Colt Crawford - Chapter 3

Given their semi-remote location, the ambulance took about 10 minutes to arrive. Colt stayed on the phone while asking the injured woman questions and relating her answers to the 911 operator. Not wanting to upset her or cause undue anxiety, Colt resisted asking about what had happened. Instead, he focused in on her personal information. After several minutes he was able to determine that her name was Samantha Woods and that she lived in Glendale and made the 10 mile drive to her job in downtown Los Angles.

“Do you have any family nearby? Anyone I should contact?” he asked.

“My parents are in Orange County,” she said. “Anaheim.” Colt patiently waited while Samantha recited their names as he made a mental note to contact them as soon as he could.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters? Or a husband?” Colt asked. “Anyone else I should contact?”

“Boyfriend, Creighton,” she replied. “His number is in my phone.” Based on the looks of Samantha Woods at that moment, Colt doubted that he would find her phone anywhere nearby. Had she had access to it earlier, she would have used it.

“I’ll do what I can,” Colt said. He wanted to ask what Creighton’s last name was, but he could tell she was beginning to drift out of consciousness again so instead he said, “Stay with me. I hear the ambulance coming now.”

The wail if the siren was still in the distance, but it provided a sense of relief for Colt. “I can see the ambulance now,” he said to the 911 operator. “Thanks,” he added before ending the call.

When Colt turned to look at the coming lights, he realized that it was actually a police car approaching, no doubt a Santa Barbara County Sheriff. The deputy parked the car on the street with his search lights illuminating Samantha and Colt, stepped out and made a quick assessment of the situation. Colt briefed him as he was pulling an emergency blanket out of the trunk of his Crown Victoria police cruiser.

Moments later the red lights of the ambulance were flashing on the pavement, mixing their crimson glow with the bright spotlights from the police car. “Where will you take her?” Colt asked the senior EMT.

“The nearest trauma center is in Santa Barbara. Let me assess her and we’ll decide if we need to head there or if we can go to Santa Maria.”

Within minutes, the EMT had stabilized Samantha’s dislocated shoulder, started an IV and was preparing to strap her to a backboard. She had several lacerations on her face, arms, and legs and deep bruising around her eyes. “It looks as if she was dumped from a moving car,” the EMT said. “We’re going to have to go to Santa Barbara, just to be on the safe side.”

Colt glanced at his watch. Santa Barbara was about 60 miles to the south. The ambulance could probably make the trip in just under an hour. He stepped back from the scene and let the professionals do their work. The EMT was talking to a paramedic from the fire department who made the decision to call in a helicopter.

Samantha’s condition was not good. She had complained of nausea and her breathing was quick and shallow. A brief exam revealed that her blood pressure was falling. Fear of internal bleeding was a growing concern, thus the need for an airlift to the hospital.

The helicopter would come from the airport in Santa Maria, so the wait time was minimal. Within minutes the thumping of the rotors shook the still air to life and sent a shiver down Colt’s spine. This woman whom he had never met was lying on the side of the road dying. Had he not made the decision to leave his own life that same afternoon, she would have likely lost hers. Had he not eaten a so-called burger at McDonalds, he would not have felt the need for a late night run. Had he not been a runner at all, she would be dead. The chain of events that had been unfolding throughout the day consumed Colt’s thoughts.

His mind drifted back to the stakeout of Mandy Miles at the bar in L.A. He relived the moment when he realized that she was secretly meeting with her brother and not a mystery lover. Then after that, his mind went back to his office and the conversation he had had with Charlie Marshall as handed off his business. The e-mails to various staff members flooded back to his mind. Was this fate? Why was he on this dark road in the middle of nowhere at ten o’clock at night? Why was she on the same road? Had all of this been orchestrated by some sort of divine presence?

“Do you need a ride?” Colt was startled out of his moment of somber reflection by the voice of a detective who had arrived on the scene. “They are ready to transport her to the hospital. I can give you a ride back to your car. I need to ask you a few questions anyway.”

“Thanks,” Colt replied with distracted glance upward. He was more than willing to accept the offer, even if his face didn’t reflect that feeling. It had been nearly forty minutes since he first spotted the woman. His muscles were tightening up in the cool night air and Colt knew he would be hurting in the morning if he jumped right back into his run where he had left off.

The ride back to the motel only took about 5 minutes, but it was long enough for Colt relay most of his version of the events. He sat in the detective’s car another few minutes once they reached the motel and finished up the last few details. As Colt reached up to open the car door, the detective handed him a card and said, “Give me a call if you think of anything else.”

“I’ll do that,” Colt said stepping out into the cool January night air. “Happy New Year.” With that, he trudged toward the room he had rented for the night, ready to get some much needed sleep, but one more task loomed in his mind. The phone call to Samantha’s parents was harder than he had anticipated. He reassured them that she was in good hands and that she would be okay. While talking to them, he asked about her boyfriend, Creighton. Of course they knew of him, but had no contact information. The two had been together only a couple of months. Colt hung up the phone exhausted.

The long day combined with the emotional exhaustion of what he had just been through had gotten the best of him. As he entered his room he flopped onto the bed, never even bothering to brush the burger off his teeth or change out of his running clothes. Colt figured he’d have a clean bed at a new hotel the next night anyway.

On the second day of January, the morning sky dawned bright blue and the cool crisp air was a welcome treat for the big city investigator. The taste in his mouth as he rolled out of bed was something Colt would prefer to forget. Making his way to the sink, he began his morning with a scouring of his mouth followed by a long shower. As a man on the road, he had no agenda. No meetings were scheduled and no clients would be calling. Despite this newfound freedom, Colt caught himself planning a drive to the hospital in Santa Barbara for a quick chat with Samantha Woods. The detective in him just wouldn’t quit. He had to know why she had been kidnapped and dumped on the side of the road. Besides, at their insisting, he had promised Samantha’s parents that he would stop by and introduce himself.

The nav system in the BMW gave him flawless directions to the hospital. Finding a parking spot was the tricky part. He circled the lot a few times before finding a place to park his car. Using his charming personality, he found out where Samantha’s room was and made his way down the sterile hallways until he found it.

She was awake when Colt entered the room just after 10:00 a.m. Despite her beaten and bruised face, Samantha had a radiance about her that Colt found intriguing. “Do you remember me?” he asked with a gentle tap on the opened door.

“Not really, but I assume you are the guy who helped me last night,” she said. “My parents said you might stop by.”

“Guilty as charged,” Colt replied. “I’m Colt Crawford.” He extended his hand and shook hers gently, careful not to cause her any additional pain. “So your parents made it, then?”

“They got here early this morning,” Samantha replied. “Thanks for calling them. I think they are searching for coffee right now.”

“So what’s the prognosis?” Colt inquired.

“I got beat up,” Samantha began. Colt just silently nodded as she gave him the update. Besides the cuts and bruises, she had a dislocated shoulder and internal bleeding which required an emergency operation. Despite all that, she managed to avoid the ICU and was in a regular room recovering from all that had happened. “They plan to keep me a few days to make sure everything is on the right track and to run a few more tests,” she continued. “I should be home by the weekend.”

“If this is too soon, feel free to stop me, but do you mind telling me what happened?” Colt inquired “I am a private investigator and I’d like to help on this case as much as I can. It won’t cost you a thing. I’d be doing it on my dime.”

“You saved my life,” Samantha replied. “The least I can do is not pay you for figuring out what happened,” she said with small hint of what Colt could only assume was her normal radiant smile. “All I can remember is that I came out of my office and went to my car. When I got there, someone came up behind me and tried to grab my keys. I stabbed his hand with one of the keys and he started fighting me for them. Next thing I know my head is throbbing and I am in the trunk of my own car.”

“Do you remember anything after that?” Colt asked.

“After a what must have been an hour or two, another guy pulled me out of the trunk and tied my hands up. The first guy was still in the driver’s seat.” Her eyes seemed to fade away to another time as Colt sat quietly, not wanting to force her into anything. Finally she spoke again. “They put me in the back seat and pushed me out while the car was moving. That’s all I can remember until this morning.”

Colt asked a few more questions and got some information about what the two men had looked like. Her descriptions were hazy at best, but it was a start. As soon as he had a chance, he wanted sit down with the lead detective and offer to share information. One way or another Colt Crawford was going to solve this case.

Results -
As Colt tries to solve the case should he:
A) Establish a cordial working relationship with the local police detective -0%
B) Encounter a hotshot detective who doesn’t want his help - 28%
C) Work with a female detective who helps to create a little competition with Samantha for Colt’s attention - 71%