by Sandra Brown
He paused for breath. “But I couldn’t outrun them. They caught up with me, shot me. Seconds later I heard Ritt over the radio transmitter telling them he’d found Lilly here in the cabin, dead. I knew then that something was terribly wrong. I think you can piece together the rest.” He slumped against the wall.
Handling him gently, Lilly guided him down until he was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. “I can’t believe Dutch did this to you.” Looking up at Begley, she said, “He’ll have to face criminal charges, won’t he?”
“No, ma’am, he won’t.”
She was about to ask why not when suddenly she knew. She could see the answer in Begley’s sympathetic eyes, and sense it in Agent Wise’s averted gaze, and hear it in Tierney’s muttered curse.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Martin,” Begley said gently. “He gave us no choice. He shot one of my men. It would have been fatal except for his vest. Chief Burton tried to shoot Mr. Tierney in the back, and would have shot me. We gave him repeated warnings. He persisted. In order to save our own lives—”
“You don’t have to explain,” she said, her voice soft and sorrowful.
Tierney reached for her hand and clasped it.
A cell phone rang. Agent Wise turned his back on them and answered the call as unobtrusively as possible.
There was increased noise and a flurry of motion outside. Begley stepped onto the porch, then returned almost immediately. “CareFlight chopper is here, Mr. Tierney.”
“Will I be able to go with him?”
“I’m afraid not, Ms. Martin,” he said. “We’ll need you in Cleary.”
She nodded, but reluctantly.
“I’ll go back with the first group and oversee Ritt’s incarceration. You’ll stay here under Agent Wise’s watch until the chopper can return for you. Today Hoot has proved himself to be most capable,” he said, almost tongue in cheek. “Shouldn’t be more than half an hour.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
A team of paramedics rushed inside pushing a gurney. In a matter of minutes Tierney had been strapped to it, hooked up to an IV, into which several bottles of solution were being dripped, and fitted with a nose cannula supplying him with oxygen. Despite the activity around him, he didn’t let go of Lilly’s hand and never took his eyes off hers, nor did hers stray from his.
She followed the gurney as far as the porch, where she was forced to release his hand. The sun had sunk below the tree line to the west, creating a false twilight. Already the absence of sunlight had caused the temperature to drop dramatically. Hugging herself for warmth, she remained there, staring after Tierney, until the helicopter lifted off.
“Where’s he being taken?” she asked Begley, who was ushering her back inside.
“Asheville.”
“He’s lost so much blood.”
“He seems tough enough. He’ll be all right.” He touched her arm for reassurance. She smiled at him. He smiled back.
“Sir?” They turned in unison to face Agent Wise.
“What is it, Hoot?”
“They found Scott Hamer.”
• • •
When word reached Dora, she was still with Marilee.
They’d remained together all day, bolstering each other through the hours that Scott was unaccounted for. Dora had cell phone numbers for only a few of Scott’s friends, but word quickly spread that his mother was anxious to speak to him. None of the friends Dora reached had heard from him.
Her attempts to reach Wes on his cell phone met with no success. Either his service hadn’t yet been restored or he was ignoring her calls.
The two women waited, their distress mounting.
It was Officer Harris who finally found Scott. “He’s on his way to the hospital.” He refused to tell Dora any more than that over the telephone.
When she and Marilee reached the emergency room, they were almost afraid to hear what the admitting nurse had to tell them. Well acquainted with the Hamer family, the nurse was reluctant to be the messenger of bad news. “The doctor wanted to speak with you directly, Mrs. Hamer. I’ll get him,” she said and disappeared through a set of double doors.
It was a full ten minutes before a young man in a lab coat emerged. To Dora he looked very young. He divided a look between them. “Mrs. Hamer?”
“I’m Mrs. Hamer.”
“Dr. Davison.” He shook her hand, which felt cold and clammy in his. “Apparently Scott was climbing the rope in the high school gymnasium, lost his grip, and fell. He was alone. No one there to spot him. He hadn’t put a mat under him either, so he landed hard. We’re trying to get him stabilized so he can be transported to a major hospital.”
Dora would have collapsed with relief had not Marilee been supporting her. “But he’s alive?”
“Oh, yes. Forgive me, I thought you knew that much. His injuries aren’t life threatening. His vitals are good. But I don’t want to minimize the extent of the damage. Both his legs are broken in several places. He’s being X-rayed now to check for internal injuries. I don’t think we’ll find any, but that’s routine when the pelvic bones are involved. There appears to be no spinal or head injury. That kind of drop, he was lucky.” He paused to let all that sink in before continuing.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Hamer, but I need to ask. Has he been taking steroids?”
“He’s been given steroids.”
“They may have contributed to his injuries, and will make his recovery harder. Steroids strengthen muscles, but not the tendons and ligaments that connect them. They actually become weaker from the additional stress placed on them. I’m afraid Scott’s in for a rough time.”
“But he’s alive.”
“Yeah, he’s alive. But we need to get him to a hospital that has a trauma unit. Unfortunately, the roads are still icy, and another patient who’s had a major blood loss got first dibs on the CareFlight.”
“Did they capture Mr. Tierney?”
“I don’t know his name,” the doctor replied to Marilee’s question. “All I know is that they captured Blue, and it was bloody. So it may be a couple hours before Scott can be transferred. In the meantime we’ll keep him as comfortable as possible and monitor him closely.”
“Can we see him?”
“As soon as he’s out of X-ray.” He hesitated, then said, “I saw him play football last season. He had a lot of talent. You may want to start preparing him for a disappointment.”
A half hour later, the nurse came to usher Dora into the ICU.
Dora extended her hand to Marilee. “Come with me.”
“I can’t,” she said, her voice husky with emotion.
“He’ll need you.”
“No, he won’t.” She smiled through her tears. “He did, but he won’t anymore. Tell him . . .” She paused, then shook her head sadly. “Never mind. I think it’s best if you don’t tell him anything.”
Dora searched the other woman’s eyes, then gave a slow nod. “You’re a remarkably unselfish person. And an incredibly brave woman.” She hugged Marilee quickly, then rushed through the double doors.
He’d been given painkillers intravenously, so he was groggy, but he knew where he was. As she approached the bed, he smiled wanly and whispered, “Hi, Mom.”
Dora clasped his hand and didn’t even try to stem her tears. “Hi.”
“My legs are fucked up really bad, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Really bad.”
Scott closed his eyes and expelled a deep sigh through a faint smile. “Thank God.”
EPILOGUE
Ms. MARTIN, MR. TIERNEY IS HERE.”
Lilly’s assistant knew who Ben Tierney was from all the media coverage of the events that had taken place in North Carolina three months ago. Although William Ritt’s capture had been the focus of the stories, there had been a lot of speculation around the Smart water-cooler about what had transpired inside that cabin for the two days that she and Tierney had been isolated.
No one on staff had had the temerity to ask, esp
ecially since there had been no further contact between her and Tierney. Until yesterday. He had called and asked for an appointment this morning.
Lilly knew that word of the upcoming meeting had spread through the offices like wildfire. This morning everyone was on red alert and vying to catch the first glimpse of him.
Her assistant’s nonchalance was faked.
It was impossible for Lilly to fake it.
Her voice sounded nothing like her own when she said, “Please send him in.”
Heart thumping, she stared at the door. He opened it and walked in, closing it behind him. He was dressed in slacks and a sports jacket. She’d never seen him in anything other than kayaking shorts and the jeans, sweater, and coat he’d been wearing in the cabin.
Well, and nothing.
“Hello, Lilly.”
“Hello.”
“I’m glad you had the time available today.”
“I make it a point to have a follow-up visit with every man with whom I’m trapped in a mountain cabin for forty-eight hours during a blizzard.”
He was a little thinner, a little paler, but the smile was endearingly familiar as he took the chair facing her desk and gave her an unhurried once-over. When his eyes reconnected with hers, he said, “You look great.”
Then why did you let ninety-four days go by before contacting me? That was what her mind was screaming. What she said was “How’s your shoulder?”
“Brand-new. They had to replace the old with a plastic one, reputably durable, virtually indestructible.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not too bad.”
“You say that about every injury.”
He held her gaze for a moment, then said quietly, “Some hurt more than others.”
She turned her head aside to avoid the magnetism of his blue gaze. Countless times she had asked herself what she would say and do when she saw him again—if she did.
Well, she knew she would see him at least once more. She had to. But after that, she didn’t know what to expect.
She had scripted several ways she would play this scene, ranging from cool detachment to passionate abandon. Now she couldn’t remember a single clever line from any of the imagined scenarios.
“I suppose you had to have physical therapy for it.”
“I was in a rehab hospital for several weeks.”
“The inactivity must have been maddening for you.”
“It was. But I was so much better off than most of the patients there. Scott Hamer for one.”
“Yes, I heard about his accident.”
“It wasn’t an accident.” Her surprise must have shown. “He and I had some heart-to-heart talks in the hospital. He told me he let go of the rope on purpose.”
“Why?”
She listened with increasing dismay as he told her about the steroids Wes had been giving Scott. “That in addition to sleeping with his girlfriend,” she remarked, shaking her head. “Wes Hamer is a despicable human being.”
“I agree. They’re keeping the scandal with Millicent under wraps. Not to protect Wes but to spare her parents. Why add to their pain?”
“He deserves public censure, but I understand that reasoning.”
“The scuttlebutt is that he’s been humbled, not only by Scott’s accident but also by what happened on the mountain.”
“He was only following Dutch’s lead.”
“Not exactly, Lilly. According to Scott, Wes admitted to egging Dutch on to come after me.”
“What did Wes care?”
“For a time he feared that Scott might be Blue.”
“Scott?”
“He had motive. At least Wes thought so. Wes tapped into Dutch’s jealousy of us and talked him into doing what he wanted to do all along—get me for being with you. It was an easy sale for Wes, but it wound up getting his best friend killed. He’ll carry the guilt of that to his grave.”
“Why does she stay with him, I wonder?”
“Mrs. Hamer? After she learned about the steroids, Scott says she was ready to leave him. Wes begged her to stay. He professes to be a different man. Turned over a new leaf. To demonstrate his change of heart, he’s even quit coaching. Started selling sporting goods.”
“For Millicent’s uncle?”
“He’s not that reformed,” Tierney said with distaste.
“What about Scott? What’s in his future?”
“He’s still in a wheelchair, but once he’s completely healed, he wants to continue his education as planned.”
“But no athletics.”
“No. He won’t be playing any more competitive sports, and he couldn’t be happier about it.”
“He must have been a terribly unhappy young man to go to such extremes to get out from under Wes’s thumb.”
“He’s still unhappy,” Tierney said, frowning thoughtfully. “Scott bared his soul to me about a lot of stuff. He’s relieved that he doesn’t have to perform athletically. But there’s something else he’s holding back.
“He says it’s too personal to confide, that he’s not ready to share it yet. I had a lot of time to observe him while we were in the hospital together. He reads. Classics mostly. He sits and stares into space for hours at a time. He’s an extremely sad young man.”
“Perhaps over Millicent?”
“He regrets what happened to her, of course, but after she and Wes . . .” He let the rest remain unspoken. “Something else—or someone else—has broken his heart. Maybe one of these days he’ll feel comfortable enough to talk about it. He promised to stay in touch.”
“I’m sure he appreciates your friendship.”
“He’s a good kid.”
After a short silence she said, “I’m sure you know that William Ritt pleaded guilty to all the charges.”
Tierney’s lips formed a harsh line. “Five consecutive life sentences. That’s still too good for him.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“At least he saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial.”
“He was never liked,” she said. “By anyone. In my own experience, the chummier he tried to get, the more off-putting he was. Now even his own sister has abandoned him. I don’t know Marilee well, but she was always pleasant to me. Can you imagine how mortified she must be? I sent her a card of encouragement, but it came back unopened.”
“I heard she’s moved away from Cleary and left no forwarding address. Probably best,” he said.
“Probably.”
Having exhausted those topics, they grew quiet. She was aware of him staring at her. She kept her gaze fixed on the stack of mail on her desk. In anticipation of his arrival, she’d been unable to concentrate on it. Finally, when she could stand the tension no longer, she looked at him.
“Lilly, I didn’t call you before now because—”
“I didn’t ask.”
“But you deserve an explanation.”
She got up and walked to the window. The worst storm of the past hundred years had marked the end of winter. Spring had arrived and was edging toward summer. Twenty stories below, Atlanta’s streets were basking in the sunshine of a mild afternoon.
“You switched hospitals, Tierney. You instructed the FBI office in Charlotte not to give anyone, including me, any information on how to contact you. I got the message.”
“Obviously you didn’t. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see you.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“You had to bury Dutch,” he said. “And I had to exhume Torrie.”
Her pique deflating, Lilly turned to face him. “Forgive me. I haven’t told you yet how sorry I am about her.”
“Thank you. Finding out what happened to her was both a relief and a finality. Good on the one hand. Terrible on the other.”
She almost went to him then, but she didn’t. “I’d like you to tell me about Torrie. If you feel like talking about it.”
“It’s not a pretty story,
but you need to hear it.”
She motioned for him to go ahead.
He took a deep breath. “Torrie was only a few months old when I went on an extended trip to Africa. I was under contract to cover the continent for a travel magazine. What was supposed to take a few weeks turned into months. Many months. I missed Thanksgiving. Christmas. Lots of things.
“In my absence, Paula—Torrie’s mother—met and fell in love with another man. When I finally came home, she slapped the divorce papers on me before I had unpacked. Paula and her husband-to-be wanted me to abdicate all parental rights to Torrie, saying that he’d spent more time with her than I had.
“At the time, I talked myself into believing that it was the right and decent thing to do. Lambert loved Paula. He treated Torrie as his own. I figured it would be better for my daughter if I simply bowed out and let them have their life without any interference from me.”
“ ‘At the time,’ ” Lilly said quietly. “That’s a crucial qualifying phrase.”
“Right.” He stood up and moved to a wall where some of the magazine’s more notable issues had been framed for display. He looked at them individually, but Lilly didn’t think he was actually reading the copy or taking in the cover photos.
“They never stopped me from seeing her. In fact, they encouraged it. But the visits were always awkward. We didn’t know each other. I was a stranger the poor kid was forced to see now and then. I would enter stage left, say an appropriate line or two, exit stage right, disappear into the wings for another year or so. This was my daughter’s life, and I played a walk-on role in it. As years went by, I didn’t do even that. The visits became more infrequent.”
He moved to another cover, studied it. “I was on the Amazon when word reached me that she was missing. She had disappeared without a trace and was believed to have been kidnapped. It took me two weeks to get back to civilization and return to the States.
“I hadn’t seen her for years. I’d been notified as a courtesy, nothing more. Paula was surprised when I showed up on their doorstep in Nashville, which in itself says a lot about me and my priorities, doesn’t it? But rather than comfort her and do whatever I could to make the situation easier for her and Lambert, I acted like a jackass.
