The Hospital Diaries

Samuel

Eden's eyes slowly opened. For a minute, she was confused as she looked up at the blurry lights above her, but as her vision slowly cleared, so did her memory. She realized she was in the hospital after receiving a head injury from one of the bank robbers, her friend was dead, and her husband no longer seemed to want her. On top of that, she got the sense that he didn't buy her story, insisting that she hadn't been absconding. "After putting in over two years, I'm not gonna throw away the last few months," she had insisted. "Just because I got in a fight with my husband." Yet Samuel had argued that it would be nearly impossible to go to the Sedona area and make it back the same day. "She said it could be done, even though we would have been back late that night, and I trusted her. Besides, why are we arguing about this now? That's not important," Eden said, seeming to notice that her PO didn't agree. "What's important is that these sickos be tried and convicted and that I get to speak for both of us in court. Meanwhile, if you want to talk probation, I think that given all I've been through and in exchange for my testimony, the rest of my probation should be scrapped, don't you?" "It's not up to me," said Sam. "Well, I'd like you to talk to the judge and get back to me as soon as you can because I know my testimony would be valuable and much needed. However, if you're not going to take my proposition, I'm not going to testify, and I know that Cherise would have wanted it that way." Samuel eyed her almost challengingly. "Really, I don't think that's much to ask for. I'm hurting like hell, I'm injured, I lost my friend, I may not have a marriage anymore, and my life is a mess. Not to mention the trauma and horrible memories I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. I think a break from the legal system isn't too much to ask for in exchange for my testimony." Unbeknownst to Eden at the time, an idea formed in Samuel's mind to let the lying bitch cut a deal for herself. He realized it was extremely imperative that she not know she was a murder suspect because if she did, it might very well encourage her to try to run again and perhaps succeed. Even though convicts weren't allowed to testify in court, he fully intended to speak to the DA about creating this bullshit "deal" with Montgomery in order to keep her more manageable. That would give them more time to gather evidence against her in the murders of her husband's family members. After Sam finally spoke with the DA and the judge, as well as a criminal psychologist, they came up with a brilliant way to hopefully gain a confession from Montgomery. They would have her write in a journal as a form of therapy. This would be suggested to her by a therapist who was actually an undercover cop. Once Eden got a little stronger and had a better presence of mind, she met with the therapist, who encouraged her to write down every thought that crossed her mind in a journal that had a combination lock. "Never write down the combination," she was instructed. "That way, you know no one can read it but you. The doctors plan to have you here for several more weeks. You need emotional therapy as well as physical." What Eden didn't know was that they had a master combination that would open the journal, which they would photocopy when Eden was out of her room during physical therapy and other testing. The medical staff was informed of the deal and instructed to treat Montgomery as the victim she wanted to be, not that she wasn't really a victim to a degree. She'd gone on the run, but she hadn't asked to be caught up in a bank robbery. Samuel and the police found it difficult to keep up the facade. They found that they walked a fine line between treating her like a victim and treating her like the criminal she was, much more than a victim. Montgomery hated the fact that someone was always sitting inside her room, staring at her, as she would complain. She didn't understand why she couldn't have more space and privacy to process her thoughts, as she claimed. As they had agreed among themselves, they explained to Eden that it was for her safety. "Yeah, but if anybody that's friends with these monsters wants to come after me, wouldn't it be better if you were out in the hall making sure no one got in the room in the first place?" "Don't worry," Samuel and the other officers insisted. "There are officers in the hall as well as other parts of the hospital." While this was certainly true, the real reason they were in her room was that they were keeping watch on a criminal and a murder suspect. Not only that, but it was a subtle yet obvious way to remind Montgomery of who was in charge. "What about your clients?" she had asked him. "Why would you be up here with me and not with them?" Because I hate you and you're right, I am obsessed with you and bringing you to justice, Sam wanted to say. But since he knew he couldn't, he said, "Because I was the one you called for help." "You are going to be moved back to Phoenix in a few days now that you're getting a little stronger." At the same time, they wanted to smother Montgomery with their presence as a show of force, and they also gave her little breaks here and there so that she would feel more comfortable writing in her journal. She would claim it felt too "weird" writing with someone sitting and staring at her. So whenever Montgomery seemed to get fed up, they backed off just enough to let her vent on paper. Besides, they did have to go on breaks every now and then. So far, the journals were proving to be much more amusing than informative because of just how delusional the woman was. They weren't just hoping she would drop hints about the murders, but that she would reveal she had gone on the run, like not only was she suspected, but what even her own husband believed she had done. He believed the man, too. Every fiber of his being said he wasn't saying it just because he was angry with his wife, but because that's exactly what had happened. He may have been a PO and not a cop, but he had dealt with enough criminals to trust his instinct when it said he was talking to a very dangerous criminal that needed to be locked up for as long as possible. The more they could get her to confess to, the likelier it would be that she wouldn't see freedom for a while.