Hands on the Wheel Ch. 04

Her lips were bruised and swollen; neck, shoulders, and breasts covered with bites and hematomas (commonly known as hickeys); both nipples swollen and bruised, one covered with dried blood. Her pelvis and upper thighs were severely bruised; outer and inner labia swollen, torn, and seeping blood; vagina torn and seeping blood. Her lower back and buttocks were bruised, anus torn and seeping blood.

Em was nearly hysterical. She kept wailing that it was her fault until one of the paramedics told her that she was hampering their efforts to help Sarah. She left the bathroom, but continued to weep and wail until the lead paramedic called for permission to administer a sedative and bring her to the trauma center as well.

A paramedic inserted an IV and put an oxygen mask on Sarah, then the team lifted her on a gurney, strapped her down, and moved her to the ambulance. Em was groggy but conscious, so she was seated beside Sarah's gurney and strapped in with a seat belt. The ambulance set out for the hospital with lights flashing.

Sarah was moved from the ambulance to a treatment room. Because her injuries were so severe and her vital signs so poor, she was treated almost immediately. A team of a doctor, an RN, and a med tech drew several vials of blood, replaced the IV the paramedics had placed with two more, cleaned and dressed her wounds. An expanded rape kit was required to accommodate the semen samples taken from all the areas of dried semen, plus her mouth, vagina, and anus. A portable X-ray machine was brought in to take images of her head and upper body, and pelvic area.

Two uniformed police had responded to the initial 911 call and followed the ambulance to the trauma center. As the medical staff began working on Sarah, the female officer was allowed to photograph the injured and soiled parts of Sarah's body.

Em was also placed in a treatment room, but left alone while the staff concentrated on Sarah. When the mild sedative applied by the paramedic wore off, Em got up and went out to find Sarah. When she began crying hysterically and demanding to see Sarah because it was all her fault, Em was again sedated and admitted to the hospital. Sarah's body was battered, dehydrated, and exhausted; her mind was traumatized and barely functioning. After almost two hours of treatment, she was transferred from the trauma center to the ICU.

Two detectives—a man and a woman—had arrived not long after the ambulance and the two uniformed officers went back on patrol. They interviewed the paramedics and trauma center staff, but there was nothing more they could do until Sarah or Em was conscious and well enough to answer questions. They found Sarah's driver's license in her purse and gave the information to the medical staff so they could locate and call her parents. Em had left her purse behind and was sedated, so her family couldn't be notified yet.

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Sarah had to stop several times to calm her emotions, then started crying softly after she finished. Fumiko moved to the couch next to her, put her arm around the gently weeping woman, and waited. After a long pause, Sarah wiped away her tears and finished the tale of debauchery and defeat.

"They kept me in the hospital six days. My parents arrived the afternoon of that first day. They were wonderful. They never criticized me, never even asked why. Their love and support helped me survive. The hospital released Em the day after her mother got there and Em had convinced everyone that she wouldn't try to kill herself.

"I was in therapy for six months, but I was a terrible patient. I went through three different therapists. Many sessions I refused to speak, and often what I did say was hateful or vulgar." She turned to look at the Japanese woman comforting her.

"Good Girl Sarah died at that party, Fumiko, and her evil twin was in no mood to explain or move on." Fumiko was startled by how Sarah's voice hardened when she spoke of the death of Good Girl Sarah.

"I didn't think therapy was doing any good, so I finally just quit. I sat around my parents' house for almost two months staring out the window or pretending to read books, but finally realized that I would go mad if I didn't do something." She drew several deep breaths as she remembered those maddening days and nights.

"I got a job clerking at a convenience store. My parents hated the job, but I thought it was the only thing I was good for. Guys kept hitting on me, of course. Every time it happened I got hysterical. I quit after four days. After a couple of weeks sitting around my parents' place again, I found a job with a temp agency, cleaning offices at night.

"I lasted almost a year there until I came across a couple having sex on a table in a client's break room. I just lost it, ran for the restroom but threw up before I got there, then I fainted." She managed a crooked smile. "Apparently the happy lovers were afraid of being caught and ran off. When I came around a few minutes later, I cleaned up the messes—mine and theirs—never said anything about it and never went back to work.

"I went back to hiding out at my parents' place, but this time a job found me. After another couple of weeks, Jeremy Levinson, an old friend from high school and college, came to ask my father for advice about a small software company he had started. They wound up spending most of the day talking."

Sarah allowed herself another smile when she thought about how much her father loved her. "I didn't know it at the time, but my father also told him what happened to me—not all the gory details, but enough to get the picture—and how I had withdrawn. Jeremy and I had dated in high school a few times, nothing serious; we were just good friends.

"That afternoon he asked me if I would have dinner with him." She shook her head. "I said no, of course. I didn't deserve to be treated nicely, and I was afraid to be with a man, even Jeremy. I didn't want any reminders of college, I just wanted to be left alone. But he wouldn't take no for an answer, and my parents ganged up on me. I finally gave in and said I would go.

"Jeremy was very sweet and didn't let on that he knew what had happened. We had a nice dinner and I finally relaxed a little. We talked about old high school friends, and his family, then his company and its product and how tough it is to raise startup financing and find the right people to hire." Sarah started speaking faster, eager to finish her interminable monologue.

"A few days later he offered me a job. It was part Administrative Assistant and part Human Resources. He suggested that I think about it for a few days and then call him. I talked with my parents, then with two of my former therapists; they all thought it was a good idea. I finally decided that the job might help me rejoin the human race, so I called Jeremy, then faxed him my resumé.

"Who knew? My BS in Psychology with a minor in Computer Science was just about perfect for the job, and the salary and benefits were more than I had hoped for. But I had one condition: I told Jeremy that the name Sarah Elizabeth Morrison could only appear in HR files. To everyone else I had to be Woodley. Just one name, Woodley. No exceptions. This was non-negotiable

"Jeremy was puzzled, but didn't ask why and agreed to it. Two weeks later I moved to the Bay Area and started at Golkonda."