Clearing the Course

by Diane Weiner

  “We have to connect the dots. What do we all have in common?”

  “The obvious is that you all work or worked at the hospital. What about the fertility drugs? Dan was importing them from Mexico and swapping them with the full strength ones. Damari found out. You know…”

  “What does Chauncey have to do with it? He worked in the emergency department and ICU. I don’t think he and Dan would have crossed paths. And I didn’t know myself until recently.” Henry put his mug in the sink. “Let’s go check on Maddy.”

  When they arrived at the hospital, they went directly to Maddy’s room. The nurse told them that Maddy had been stable throughout the night, though she hadn’t woken up.

  “She looks so vulnerable and frail.” Emily squeezed her hand, “Come on, honey. We’re here. Wake up, please.”

  Jonathan, carrying a plant with a “Get well soon” balloon, appeared in the doorway. “May I come in? I’m so sorry.”

  “How did you know about the accident?”

  “This town spreads information faster than butter melts on hot toast. I heard all about it at the inn during breakfast this morning. Henry, your eye looks awful. Are the two of you all right?”

  “Yes, just worried about Maddy. She had surgery last night and hasn’t woken up. She should be up by now.” Emily rested her head on Maddy’s chest, avoiding the tangle of wires she was connected to.

  “I posted bail for Robby. Gave him a ride home to the inn this morning.”

  Emily lifted her head. “That’s great news. He must be so happy to be out of there.”

  “Happy, but worried. He still has no alibi for the night Damari was killed. I’m going to get a list of the guests who were at the inn the night of the murder. The police interviewed them, but by now maybe they remember something.”

  “Her guests are from all over the country,” said Emily.

  “Just a phone call away. I’m going to get right on it.”

  After Jonathan left, Emily said, “Didn’t you give a statement about the injuries in the Sean Mercer case?”

  “I’d forgotten that. Yes, I think so. I write up the radiology reports if an accident happens while I’m working the ER.”

  “Did you find Dan Fischer to be at fault?”

  “I don’t think so. Let’s go to my office and I’ll check through the reports. The nurse will text us if Maddy wakes up.”

  He and Emily went into the office. “It’ll take a few minutes.” He turned on the computer.

  “Could Damari and Chauncey have any connection to the snowmobile accident?”

  “I suppose Chauncey may have been on duty, but if I remember correctly, Sean’s son was dead on arrival. Let me look up my records.”

  Emily’s arm itched beneath the bandage. She knew she’d have to make time to get a cast put on sooner rather than later. Maddy had made it through surgery, but she wasn’t out of the woods by any means. How must Sean Mercer have felt when he heard his son was dead? How could you ever recover after losing a child? Her own mother never did.

  “Emily, I found the report. Sean’s son had broken bones, and a head injury consistent with falling off a snowmobile. I didn’t say the injuries were made worse by high speed or anything like that. He was dead on arrival, like I thought.”

  “Call Megan. See if they used your records in court.”

  Henry called the police station, but Megan was unavailable. “I left a message.” He watched Emily wince and hug her arm. “Come on. Let’s get that arm looked at.” Henry called his friend who was an orthopedic surgeon. He agreed to squeeze Emily in right away.

  The waiting room was non-descript, and the receptionist immediately ushered them into a treatment room, earning glares from patients waiting amidst old magazines. Dr. Price was about Henry’s age and they’d become friend’s while doing the hospital fitness challenge last year.

  The doctor looked at the x-rays from the emergency room, and carefully unwrapped her arm. “It’s a simple break. If all goes well, we can get her out of the cast in 3-4 weeks.”

  Emily was relieved. She’d envisioned not running or swimming all summer long. “Thanks, doctor.” Watching him apply the cold, wet pieces of gauze around her arm reminded her of the paper-maché Venus she’d helped Maddy make last school year.

  “Come into my office and we’ll discuss follow-up.”

  When they went into his office, Henry’s attention was drawn to a family tree, framed behind the desk.

  “Jim, did you trace your family like that?”

  “Yeah, me and my wife. She’s got her own hanging in our bedroom at home. We took on the project when she was pregnant with our first.”

  Henry looked at it more closely. “So your family has been here for generations.”

  “Yeah. We have records going back as far as the slavery era. Found a lot through the church records.”

  “What if the church no longer exists?” asked Emily.

  “We looked in town hall basements, found cemetery maps, and my wife even talked to one of her descendants and found out a bunch. My wife became quite the expert if you’re thinking of taking on such a project.”

  “Thanks,” said Emily. “We may take you up on that.”

  Henry’s phone vibrated. “It’s a text from Maddy’s nurse. Says it’s an emergency.”

  Henry and Emily ran to the elevator. Emily’s mind worked in overdrive. Was Maddy dead? Did she wake up? What was happening?

  Henry drummed his fingers on the panel, as if he could make the elevator move faster. When it stopped on an in-between floor, he pressed the close door button a dozen times and shouted at those waiting.

  “Catch another ride. This is an emergency.” He felt adrenaline rushing through his body.

  Finally, the door slid open. “Come on.” He grabbed Emily’s good arm and led her to Maddy’s room. “What’s wrong?” Beeps and alarms sounded.

  A nurse said, “She’s allergic to the antibiotic. There was nothing in her medical history.”

  Medical history? They knew very little about Maddy’s medical history. Certainly not that she was allergic to this particular drug. A doctor asked him to stand back. A nurse injected something into Maddy’s IV. Henry fought to get closer.

  “We’ve got this. Stand back and let us do our job,” said the doctor.

  Emily couldn’t see much through the commotion. “What’s happening? Is she going to be okay?” She heard the beeping subside to a hum. Oh my God, is she dead?

  “It’s okay. We’ve got this under control. She’s going to be okay,” said the doctor. “You should get whatever medical history you can.”

  “We adopted her and her mother is dead,” said Emily.

  “What about her biological father?”

  Emily squirmed. “He was an anonymous sperm donor.”

  The nurse said, “Look, her eyes are open!”

  Emily pushed through to the bedside. “Maddy, Maddy, can you hear me? It’s Emily.”

  Maddy groaned and pointed to the water pitcher on the night stand. “Can she have water?”

  The nurse poured a bit into a glass and bent a straw to Maddy’s mouth. “Just small sips.”

  The doctor examined her and reassured them that Maddy had turned a corner. He was, as he put it, ‘cautiously optimistic’.

  “You need to let her get some rest.”

  Relieved, Henry and Emily kissed Maddy and said they’d be back.

  A faint, hoarse voice uttered, “Robby.”

  “Jonathan posted bail and Robby is home at Coralee’s. It’s all good,” said Emily.

  Chapter 24

  Emily and Henry spent the rest of the day at the hospital, visiting briefly with Maddy whenever she was awake. Henry suggested going home to get dinner after the nurse assured them Maddy’s fever was down and her vitals strong.

  Trying to convince Emily to leave, he said, “Chester needs his dinner. And he’s been alone all day.”

  Emily slowly stood up, kissed Maddy, and assured her they’d be b
ack soon.

  Henry couldn’t remember the last time he’d driven Emily’s Audi. He fiddled with the mirrors and adjusted the seat back and forth. He’d have to think about replacing the Jeep very soon.

  Back home, Henry said, “Don’t forget to take the pain killers the doctor gave you.” He foraged in the kitchen for a glass, annoyed at the disorganization. “When will this cabinet project be complete?”

  “He’s almost done. Dallas said he has a few more things to do but will be finished by the end of the week. Is someone at the door?”

  Pat and Megan came in with a foil covered pan.

  “You didn’t have to make food,” said Henry.

  “Make? We picked it up from Coralee’s. Figured the last thing you’d want to do is cook,” said Pat.

  Megan said, “Henry, I checked on the statement you asked about. It was presented in court by Dan’s lawyer and helped convince the jury that the injuries would have happened in spite of Dan’s speeding.”

  “So, is that motive? Is Mercer getting revenge for his son’s death? Why now?”

  “The high school graduation occurred a few weeks ago. The Mercer boy should have been on that stage getting a diploma. We think that could have been a trigger, if Sean Mercer is responsible.”

  “Did you find any connection to Damari or Chauncey?”

  “Chauncey, no. Damari, however, was a witness. She and her friend were out snowmobiling the same day. The friend was in the restroom at the time, but Damari saw the whole thing.”

  “And she testified?”

  “She testified at the trial that Dan wasn’t going over the speed limit and Mercer’s kid was the one who was speeding.”

  “Then it makes sense. Have you arrested Mercer?”

  “We have to gather real evidence before we can do that. We’d have to place Mercer at the crime scenes. It’s going to take some time.”

  Pat said, “But you forgot to tell them that Mercer drives a white Kia Sorrento.”

  “The eye witness reports were all over the place in Chauncey’s hit and run. White van, or SUV, or one witness said it was a blue Honda Civic!”

  “Okay, but it’s more than we had before. At least we have an alternate motive for Damari’s death. Jonathan is going to re-interview the guests who stayed at Coralee’s the night of the murder. I can’t believe no one can give Robby an alibi,” said Emily.

  “Well, try to rest that arm, Emily. Ron and I will aggressively follow the new lead.”

  “See you in the morning, buddy. Emily, take care of yourself.”

  After they left, Henry served the vegetable lasagna and poured them both a glass of wine. He couldn’t help getting distracted by the almost finished cabinets and began thinking about the silver box. They were on to something now that they found his grandfather’s tombstone. He didn’t want to bring Emily back to the cemetery with her broken arm, but wondered if they could follow any of the other clues.

  “Emily, I was thinking about our little scavenger hunt. The clue about the chimes—do you think it was only a hint for finding the graveyard?”

  “I don’t know. I’m assuming that was your grandfather’s church if he was buried there. I don’t know how to interpret the river clue. It’s way too vague.”

  Henry ran to his desk and grabbed the box of clues. “Maybe he and my grandmother were married in that church and that’s what he was trying to tell us. How can we find the marriage records?”

  “When we moved in here after your parents died, we packed up a bunch of their things to donate and store.”

  “We gave away a bunch of old clothes and some furniture, right? That won’t help us.”

  “But we stashed a box or two of personal items. We found your old track trophies, some photo albums…”

  “We stored them up in the crawl space!”

  “I’m thinking it’s our best bet at finding family connections.”

  Henry finished the last bite of lasagna, then followed Emily up the loft. She was a bit unbalanced with the new cast and he’d be her safety net. He stood on their bed and pulled the cord for the crawl space. Steps dropped down.

  “Voila!”

  “Henry, be careful. No one’s been up there for years.” She opened the drawer in her nightstand and handed him a flashlight.

  Henry coughed and rubbed his eyes. It smelled like moth balls and there wasn’t enough space to stand up. There were boxes of things, some of which he and Emily stored; others that had been there for God only knew how long. He opened one that he and Emily had packed and found a yearbook, an old fashioned typewriter, and some framed photos. Then he opened a second one. Photos of his own parents, holding a baby. Him. They’d spent their summers here as long as he could remember.

  “Did you find anything?”

  “Just the memorabilia we packed away.”

  “Go to the back. Open the crates that were there when we moved in.”

  Henry let out a sneeze. The crates were nailed shut.

  “Emily, can you grab my toolbox. I need something to pry open these crates.”

  While he waited, he could only imagine what might be in those boxes. He’d forgotten they were here. What happened to the mementos Fiona collected when Maddy was a baby? Or when she started elementary school?

  “Here you go.” Emily handed him a large screwdriver. He tried breaking through the slats and unscrewing the nails, but neither worked well.

  “Did you get it?”

  “It’s harder than you think, prying open crates that have been nailed shut for decades.” He propped up the flashlight and used both hands to pull.

  “Did you open it?”

  “Yep.” Henry lifted out the things he found. First, a china doll wearing a lace dress. He didn’t have a sister, so he assumed it belonged to his mother or his grandmother. He found a wooden pull toy, a Chess set, badminton birdies, and lawn darts. Maddy might enjoy badminton, when she gets out of the hospital.

  “Well?”

  “Just some toys.”

  “Try another one.”

  Did she realize how hard it was to open the first one? He used the same technique of prying off the lid with the screwdriver, and managed to open a second crate.

  “There’s just more toys.” He shined the flashlight around the crawl space. “Wait, I see some kind of a trunk.”

  “Can you open it?”

  He jammed the screwdriver between the trunk and the latch. “Got it.”

  “Well?”

  “An old photo album. The pictures are faded, not in good shape at all. Oh, and here’s a bible.” He opened it up. It was heavier and larger than the bibles he’d seen. He handed it down to Emily, who cradled it with her good hand.

  “We may find some records in there. What else do you see?”

  He shined the flashlight into the trunk. “Some old newspaper clippings. I’ll bring them down.”

  He’s knees were sore from searching and he was happy they had something that might help. When he was back in the bedroom, he pushed the steps up into the ceiling and pulled it shut. When he returned from washing his dusty hands, he found Emily on the bed looking through the bible.

  “Just as I thought! Families used to keep records in their bibles. I found birth and death dates as well as marriages and baptism certificates! It’ll take a while to read through, especially since they are a bit smudged.”

  They read through what they could, finding an entry for Henry’s grandparents’ marriage. Emily was able to read the name of the church. “They weren’t married where your grandfather is buried,” said Emily. “I wonder if this church still exists and has chimes.”

  Henry read the entry. “That’s the old white church in the town square, I think. We can check it out tomorrow.” He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and was surprised how late it was. “You should get some rest. I’m pretty tired myself.”

  Chapter 25

  Emily woke up and checked her phone. 3 a.m. Too early to get up, and too late to easily fall ba
ck asleep. Her arm ached. She popped a few Ibuprofen into her mouth and turned on the small desk light. Those newspaper clipping were calling her. What was it they wanted to preserve?

  The yellowed paper smelled of moth balls. She slipped on her reading glasses. The first article was about the ‘new’ tax laws that were taking effect. It was on the first page, and included a photo of townspeople holding protest signs in what she recognized as the town square. Henry’s grandparents were farmers. What were they protesting?

  The Industrial Revolution was getting started about this time. She looked more closely at the signs. No factories welcome. She supposed the farmers were trying to keep the competition away. Or were the factories after their land?

  “What are you doing up?”

  “I was trying not to wake you. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “What are you reading?”

  “This is an article that looks like the farmers were protesting the new factories which were trying to move in.”

  “My grandfather wasn’t a farmer. He ran a lumber mill. I suppose big business would have been a threat.”

  She rifled through the articles. “Look. This is about a business tycoon who people thought was overtaking Sugarbury Falls. And look at the name.”

  Henry held the paper close. “Charlie Rivers! Maybe that’s the river grandfather was referring to in the clue.” He read on. “This man was a millionaire business tycoon. It says here he was turning New England into his personal monopoly.”

  Emily leafed through the other papers. “Wait a minute. Charlie Rivers went missing. His body was never found. Looks like your grandfather collected articles about his death.”

  “This is getting more and more intriguing.”

  “At least we have something to go on. We can research Charlie Rivers in the morning. I wonder if they eventually found out what happened to him.”

  Emily turned off the light and they both crawled back into bed, Chester still asleep between the two pillows. With the cast, it was hard to find a comfortable position. She tossed and turned the rest of the night trying to piece together clues about Damari’s murder and clues regarding Henry’s grandparents. Every time her mind quieted, she thought about Maddy alone in the hospital.