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Bennet continues. “While we were in the ER yesterday, another trauma came in. The patient they brought in, a man named Thomas Kapps, was fatally injured at a truck stop about 20 miles away from town. Some of the details I overheard struck me as interesting, specifically that he was found in a curious state of undress.”
“A curious state of undress?” Luis mocks. “What are you getting at, man?”
Luis doesn’t seem to like Bennet much.
Bennet ignores Luis and looks directly at her, and gently but honestly lays it out. “Yesterday when you collapsed, Jackson picked up your backpack. We looked through it, to see if there was anything useful to help identify you, but there was nothing. There was, however, an impressive and very bloody knife with the engraved initials ‘TK’.”
She looks lost, and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s not following or if she’s just shocked.
I try to explain. “The trucker, whose initials match the engraving on the knife in your backpack, was found with his pants down and a knife wound to the throat.”
“So, you’re thinking the trucker was the one that assaulted her, and she fought back.” Luis wraps his arm around her with a menacing smile. “Nice going, babe. I could tell you’re tough.”
Eyes wide and worried, she stares down at her hands, trembling. Taking one of her hands in mine, I try to pull her attention back to us.
“That’s all the pieces of the puzzle we have so far, but all of it leads to a bigger picture, and a plan that we - well, mostly Bennet - have put together.”
I’m trying to ease her into the worst of it, but Bennet rips the bandage.
“We’re worried someone else could potentially make the same connections we have and come looking for you. Even with a false name and changing some of the circumstances on your medical history, I’m not confident that it’s safe for you to stay. We’ve made plans to relocate you and delete any official records that you were ever here. Dr. Franks is on board with the plan and is helping us prepare.”
“You thought it was okay to make all of these crazy plans without consulting her about any of it?” Luis does not seem to trust Bennet.
“I am consulting her, and you, right now. It’s been a long and full 24 hours and it’s not like we could discuss it in front of anyone else. I apologize if any of this is upsetting to you, but I did what I felt was right to protect her.”
Luis bristles. “Which is all well and good, but you’re not even asking if she wants to break out of this joint, you’re just making plans and expecting the rest of us to follow along.”
“To be fair,” I try to pacify Luis, “a good bit of these plans were being made while she was being examined or treated. Bennet got us all up to speed and we planned to fill you both in as soon as we were able. This is the first time we’ve been alone. And without Bennet’s… meddling… we wouldn’t even know she might be in danger.”
Luis has the tact to at least acquiesce, tightening his arm around the poor girl we’ve all been discussing as if she isn’t here.
“Of course, all of this is up to you, we will support and protect you no matter what decision you make. I don’t mean to overstep.” I applaud Bennet’s ability to admit his shortcomings, but I don’t miss the way his jaw clenches.
Her eyes raise to Bennet’s. “You think they’ll come looking for me?”
“They already have, it seems reasonable that they would check again. Until we know who they are and what their intentions are, it seems prudent to make sure they don’t find anything but a dead-end.”
“What about all the DNA evidence,” Luis questions. “Won’t it be obvious she was here at some point?”
“It’s being handled.” At the incredulous look on Luis’ face, Bennet clarifies. “I have some contacts at the police department. My plan was to make the evidence disappear, but not destroyed. We’ll keep it in our possession, so you can decide what we do with it.”
He looks at her with sympathy. She’s just gone through a traumatic ordeal with the exam and not knowing what happened to her. I can’t imagine going through all of that and then having the evidence thrown away.
She silently processes everything we’ve thrown at her. Minutes go by while she stares down at her lap, picking at her blanket.
“Maybe we should take a breather and let you rest.” Jackson smooths out the blanket, pulling her attention back to us.
“We have a little time to decide.” If we don’t back off a little, I’m worried she’ll get too overwhelmed.
Bennet looks like he might want to argue, but we all shoot him a death stare. He holds up his hands in surrender.
Luis fixes the position of the bed so she can lay down more comfortably, but when he tries to sit back in his chair, she pulls back on his arm with a pleading look. Not at all begrudgingly, he lays on the edge of the bed and tucks his arm around her shoulders. Everyone else shuffles, pulling their chairs to the bed, each of us placing a hand somewhere on her body. It happens seamlessly and without a word. Even Lukas, who I know is feeling apprehensive about all of this, places a gentle hand on her ankle at the foot of the bed.
***
She finally drifts off with all of us watching over her. My eyes trace over her features as she sleeps. The last time they changed her bandages they uncovered more of her face, so we can actually see her now.
Her pale skin is mottled with faint bruising that is already fading from purplish-blue to a brownish tint. She has stitches across her plump bottom lip. The redness from the cut makes her pouty lips look like they’ve been stung.
