The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) (7 page)

Maybe
Silverlake is just unusually busy tonight.

Lucy
was glad she'd chosen to follow closely. Something about this didn't feel
right.

Xochitl
Magaña hadn't taken her eyes off Lucy, and Lucy felt unspoken accusations burn
into to her.

"If
you're not driving to the station, aren't you defying a direct order?"
Xochitl finally asked.

"Sorry,
Ms. Magaña." Lucy tuned the police scanner, trying to seem busy.

"¡Híjole!
Since you've got me chasing ambulances, call me Xochitl."

"Xochitl,
I am sorry," Lucy said and glanced over at the woman. "My captain
doesn't get what happened. I have to see Gabe."

"Man,
my dogs are barkin'." Xochitl reached down and started pressing on her
feet through her snakeskin ankle boots.

The
police scanner crackled and spurted out calls in rapid succession: "Multiple
suspects on foot heading north on Grand by the Music Center...Robbery in
progress at Transamerica...Shots fired at Union Station..." Static filled
the car for the space of a breath. The scanner continued, "Officer
requesting backup at 7th and Figueroa...101 closed at Alameda. Apparent assault
on delivery truck on the ramp."

"I've
got to get back," Lucy said out loud, feeling torn. "We're close
though."

Sunrise
was still hours away but traffic seemed unusually light. Lucy fixed her eyes on
the road ahead, troubled. She'd grown to accept L.A.'s 24/7 rush hour fiasco
and felt a sense of impending doom settle in her stomach as the cruiser flew
toward East Los Angeles Hospital through empty streets.

Lucy
turned her head to see Xochitl locked onto her phone, texting rapidly. Lucy
wouldn't blame her for sending an emergency message but hoped the woman was merely
searching the web and not updating some Face Twitter page thing with "
Kidnapped by LAPD officer."

That'd
go over well.

Perversely,
Lucy suddenly felt self-conscious about the car. Gabe had borrowed the K-9 unit
cruiser for the raid because they had planned to pick up dogs from the fights
and take them to ACTF foster homes.

Hope Dawn got all the pooches.

The
backseat of the cruiser was partitioned off by bars, and the windows were
decked out with custom grating. Clean dog blankets lay folded on the backseat.
The smell of dog mixed with the empty Cabra Blanca food wrappers strewn on the
floor. Lucy didn't mind, but she'd noticed Xochitl had wrinkled her nose when
she'd gotten in.

Xochitl
had kicked the wrappers out of the way, slyly checking out where they were
from. The fact that she hadn't commented on the mess impressed Lucy.

Maybe Xochitl's Cabra Blanca crazy too. Eddie's
food has lots of fans.

Lucy
considered suggesting they track down the food truck for a late night snack, or
perhaps early breakfast. Lucy's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Hungry?"
Xochitl said, not looking up from her phone. "Me too."

Pulling
in right behind the ambulance, Lucy parked the cruiser in the hospital's emergency
vehicle lane and sprinted toward the entrance without saying a word to Xochitl.
A team of four in green scrubs was waiting with a red crash cart and another
machine Lucy didn't recognize. The EMTs
struggled to get Gabe out of the back of the rig on his gurney. From where she
stood, Lucy could only see the top of Gabe's head.

"Officer
Torres. Gunshot. Temperature 102.5. Blood pressure 180/110. BPM 160. Patient
appears stable," one of the EMTs rattled off, his eyes wide and his voice
faltering.

"That can't be," the doctor
snapped and leaned over Gabe.

*

"You
could've at least turned the car off, loca," Xochitl mumbled as she
reached for the vehicle's ignition and cut the engine. Sprawled across the
cruiser's cab, Xochitl yanked the driver's side door shut.

As
she rose, she caught a glimpse of flashing lights from another ambulance
pulling in behind her.

Xochitl
scooted out of the cruiser and jogged over to Lowell who stood next to the team
of medical staff working on Officer Torres.

"Let's take him up." A middle-aged man with
salt-and-pepper hair wrapped a stethoscope around his neck. Xochitl guessed he
was the surgeon.

She
saw Lowell flash her badge to the attending nurse before following her partner
and the medical team through the automatic sliding glass doors.

"Hey!"
Xochitl shouted after Officer Lowell.

"Wait
here," Lowell called over her shoulder, barely looking at Xochitl.

"¡Hijo
de puta!" Xochitl grumbled and walked through the sliding doors just as
another medical team dressed in the same green colored scrubs rushed past her
to the outside.

Xochitl
stood in the middle of the emergency room as various hospital staff scurried in
and out of draped off examining bays, displaying, amidst the chaos, an eerie
calm. Xochi noticed the partition for one of the rooms pushed back slightly.
Through the small gap, she could see a teenage boy no older than her brother
lying on a bed with his head turned in her direction.
The entire right side of
his face was bandaged. Blood seeped through the gauze where it covered his eye.

"Madre
de Dios," she whispered and crossed herself.

"She's
crashing!" a female voice startled Xochitl from behind.

Xochitl
whipped around to see the second medical team rush through the glass doors with
a small woman straddled over a body lying on top of a gurney.
The woman counted and
pushed down on the patient's chest as a male team member squeezed the clear bag
of a breathing mask placed over the patient's mouth.

"Out
of the way!" the man shouted at Xochitl.

Xochitl
jumped to the side
,
hitting her arm on the edge of the
nurses' station.

"Ow,"
she hissed.

"You
can't be in here, miss," a young Latina nurse said from behind the counter.

"I
came in with a cop." Xochitl rubbed her elbow. "She went up with her
part—"

"East
Los Angeles?" a male voice broke in.

The
nurse put a hand up to Xochitl as if to say "hold on" before picking
up a radio mic. "Go ahead."

"Got
another Staples Center mauling victim," the voice replied. "Being
diverted to you. Better expect more."

"Copy,"
the young nurse said. She jotted something down on a piece of paper. "Hey,
Star," the nurse called out
past
Xochitl.

Xochi
followed the nurse's gaze and saw a petite older woman carrying a box and
notepad enter through a door opposite the nurse's station. Star wore black
slacks, a fuchsia blouse and a white nurse's scrub jacket covered with little
pink stars. Her blond hair was fastened in a loose bun; tiny tendrils had
fallen around her face. Despite appearing tired, she had a pleasant smile.

"What's
up, Leticia?" Star asked, placing the box filled with different colored
bands on the counter.

"Crazy
night." Nurse Leticia handed the paper to Star.

"And
it's not even a full moon." Star chuckled, reading over the note.

"I
know, right?" Leticia smiled.

How
can they crack jokes?...Maybe it's either that or start crying.

"Do
me a favor and show this young woman to the waiting room," Leticia said. "She
came in with an officer."

"No
problem." Star smiled at Xochitl. "Come with me, dear." Xochitl
followed Star who headed for the door through which she had come.

"Oh,
and tell Julia," Nurse Leticia called after
Star, "
we're expecting more. They're diverting to us from the
Staples Center."

"Will
do," Star replied without looking back.

"What
happened at the Staples Center?" Xochitl asked as they approached the
door.

"Not
sure." Star pushed a large flat button on the wall, and the door began to
slowly open. "Something about a rabid dog let loose during the Lakers
game."

"¡Híjole!"
Xochitl whispered.

"You're
telling me." Star and Xochitl walked through the door and into the main ER
waiting room. "But you know how Lakers fans get."

Sounds
of the sick and injured filled Xochitl's ears.

"You
can wait for your friend here." Star leaned over and set her box on the
admitting desk.

"She's
not my friend," Xochitl
said, staring in disbelief at the overcrowded waiting room.

"I
have to go." Star placed a hand on Xochitl's back. "Are you okay,
dear?"

"Yeah."
Xochitl barely registered Star's question as a baby wailed in the background.

"Okay,
then." Star walked away, and Xochitl heard her say, "Julia, better
start setting up overflow triage out here. We're gonna have more."

Xochitl scanned the room, searching for an unclaimed seat,
but there was none to be had. Those who
were not fortunate enough to have a chair were resigned to sitting on the floor
or leaning against the wall. Xochitl spotted a small patch of empty space in
the far corner.

"Floor
it is." Xochitl sighed, and began weaving her way through the maze of
people marred by bloody gashes on their arms, legs and faces.

She
plopped down on the dingy grey carpet and leaned her head against the wall,
feeling exhausted. Xochi just wanted to get home to Miguel.
She'd texted him at least
twenty times on the ride over, but he'd
not responded. Her worry was kicking into high gear.

What
if Memo got to him first? Stop it, Xochitl. He's probably playing Call of Duty
with Felix. Shit, Felix! Why didn't I think of that before?

Xochi
pulled her cell out of her pocket and began texting Miguel's tagger friend
Felix.

Felix?
Miguel w/u?

No.
Left 2 hours ago.

Where?

Home?

K.
Text me if u c him.

K.

"Pinche
teenage boys," Xochitl hissed. She scrolled through her contacts but the
only person she could think to call was Gyssell, Anita's alcoholic younger
sister. Anita and Gyssell were cut from the same cloth — drunk and bitter
all the time.

At least Gyssell gives a shit about her kids
.

Xochi
pressed the call button on her phone. It rang for what seemed like five minutes
before Gyssell answered.

"Hellooo?"
Gyssell slurred.

"Gyssell,
it's me." Xochitl didn't want to waste time with the clearly drunk woman.
"Where's Miguel?"

"Umm..."
There was a long pause before Gyssell answered. "He's with you."

"¡Híjole!"
Xochitl realized she'd shouted and put her hand up in apology to the patients
giving her annoyed stares. "Gyssell," she continued, gritting her
teeth. "Miguel's not with me. ¿Lo has visto?"

"Ohhhh,"
Gyssell giggled. "No...Where's my sister?"

"She's
fine," Xochitl said. "La chota's got her sleeping it off."

Gyssell
howled with delight.

"Gyssell?"
Xochitl tried to get her step-aunt's attention. "Gyssell!" Again she
put up a hand in apology. "Where's Tommy, Senior?"

"Out."
Gyssell started to cry. "We had a fight. He's screwing that gringa,
Cherise...the puta!"

"¡Híjole!"
Xochitl shook her head. "Just have Miguel call me if he comes to your
place." She hung up.

Should
have known that'd be a waste of time.

Xochitl
glanced at the clock on her phone.

I've been here almost forty minutes.
Pinche dog cop.

A
blaring siren brought Xochitl's attention to the main ER entrance. Two more
ambulances were rolling up. Curious, she stood to get a better view when Lowell's
commanding officer, Captain Burch strode through the doors. He surveyed the
waiting area, and Xochitl averted her eyes so as not to make contact with his.
But it was too late. He'd spotted her, and he didn't look happy about it. Burch
beelined toward Xochitl as the waiting patients hastily cleared his path.

"Where's
Lowell?" Burch placed his hands on his hips.

Xochitl
craned her neck up toward the officer. "She went up with Officer Torres."

"God
damn it, Lowell!" Burch spat, then he turned and walked away.

I can relate.

Xochi felt the entire room staring at her. She shrugged her
shoulders at her fellow hospital captives and sat.

Fifteen minutes later, Officer Lowell stormed across the waiting
room and out the main entrance.

"Huh? Wonder where she thinks she's going?" Xochitl
pulled the cruiser keys from her pocket.