Chapter 7 - Welcome to Denver
The jet touched down hard enough to rattle the glassware. Damon had never loved the sound of rubber hitting pavement more.
The hospital corridor smelled of disinfectant and burned coffee. Every rolling cart made Damon turn his head. Every time a nurse passed Noah’s door, he searched her face for an answer. He had never been able to negotiate with danger, and this time money could not buy him a shortcut.
An ambulance waited beside the runway. Noah went first, wrapped in a blanket, with Maya explaining his symptoms to the paramedics. Damon climbed in with him, refusing to release his small hand.
Two airport police officers approached Grant. He offered them a polished smile and said he'd happily answer questions with counsel present. Celeste volunteered her phone and told the officers about the message. Damon watched from the ambulance door, unsure whether she was finally choosing truth or trying to save herself.
At the hospital, doctors examined Noah, monitored his breathing, and took samples from the retained bottle. The physician was careful with her words: he was stable, but the cause of his symptoms had not yet been established.
Maya sat beside Damon in the waiting area, hands clasped. "You need sleep."
"I'll sleep when he does."
"He is asleep."
"Then when he wakes up."
She almost smiled. "Hannah described you exactly like that."
Damon's throat tightened. "You knew her well?"
"Well enough to know she could make anyone laugh in a terrible situation. We met when she questioned a falsified screening report. She didn't walk away when the hospital told her to."
A woman in a green coat appeared at the doorway. She was small, gray-haired, and looking over her shoulder.
"Evelyn?" Maya asked.
"Don't say my name," the woman hissed.
She gave Damon a thin envelope. Inside was a photograph of a brick building with boarded windows and a date written on the back: APRIL 18.
"That's where they took Hannah after the crash," Evelyn said. "A rehabilitation facility outside Boulder. She was conscious when I saw her."
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
Damon staggered against the wall.
Evelyn caught his arm. "There's more. She wasn't alone."
May you like
She pulled out another photograph.
In it, Hannah held a little girl Damon had never seen.
