hurry. They’re getting ready to take me outside. I’m going to bust out of this joint.” Excitement exuded from Skyler’s voice.
“Outside? Really?” Stephen looked at Rebecca.
“Yeah, they say he’s okay to go.”
“That’s great news! How about we get started? If they come back before I’m done, then I can just wait until you come back.”
“What would you like to know?”
Skyler looked to Rebecca. By now, she knew that look. He was puzzled and wanted to know what was going on. Rebecca just smiled at Skyler and gestured for Stephen to go ahead.
“First, I’d like you to go over what you remember about the day of your accident, starting with when you arrived at the track with your bike to when you crashed.”
“I don’t remember the crash at all. I guess that’s a good thing, right?” Skyler continued, “My friend Danny and I rode together to the track. We had both motorcycles in my truck. When we got there, we unloaded our bikes and took them over to the staging area. We spent a while checking them out and making sure they were ready for the race. I have a routine I go through to make sure I don’t miss anything.
“A few more of my buddies showed up and they worked on their own bikes. I remember being a little nervous before the race and felt like I had to take a piss. My buddies went with me but I don’t like to leave my bike after I’ve checked it. It’s like a superstition for me. So I had my bro Ryan watch it while I went to the bathroom. When I came out, Ryan and my bike were gone. I was pretty pissed. He knows how I am with my bike before a meet. When I finally found him, Ryan said this sponsor guy just wanted to put a new tire on it with specialized technology. Well, by then, they were calling my name to go race. I never had a chance to take a look at the new tire. And well, you know what happened next.”
“Tell me about this new sponsor.”
“There isn’t really a lot to tell. He said he had heard about me and had watched a couple of my races. He asked if I thought I could do a few different tricks. I was pretty confident I could. He said if I could land a back flip during the race, he would sponsor me and get me a spot in a national competition. I had been practicing, and I knew I could do it.”
“Do you know what company he was from?”
“He said he had his own company that was up and coming. I don’t really remember what the name was. I was more excited that he was going to pay for all my entry fees into races and provide me with new equipment.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
“Yeah, sure. He was tall. Over six feet. Blond hair, blue eyes, and pretty tan.”
Stephen pulled a picture from his clipboard. “Is this him?”
Skyler took the picture and studied it.
“Yup, that looks like him.” The boy gave the picture back to Stephen.
“Do you mind if I take a look?” Rebecca inquired.
Stephen handed her the picture. Chills formed on her spine. A
cold sweat formed across her forehead as her hands started to tremble.
“Mom, what is it?”
Rebecca swallowed hard. “Huh? Oh! It’s just unnerving to see the man who almost cost you your life.” She handed the picture back to Stephen.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?”
“The last couple of races I was in, he was always hanging around. He seemed eager to sponsor me. I really didn’t think anything of it because I wanted to be sponsored. I mean, who wouldn’t? That scores a lot of bragging rights, you know? This last race, we didn’t really communicate a lot. He told me what trick I had to land and I had every intention of going out there and doing it.”
“Did he ever threaten you or make you feel uncomfortable?”
“No, actually it was the opposite. I felt this weird sort of connection to him. He was a cool guy, kind of like a buddy you’ve known your whole life.”
“Any reason to think he wanted to harm you?”
“No, not that I can think of. I barely knew the guy. Why would he want to harm me?”
“So what do you think happened with your bike?”
“I think the dude went to put new equipment on my bike and didn’t tighten the bolts all the way. It could’ve been a simple mistake. I was rushed to get on the bike. Like I said, they were calling my name and I didn’t even have time to do a double check.”
“If he wanted to change out some equipment, why didn’t he ask you for the bike early on? Why did he wait until one of your friends was in possession of it?”
“Hey, that’s a good question. I didn’t think of that. I don’t know. Maybe he was up to something.”
Peyton walked in, pushing a wheelchair with the portable monitor sitting on top of it. “Are you ready to go?” she asked.
“Are you kidding me? I can’t wait to get out of this bed.” Skyler threw the blankets off of his legs and wiggled around until they were dangling off the side of the bed.
“You’re pretty good at moving yourself around there,” Peyton said.
“I have nothing but time to practice here. There’s not a whole lot to do.”
As another nurse came in, Peyton motioned to her and together, they lifted Skyler into the wheelchair. Peyton put his feet on the pedals and covered him with a blanket.
“This is awesome! I have all the ladies taking care of me. I’m going to have to get hurt more often.” Skyler laughed.
“Skyler, that’s not funny!” Rebecca stood to follow Skyler out to the patio.
Peyton hooked Skyler up to the portable monitor, turned it on, and made sure it was working properly. “It looks good. Are you ready to go see some daylight?”
“Whenever you are.” Skyler smiled.
“All right, let’s go!” Peyton pushed Skyler out of the room when he suddenly asked her to stop. He turned around and looked at Stephen.
“You seem like a good guy, Stephen. And I can tell you have the hots for my mom. How about you ask her out already?”
“Skyler!” Rebecca was mortified.
“Geez, Mom. He came in here every day that I’ve been here. I may have been out most of the time but I could still hear things. I don’t remember everything, but I have the memory of his voice in here. And really, after the last week, you could use a good time. Let him show you one.” And with that, Skyler motioned for Peyton to take him out.
Rebecca was at a loss for words. It wasn’t the first time Skyler had tried to set her up, but it was never this blatant. “I’ll catch up with you. I just need to talk to Stephen for a minute.”
“Take your time. I can’t get the ladies with you hovering all of the time anyway.”
Rebecca gave a half-hearted laugh and turned to Stephen. “I’m sorry about that. Sometimes he has no boundaries.”
“It’s okay. He’s not wrong. I’d like to ask you out sometime, but I need to close Skyler’s case first.”
Rebecca didn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t been on a date in years and hadn’t even thought about it. She had been focused on raising Skyler. She smiled and looked away.
“What is it? Do you know something about that guy?”
Rebecca’s eyes began to tear up. “His name isn’t Curt Dillon. It’s Tony Crawford.”
“How do you know him?”
She paused. “He’s Skyler’s dad.”
“Are you positive?”
“I’d bet my life on it. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Skyler because I didn’t want to upset him. He hasn’t asked about his father in years. The last thing I wanted for him is to find out his father might be responsible for the crash.”
“I did not see this coming. What reason do you think he had for getting involved with Skyler at this point?”
“I’m not sure. Other than for what you’re suspecting him of. We were young when I got pregnant with Skyler. I had just turned sixteen and we had been dating a couple of months. He was my first and what I thought was my true love.
“Anyway, he wanted me to abort Skyler. He was adamant that he didn’t want a child. We broke up and we never spoke again. I switched schools and my parents helped me raise him. I worked odd jobs to help support Skyler while I went to school. I was barely making ends meet and my family wanted me to move out once I finished high school. I knew I needed to get a college education so I could support Skyler, but I couldn’t afford to live on my own, do odd jobs, and go to school. So I filed for child support with County Child Support Services. I wasn’t getting a lot, only a couple of hundred dollars a month. But between that and the grants I got to go to school, I was able to make ends meet and get my bachelor’s degree.
“I still get some child support sent to me. It comes inconsistently. I put that money into an account for Skyler to go to college.” Rebecca paused. “I’m sorry. I digressed. I think that he was even more upset that he was paying child support for a son he didn’t want. Maybe that’s why he was trying to hurt Skyler.”
“But he only has a little over a year before Skyler turns eighteen and he won’t have to pay child support anymore. Why would he do this now?”
“God only knows. He came to my house a few days ago looking for Skyler. He said he had some lose ends to tie up and Skyler was one of them. He left when he found out Skyler was in the hospital and not doing well. I was shocked that he came by after all these years, but I would never have guessed that he already knew Skyler was injured.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“He gave me his business card and asked for me to call him when Skyler’s condition changed.”
“How did he know where you lived?”
Rebecca was puzzled. “Come to think of it, I don’t know. Like I said, we never stayed in contact. We don’t even have any mutual friends. I’m unlisted in the phone book. I can tell you one thing, though. I’d like a few minutes alone with him to find out what his intentions are.”
Stephen looked at Rebecca. “I have him in custody right now. I was waiting to talk to Skyler before I released him.”
Anger surged through Rebecca’s veins. “I want to see him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I need to know for myself if he intended on killing Skyler. He won’t tell you. But I’ll be able to see it in his face.”
Stephen shifted on his feet. “I can’t let you in there to question him.”
“Can I watch you?”
“I don’t know. That’s not our typical protocol and I could get in a lot of trouble.”
“Please. I won’t cause any problems. I need to see him for myself.”
“Fine. I’ll need you to identify him anyway. But we need to go now. I have a time limit on how long I can detain him.”
“Let me just see how Skyler is doing outside, and I’ll follow you to the station.” Rebecca grabbed her purse and hurried out of the room, Stephen following.
***
Rebecca pulled into the police station visitor parking lot. She hadn’t seen Tony since
high school, with the exception of when he was at her house a few days ago. The anticipation of seeing him again left her stomach feeling unsettled. She had no feelings for him and hadn’t wondered what he was up to. She wanted nothing to do with him because as far as she was concerned, Skyler’s dad was dead. This was just a man—a stranger who had done wrong to her child. Yet for some reason, he decided to enter her life again.
She got out of her car. Stephen was already walking toward her. Rebecca took a look at the building that was old and a little dilapidated. There were few windows, and the walls were a steel gray. In essence, the building looked lifeless, much like how she was feeling inside.
“When we go in, I’ll take you to a room where you can watch the interrogation. You won’t be able to talk to him, but you’ll be able to sit in the room and watch. I’ll be with you when they bring him in. I want you to tell me if that’s in fact him.”
“At any point will I be able to come face to face with him or talk to him?”
“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.”
Disappointment buried itself in her stomach. “I understand.”
“One more thing. There are recording devices around the station. I need your permission to record you or I can’t let you in.”
“Yes, that’s fine. I have nothing to hide.” Rebecca forced a smile. All of this was becoming too much.
They walked up to the side door and Stephen held it open for her. Once they were in, she looked around. The walls were drab, lacking any personality. Looking further, there were several cubicles illuminated by fluorescent lighting. Rebecca followed Stephen down the corridor leading to the viewing room.
It was relatively dark, lit by only a small table lamp. There were a couple of chairs and a small table. But otherwise, the room was as bleak as everything else she had seen.
“Go ahead and have a seat. I’ll be right back.” Stephen then promptly left. He was more businesslike here in this building than he had been in the hospital.
Rebecca looked around through the window into the interrogation room. That room was just as stark with cinderblock walls, a table, and three chairs. It was lit up with several fluorescent lights, making the room quite bright.
