Her Own Drum

by Ali Franklin

  The detective jumped to her feet, knocking her chair to the floor. Startled, Ryan stood and took a step toward the door. Maddie strode around the table until she was standing right in front of Ryan, forcing Ryan to pull back so she could see the taller woman’s face.

  “Ryan, listen to me.” The detective sounded different. Her face had transformed. Even the hard planes of her cheekbones seemed to have softened.

  But Ryan was still angry. “I don’t want to listen to you. I want to go see my girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend?” Maddie took a step back. “You can’t be serious. You don’t even know her.”

  “I know her, and I want to be with her. Maybe she and I can find your killer.” Ryan straightened her shoulders and continued, “Obviously you can’t do it.”

  The beautiful dark eyes flashed. Maddie reached up, grabbed both of Ryan’s shoulders, and pushed her against the door. Then she leaned in.

  Ryan felt the slightest brush of soft lips against hers. Then it was over. Maddie stepped back and dropped her hands. They stood looking at each other, breathing hard.

  “Ryan, I’m sorry….”

  A knock sounded. As the women stepped away from the door, Prieto leaned his head in and motioned to Maddie.

  “We’ve got something.”

  Maddie placed one hand back on Ryan’s shoulder. “Please, Ryan, leave it to us. Don’t put yourself in danger.” She walked out of the room with Prieto.

  Ryan stared after them, her face burning.

  “Ryan.” Grace’s voice came over the car’s sound system so loud that Ryan lunged for the volume dial.

  “Grace, I heard you got out. Where do you want to meet up?” Ryan had gotten into her car without deciding where she was going, but she was headed in the general direction of her house.

  “I can’t just yet,” said Grace. “I drove out to see my parents. How did you hear I was out?”

  “I just left the sheriff’s office.” There was a pause.

  “Why were you there?”

  “I was going to try to force them to look into other suspects, but it looks like our bad guy took care of that.”

  “It’s just awful, isn’t it?” said Grace.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that someone else had to die.”

  Ryan pulled into a parking lot, stunned. She hadn’t thought of that. She had been so excited about Grace being released that she hadn’t thought about the second victim.

  “Grace, who was the victim?” There was a pause.

  “I don’t know. If the detectives didn’t tell you, maybe they haven’t notified the family yet.”

  Ryan tried to imagine opening the door to Trainor and Prieto only to hear that your loved one was gone. For a moment, she felt sorry for the detectives who had to make such notifications. Then she thought about all the time they had wasted trying to pin Cora’s murder on Grace. If they had looked into other leads, maybe the second victim wouldn’t have been targeted.

  “Those detectives….”

  “I know,” said Grace. “They really did their best to paint me as a murderer. But justice prevailed, and I’m grateful to have you on my side. How about dinner tonight?”

  Ryan’s heart had started beating almost normally again. She smiled, remembering all of the “dates” she and Grace had imagined for themselves. They made plans to meet at Luigi’s, the little Italian restaurant where they had eaten their first dinner together. After disconnecting the call, Ryan remembered it was a work day. With a groan, she pulled out of the parking lot and started for campus.

  Ryan entered the office with two wildly expensive cups of coffee and a song for her assistant.

  Good morning to you,

  Good morning to you,

  Good morning dear Helen,

  Good morning to you.

  Helen looked up. “You look happy.”

  Ryan set down the coffees on Helen’s blotter, put down her bag, and sat in one of the chairs facing Helen’s desk. She grinned at her friend. “Grace is out of jail.”

  Helen returned the smile and they both reached for their coffee. Ryan took a sip and burned her tongue. “Dang. I always do that.”

  “Yes, you do.” Helen removed the top from her cup and blew lightly across the top of the foam. Ryan leaned back in her chair and looked contentedly around the office.

  Helen raised her eyebrows. “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “How did Grace get out of jail?”

  Ryan laughed. She had been so focused on her own happiness that she hadn’t told Helen the whole story. She was going to enjoy relating the fact that the highly annoying Maddie Trainor had been wrong. In all fairness, though, the detective had just been doing her job. Ryan realized her disdain for the detective was cooling. Maybe she could leave out the gloating.

  “The killer went after someone else last night, and the detectives think the two cases are related.”

  Helen frowned. “That’s terrible. Who was the victim?”

  “They didn’t tell me. But they let Grace out a few hours ago. We’re having dinner tonight.”

  “That sounds nice.” Helen stood and moved to the window. She adjusted the blinds to direct the bright June sunlight away from her computer monitor. Then she walked around the perimeter of the office, straightening couch cushions and adjusting the framed pictures on the wall. Finally, she turned toward the dean.

  “When was the last time you went out on a date, Ryan?”

  Ryan thought back to her last girlfriend. The first two fingers of her right hand absently stroked the uneven bridge of her nose. “It was before I moved to Haverwood.”

  Helen watched the automatic gesture she knew so well but did not comment on it. Instead, she continued with her questions. “In all that time, you never found anyone you were interested in?”

  “No,” said Ryan. “I mean, I don’t exactly look for women to date.”

  Helen straightened the perfectly straight picture on the wall behind her desk. Then she sat in her chair and took a sip of her coffee. “But you’re excited about going out with Grace?”

  Ryan smiled. “I really am. Last night when I visited her, we talked about all the things we’d like to do together once she got out. We both like the same activities, the same vacation spots. I really feel good when I’m around her. I can’t wait for us to spend more time together.”

  Helen put her elbows on her desk and steepled her fingers. She looked at Ryan for a long moment. She sniffed, then spoke. “Ryan, honey, when I lost my Bernie, I mourned him for a long time. I thought I would never find anyone again. And then, after years of not looking for a man, a man found me.” She smiled at the memory. “We had such good times together, and I fell head over heels for him right away.” She stopped and sipped her coffee again. Then she shuffled some papers on her desk.

  “Was that Martin?” Martin was Helen’s second husband.

  “No, it was someone else. It was someone who was good at making me believe he was in love with me, even though he was just using me.”

  “Helen, I’m sorry. Did he hurt you?” The older woman shook her head and smiled.

  “Only my heart.” Helen stood up and walked to the chair next to Ryan. She sat and grasped Ryan’s hand in her own.

  “Ryan, I just want you to be careful. When we don’t have anyone for a long time, the first person we find can seem like ‘the one.’ Even if they’re the furthest thing from it.”

  Ryan smiled and squeezed her dear friend’s hand. “Helen, thank you for caring so much about me. I promise I will be careful. But Grace is special. You’ll see.”

  “I hope you’re right, honey. I truly hope you’re right.” They smiled at each other, then both stood. Ryan lifted her bag and her coffee and went into her office. Helen looked after her and sighed.

  20

  Ryan managed to knock a few items off of her to-do list during the remainder of the morning. There was no answer when she called Teddy’s office at noon to see if
her friend wanted to go to lunch. Ryan walked to the SUB by herself. There were only a few other diners today, and it would probably be the same tomorrow. Then the mayhem would start again on Monday. She smiled at the thought.

  As much as she loved the peace and quiet when the students were gone, Ryan did love the buzz of activity around campus. That was especially true in this building, the home of the student government, fraternities and sororities, and other student organizations.

  The summer term was the perfect mix of quiet and activity, with only about one quarter of the student body taking summer classes. It was just enough for the campus to feel alive. The best part for Ryan was that summer students were usually focused on earning credits, as opposed to carrying out pranks or any other non-curricular activities.

  Ryan’s phone rang as she was walking back to the office. It was Summer.

  “Ryan.” It sounded like she was crying.

  “Summer, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Teddy. She’s in the hospital.”

  “What happened?” asked Ryan. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “We don’t know. She’s still unconscious.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Methodist. ICU.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Ryan ran to her office, grabbed her keys, told Helen there was an emergency, promised to call, and tore out of the building.

  She reached the hospital in less than ten minutes. It took forever to get cleared for the ICU but a nurse finally pointed her toward a dark room. Inside, two monitors gave a running account of various vital signs and a third machine seemed to be set up to administer intravenous medications. Ryan noticed the familiar smells of cleaning solution and alcohol.

  Summer was standing next to the bed, her eyes red and puffy. She barely moved when Ryan entered the room.

  “Summer.” Ryan put her arms around her friend.

  “Oh, Ryan.” Summer sagged against her. She started crying. They stood like that for a few minutes, with Ryan just holding her friend, trying to give her strength. Eventually Summer pulled away and sat in an easy chair next to the bed. Ryan took the chair next to it.

  “What happened?”

  “She was electrocuted.”

  Ryan leaned forward. “What?”

  “We were at home. She was making dinner. She tried to open the fridge.” Summer paused. “There was a current running through the handle.”

  Summer lifted Teddy’s right hand from where it lay on the bed and cradled it in her own. It was wrapped in a thick bandage.

  “Is her hand burned?”

  Summer nodded. “I saw it before the EMTs got there. It looked like she had been holding a firecracker when it exploded.”

  “Has that ever happened before? I mean with the fridge?”

  Summer shook her head as if to banish the memory of her partner’s blackened hand. “No, never.” She laid Teddy’s hand back on the bed. “But it wasn’t really the refrigerator.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Summer took a deep breath. “I don’t understand it myself.” She shifted in her chair so she was squarely facing her friend. “There was a note.”

  “What do you mean, a note?”

  “On the fridge. The screen. It mentioned Cora and said Teddy was next.”

  “What?” Ryan stared at her friend, confusion clouding her features. “Cora? I don’t…what?”

  “The police think this is related to Cora’s murder…that the same person tried to kill Teddy.”

  “Related?” Ryan’s mind was in high gear, but it took a moment for her to put the pieces together.

  This was the “second victim” Maddie Trainor had told her about that morning. Why hadn’t Maddie told her it was Teddy? Ryan sank back into the chair.

  The stillness of the room was interrupted as a short, dark woman entered. She was wearing a lab coat and stethoscope and carried a chart.

  “Hello, Ms. Cordero.”

  “Doctor, this is my friend Ryan McCabe.”

  Ryan stood. She moved toward the door to give the women some privacy.

  “Stay, please,” Summer said. “You can help me remember everything.” Ryan sat back down.

  The doctor walked to the far side of the bed and looked up at the monitors. She set the chart on the bed and pulled out a penlight. Lifting Teddy’s eyelids one at a time, she clicked the light on and off, then moved the light into and out of Teddy’s field of vision. She listened to Teddy’s heartbeat and checked the bandages on her hand. Then she made a few notes in the chart. It seemed to take an awfully long time. Ryan reached over to hold Summer’s hand.

  “Everything looks as good as it could be.” The doctor smiled.

  Summer was not convinced. “What does that mean? Is she going to recover?”

  “I can’t tell you if or when she will regain consciousness, but we haven’t found any evidence of damage that won’t heal on its own in time. It seems the current went straight from your partner’s hand down through her leg and exited her foot. It bypassed her heart, which is probably the only reason she’s alive. There doesn’t seem to be any brain involvement, but we won’t know for sure until we can test her while she’s conscious.”

  “So you think she’ll heal and be…fine?” Summer’s voice was heartbreakingly hopeful.

  The doctor took a deep breath. “I can’t make that promise, but there are no signs of permanent damage, other than the scars she will probably have on that hand and the bottom of her foot. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

  Summer almost sagged out of her chair. Ryan stood and moved to her, wrapping her arms around Summer’s shoulders. The doctor moved toward them.

  “Your partner is a very lucky woman,” she said. “With the current she experienced, this could easily have been fatal.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” said Summer. The doctor left the room and the two women sat still, just breathing.

  Finally, Summer straightened in her chair. “Okay. She’s going to be okay.”

  “She is.” Ryan looked at her friend. “When is the last time you ate anything?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Why don’t you take a break and walk down to the cafeteria? You could do a lap outside and get some fresh air. I can hold down the fort here.”

  “No, I can’t leave. I need to be here when she wakes up. She won’t like it if I’m not here.”

  Ryan smiled. “I get it. I’ll go down and get something for you. Are you hungry for anything in particular?”

  “No. I’m not even sure I can eat. But I could use some coffee.”

  Ryan went downstairs and brought back a smorgasbord of sandwiches, sweet and salty snacks, and magazines. “Whenever you get hungry, there will be something here that will look good.” She set the feast on a table near the bathroom. “I also brought every silly celebrity magazine they sell downstairs. Now you can catch up on all the news in Hollywood.”

  Summer frowned.

  “And I got today’s Wall Street Journal.” Summer smiled at that. She took it from Ryan’s hand and flicked on the reading light.

  Ryan sat in the small chair next to her. “At least pass me a section, will you?”

  “You’re staying?”

  “Of course I’m staying. What kind of question is that?” She endeavored to look hurt, hoping to draw another smile out of her friend.

  Summer handed her a section. They read in silence for about an hour. Then Ryan looked at her watch.

  “I’m just going to step into the hall and call Grace. We had dinner plans for tonight, so we’ll reschedule.”

  “You have dinner plans with Grace?” Summer looked confused. “Isn’t she…?”

  “They let her go this morning. They figured she wasn’t the one who hurt Cora because….” She looked at Teddy, then back to Summer.

  “Summer, she’s going to be all right. We have to believe that.”

  “You’re right. Positive thoughts only,” said Summer. “In fact, you should
go to your dinner tonight. Celebrate the fact that Grace isn’t a suspect any more. Maybe she can join in your hunt for clues about the real bad guy. I’ll call you when Teddy wakes up.”

  Ryan tried to protest, but Summer insisted that she go.

  On her way out of the hospital, Ryan called Helen and filled her in on Teddy’s status. Then she called President Martinez and updated him. She was still riding the emotional roller coaster, happy that Grace was out of jail, sad that Teddy had been targeted, and thrilled that Teddy was expected to recover.

  She went home to prepare for her date. After selecting a nice outfit of light green capris and a white silk blouse, she sat down to put on just a little makeup. Her mind was racing, jumping forward in time to scenes of her and Grace skiing down a mountain and walking hand in hand on a beach. She shook her head and tried to force herself back to the present. They had plenty of time do all of those things. She caught her reflection in the mirror and laughed aloud at the huge grin on her face.

  Ryan pulled into the parking lot of Luigi’s just as Grace was getting out of her car. They met at the front door and embraced for a long moment.

  “Hello, beautiful,” Grace said, kissing Ryan on the cheek. Ryan’s stomach fluttered.

  Ryan pulled back. “Did you hear what happened to Teddy?” she asked.

  “I did. It’s just awful, isn’t it?”

  They hugged again. Grace looked at Ryan closely. “Are you sure you want to have dinner tonight?”

  Ryan nodded. “I’m sure, but I might not be quite myself.”

  Grace asked for a quiet table and they were not disappointed. They were shown to the back corner of the room, where a counter piled high with full wine racks stood between them and the only nearby table. After ordering drinks, Grace placed her hand on top of the table, palm up. Ryan grasped it and squeezed. Both women smiled and relaxed.

  “I can’t believe you’re out of…that place,” Ryan said.

  “It was just a matter of time before they realized I couldn’t have done it,” said Grace.

  “I wonder who really did it. And if he’s going to go after anyone else.”