if my drama at home hadn’t made life so hard for both of us, he wouldn’t be so burned out. I looked for my cell phone and came up blank. When I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen it.
I headed back to the bus. On the way, I found Tim on a bench by the hospital memorial garden, staring, perplexed, at the stack of forms we had to complete. Most medics I knew would push their paperwork onto their rookies, but Mick had never done that to me, reasoning that sooner or later, I’d make a mess of it and he’d have to sort it out anyway. Underneath it all, though, he’d done me a favor, and I had to pay it forward.
“Come on,” I said. “We’ll park up at the lake again, and I’ll show you how to write it up.”
We made our way back to the ambulance, but the radio called for us again the moment my butt touched my seat. I grabbed the receiver with a heavy sigh, handed it over to Tim, and listened while he accepted a 911 call to a suspected heart attack. He confirmed our response and handed me back the receiver with eager eyes.
“Can I drive?”
I moved over and let him have his way. If the kid wanted to drive, I was more than happy to let him. It wouldn’t be long before his enthusiasm died; I needed to take advantage of it while I could. I settled back in my seat, prepared to watch the city fly by. It wasn’t the same as Mick driving — it wasn’t like I could close my eyes and catch a few z’s — but it gave me a much needed moment to get myself together. I watched Tim weave through the city traffic for a few minutes, but once I was satisfied he wouldn’t kill anyone, I sat up and resumed the search for my cell phone.
It eluded me for a while, but in the end, the vibration of an incoming call led me to where it was buried in the footwell of the passenger seat. Relieved, I grabbed it, accepting the call without stopping to see who it was. We were only a few minutes away from a job. I didn’t have a lot of time.
“Yeah?”
“Pete? It’s Joe. Dude, you need to come home.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
J OE ’ S PANICKED voice cut through my consciousness like an ax. In the warmth of the hospital, I’d taken my uniform jacket off. I froze in the motion of pulling it back on. “What? Why? What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know, man. Something’s not right. We were…. Ash… gone….”
The ambulance zoomed through a tunnel and his voice died away. When we emerged, he was gone. The call had disconnected. I jabbed Ash’s number, but nothing happened. Either his cell phone service had failed too, or mine hadn’t recovered from its trip underground. I tried to call Joe back, but when my service came back, it rang and rang before his voice mail cut in. Frustrated, I kicked the dashboard. Why the fuck was he saying shit like that and not answering his phone?
“Fuck!”
Tim shot me a startled look. “Everything okay?”
“Just drive,” I snapped.
Tim refocused on the road, though his wide eyes told me he was concerned for my mental health.
It took ten minutes to drive across town to the 911 call. In that time, I tried over and over to get through to Ash and Joe, but each time I got nothing. Ash’s phone was a dead end, and Joe’s eventually started going straight to voice mail. Bad memories had me scared to death, but before I knew it, we’d pulled up at the call and I had to shake myself free of anything that wasn’t my job. A man was flatlining on the floor of a hardware store; whatever was going on at home would have to wait.
We did a scoop and run. Tim drove while I stayed in the back and fought with the dude’s failing heart. It was over an hour before I could reach for my phone again, and by that time, our shift was over. I grabbed Tim as soon as I was able and hustled him out of the hospital. “Listen, I wouldn’t usually do this, but I have to get home. Will you be okay taking the ambulance back and cleaning up on your own?”
“Sure.” Tim took the
I headed back to the bus. On the way, I found Tim on a bench by the hospital memorial garden, staring, perplexed, at the stack of forms we had to complete. Most medics I knew would push their paperwork onto their rookies, but Mick had never done that to me, reasoning that sooner or later, I’d make a mess of it and he’d have to sort it out anyway. Underneath it all, though, he’d done me a favor, and I had to pay it forward.
“Come on,” I said. “We’ll park up at the lake again, and I’ll show you how to write it up.”
We made our way back to the ambulance, but the radio called for us again the moment my butt touched my seat. I grabbed the receiver with a heavy sigh, handed it over to Tim, and listened while he accepted a 911 call to a suspected heart attack. He confirmed our response and handed me back the receiver with eager eyes.
“Can I drive?”
I moved over and let him have his way. If the kid wanted to drive, I was more than happy to let him. It wouldn’t be long before his enthusiasm died; I needed to take advantage of it while I could. I settled back in my seat, prepared to watch the city fly by. It wasn’t the same as Mick driving — it wasn’t like I could close my eyes and catch a few z’s — but it gave me a much needed moment to get myself together. I watched Tim weave through the city traffic for a few minutes, but once I was satisfied he wouldn’t kill anyone, I sat up and resumed the search for my cell phone.
It eluded me for a while, but in the end, the vibration of an incoming call led me to where it was buried in the footwell of the passenger seat. Relieved, I grabbed it, accepting the call without stopping to see who it was. We were only a few minutes away from a job. I didn’t have a lot of time.
“Yeah?”
“Pete? It’s Joe. Dude, you need to come home.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
J OE ’ S PANICKED voice cut through my consciousness like an ax. In the warmth of the hospital, I’d taken my uniform jacket off. I froze in the motion of pulling it back on. “What? Why? What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know, man. Something’s not right. We were…. Ash… gone….”
The ambulance zoomed through a tunnel and his voice died away. When we emerged, he was gone. The call had disconnected. I jabbed Ash’s number, but nothing happened. Either his cell phone service had failed too, or mine hadn’t recovered from its trip underground. I tried to call Joe back, but when my service came back, it rang and rang before his voice mail cut in. Frustrated, I kicked the dashboard. Why the fuck was he saying shit like that and not answering his phone?
“Fuck!”
Tim shot me a startled look. “Everything okay?”
“Just drive,” I snapped.
Tim refocused on the road, though his wide eyes told me he was concerned for my mental health.
It took ten minutes to drive across town to the 911 call. In that time, I tried over and over to get through to Ash and Joe, but each time I got nothing. Ash’s phone was a dead end, and Joe’s eventually started going straight to voice mail. Bad memories had me scared to death, but before I knew it, we’d pulled up at the call and I had to shake myself free of anything that wasn’t my job. A man was flatlining on the floor of a hardware store; whatever was going on at home would have to wait.
We did a scoop and run. Tim drove while I stayed in the back and fought with the dude’s failing heart. It was over an hour before I could reach for my phone again, and by that time, our shift was over. I grabbed Tim as soon as I was able and hustled him out of the hospital. “Listen, I wouldn’t usually do this, but I have to get home. Will you be okay taking the ambulance back and cleaning up on your own?”
“Sure.” Tim took the
Similar Books
