When he walked out, I noticed Jasmine standing talking to a nurse. I waved at her. She came over to the door. "You need something?" she asked.

I looked down and sort of pulled on my covers. "Umm, maybe," I mumbled.

"Well, make up your mind." She smiled. "Do you or don't you?"

"The nurse lets me get out of bed to use the bathroom. Do you think she'd let you walk me down the hall?"

"You want me to take you for a walk?"

"I want you to take me to see the boy who was riding the bike." I didn't use BJ's name because I hadn't told the cops I knew who he was.

She looked thoughtful. "Let me ask the nurse."

She came back with a wheelchair. "The nurse said you're not ready to take a walk that far. You can barely make it to the John and back. She said I can take you for a ride, though."

I got in the chair and pulled my IV up beside it. Jasmine pushed me down the hall and around the corner. We were in another area similar to the one where I was. It had rooms in a ring around a nurse's station. All the rooms had windows that opened onto the station. Mine had windows too, but Momz keep the blinds closed. Since she was a nurse, they let her do that when she was in the room.

Jasmine stopped outside a room. Momz said a cluster of rooms like this with windows and monitors were a step down from ICU. The patients all needed round the clock monitoring, but they were stable. Their families were allowed to stay with them.

I could see BJ through the window. He was lying in the bed. He had bandages wrapped around his head. His leg was in a cast and hanging in the air. Both arms were in casts, too. The left one covered the whole arm. The right one just came to the elbow. An IV was hooked to his right hand. There was a tube down his nose. A machine was breathing for him. His Momz was sitting by his bed. Her hand was holding his. Her head was on the mattress. She was either sleeping or praying.

"Oh, God," I moaned. "I've seen enough."

Jasmine pushed me back to my room and helped me back in bed.

"Give me 10 and then come back."

I closed my eyes. "God," I said. "I think you're there. At least Momz and Popz seem to think so. And I'm alive when I should have my brains splattered all over the pavement. Anyway, here's the thing. BJ doesn't deserve to die. Take care of him, please." I stopped for an minute and then continued. "And I'm not asking for me, to get me off the hook or anything. I know I made some bad choices. I'll take whatever comes my way." I stopped again and blew my nose. "And God, you gave your Son for me. Let him help me to be a better person."

I opened my eyes. Nothing had changed, but I wasn't so down in the dumps. It felt like a weight had been lifted. "Okay, God, here goes," I thought.

"Hey, Jasmine," I called. She came to the door. I waved her into the room. "I'm ready to talk." I looked at her earnestly to make sure she understood the import of the understatement. "But I'll only talk to you, not those two cops who've been trying to get over on me. And I need to talk to Momz and my lawyer, first."

"I'll tell them at the station." She must have read my expression She hurried on. "But not until you give me the go ahead."

"You can tell them after I talk to Momz and Grady, but I won't talk to anyone but you. I'll let you record it or video it or whatever is okay with Grady, but no other cops will be in the room."

"Alright," she said. "Do you want me to find your Mom?"

I looked at the clock. "She gets a break in 15 minutes. She'll be here." I picked up the phone. "I'm just gonna call Grady." Jasmine nodded and left me alone. Grady said he'd be there by the time Momz went on break.

When they were both there, I told them everything and showed them my list. "I'm not going to share that with the cops." I pointed to the list. "But I'm willing to tell them what happened that night." I waved towards the door. "I told Jasmine I'd only talk to her, and that she could record it or video it, whatever you recommended." I looked at Grady.

"Okay," he said, "But first tell me exactly what you're going to say."

I started with what I'd already told the cops and continued until my memory went black.

"What are you going to say if they ask about your amnesia?" 

"The truth."

"Which is?"

"I remembered some of it all along. After I saw BJ today, I knew I had to fill them in."

"So you really did have amnesia?"

"Well, it probably wasn't amnesia, but the details weren't really clear until I started writing things down today."

"Okay," Grady looked at Momz. "Are you okay with all of this, Patty?"

"Very." She looked relieved.

"Even if it means they charge him with some misdemeanors."

"I knew all along he'd be charged with something." She gestured as though brushing away cobwebs. "Misdemeanors are way better than felonies."

"Alright," Grady said. "Let's do this. You," he pointed to me, "tell them only what you know for certain. No speculation." Her turned to Momz. "And you, stay behind the camera. If this ends up shown in court for some reason, we don't want your face to interpret what he's saying."

"She has to go back to work," I said.

"No, I called downstairs and got permission to stay. It's a slow day. They'll send me a text if I'm needed before we're done here. I've got my phone on vibrate." She slid a chair into the corner so that she was facing the bed. "I'll just sit here."

"Okay," Grady said, "but don't let your expressions distract CW."

"Got it. Stone face Patty. That's me."

Kiara and Joseph came and brought a video camera. I let them set it up, but banned them to the hall.

"I'll only talk to Jasmine," I said.

"Sure thing," Kiara said. She turned to Jasmine. "We'll be outside if you need us. Just rap on the window."

"Will do."

Jasmine came to the side of my bed, opposite where Grady sat. "Are you comfortable?" 

"As I'm ever gonna be." I offered a weak grin.

"Since I'm the only officer in the room, I'm going to have to aim the camera and leave it. I have to show up in the video as the officer soliciting your testimony."

"Don't worry." This time the grin was genuine. "I'll try not to wander off camera."

"Do you want me to do something?" Momz asked. "I could probably man the camera."

"Thanks for the offer, ma'am," Jasmine said. "But I think I'd better be the only one to operate it. Chain of command and all that." 

"Oh, okay. No problem."

Jasmine aimed the camera at the bed. She adjusted it a little and then said, "Three, two, one, action." She pushed the button and then came to stand beside me.

"For the record, this is officer Jasmine Reddy. I am talking with Chauncy Wayne Braisford, from here on out referred to as CW, about a motorcycle vs bicycle accident on December 31, 2016 at the corner of Maple St. and Oak Alley at approximately 9 pm. Also present is Mr. Braisford's lawyer, Grady St. Amant. Off camera is Mrs. Patty Braisford, CW's mom. She is here simply as a parental observer." She looked at me. "CW, is this the first time you've been questioned about this accident?" 

I was surprised that she didn't just ask me straight off about that night. I sort of looked at Grady. He just smiled.

"No, ma'am. It's the second time," I said.

"When was the first?"

"About three or four days ago. I kinda lose track of time in a hospital bed."

"That's fine," she reassured. "Is the account you're about to give the same as the original?"

"She's been prepped," I thought. But so had I. Grady had already gone over this stuff with me, he just worded it different.

"No, ma'am." 

"Why not?"

"I had just come out of a coma. I was on some pretty strong drugs. My memory was real fuzzy."

"So, when did your memory come into sharp focus?"

"Yesterday."

"What happened to bring it into focus?"

"Momz suggested I write things down to help clarify them. I have to write a journal for school. I wasn't about to write about the accident for English class, but she got me thinking. I went back over the last few days in my mind. The details sort of came crashing in. I realized someone was hurt, so I asked you to take me to see the boy we hit. When I saw him..." I stopped.

"When you saw him?" she encouraged.

I cleared my throat. "It was BJ." I sort of choked up but struggled to get the words out clearly. "When I saw him, I remembered everything."

Jasmine looked puzzled. "What is the significance of BJ?" 

"I've know him since we were in diapers."

"So seeing this boy you knew brought some details into focus that you hadn't remembered clearly before?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Speak up, please."

I cleared my throat. "Yes," I said more loudly.

"Thank you. Now, please tell me everything you remember from that night."

I took a deep breath. "I met my friends Jake, that's Jacob Sullivan," I added remembering the cop clarifying the names, "and Marlow Breland a block from my house. I snuck them into F2 through the lose slat on the fence. F2's a shed in my yard where my friends and I can hang out. We took the only way in without the cameras' picking you up. They climbed in the back window. I went back through the fence and came in like I always do. I checked the mail and got some chips and coke to take to F2."

I guess I sounded a little hoarse. Jasmine handed me a cup of water. I took a gulp. "Before you continue," she said. "Why did you sneak your friends in if that's the place where you and your friends hang out?"

"Momz doesn't much like Jake and Marlow. She can access the cameras on her phone. I was mad at Momz because she had put a camera in F2 while we were on vacation. I didn't want her to know they were there."

"Ok. Continue with your story."

"I went out to F2. There were some sandwiches in the fridge. We all ate, but first Jake spiked the cokes from his flask. I told him he had to drive and so shouldn't be drinking. He laughed and said, 'Too late. I have a high tolerance level.' I uncovered the Blue Ox. That's the motorcycle my Dad left in the shed. It was supposed to be mine when I turned 18, but he wouldn't tell me where the key was. Anyway, Jake knew how to hotwire a bike. He put up the seat and picked up a couple of wires. He said when he connected them, we could roll. I reminded him that we had to add gas and oil first."

Jasmine interrupted. "Were the wires loose or did he have to disconnect them?"

"They were loose."

"Have they always been loose?" she asked.

"No-o-o," I sort of drew the word out. I hadn't expected her to put that together so quickly.

She grinned. "My Dad's a mechanic. I used to help him work on his bike. It just seems strange that they'd be loose."

"I guess." I hesitated and then added, "I know they weren't loose when I checked the gas and oil when I first found the bike." I took another deep breath. "Anyway, we put oil and gas in the bike. Jake connected the wires and then wrapped them with electrical tape and said we were ready to go. That's when I opened the doors so he could ride the bike out."

"So Jake was driving?" Jasmine asked.

I looked over at Momz. I hated having to finger Jake, but Grady said to tell the truth. I remembered that Troy said, "Telling it like it is is not ratting." I looked Jasmine in the eye and said, "Yes, Jake was driving. Marlow was behind Jake. When they got outside, I got on behind Marlow. We roared out of the driveway and down the street. As we did, we gave the camera a one-finger salute."

"Why was that?" Jasmine asked.

"In case Momz was watching the camera on her phone. I was still mad at her."

"Go on."

"We made the block and came out on Maple Street. There was a boy on a bike a ways in front of us. Jake said, 'It's that loser BJ. Let's scare the shit out of him.' He gunned the bike and started to pull into the left lane. I screamed, 'No, he's getting ready to turn left,' but the wind grabbed my words and blew them away. Jake didn't hear me."

"How do you know, he didn't hear you?" Jasmine asked.

"He didn't look back. He didn't waver, nothing. And Marlow was between us."

"Was he wearing a helmet?" she asked.

"No. I was the only one wearing a helmet. I only had two of them, and the other one is pink. Neither of them wanted to wear a pink helmet. Marlow said they liked to feel the wind in their hair, anyway."

"Did you have anything with you besides the helmet?"

"I had my cell."

"Is that all?"

For the first time I remembered the mini-cam I had stuck in my helmet. I picked up the cup and gulped water. I considered not saying anything, but then I remembered Momz saying they had my phone. They probably had the camera too. Why else would she be pursuing this line of questioning?

"No," I finally said. "I had a mini-camera stuck over my ear."

Grady, who had been leaning back in his chair, looking all relaxed, suddenly sat up straight. Momz covered her mouth as though to stop a gasp.

"Was it on?" she asked.

"I don't think so," I said. "It wasn't when I put it there but all you have to do is put some pressure on it and it comes on."

"Okay," Jasmine said. "What happened after you hollered 'No.'"

"BJ turned left into the alley that leads to his house. I heard metal tearing. We...we hit him. I flew off the back of the bike into the street." My voice cracked. "I saw BJ flying through the air. He looked scared." I reached up and covered my eyes. "Everything went black."

"Thank you, CW," Jasmine said. She walked over and turned off the camera. "I imagine the DA will be viewing this. Your account will be compared to the evidence. I'm not on the investigating team, but I'm sure that a decision will be made soon concerning what charges may apply to you."

Jasmine rapped on the window. Kiara and Joseph came in and took down the video set up. They took a DVD out of the camera and wrote something on it before putting it in a plastic zip-lock bag with a paper attached to the outside. Jasmine signed the paper, as did Kiara, who put the sealed DVD in a brief case. All three exited the room.