“You're welcome to use the vending machines.”
The triage nurse met us in the waiting area. “Sheriff. Weren't you already here once today?”
“I seem to have popped some stitches in an unfortunate situation with a suspect.” I stepped closer to the nurse and lowered my voice. “I think you met Ava earlier too. She just found out she's pregnant not too long ago, she had a minor car accident about an hour ago.”
That got the triage nurse moving, and she took us both back into a room with an ultrasound machine. After a long series of questions, she smiled. “All right Miss Ackland. You get priority. We'll get the doctor in here and he'll do an ultrasound, then we’ll do a blood test and we'll get that baby checked out. Sheriff, once the doctor’s done with her, he’s going to fix your stitches.”
We both thanked her, and she left.
Once the nurse was gone, Ava whispered to me. “Have you talked to Jenny about rehab yet?”
“Not really, but it's time. I think she's ready.”
“I want to help her get there.”
“We can definitely do that,” I said, and then the doctor arrived. I nearly held my breath as the doctor got the ultrasound machine set up. It felt like every second was an eternity. I could tell from looking at Ava that she felt the exact same way. We were both anxious to make sure this baby was okay.
Finally, the machine buzzed to life. The doctor spread the jelly on Ava’s stomach, and then pressed the wand to her skin. Instantly, a little heartbeat was audible. “There’s your baby,” the doctor said, pointing at the blob on the screen. “The heartbeat sounds great. And the placenta looks good too. From the measurements, it looks like you’re due around June fifteenth.”
I didn’t have the words to express my gratitude. I thanked the doctor, and then I leaned forward and kissed Ava right on the mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ava
“You’re free to go home,” the doctor said. “But no more adventures, okay? Both of you need to stay home for a least a week.”
“You're sure the baby’s fine?” I asked one more time.
“The baby is absolutely fine. Are you taking prenatal vitamins yet?”
“I just started, but they're over the counter.”
“That's what I recommend for everyone, unless they have a deficiency. For you, everything looks good. I'll send your blood off to the lab and we'll have someone call you later this week with the results.”
The relief that I felt was immense. I’d managed to avoid the worst consequence I could have imagined -- harming mine and Tyler’s baby.
Tyler had also spent the last thirty minutes arranging for Jenny to be admitted to the hospital overnight, and then be transferred to a rehab center. I used money from my trust fund to pay for it in full. I figured I’d better spend the money now before the FBI seized it. At least it was for a good cause. Tyler and I didn’t even want to know the location of the rehab -- he didn’t want anyone from Chicago to be able to find her.
For most of the day, I’d wondered on and off what had happened to my father. Had Christopher tried to kill him too? Had he made it to Paris? Had he been arrested?
Now that Christopher had tried to kill Tyler, the whole story was going to break wide open. If my father was still in the country, he’d be getting a visit from the FBI any day now. I didn’t call him though. I wasn’t ready to know if something had happened to him.
I resented what he’d done, but he was still my father. I still loved him. And he was still this baby’s only living grandfather, even if he wasn’t going to be babysitting.
Carl was dead, but it was almost certain Jenny would be needed as a witness in Christopher’s criminal prosecution, but the doctor here had agreed to speak with the prosecutors when the time came. By the time the trial started, she might be well into her recovery from substance abuse.
“I’m not keeping the phone you use to call me. But when you’re ready to talk, you can call the sheriff’s department or write letters there.” I saved both the number and the address to her phone. I hugged her goodbye. I hadn’t known her long, but she’d been swept up in the unfortunate side of my family’s business, and now she was trying to fix her life.
She cried on my shoulder for