Chapter 12

Harris entered the waiting room in the hospital with some reluctance. He understood that two young girls that knew each other were in the hospital, and another friend was presumed dead, all due to events in which the police had played some part. He knew that their loved ones would likely want to kill him, or sue the department, and maybe both.

But he had some information to share with them that might lessen their anger.

Sandy, Patty, Morton, Collette and Dave were huddled together in a corner of the waiting room, which was close to both Julie and Sammy's rooms. They all looked shell shocked, reeling from the news that Sandy had brought them of Bobby's death at the hands of the police. Sandy was gearing herself up to call Barbara's brother with the horrific news. She knew that Raul and Barbara wouldn't land in Hawaii for several more hours, and dreaded making that awful phone call most of all.

"Hello," Harris began, speaking gently. "I'm Detective Harris from the police department. Are you folks the friends of Samantha Ramirez, Julie Sweener, and Robert Taylor?"

Sandy, who'd had the most time to absorb the shock of Bobby's death, replied simply, "Yes." The others just stared at him bleakly.

"I have some news for you. I don't want you all to over react, because the investigation is continuing. Nothing is confirmed yet," he cautioned.

They all looked at him with just a bit more energy.

"The investigators at the scene have a lot to go through at the crash site. But one thing they can say is that there is only one body in the car, not two as we had expected."

"Oh sweet Jesus," breathed Collette, coming alert. Patty collapsed into Morton's arms. Sandy and Dave looked at Harris in wonder.

"The car is smashed and burned, so it's going to take some time to... well, to tell whose body is in the car. It's... well, it wasn't strapped into the driver's seat. So we can't assume who it is. The second person could have been thrown clear as the car fell down the hill. It's too steep to search the hill safely in the dark. But... I thought you should know that there still is some small hope for your friend."

They were now all sitting upright and staring at him, hanging on his every word.

"If one of them managed to get out of the car alive, I think it more likely that it was your friend. If it was the Daddock kid, he would probably have made himself known to the police at the scene... if he could. Whereas, if it was your friend, he would likely believe the police were a threat to him.

"He might have concealed himself from the police. He may even still be avoiding us now. Or... or he could be on the hill somewhere, hurt, or... worse. We need to find him."

Collette jumped to her feet. "We need to get out there!" she said, gathering up her purse and coat. "If Bobby sees my car, he'll come to me. Where's this hill?" she demanded of Harris.