Saint Joseph Hospital

Saint Joseph Hospital serves as the first medical stop for Jason Crowder and Danny Hartman after the violence at the Hartman house. The visit treats their injuries, but it also becomes part of the story they construct about what happened: their physical condition lends weight to an account that must explain both the supernatural crisis and the deaths surrounding it.

Arrival and Account

After leaving Liz Hartman and the children with the Tomlinsons, Danny Hartman drives Crowder to Saint Joseph Hospital. The ride is mostly silent, with Danny occasionally noting that the storm seems to be letting up. On the way, the two men agree on a version of events: they will tell the truth about the demon possessing Casey Hartman and Jack Bittner’s suicide, but say that Father Sutherland killed himself after attacking Crowder.

Danny’s cell phone, which had not been working, is operating again. He calls Liz Hartman and gives her their account; she agrees to repeat it. Because Ron Hartman was not present when Crowder and Father Sutherland were alone together, the men decide there is no need to include him in the deception. Once they have settled their story, Danny radios the precinct and they go inside the hospital.

Treatment and Discharge

Crowder and Danny are both discharged in the early afternoon. Pain medication does little to ease Crowder’s hand, which still feels intensely painful, and his face aches nearly as badly. Danny has stitches in half a dozen places. Although sitting upright is difficult for him, he nevertheless drives Crowder home.

The hospital’s role in this episode is practical rather than extensively described: the text establishes that both men receive care and leave that day, but gives no detailed account of their examination or treatment beyond Crowder’s medication and Danny’s stitches. Their visible injuries, especially the damage to Crowder’s face, also become part of the evidence supporting the account they have agreed to give.

Aftermath and Narrative Significance

At first, investigators react to the men’s story with disbelief. After a team examines the Hartman house, however, the condition of the scene—including its crumbled staircase—makes their account harder to dismiss. Danny’s corroboration further supports Crowder when officers question them. The hospital therefore marks the transition from immediate crisis to official scrutiny: the men arrive injured, leave with a shared explanation, and rely in part on the injuries treated there to make that explanation plausible.