“Nine-one-one emergency. What are you reporting?” came the voice of the dispatcher.
“We need help. Shots fired. Officer needs help!” Sydney repeated the words she had heard over the radio just days prior, figuring it would bring assistance faster. “We were attacked by a man in the woods behind eighty-two ten Summit Ridge Road. There’s an off duty police officer fighting with him and I’ve now heard gunshots!”
“You’re at eight-two-one-zero Summit Ridge Road?”
Sydney confirmed her address then listened as the dispatcher repeated the information, presumably over the radio frequency that would dispatch officers to the scene. She then began asking Sydney a series of questions regarding the suspect, his appearance, who the officer was and what she looked like. Sydney provided all the information she could, emphasizing that Alex was already injured and that an ambulance was also needed. The dispatcher assured her officers and an ambulance were already en route, but Sydney knew it would be several minutes before anyone would arrive at the secluded canyon location.
Sydney watched through the window, hoping to see some evidence of Alex, while she gave the dispatcher the requested information. She saw movement at the edge of the trees and watched a figure emerge, stooped over and moving slowly. In the darkness Sydney was unable to tell who it was so she watched, unmoving and unspeaking as the dispatcher continued to ask if she was there and if she was all right. Sydney saw the figure stumble and fall at the edge of the deck, just within the envelope of the rear patio lights. Sydney recognized Alex as she struggled to rise. Her face was covered in blood.
Sydney dropped the phone, threw open the French doors and bolted across the deck to Alex’s side. She grasped Alex around the waist and helped her toward the open doors, looking back and around her as they moved, afraid the attacker would emerge from the trees at any moment. Once inside she turned to lock the doors as Alex picked up the discarded phone on the counter. Alex gave hurried information on the suspect and his direction of travel through the woods.
Sydney was shocked at Alex’s appearance. Blood covered her face and had spread down the front of her sweatshirt. She was leaning heavily on the counter and her breathing was labored. Her speech slowed and it looked to Sydney as if simply holding the phone was becoming a challenge. Sydney moved quickly to the kitchen and grabbed clean hand towels from a drawer. She returned just as Alex began slipping down the side of the counter in obvious exhaustion. Sydney tried to steady her, slowing her fall. The phone slipped from Alex’s hands to the floor, now forgotten by both women.
Alex came to rest sitting on the tile, slouched against the base of the counter with the handgun still clutched in her right hand. It was obvious she was fighting unconsciousness. Sydney used one of the towels and gently wiped the head wound, noting the large gash along Alex’s forehead and temple. As she did Alex’s drowsy eyes studied Sydney’s face, coming to rest on the split and bloodied lip. Alex’s eyes grew wider for a moment and she released the weapon, bringing her right hand up and gently caressing Sydney’s face.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered. Sydney brought her own hand up to meet Alex’s and her eyes watered.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” she said as she fought to maintain her composure. She continued her inspection of Alex’s injuries, silently pleading for the ambulance to arrive more quickly. The head wound had bled heavily and Sydney initially thought this was the cause of all the blood on Alex’s sweatshirt. But then she saw Alex grasping at her left side, just above the waist of her jeans. Sydney drew a sharp breath as she noticed the fresh pattern of blood soaking the sweatshirt material and spreading outward from beneath Alex’s bloody hand.
She mentally prepared herself for what she might see, then reached down and gently tried to remove Alex’s hand. She felt Alex weakly resist and she looked into her eyes.
“Let me help,” Sydney said. “I need to look.”
Alex gave an almost invisible nod, then her eyes closed and she let her hand fall away to the side. Sydney moved the sweatshirt up, and then pulled away the t-shirt beneath, revealing what Sydney knew had to be a bullet wound. She gently placed one of the folded towels against the wound and applied pressure. Alex gasped in pain and her hand came back up to cover Sydney’s. Fresh tears came to Sydney’s eyes as she looked Alex in the face.
“I’m sorry,” she said and touched Alex’s cheek softly. “I have to stop the bleeding.” She saw a weak smile come to Alex’s lips as her eyes opened and she looked at Sydney. Alex’s hand came up and took Sydney’s hand in hers.
“You’re doing great,” Alex whispered. “We’re gonna be fine.” Alex gently squeezed Sydney’s hand, then her eyes closed once again.
At that moment Sydney heard approaching sirens. She gently disengaged her hands from Alex’s and ran for the door. Sydney exited onto the front porch and waited impatiently as the first police officers were arriving at the base of the driveway many with their weapons drawn. A sergeant, identified by the stripes on his uniform sleeve, approached her quickly.
“Where’s the officer?” he said with no introduction.
“She’s in the kitchen at the back. She’s been shot,” Sydney answered as she led him into the house and made her way back to Alex
“And the suspect?” he asked as they walked rapidly, followed by several other officers.
“I last saw him in the woods out the back. I heard Alex tell the dispatcher he ran westbound from the path.” At that moment they entered the kitchen. Alex hadn’t moved.
The sergeant paused for a fraction of second. “Shit,” he said then knelt beside Alex and took her hand. “Alex!” he said, prodding her to respond. “Come on, kid. Wake up and talk to me.”
Sydney saw Alex’s eyes flutter and she looked up at the sergeant, a look of recognition passing momentarily across her face.
“The R.A.’s almost here, Alex. Hold on for me.” The sergeant put Alex’s hand down gently, stood up and was immediately in charge again as more officers arrived. He turned to Sydney as she went to her knees next to Alex, again applying pressure to the towel at Alex’s side.
“Where exactly in the woods were you?”
“Down that path about a third of a mile,” Sydney said as she partially turned and pointed to the footpath at the edge of the trees. “You’ll find a bag with a blanket that I dropped.” The sergeant nodded.
“Sandoval, you’re here with Sergeant Chambers. You stay with them all the way to the hospital and get anything either of them may need,” he said, clearly indicating that taking care of Sydney was included in that responsibility.
“Jacobs, get down the driveway and guide the paramedics in here as soon as the R.A. pulls up. Sanchez, Eldridge, Thomas and Deamer, you guys are perimeter security, we have no idea where the bad guy is right now, so you protect this house. The rest of you, you’re with me.” Without saying anything further he turned and exited via the French doors, followed by four officers.
Moments later Officer Sandoval returned, leading four paramedics behind him. They immediately surrounded Alex and began providing medical care. Sydney was forced to stand and back away to make room for them. She stood silently watching, crossing her arms in front of her and holding tight in an effort to keep control of herself physically and emotionally. She grew more concerned as she noticed Alex was clearly unconscious. When the paramedics carefully rolled Alex over she gasped as she heard one of them say, “I’ve got a second bullet wound here. Looks like we’ve got entry and exit.”
They soon had Alex on a gurney and began wheeling her out of the house. Sydney and Officer Sandoval followed close behind. As they loaded Alex’s unmoving form in the back of a waiting ambulance, Sydney asked, “Can I ride with her? Please?” She looked first to Officer Sandoval, then to the paramedics. One of them looked to the officer who gave a slight nod.
“Yes, ma’am,” the paramedic said. “Come this way.” He led her to a side door of the ambulance and helped her up to a cushioned bench seat near t
he head of the stretcher. The second paramedic was already inside the ambulance beside Alex, hanging a clear bag of solution which fed a line to an intravenous needle now in Alex’s arm.
“I’ll follow right behind you.” Sydney heard Officer Sandoval say. “I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Sydney heard the siren activate as the ambulance pulled away to begin the drive to the hospital. Her attention was focused on Alex, who lay unmoving on the stretcher, eyes still closed. She watched as the paramedic placed an oxygen mask over Alex’s nose and mouth and placed the small oxygen tank between Alex’s knees on the stretcher. The paramedic asked her if she had been present when Alex was injured.
“I was there when she got hit in the head, but not when...when she was shot.”
“How did the head wound happen?”
Sydney struggled to tell him, the terrifying image rolling once again through her mind. “He...the man...he swung a tree branch at her head...like a baseball bat.”
“Was she able to defend herself at all? Deflect the blow in any way?” The paramedic leaned over and lifted Alex’s eyelids, shining a small penlight at one pupil then the other.
“No...she didn’t even see it coming.”
The paramedic nodded and entered the details onto the electronic data pad.
Sydney stroked Alex’s cheek, willing her to open her eyes. Soon afterwards the ambulance slowed and came to a stop. The paramedic tending to Alex was immediately out the doors when they opened, reaching back and pulling the stretcher from the ambulance. Sydney followed close behind and as soon as her feet hit the pavement she reached out and took Alex’s hand. Committed to staying close to Alex as long as she could, Sydney remained beside the stretcher as it entered the emergency room doors. She looked up to see the E.R. crew moving to meet the gurney and her eyes fell on a familiar figure. There was no mistaking Tiffany’s shocked expression, then as Sydney watched a professional mask fell over her face.
The paramedics were yelling vital signs and information on the nature of the injuries as the stretcher was wheeled into a nearby emergency bay. Sydney shifted slightly out of the way as they moved Alex from the stretcher onto the bed. Tiffany assisted in hanging the I.V. bag, starting oxygen and connecting additional monitoring devices. The
E.R. doctors began collecting additional vital signs and carefully removed the bandages covering the gunshot wound. Meanwhile, another nurse began cutting away Alex’s clothes.
Still standing off to the side, largely forgotten by the medical staff, Sydney watched as Tiffany leaned over and quietly whispered to Alex.
“You’re doing great, Alex. You’re going to be fine.” One of the doctors yelled out the order to draw blood for typing and Tiffany quickly responded.
“She’s O-Positive and she has no allergies.” Both doctors looked at Tiffany.
“Tiffany, do you know this officer?” one doctor asked. Tiffany nodded. “Tiffany, we’ve got enough E.R. staff. The swing shift already came on. You need to let us handle this.” Sydney thought that Tiffany was going to argue, then the nurse looked over at Sydney standing silently nearby. She nodded at the doctor and stepped back. As the work around Alex continued, Tiffany moved away and joined Sydney.
“Come on,” she said. “She’s in the best of hands. We need to let them work.”
Sydney allowed Tiffany to guide her out of the E.R. bay then down the hallway and into a small private family waiting room. As soon as the door closed Sydney began to shake. By the time Tiffany sat down beside her she could no longer keep the sobs contained. She collapsed against Tiffany’s shoulder. Tiffany leaned over and took a box of tissues from a nearby coffee table, offering them to Sydney.
When Sydney’s sobs died down Tiffany rubbed her back. “I’ve got to call Sal. Then I’m going to get some stuff and we’ll get you cleaned up.” Tiffany kept one arm around Sydney as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket. In the silence of the empty room Sydney could hear the voice come through Sydney’s phone.
“Hey, babe,” Sal’s voice answered on the second ring. “Are you on your way home?”
“Sal, you need to come to the hospital. They brought Alex in. She’s been shot.”
“What? What happened?”
“I don’t have the whole story yet. She was with Syd and it looks like there was some kind of attack. I was only in the E.R. for a few minutes. It looks serious but I don’t think it’s fatal.” Sydney felt Tiffany’s arm tighten around her, sending a sense of reassurance.
“Drive carefully. There’s no point in rushing. It’ll be a while before we know anything.”
THE NEXT FEW hours passed as an exhausting, confusing whirlwind for Sydney. Tiffany helped her clean up, treating her split lip and giving her an ice pack for her swollen cheek. Sal arrived and shortly thereafter various detectives and command staff members made their way to the hospital. Detectives from Hollywood Division interviewed Sydney briefly, then Chuck Severs arrived and took over. Sydney immediately recognized him as the detective from R.H.D. who had responded after the bouquet of white roses was delivered to her office.
“I know this isn’t the best time for you,” Detective Severs said after he sat down next to Sydney. “But it’s important we get as much information as we can as quickly as possible.” Sydney nodded and the detective continued. “I’ve spoken to my partner. He’s at your house walking the scene, so I have a bit of an understanding of where you were. Can you tell me what happened?” Sydney took a deep breath to steady herself and then began her story.
“We were on our way back to the house, coming up the path through the trees. It was right after you called Alex.” She looked up and saw the detective nod. “I don’t know where he came from. I had tripped and Alex helped me up when he just suddenly appeared. He had a large branch.” Sydney couldn’t keep the tears from her eyes as she once again relived the attack. “I just froze...I didn’t even warn her.” Sydney sobbed as the guilt washed over her. “Maybe if I had said something she could have defended herself.”
“Hey, none of this is your fault. He was lying in wait and timed his attack for when he could do the most damage.” Detective Severs reached for a nearby box of tissues, handing one to Sydney. “I seriously doubt if anything you could have done in that split second would have made a difference.”
Sydney wiped her eyes then gathered herself to continue.
“Alex seemed to realize something was wrong at the last moment. She started to turn, but he was already swinging at...at her head.” She looked up to see understanding in the detective’s eyes.
“What happened next?”
The detective carefully talked Sydney through the entire incident, gathering as much information as he could.
Sydney was exhausted when she finally finished working her way up through the arrival of the first officers after her nine-one-one call. Chuck closed his notebook after asking a few clarifying questions.
Sydney was told canine units supported by SWAT officers had swept the wooded area behind her house. The attacker had not been found and the trail followed by the dogs indicated he had possibly made his escape through the trees to a car parked further down the street. Alex’s phone had been located. The phone, along with Alex’s weapon and a rock found at the scene with blood on it, were all being forensically studied for fingerprint and DNA evidence that would hopefully lead to identifying the suspect.
“Listen. We think it’s likely you were the focus of this attack, that it was committed by the same person who sent you the flowers.” Sydney nodded in acceptance. This possibility had run through her mind over the last hour as she sat waiting for news of Alex. “And we’re pretty sure it’s related to the copycat murders.”
Sydney’s breath caught and she fought to remain calm. “What does that mean? What exactly happens now?”
“Well, you’ll be assigned an R-one-hundred detail. They’ll be with you twenty-four hours a day.” Sydney nodded, recognizing the reference to the security teams provided by the L.A.P.D.
’s elite Metropolitan Division in high risk situations. “Two officers have already arrived. They’re just outside this room in the hallway. Another detail will be attached to Alex in case she was a target. They’ll stay with each of you until he’s caught.”
Sydney nodded, barely aware of the detective leaving and Sal taking his place by her side. She looked up when Sal placed her purse and keys in her lap.
“How’re you doing?” he asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. Sydney gave a weak shrug in response.
“Have you heard anything about Alex?” she asked.
“Nothing yet. Tiffany’s out there and will let us know as soon as she hears anything.” He pointed to her purse and keys. “The sergeant who arrived at your house first brought those by. He made sure everything was cleaned and locked up.” Sydney pictured the tall supervisor who had taken command of the scene.
“He knows Alex, doesn’t he?”
Sal nodded. “Yeah, he was her first partner when she first got off probation almost fifteen years ago.”
At that moment Tiffany entered and Sydney leapt to her feet. “Any news?”
“Nothing yet. She was stable when they took her in to surgery. They want to make sure they have identified all the damage.” She approached Sydney and put her arms around her. “We should know something soon. They know to send the doctor in here as soon as he’s done.”
It was over an hour later when the doctor finally entered the room.
“Mr. Donatelli. I understand you’re listed as Sergeant Chambers’s next of kin?”
“Yes, sir.”
White Roses Calling Page 23
