Chapter 3

John Ramirez and his partner Pete Riordan had done some horse trading with other cops that had more seniority, and they had Memorial Day off. They arrived with John in the police cruiser they worked in, and Pete in his big SUV equipped with bright fog lights and a handheld spot light.

They laid out a city map on Barbara's kitchen table and discussed the likely routes that Bobby would have taken on his bike. Then they left notes at both Raul and Barbara's houses instructing Bobby to call Barbara's cell if he turned up there, and headed out.

Sammy went with Barbara to lend her eyes to the search, Sandy went with Pete in the SUV, and Raul joined his cousin John in the cruiser. They all had cell phones and hurriedly exchanged numbers. The two cops also had radios they could use to coordinate their efforts.

An hour later with no results from their search, Barbara was really beginning to panic. Sammy had to continually tell her to drive slower so that she could see better, as the wipers fought against the rain.

They finally found him by pure luck. It happened when Barbara's car and Pete's SUV happened to approach each other from opposite ends of the road where Bobby lay hidden in the ditch.

As Sandy swept the side of the road with Pete's search light, she didn't see the flash of light that reflected off the wheel of Bobby's bike that was just barely peeking over the edge of the ditch. But Sammy's sharp eyes caught it, and she yelled at Barbara to stop as they approached the spot. She leaped out of the car with a flashlight and started running to the area, shining her light into the ditch as she ran. Barbara put on her flashers, got out and began running after her.

Pete saw them stop and did a quick u-turn to bring the SUV's lights to bear, while getting on the radio to alert his partner to where they were. John lit up the police cruiser's lights and headed for them, while alerting police dispatch that an ambulance might be needed quickly.

When Barbara finally saw her son in the ditch, she thought her heart would break. He looked dead. He appeared to be sitting in the bottom of the ditch leaning back into the far bank. He was oblivious to the water now flowing around his legs, and as she drew closer she could see that his torso and head were actually imbedded into the grassy side bank from the force of the impact.

"Oh please god no," she wailed, and began scrambling down into the ditch towards him. Raul rushed down to grab her before she could move him.

"No Barb! Let's get the paramedics here to get him out of there. We don't want to risk hurting him more."

"This is also a crime scene," said Pete. "Look at how he's stuck into the bank like that. He didn't wind up like that by just slipping off the road. Somebody must have hit him."

The call for the paramedics went out immediately, and while they were waiting Raul and Pete were able to confirm that Bobby was alive. Barbara nearly collapsed with relief, with Sammy and Sandy helping her to remain standing.

The paramedics and more police arrived shortly, and they slowly and carefully retrieved Bobby's limp form from the ditch, doing their best to immobilize his neck and spine in the process in case either had been damaged. John and the on duty cops began their investigation by attempting to recreate the hit and run that led to Bobby being in the ditch.

Raul took Barbara's car and followed with Sammy, and Pete volunteered to drive Sandy. Barbara rode to the hospital in the screaming ambulance, looking down at the ghostly pale face of her son.