The sound of a jaw popping reached Todd. “That sounded painful.”
“Only a yawn.” A whimper sounded and then a rustle. “Guess she didn’t like that bottle position. This parenting thing is tough.”
“Also pretty rewarding, I bet.”
“That, too.” Another big inhale and exhale came across. “What can I help you with?”
Todd filled Caleb in on the night’s events.
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. I’d appreciate your help in the morning.”
“Absolutely. I can be there at dawn to help search the alley. See what’s there.”
“Appreciate it.” Todd rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to miss anything because we need to find this girl’s family. Someone must be worried about her.” He navigated the hospital’s hallways until he reached the emergency room. “She’s really hurt, and I don’t think it’s new.”
“Do you think it’s trafficking?”
“I hope not, but if it is, that will complicate finding her family. We’ll start with the assumption she’s local.”
“I haven’t heard chatter about a missing teen.”
Todd hadn’t either. To help her, they needed to know the root cause of her problem.
Bridget acceptedthe Tylenol the nurse offered her. Something had to touch the pounding in her head. She couldn’t think straight, and she needed to if she hoped to protect her Jane Doe. She couldn’t begin to find the rules that covered this situation in the employee manual and policies she’d received. As far as she knew, no one had encountered a situation like this.
While she was glad, it didn’t help her.
First, she’d call her manager. That would be a fun call. Then she’d do whatever she was told. She didn’t like being passive, but she needed to stay safely within the rules and guidelines.
What did her Jane Doe need from her?
She eased to the chair next to the bed.
How did she find the girl’s family?
None of the searches she’d run so far had revealed a report that matched this scenario. There were no runaway young teens that she could find. She also wasn’t aware of reports of abuse or neglect relating to twelve to fourteen-year-old girls in Lancaster County. That was the closest she could narrow down this girl’s age.
The problem was based on where Todd had found her, she could have been transported from a major interstate and several important highways. Each was within a mile of the location. The search area felt daunting if she broadened it beyond the immediate city and county.
Without hits in that area, how could she draw a limiting perimeter?
The phone rang without anyone picking up, not unexpected considering the hour. She left a message and wondered how long it would take for a return call. Would this situation be considered a true emergency? Especially since the girl was relatively stable and receiving care at a hospital?
Bridget held the dripping ice to the back of her head and then moved it. She put it in the sink and squeezed her hair where it was wet. The ice had helped with her pain on the margins, and maybe it would keep her from getting an egg where she’d collided with the bed and then the wall. Really, she felt like a klutz.
She probably shouldn’t have intervened, but she’d had to do something to protect the girl. No one else could, so she had to. It didn’t help that he’d already used the drugs.
The compounded trauma on Jane Doe’s body couldn’t be good.
Especially when they were still trying to identify the underlying cause for her unresponsiveness.
She’d need to get help identifying Jane. She might not know Dani Jamison super well, but Bridget would start with her. If Dani shared a story about this unidentified minor, maybe the other news outlets would carry it. They had to. All she needed was one person to identify her.
As she studied the young woman, she tried to imagine why she would be dumped in an alley.
What would cause someone to put her out like the trash?
