Chapter 31: Actions and Reactions

March 1985, Chicago, Illinois

Rosie said Becky had TRIED to kill herself. That meant Becky was probably still alive, which was a bit of a relief.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I came home from a party and found her on the floor. I couldn't wake her up and there was a bottle of pills next to her!"

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"The paramedics said they were taking her to MacNeal Hospital on Oak Park Avenue."

"Did anyone call her parents?" I asked.

"The police are still here. I don't know."

I wondered if it was a good idea for me to call them, or to let the police do it. I didn't really have any information, but then again, the police probably wouldn't convey too much information, either.

"I'm going to call them, then I'll probably head to the hospital."

"I'm going as soon as the police let me," she said.

I said 'goodbye' and hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Sofia asked in Swedish, sitting up in bed.

"Becky tried to commit suicide. She took an overdose of something."

"Oh no! And you're going to the hospital?"

"Yes. But I think I'm going to call her parents first. The police will call, I'm sure, but I feel the need to do it."

Sofia got out of bed, came over, and put her arm around me. I dialed the number in Indian Hill that I'd memorized so long ago and waited as the phone rang repeatedly. I decided to simply tell them that Becky was in the hospital and limit the details, given I really didn't know anything for sure.

"Hello?" a groggy Ben van Hoek said.

"Mr. van Hoek, this is Steve Adams in Chicago."

"Steve? Is everything OK?"

"No, Sir. Becky's roommate called and said that she found Becky unconscious on the floor and called the paramedics."

Ben van Hoek snapped instantly awake.

"What hospital?" he said.

"MacNeal, on Oak Park Avenue, which is near the college, I think. I'd need to look at a map to be sure."

I heard him tell his wife to get out of bed and then he spoke on the phone again.

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

I had to say something, even though I didn't want to.

"I saw her earlier today, and she was pretty upset. Rosie thinks she might have taken an overdose."

He was silent for a moment.

"There's my Call Waiting tone. I need to get that. Are you heading to the hospital?"

"Yes," I said.

"Then I'll see you there," he said, clicking over to his other call.

I put the handset back in the cradle and quickly stripped off my pyjamas. I took a quick cold shower to clear the cobwebs from my mind and then started getting dressed.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Sofia asked.

"That's probably a good idea," I said.

She got out of bed and started for her room to dress. I said I was going to make some coffee and went down to the kitchen and turned on the Mr. Coffee, which was already set up. Elyse liked coffee first thing in the morning and didn't want to have to mess with it, so she prepared it the night before. While the coffee brewed, I wrote out a note and pinned it to the corkboard in the kitchen. Ten minutes later, travel mugs full of hot coffee in hand, Sofia and I walked out the back door to my car.

I got the map book from the back seat and checked the index reference for Oak Park Avenue, then flipped to the correct page and ran my finger along Oak Park Avenue until I found the hospital in Berwyn, which was right near River Forest. The quickest route appeared to be I-55 to Harlem, and Harlem to West 34th Street. I put the car in gear and backed out of the driveway.

About 30 minutes later, I crossed Oak Park Avenue and saw the hospital on the left. I followed the signs for the Emergency Room and parked the car. Sofia and I got out, and we walked briskly through the doors, and straight to the admitting desk. I thought a bit of subterfuge was necessary.

"My girlfriend was brought here from Rosary College," I said.

"What's her name?" the scrub-clad person asked.

"Rebekah van Hoek. That's H-O-E-K. She's twenty-one, and from Indian Hill, in Ohio."

I hoped the added details would be enough for the nurse to tell me what was going on.

"She's being treated. I can't tell you more at the moment. I'll ask a doctor to come talk to you. What's your name?"

"Steve Adams."

"Do you know if her parents have been called? The police haven't told us."

"I spoke with her dad about forty minutes ago. I'm sure that he and Becky's mom are in the car on the way here from Cincinnati — that's where Indian Hill is."

"Have a seat. I'll try to get a doctor to come out to talk to you as soon as possible."

We went to sit down, and I had a humorous thought. If I'd put on my scrubs and lab coat, I could probably pass as a medical student and just walk right into where Becky was being treated. I could also get in a ridiculous amount of trouble for doing that and that would disappoint Doctor Barton, which bothered me in an odd way I didn't quite understand.

"Where's the girl who called you?" Sofia asked.

"I'm guessing the police are still talking to her. It's only like five miles from here to the college."

"What was that about her being your girlfriend?"

"Subterfuge. Most likely they wouldn't even give me the time of day if I said I was just a friend. It seemed to work magic when Wen was in the hospital."

A few minutes later, a doctor in green scrubs came out and called my name. Sofia and I got up and walked over to him.

"You're Becky's boyfriend?" he asked.

"That's right."

"She's doing OK. We have her on a ventilator and she has an IV, but right now it looks like she's going to make it."

"What did she take?" I asked.

"Probably the best thing she could have taken to not die — Midazolam. It's a sedative, but it usually won't kill you unless you combine alcohol or something else with it. Do you know if she was drinking at all today?"

"I saw her at lunch, and then she went back to Rosary, so I don't know for sure. Her roommate should be here soon, I think. And her parents are on their way."

"Good. Just hang tight. In a couple of hours, she'll most likely come around."

"Did you pump her stomach or something like that?"

"No. The activated charcoal doesn't help much. She didn't smell like alcohol at all, so we're just using supportive treatment. We'll keep her breathing and make sure she has enough fluids. Has she tried to kill herself before?"

"No. She was a bit upset after lunch today, but I didn't expect anything like this."

"What happened, if you don't mind my asking?"

"We had a long talk about our relationship and the problems we've had over the years. I knew she was sad, but as I said, I didn't expect anything like this."

"OK. I'll send someone out to get you when she comes around."

"Thanks, Doctor Gwynn," I said, reading his name from his badge.

Sofia and I sat back down.

"You're getting yourself in deeper and deeper on this girlfriend thing," she said.

"I know. But I'll deal with that afterwards. In Indianapolis, they had me down as Bethany's fiancé to skirt the rules."

Sofia laughed, "If the hospitals ever compare notes between Wen, Bethany, and Becky, you're going to have some serious explaining to do!"

"I know! My concern is that the police will question me. I'll have to tell them something a lot closer to the truth."

"How about the actual truth?" Sofia suggested.

"Finesse, my dear," I smiled.

About ten minutes later, Rosie came into the ER and I waved her over. I stood up, and we hugged and I introduced her to Sofia.

"How is she?" Rosie asked.

"Alive. They think she'll be OK. The stuff she took, Mid-something, apparently won't kill you without adding alcohol.

"Midazolam," Sofia said. "A sedative."

"Sofia's in pre-med," I said. "What did the police say?"

"Not much. She wrote a note, but I didn't see it. I found her on the floor and I called the paramedics right away. The police asked me if I'd called anyone and I told them I'd called you. They asked for your number, so I gave it to them, and told them you would probably be here."

"OK," I said.

About fifteen minutes later, two River Forest police officers walked into the ER. They spoke to the nurse at the desk, who pointed in our direction. I wasted no time and got up from my seat. The two officers, Casey and Martinez, by their name tags, walked towards me.

"Officers, I'm Steve Adams. My friend Rosie said she thought that you wanted to speak to me?"

"Do you have some ID, Son?" Officer Casey asked.

I pulled out my wallet and handed over my driving license as well as my IIT ID card. He copied down the information in his report book and handed me back the ID.

"What's your relationship to Miss van Hoek?" he asked.

"We've dated off and on since ninth grade," I answered. "Right now, I'd say it's 'off'."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Lunch yesterday," I said.

"You mean Saturday?"

"Yes. She was waiting for me when I came home and I took her to lunch."

"How did she seem?"

"A bit bummed, I guess. We've had some real difficulties over the years and she was hoping to fix things. Our conversation didn't go very well. Other than being sad, she seemed fine when she left around 1:00pm or so."

"And you didn't talk to her after that at all?"

"No."

"Where were you?"

"Home, except for about twenty minutes I spent having cocoa with my neighbors at their house."

"And people can verify this?"

"Yes. The young woman over there, Sofia, was home with me the entire time."

"What's your relationship with her?"

"She's a close friend and rents a room from me. I met her in Sweden almost six years ago."

"Did she know Miss van Hoek?"

"No. She just met her today and only said 'hello'."

"Were you aware of anything else that might have caused Miss van Hoek to try to take her own life?"

"No. I guess you talked to her roommate, who would know more."

"Do you know Miss Carson?"

"Yes. We met a few years ago at a party at IIT. She and I went on a couple of dates, but nothing developed between us."

"I think that's all the questions we have. Miss Carson gave us your phone number. A detective may call you with more questions."

"That's fine. I heard that she left a note."

"She did. It was addressed to her father."

I nodded. I knew I wasn't going to get any more information from the police officers, but I was a bit concerned about what she might have written in the note. I didn't think she'd reveal any confidences, but I couldn't be sure. If she had, I'd be on the receiving end of a house call from a police detective or the FBI, and it wouldn't be pretty.

"Thanks officers," I said.

They talked to the nurse again, and she picked up the phone. A minute later, a doctor came out and took them back through the doors. I didn't think they could be questioning her, given that she was on a ventilator, so I just assumed that they were getting the details of her condition. They came back out about ten minutes later and left the hospital. I knew they'd be back to talk to Becky and her parents at some point.

About 5:30am, the doctor came back out and said that Becky was coming around, and that I could see her if I wanted to. Sofia touched my arm and gave me a look that said 'be careful'. I nodded to her and then followed the doctor to the treatment room where Becky was being monitored.

A quick look at the monitor showed what appeared to me to be normal vital signs, and except for the ventilator, she looked peaceful.

"You can try to talk to her, but she might not respond. She's going to be drifting in and out until the drugs work through her system."

I went over to the bed and took Becky's hand and leaned down close to her.

"Becky, it's Steve."

She stirred but didn't open her eyes, very much like Bethany had when they were trying to bring her out of her coma. I tried again a minute later with the same result. I let go of her hand and moved back near the doctor.

"Is she really out of the woods?"

"Well, we can never be sure, but there are very few fatalities from Midazolam if the person gets to the hospital quickly. She'll need a psych consult, but I suspect you guessed that."

"I did. I had a friend in High School who tried to kill herself. She used a car. Far more effective, I guess. Fortunately, she survived."

"I think your girlfriend will be fine physically," the doctor said.

"Thanks. I guess for the moment I'll go see my friends. Becky's parents will probably be here in about two hours or so. They were driving up from near Cincinnati."

"OK. When you want to come back here, just ask the nurse. I'll leave word that it's OK."

"Thanks, Doctor Gwynn."

I went back to where Sofia and Rosie were and told them that Becky was still out of it.

"Do you think I should go sit with her?" I asked. "At least until her parents get here?"

"That's probably a good idea," Sofia said. "What do her parents look like?"

I described Ben and Julie van Hoek as best as I could, then asked the nurse to let me back in to see Becky. I walked down the hallway to the treatment room and sat in the chair next to the bed to wait for her to wake up. Doctors and nurses came in and out every few minutes, and Doctor Gwynn had just come in when, about an hour later, she finally opened her eyes.

He said, "Becky, you're in the emergency room at MacNeal Hospital. Don't try to talk. You're on a ventilator. If you understand, squeeze my hand."

She did.

"Good. I think we can take you off the vent and remove the tube from your throat. Squeeze my hand if you understand."

She did again.

The doctor called in two nurses, and they set about disconnecting the ventilator. When Becky's breathing stayed the same, they had her sit up and asked her to blow out hard and pulled the tube from her throat. She choked and coughed for a moment, then laid back while Doctor Gwynn examined her. When they finished, a nurse put a nasal canula on her, and then gave her some water. Once Becky had taken a few sips, the nurse told her she could try to talk.

"Steve?" she rasped.

"Rosie called me. She found you and called the paramedics."

"Why?" she rasped again.

"Because she cares about you. I'm here because I care about you."

"No!" she croaked, and tears ran down her cheeks.

"Your parents will be here soon, probably in the next hour or so."