Pulling a chair right next to the bed, Chet gently caressed Devon's hand. He was a little alarmed to see that soft cloths restrained her wrists to the bed rail. He presumed the hospital staff considered it to be in the best interest of Devon's safety. "Come on, Devon, wake up. Help me convince them you didn't do this to yourself."

As if in answer to his plea, Devon groaned and her eyes fluttered. Encouraged Chet squeezed her hand. "Devon?"

Her eyelids fluttered once more and then she slowly opened them halfway. "Chet?" Her voice was low and full of confusion. "Where am I?"

"The hospital. Do you remember calling me last night?" The teenage girl shook her head wearily. Chet frowned. "Do you remember what happened last night at all?"

Her brow furrowed in concentration, Devon tried hard to recall the information that Chet was asking for. He looked so serious that it must be important. She sensed it was crucial that she remember but everything was a jumbled mess of confusion. She tried to sit up but was alarmed to find her arms strapped to the bed. Tears filled her eyes. "Chet?"

Chet tenderly wiped away a tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, Dev. The doctor insisted on the restraints. They think you tried to kill yourself. By the time Frank, Joe and I got to your house you were barely breathing. But I know there must be something going on."

Devon squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "I can't do this again. I can't block out what happened just to protect myself. I have to remember." She opened her eyes. "You have to help me remember Chet. No matter how painful it might be I have to remember."

Chet nodded. "Okay what's the last thing you remember?"

Devon blushed. "Kissing you goodnight. Watching you walk down the drive to the Hardy's van." She closed her eyes once more wearily. "That's it."

Chet squeezed her hand. "You were with your godfather. He had apologized for doubting you and told you Con Riley had called to say your brake line was cut. Did he say anything else after I left?"

Devon shook her head. "No, nothing major. I think I went to bed. The sedative the ER doctor gave me still had me drugged out."

Chet frowned. "That was right after I left?" Devon nodded. "That was around four. You didn't call me until 10:30. Were you asleep that whole time? Rex said you ate supper."

Devon's forehead furrowed once again in concentration. For a full minute she said nothing, focusing instead on her scattered memories. Then she stiffened. "I had the dream again, the memory of the night my parents were murdered. Only this time it wasn't a faceless person and his voice wasn't a Charlie Brown adult voice."

She gripped Chet's hand tightly, her fingernails digging into his flesh. Her eyes were wet with tears. "Chet, I know who killed my parents. Please you have to get me out of here."

Chet looked at her worriedly. "Devon, you're connected to a heart monitor. If we pull the leads off, the nurses are going to be in here. Why don't you tell me who is responsible and I'll call Con Riley."

"He won't believe me. Chet, he thinks I tried to commit suicide. HE made sure of that. He's going to kill me, Chet. I know he is."

Shaking his head. Chet wiped a tear from her cheek. "Dev, WHO? Please, you have to trust me to help you. Who is responsible?"

Devon tried to raise her other hand to wipe away more tears that coursed her cheeks but was once again frustrated at the inability to do such a simple act. She looked at Chet imploringly. "Uncle Rex."

"Your godfather? How could he?"

Devon jerked her hand free as best she could with the restraint. Her eyes reflected her hurt as the imploring look turned accusatory. "You don't believe me."

"Of course I believe you." Chet rushed to assure her. "That's not what I meant. He tried to sound so shocked and concerned about you last night but it was all a lie. Everything was a lie. Wait til' I get my hands on him."

"NO! Chet, he's already killed three people and he came close to killing me. I don't want him to hurt you. Please, Chet, help me get away from here and then we'll go to the police."

Chet finally nodded. "Okay, calm down. I'll think of something." He stood and found her clothes in the closet. He placed them on the bed and unfastened her restraints. The first thing Devon did was pull off the nasal byprongs giving her oxygen. She reached for the leads to the heart monitor but Chet stopped her. "Don't remove those wires until I tell you. I'm going to step out in the hall and think of a way to distract the nurses. You get dressed as best you can while I'm doing that."

He leaned down and kissed her lightly before leaving the room. Once in the hallway, he looked down one end of the corridor and then did the same with the other side. The nurses only gave the monitors a cursory glance every so often. He figured that was why they hadn't noticed the changes in Devon's heart rate when she woke up. But he was relatively sure that an alarm would go off as soon as they removed the wires. An alarm. Chet smiled as an idea came to mind. He scanned the hallway again and spotted the fire alarm near the stairwell.

He felt a twinge of guilt for what he was planning. Pulling an alarm box was not only dangerous but also against the law. But desperate time called for desperate measures. He made sure nobody was watching as his hand reached out and jerked the lever down. Then he ducked into the stairwell as the light on the box started to flash and a beeping filled the corridor.

"DR. RED TO 6TH FLOOR SOUTH. DR. RED TO 6TH FLOOR SOUTH."

Chet had been around the hospital enough to know that was the automatic building wide announcement to alert staff to a fire alarm. He slowly counted to ten and opened the door to go get Devon. But as soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, he was pushed back inside.

Chet almost lashed out, afraid he'd been caught but then he saw to his relief that it was Devon. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking but she grinned at him in triumph.

He hugged her. "What are you doing? I told you to wait."

"You said you were going to create a distraction. I heard the fire alarm. I wasn't sure if you pulled the box or not but a distraction it was. I wasn't about to waste any time." She leaned heavily against him.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I will be. I guess the drugs are still in my system. Come on, let's get out of here."

Keeping his good arm around her, Chet led the way down the staircase. At the first floor, Chet looked out tentatively before leading Devon out. "My car is not far away. We'll go to Frank and Joe's and call Con from there."

Chet unlocked the passenger side of his beat up old jalopy. Devon hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Chet. If you hadn't believed me..."

"He wouldn't have to worry about dying right now."