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She didn’t like the accusatory undertone of his voice, but decided to ignore it. “Sheriff, I would have gladly driven my daughter and her friends back and forth, but Emily insisted her mother would do the pickup. She even used the term like a carpool.”
“Okay.” He studied his phone and then narrowed his eyes, like a vulture ready to catch its prey. “Ms. Hammer, when was the last time your daughter used drugs?”
Startled, she opened her eyes wide. “Mia has never used drugs. Never.”
“Maybe she did behind your back?”
“No, there was nothing done behind my back. We have an open-relationship, and she tells me daily about her friends and school.”
“Has she ever told you that some kids in her class use drugs?”
“Yes, and I’ve told her to stay away from them. Which she has. Besides, they bullied her and ignored her for years.”
“Yet they chose her to be their homecoming queen. I thought she was quite popular.”
Poor Mia. She’d wanted so badly to be accepted by her classmates.
“No, it’s only this year that they’ve changed their attitude after learning she had a boyfriend from outside the school.”
“And yet she dumped him, went to her school homecoming, and was on her way to a motel with another boy.”
“No! It wasn’t like that at all. She—”
“Thanks, Ms. Hammer, we’ll talk again later.” The sheriff went to talk to another couple.
Jerk.How could he come to such a wrong conclusion?
She noticed Matt, in green scrubs, standing at the nurses’ station, talking to a doctor in a white lab coat. They were studying some papers.
“Dr. Winston,” she called.
He raised his head and came toward her with the other doctor.
“Dr. Hammer is Mia’s mother, a psychologist, and this is Dr. Manzoni, the ER attending physician.”
“Hello, doctor. How is Mia?”
“The MRI is finished.”
“What are the results?”
“Several injuries to her face from the broken windshield. Left arm fractured, several broken ribs, internal hemorrhage. We’ve sent her to the O R.”
Each word hit Brenda like a gong pronouncing a sentence. She tossed a pleading look at Matt. “Is she going to be all right?”
“Hopefully, yes,” Matt answered with his calm professional tone.
She turned to Dr. Manzoni.
“We’re lucky that Dr. Winston is here tonight. He’ll operate on your daughter. The three other surgeons on–call are already in surgery. We’ll see you later, Dr. Hammer.”
The ER attending walked away, and Matt signaled for her to follow him. He strolled to the elevator and stopped. “Brenda, I promise I’ll do my best for her.”
“I know, Matt.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“Try to stay calm. Don’t talk to the other parents or the sheriff.”
“He’s already interrogated me. In his eyes, I abandoned my daughter and her friends to go out with my boyfriend.”
