Just My Luck Ch. 9
Dr. Shannon walked briskly through sliding doors at one of the few entrances to the hospital that wasn’t staked out by reporters hungrily seeking information on the conditions of the members of Nsync. It was unbelievable the coverage that the news media was making over the separate brutal attacks against Lance, Chris and JC. The security staff at the hospital was being stretched to its limits, as was the level of patience of the PR staff at Mercy General. Already, the doctor had received a few less than friendly phone calls from the hospital board about the publicity and, as it stood, the young men were going to remain as patients at the hospital for at least another 24 to 48 hours. Everyone was just going to have to remain vigilant in their work and in protecting the privacy, health and welfare of the members of Nsync.
Dr. Shannon had barely cleared the doors when a young nurse came rushing up to him waving a slip of paper in her hands.
“Dr. Shannon,” she said breathlessly. “You need to get upstairs to the VIP floor immediately. There are some problems with police wanting to question Mr. Bass.”
“What kind of problems?” he asked as he quickly crossed the hallway and briskly punched the up button for an elevator.
“Mr. Headnot sent word that the questioning was not scheduled and Mr. Bass is becoming distraught.”
“Call security and the head of security and have them meet me upstairs,” the doctor said as he stepped into a waiting elevator.
“Yes, sir.”
Seconds later, the doctor stepped off the elevator and immediately heard raised voices coming from the down the hallway.
“What seems to be the problem?” Dr. Shannon asked as he trotted up to the tightly knit group standing just outside the room being shared by group of young men.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Shannon,” Deborah Moffett, one of the floor nurses said as she turned to face the doctor.
“Are you the physician in charge of Mr. Bass’s care?” one of the men asked as he showed the doctor his badge totally ignoring the fact that the nurse was speaking.
“May I ask who you are first?” Dr. Shannon said calmly as he looked carefully at the badge then at the man’s face.
“I’m Detective Roger Pierce and this is Detective Preston Jamison and Detective Daniel Welsley. We’re with Orlando PD,” the man answered in an exasperated tone of voice.
“Your badges, please,” Dr. Shannon said, ignoring the tone as he gazed at the two other plain clothes officers.
Both pulled out their badges and patiently waited for the doctor to glance at them as members of the hospital’s security team joined the group. By the time that all three had introduced themselves to the growing group and had allowed Dr. Shannon to look at their badges, hot tempers had had a chance to cool down somewhat and the doctor felt like questions could be asked and answered calmly.
“Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s go down the hallway so that my patients won’t be further disturbed,” he said, gesturing toward the long corridor ahead. As the group reluctantly began to disperse, Dr. Shannon glanced over his shoulder at Lonnie and Mike and held up one finger. Mike immediately stepped forward while Lonnie retreated back into the room along with three nurses who were needed to check on the condition of the young men in the room. At the same time, two members of the hospital’s security team remained outside the door while the head of security quickly followed the group down the hall.
“Last door on your left, gentlemen,” Dr. Shannon said quietly as he followed the small group.
“Hey, Dr. Shannon,” Thomas McCain said as he reached the doctor’s side. “What do you need for me to do?”
Dr. Shannon paused his steps and glanced at the head of hospital security beside him.
“We just need to keep a better handle on things, Tom,” the doctor said as he raked a hand through his thinning hair.
“The boys have been patients here in the past, but the activity outside with reporters and the goings on in here with police have never been like this before…ever.”
Frustration was evident in the doctor’s tone of voice and his mannerisms. He desperately wanted the young men to have an opportunity to heal properly under his care, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.
“I’ll tighten things up a couple more notches, doc,” Tom said with a wan smile. Security was already stretched to its limits and he couldn’t blame the doctor for wanting only the best for the young men that he was treating. He would just have to find a way to help out more…somehow.
“Thanks, Tom…I really appreciate it,” Dr. Shannon said as the pair shook hands then parted ways. The doctor then took a deep breath and entered the conference room where the group of policemen and security members were waiting for him.
Dr. Shannon opened the room’s door and found that everyone had settled themselves around the large conference table in the middle of the room.
Without saying anything the doctor crossed the room to where a long counter lined the far wall and busied himself with making a fresh pot of coffee for the group while they sat quietly waiting for him to join them. Once he had finished with his task, the doctor pulled out a chair at the head of the table and began speaking.
“Now that you’ve had a chance to cool down, gentlemen, would you mind telling me what the problem was that was causing the ruckus outside the room containing Mr. Bass, Mr. Chasez, Mr. Fatone, Mr. Kirkpatrick, and Mr. Timberlake? Let’s start with you, Mike. Please tell me what your take on the problem was.”
“We had been holding off on allowing the police to question any one of the boys, doctor, until you had the chance to okay it,” he quietly explained. “Lon and I aren’t physicians and we didn’t know if the guys were ready for the type of questions that these…officers…might have for them.”
“Now…we weren’t,” Detective Jamison began, but was immediately interrupted by the doctor.
“Thank you Mike for following my instructions and for looking out for the well being of your employers.”
Dr. Shannon’s statement immediately put the heat on his shoulders and relieved Lonnie and Mike of any of the consequences that the police may have mentioned in regards to their investigation being hampered by the lack of cooperation.
“You’re welcome, doc,” the giant of a man said as he looked at the three others sitting across from him at the conference table they were surrounding then stood up.
“If I’m no longer needed here, Dr. Shannon, I’d like to get back down the hallway.”
“Sure Mike,” Dr. Shannon said as he stood and shook hands with the bodyguard then showed him to the door before turning his attention back to the three detectives seated at the table.
“Coffee?” Doctor Shannon said quickly before any other words could be exchanged. For the next several minutes, coffee was poured then everyone resettled in their chairs, before the detectives were asked to speak. By then, the three knew that whatever they had to say was going to fall on deaf ears. This doctor was in complete control of the situation and he had gained that control in a very discreet manner.
“I understand that you want to question Lance and the others but there are some extenuating circumstances surrounding his injuries and those of Joshua Chasez and Christopher Kirkpatrick. I’m glad that I have this opportunity to discuss them with you before you question them,” Dr. Shannon said in a manner that allowed the officers to gracefully concede their arguments against what Lonnie and Mike had done in their efforts to protect the group of young men.
For the next several minutes, Dr. Shannon informed the officers of Lance’s condition. He also told them that due to the nature of his injuries, he wouldn’t be able to give verbal answers and an alternate means of questioning was going to have to be used…a means that they did not have readily available, meaning that the questioning would have to take place later in the day.
The doctor also told them that as far as questioning JC or Chris about their attacks, both young men were recovering from head traumas and would be able to answer questions later in the day after they had been permitted to further rest and had gone through an examination to re-evaluate their conditions.
“What about Mr. Fatone, Dr. Shannon,” Detective Jamison asked in an exasperated tone of voice. He had a feeling that the doctor was trying to make his job more difficult than it already was.
“Do you think he might be available for questioning?”
“Joey was still rather groggy last night from the medications, but you will be able to question him and the rest of the group this afternoon, gentlemen,” Dr. Shannon replied, ignoring the detective’s sarcasm.
“I’m not trying to be uncooperative, detectives,” the doctor quickly added when he saw the looks on the three men’s faces.
“I want this situation taken care of and resolved just as much as you do, but the health of those young men is my number one concern.”
“Let me tell you this, Dr. Shannon,” Detective Jamison said as he leaned forward on table, resting his elbows on it’s surface as he pushed a file folder toward the physician.
“Our investigation concerning Mr. Bass will not really be that difficult. Mr. Bass identified his assailant at the scene of the crime. Yesterday evening, police officers found the assailant’s body in a motel at the edge of Orlando...Marshall Goines was his name.”
“His body?” the doctor asked as he took the folder in hand then slowly opened it to reveal several photographs of a young man lying crumpled against a room wall…three obvious gunshot wounds littering his chest.
“This is the individual who attacked Lance?” Dr. Shannon asked as he looked up from the photograph to the officers in disbelief. “He looks no older than Joey or JC.”
“Speaking of Mr. Chasez, doctor, do you know of where he, Mr. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Timberlake were located between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 pm?” Detective Jamison asked, enjoying the fact that he had turned the tables on the doctor.
Dr. Shannon brought his gaze up sharply from the photos of the assailant to the detective.
“Excuse me?” he said, his shock at the question evident not only in his voice but also on his face.
“Where were the others in the group located between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 yesterday evening, Dr. Shannon?”
Dr. Shannon blinked his eyes in disbelief at the question before answering.
“I met the boys in their private waiting room, along with their management, at approximately 5:00 to take them upstairs to see Lance and Joey. I had to give Justin a sedative when he became distraught and JC and Joey didn’t leave the room much less the hospital until after 9:00…after Jim and Diane Bass had flown in from their home in Mississippi.”
“You are certain of those facts, Dr. Shannon?” Detective Jamison asked smugly as he wrote the information down in a small notebook.
“Yes, gentlemen. Before giving Justin the sedative, I recorded the medication that I used and the time that I administered it on an order’s requisition sheet in the nurses’ station down the hall,” the doctor calmly answered after taking a deep breath to control his growing anger at the detective.
“Were they ever left unattended at any time during those hours?” the detective asked, hoping to revive the emotions in the doctor but was disappointed to find that the bait was no longer being taken.
“Members of their security team and management were present with the boys and it took several hours of persuasion before Chris and JC were even allowed to go to Joey and Lance’s homes on their own to pick up items to make their friends’ hospital stays more comfortable...by then it was after 9:00 pm.”
“Thank you for answering our questions, Dr. Shannon,” Detective Jamison said as he pulled the still open folder toward himself with a small smirk on his face. It had felt good to shake the doctor up if only for a small moment.
Detective Pierce saw the gloating look on Jamison’s face and slightly shook his head before speaking, knowing that what he was going to say needed to be heard in order to reassure the doctor.
“Listen, Dr. Shannon, I apologize for Detective Jamison’s forgetfulness…he meant to tell you after his questions that those three young men are in no way or manner being considered as suspects in the death of Mr. Marshall Goines.”
“Their management or security?” the doctor asked in a tight voice.
“No, sir…they’re clear for right now also,” Detective Welsley answered. “We’re just trying to establish everyone’s whereabouts and so far, everything looks good.”
Dr. Shannon visibly relaxed then spoke up.
“I’d appreciate it very much if you would call me when you are ready to meet with Lance and the rest of the group this afternoon. I may need to go over their conditions with you if there have been changes…let you know if there are any new limitations that you need to be made aware of.”
“That’s fine, doctor. There will be a separate set of detectives here to questions Mr. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Chasez this afternoon. Detective Pierce or myself will work with Mr. Bass and Mr. Fatone…you can be assured of that,” Detective Welsley said as Detective Jamison roughly pushed his chair away from the table before stiffly leaving the conference room without saying a word.
“Thank you,” Dr. Shannon said as everyone stood and exchanged handshakes. Business cards were handed to the doctor and he, in turn gave the two men his pager number in order for him to know when they were ready to visit with the boys.
“We’ll expect you to be in the room also during questioning, Dr. Shannon,” Detective Welsley said. “We don’t want to create any problems with the recovery of the young men and your presence will in no way hinder our investigation.”
With those words said, the small group dispersed. The two detectives headed for the elevators while Dr. Shannon made his way toward the suite being shared by the boys.
Justin’s aunt, Jan Scott was met by a sea of reporters at the front entrance of Mercy General Hospital. Never in her entire life had she seen such controlled chaos then she realized the reason behind the small mob. About 20 yards ahead of her stood Nsync’s manager, Johnny Wright giving an impromptu press conference about the boys. As Johnny answered questions posed by reporters, he spotted Jan’s red head in the back of the group and quickly called Dre, a member of the group’s security and quietly pointed Jan out to him. Seconds later, Jan felt a hand on her elbow and she glanced to her left and saw the bodyguard’s familiar face.
Without a word, Dre guided Jan away from the back group toward the front then ushered her into the hospital causing another round of questions to be fired at Johnny, but this time about her identity.
Once inside, Jan quickly began firing questions at Dre, but found that he wasn’t able to answer the majority of her questions.
“Ms. Scott…you’re just going to have to go on upstairs and see for yourself,” he quietly explained as the pair stood at the elevator doors waiting for the next available car.
“I haven’t been upstairs to see any of them and what you heard from Johnny a few minutes ago is all that I know.”
“Okay, Dre,” Jan said wearily as she ran a shaky hand over her face. She had caught the first available flight that she could out of Houston earlier that morning and she was exhausted.
Several minutes later, Dre ushered Jan into the suite where the boys were and was instantly greeted by Diane Bass.
“Jan,” Diane quietly exclaimed as she stood up from the chair by Lance’s bedside and crossed the room.
The two women embraced.
“I’m so glad that you’re here,” Diane said in her quiet, reassuring voice.
The two women separated as Jan began speaking.
“Yes, so am I…Lynn was so sorry that she couldn’t come right away, but the group that she’s working with right now is having problems of their own in Europe,” Jan explained. “A couple of the girls in the group have come down with some sort of virus and Lynn can’t leave until their parents arrive and that won’t be until sometime tomorrow at the very earliest.”
“Oh…I hope Lynn doesn’t become ill as well,” Diane said she lead the young woman by the hand over to the small cot that Justin was now sleeping on.
“Me too,” Jan replied as she knelt down at Justin’s side and ran her hand over his curls.
“He’s still pretty groggy from a sedative Dr. Shannon had to give him this morning at about 3:00,” Diane explained when Jan’s touch did not readily elicit a response from the young man.
“Nightmares?” Jan asked.
“Yes…pretty severe ones,” Diane answered. “Jim couldn’t even wake him up…neither could Mike. Dr. Shannon had him heavily sedated after that. He’s not expected to wake up for a few more hours.
“How are the others?” Jan asked as she stood up and glanced around the room at the room’s other occupants, who were sleeping.
“Everyone’s resting pretty well. The episode with Justin last night caused a few problems and Dr. Shannon prescribed some medications to help everyone sleep better today. They’re going to be asleep for most of the day, according to the doctor.”
“Have any of the others arrived?” Jan asked as she moved from one bed to the next, gently touching each of the young men on the arms or legs…just letting them know that she was there, even if they were deeply asleep and unaware of her presence. “Janine is here…so are Karen and Roy. They’re downstairs in the cafeteria with Lonnie and Todd and Beverly should be here later in this afternoon.”
“This is all surreal, Diane,” Jan said as her gaze continued to move from one bed to the next. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to receive the kind of phone call that she had from Lynn and Johnny Wright yesterday evening. She had had to sit down for a few minutes after hanging up the phone in order just to gather her thoughts…she had found it so hard to register the fact that some of her boys had been attacked.
“I had only been off the phone with the airlines when I started seeing the news reports…then the phone began ringing non-stop,” Jan said as she settled herself in a chair near Diane.
“It got so bad that I finally had to just leave the house and check into a hotel close to the airport.”
“We had to notify the switchboard downstairs to turn off the phones to the room,” Diane said with a small smile. “Don’t worry, Jan…this too shall pass.”
“Quickly I hope…very quickly,” Jan replied.
It was early in the evening when Detectives Pierce and Welsley returned to the VIP floor with a security escort. The pair then waited outside the suite that held the members of while waiting for Dr. Shannon to arrive. Several minutes later, Dr. Shannon walked up to the pair and quickly informed them of Lance’s current condition and the detectives were reassured that the young man was ready for their questions. It was also quickly determined that the questioning would take place in another room so that none of the other patients in the room would be disturbed and Lance’s parents and Johnny Wright along with a member of the group’s legal team were also going to be present.
With all of the details ironed out, Dr. Shannon and two nurses entered the suite and, minutes later, a pale Lance was pushed in a wheelchair out into the hallway then down to a smaller room and resettled before the detectives were allowed in.
“Mr. Bass…my name is Detective Roger Pierce and this is Detective Daniel Welsley,” the older man said as he and Daniel shook Lance’s hand.
Dr. Shannon quickly introduced Lance’s parents, Johnny Wright and Phillip White, one of the group’s attorneys, to the two men then everyone sat down.
“We understand that there are some extenuating circumstances concerning your injuries, Lance…may I call you Lance?” Detective Pierce said with a small smile that was returned by Lance along with a nod of his head.
“Have you ever used one of these?” the detective asked as he produced a laptop from the briefcase that he had carried into the room.
His question was met by quiet laughter from Jim and Diane and a smile from Lance along with a shy nod of his head.
“I guess that laughter is my answer. I guess you probably own more than one then,” the detective said as he set up the computer then turned it on.
Lance gave the detective a smile and held up three fingers.
“You have three?” Detective Welsley said incredulously. “Good grief, kid…do you have more than two hands to work those things?”
Lance smiled again and shook his head while Jim explained.
“No…just three businesses,” he said, his pride in his son evident in his voice. “Lance is the bass voice of the music group, Nsync. He also owns his own talent management company called Freelance and he just recently began his own film production company, A Happy Place.”
The two detectives looked up at the younger Bass and saw that his pale features were now beet red and he looked uncomfortable with what was being said. He wasn’t one to brag and he was glad that his parent were proud of his accomplishments but he didn’t want to appear as one who was too big for their britches. As far as he was concerned, he was still James Lance Bass…a small town, Mississippi boy.
“Well, we’ll try not to keep you too long, Lance,” Detective Pierce gently teased as he brought up the information on the computer for Lance to see. “We can see that you must stay pretty busy.”
The detective’s words put Lance more at ease and he listened attentively while he carefully explained what was going to be required of him during the questioning.
“We’re going to try to make this as easy as possible for you, Lance,” the detective said as he looked from Lance to his parents.
“We’ve been informed of your condition and we want you to control the pace of our visit. If at any time, you feel the need to stop for a break or stop altogether and have us return at a later time, please let us know. In no way do we wish to hamper your recovery and we want to reassure you that you are in control at all times during our visit.”
Lance nodded his head and gave the detectives a smile of appreciation as he mouthed his thanks.
“We appreciate your concern for Lance and your efforts in making this as painless as possible,” Jim said as he held his wife’s hand.
“Yes…thank you, detectives,” Diane added in her quiet voice.
“Well, let’s get started,” Detective Pierce said as he placed his laptop on the rolling tray at Lance’s bedside.
“You’ve already established the fact that you’re familiar with one of these.”
Lance gave the men a small smile as he nodded his head as he watched the proper documents being brought up for him to see.
“We have our questions here, Lance. We want you to type your answers for us. If we feel the need to ask for further clarification in your statements, we’ll let you know. This is not going to be easy…some of the questions might pose a problem in answering. Just do your best.”
“Spelling doesn’t count and neither does grammar,” Detective Welsley added with chuckle trying to lighten the mood in the small enclosure.
“Good,” Lance mouthed as he gave the detectives a genuine smile that reached his eyes. He then read the first question and began typing his answer.
More than an hour later, Lance’s weariness was becoming evident. He was becoming slower in his typing and the breaks that he was taking between questions were becoming longer and longer. Johnny and attorney, Phillip White had been standing at Lance’s side throughout his questioning and it was very obvious to them that the young man needed to call it quits.
“You ready to give it a break until tomorrow, Lance?” Johnny asked gently as he gave Lance’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Lance held up one finger and mouthed the words, ‘just one more question…please.’
He then brought his attention back to the computer and Jim and Diane watched warily as their son seemed to shrink against his bed as the next question appeared on the computer screen along with a picture that he was not expecting to see.
“I don’t think this was very appropriate, gentlemen,” Phillip White said as he pointed toward the screen then waved Jim and Diane off. He didn’t want them to see an image of their son’s assailant’s dead body.
At the same time, the two detectives saw the image on the computer.
“Preston,” Detective Welsley said under his breath as he pulled the computer toward him. There on the screen were two pictures…one was a grotesque picture of Marshall Goines’ dead body…his shirt splayed open to reveal the three jagged bullet holes that had penetrated his chest. The other was of Marshall’s face twisted into the painful grimace that he had died with…his eyes open and clouded…the agony and fear that he had experienced at the time of his death very evident on his face.
“I want to apologize to you, Lance. These images were never meant for your eyes.”
“I can reassure you that Detective Jamison will be severely reprimanded for this,” Detective Pierce said as he scanned over the images. “He prepared these questions for us and you can be reassured that he will be taken care of.”
Lance nodded his head then reached for the computer.
‘Let me finish,’ he mouthed as he held out his hands for the laptop. ‘I don’t mind.’
“Are you certain?” the detective said as he handed the computer over to the young man. “That last question can be answered with other means.”
Lance shook his head then quickly typed his answer to the question all the while fighting the tears that were now filling his eyes. Although he had been very angry at the fact that a member of the Nsync road team had attacked him, he had never once had thoughts of revenge against the young man. Seeing the painful death that Marshall had endured was enough to shake him to the very core.
Once he had finished typing his answer, Lance sank back against the pillows on his bed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
Dr. Shannon stepped in and quickly began assessing Lance’s condition while the detectives gathered their things together.
Lance wearily closed his eyes to all the movement in the room and quickly fell into an exhausted slumber, never hearing the questions raised by Johnny, who had also seen the pictures nor the answers to those questions.
“The person who did that to Marshall…is he still out there? Could he do that to Lance or the rest of the guys…their families?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Wright…I honestly can’t answer those questions, but I do have a suggestion that you might want to begin considering,” Detective Pierce said.
Johnny nodded his head indicating that he was ready to listen.
“You might want to think of sending the boys…all five of them, somewhere where they can’t be easily found. Somewhere where they wouldn’t be expected to go after leaving the hospital…not to their own homes…not to their parents’ or friends either. Somewhere that wouldn’t be expected.”
Jim and Diane sat dumb founded at the detective’s words. Someone might still try to get their son and the other boys…maybe even them and the other families?
“We’ll start coming up with some ideas,” Johnny said absent mindedly before posing one more question.
“Could the person who did that to Marshall…could he be a part of what happened to Joshua or Christopher?”
“Mr. Chasez and Mr. Kirkpatrick?” Detective Welsley asked.
“Yes…could there be a connection?” Jim asked, hoping that the detectives would find the question to be too ridiculous to even consider, but the expression on their faces killed those hopes.
“We’re looking into that right now,” Detective Pierce answered quietly. “We don’t mean to alarm you, but that is one of the reasons why we’re suggesting that all of the boys be taken somewhere out of the ordinary when they leave here. There will be other detectives up here in the morning that will wish to speak with you, Mr. Wright, your security team, and you, Dr. Shannon as well as the parents and family members of all the boys,” he said, looking at Jim and Diane.
“This is going to take much coordination and cooperation to get all of the details ironed out, but everything will work out,” Detective Pierce added.
Few other words were exchanged as the detectives left the room with Dr. Shannon, Johnny and Phillip White.
Jim and Diane remained in the room standing on either side of their son’s bed, watching him sleep.
“This can’t be happening,” Diane whispered to her husband as she gently pushed a few stray hairs off Lance’s forehead without his even stirring in his sleep.
“I know, Diane,” Jim answered just as quietly as he tenderly grasped one of Lance’s lax hands in his own. “We just need to pray for strength so that we can help Lance through this…pray for him to recover from this.”
“The others too, Jim. JC…Justin…Joey…Chris…they need our prayers too,” Diane quietly added before bowing her head. “Nothing will ever be the same again…they’ll never be the same again,” Dr. Shannon murmured as he gently closed the room’s door. He had intended on entering the room to ready Lance to be taken back to his suite, but he didn’t wish to interrupt Jim and Diane’s silent prayers on behalf of the boys.
Instead, the doctor stood to the side of the door and bowed his own head in his own silent prayer.