The Ruth Valley Missing

by Amber West

  “If Jack sent you, I am sure you are lovely.” She got up out of her chair in a rush and started to wrap a scarf around her neck. “Any chance you could start now? I’d love to go get some errands done.”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Wonderful.” She whizzed past to the door. “My name is Joan. I’ll be back in two hours. Payday is every other Friday.”

  Before I could say anything she was out the door. I stood in the front of the bookstore, looking around. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I wandered around looking at the books. When I found one on state photography, I took it to the desk and started to thumb through it.

  Inside the book there were gorgeous photos of foliage, foliage I reminded myself to take advantage of while living here. Trees were just beginning to turn red and gold, early for this area, so it wouldn’t be long at all before the town was surrounded in brilliant autumn colors. I thought that would be a good introduction to photography for Emma as well.

  As I finished going through the book, the bells on the front door jingled.

  “Jameson. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Sister Marjorie was standing in the doorway, in dark garb, an imposing cross dangling from her neck.

  “I just started working here.”

  “Really? I hadn’t heard.”

  “It’s a fairly new development.”

  She pursed her lips and stared at me. “Dr. Matthews seemed pleased with your visit. Hopefully you’ll be able to help him out.”

  Funny, he didn’t seem pleased when I was there, I thought.

  “Yes, I am looking forward to it.” She stood there, silently. “Is there something I can help you with, Sister?”

  “I’m looking for Joan. Is she here?”

  “She just left.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “I’m not sure. She said she had errands to run.” Sister Marjorie pursed her lips again and stroked the cross around her neck with the tips of her fingers. I added, “She should be back in two hours.”

  “I’ll find her later then. No need to tell her I came by.”

  Without a goodbye, she turned and headed out of the store. I know Jack said she meant well, but it didn’t stop me from getting the chills when she was around. I shook off a shudder before heading back to reshelve the photo book I had been looking through.

  I stood staring at a shelf, when the bells on the door jingled again. I made my way to the front, looking to see who popped in this time.

  “Hi there. What can I help you find?”

  A young man, probably no more than twenty was standing there fidgeting with his hat.

  “I’m lookin’ for a book.”

  I bit the inside of my lip, controlling the smart remarks sitting on the tip of my tongue.

  “A particular type of book?”

  “Poetry?”

  “Trying to impress a girl?”

  He looked down, rubbed one hand on his jeans, and nodded.

  I smiled. It was a little sad, but sweet to see a guy so shy about wooing a girl, or wooing at all. “Well, I just started here, but I am sure we can find something. Just give me a few minutes.”

  I remembered seeing a section for poetry, so I started to scan that shelf. It was sparse, barely enough to fill one shelf. No Neruda, Cummings, not even a collection of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. I pulled out a thin compilation and scanned the index.

  “Here you go. Give this one a try.”

  He took the book and read the title of the poem. “‘She Walks In Beauty’. That sounds nice. I think she’ll like that one.”

  “I think so too. I’m sure Lord Byron was very popular with the ladies.” I added without thinking, “And the guys.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nothing. It’s a lovely poem. She’s a lucky girl.”

  The nervous young man finally smiled, then dug in his pocket, pulling out a few wrinkled bills. He set them on the desk next to me, then dug around again, pulling out a pile of change, and began counting. I put the book in a bag and interrupted him. “Here. I think that one is on sale. Keep the nickels.”

  He smiled again, tucking the book inside his jacket.

  “Thanks for your help, ma’am.”

  “You’re welcome. And it’s Jameson, not ma’am. Good luck with your lady friend.”

  He smiled again and headed out of the door.

  I sat down in the chair, tapping my fingers on the desk, preparing for the next hour or so of boredom, when the bells jingled once again.

  “Welcome to Grand Central Station.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Father Mike was standing just inside the door, brow furrowed, looking confused.

  “Nothing. Just entertaining myself. How can I help you?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. Was there just a young man in here? Red flannel, camo jacket?”

  “Just left a minute before you got here.”

  Father Mike rubbed his chin, forehead still wrinkled.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “I don’t think so. Just a little concerned about him late—” He paused, cutting himself off. “Did he buy anything while he was in here?”

  “Just a book of poems. Not anything to worry about. No chemistry books or anything nefarious.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You know, chemistry. Chemicals, explosions, scary stuff?”

  Father Mike did not respond, looking out the window over his shoulder.

  “Sorry. Bad joke, I guess.”

  “Right. Of course.” He nodded absently, then met my eye. He laughed awkwardly and forced a smile. “Poetry. You’re right, nothing to worry about there.”

  “Right.”

  He stood silently for a second, biting his lower lip. “So...you work at the bookstore now?”

  “It looks that way.”

  “And I hear you’ll be volunteering at the hospital.”

  “Yup.”

  “Good, good.” Father Mike looked out the window then at me. “Well, I should leave you to it. I’ve got things...to attend to.”

  He stood motionless before pointing towards the door and making his exit.

  I watched as he stood on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street before heading back towards the church.

  Chapter 15

  I nearly rolled off the bed, startled awake by a loud banging sound coming from downstairs. Grabbing the wooden bat I kept by the bed, a leftover habit from living in the city, I squinted as I checked the time on my phone.

  4:13 AM.

  It was cloudy outside, the moon a waning crescent, so looking out the windows revealed little. The pounding came again as I made my way down the stairs. This time, a voice followed.

  “James! It’s Jack. Open up!”

  Bat still in hand I threw the door open. “What in the world, Jack? It’s—”

  “I know. There was an accident and Doc Matthews isn’t answering at his place. I need you to come with me to the hospital.”

  I was still gripping the bat, trying to process what was happening. “Give me a sec to throw something on.”

  I ran upstairs, threw on some clothes, making sure to grab a sweatshirt. I ran back downstairs, combing my fingers through my hair, tossing it into a ponytail, as I approached Jack standing by the door. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

  I jumped in the jeep, holding on to the sides as Jack took off in the opposite direction of the road. The bumpy ground threw me around my seat as I searched for a seat belt with one hand. I looked at Jack, raising my voice to be heard above the Jeep’s engine, “Where are we going?”

  “Short cut,” he answered, keeping his eyes on the road, or lack of it.

  Within minutes, he cut left and I felt myself lift out of the seat as we went over a particularly large bump. I wondered how many times Jack navigated through the wood’s non-existent roads in the middle of the night, hoping it was often enough we wouldn’t find ourselves crashing into a tree. Allaying my fears, he too
k a sharp turn, landing us on the main road, not thirty seconds from the clinic.

  We pulled in front, Jack jumping out and coming around to give me a hand out of the Jeep. With his hand on my back, he rushed me inside. I could hear the sounds of someone sniffling and moaning.

  “He’s over here.”

  I walked in the room and recognized the camo jacket and red flannel. The young man was lying on a bed in one of the exam rooms, his flannel open and his white t-shirt soaked in blood.

  I ran to the counter, grabbing gloves and searching the drawers for gauze and saline. I turned to Jack. “I don’t know where they keep anything in this place.”

  “What do you need? I’ve helped the Doc a time or two.”

  I was next to the wounded man now, tearing the t-shirt to get a better look at the source of the blood. There were slashes across his ribs, nasty looking, deep enough to cause the bleeding and considerable pain, but not so deep that he was in imminent danger. I took a breath, gathering my thoughts.

  “I need to clean the wounds, so saline. Or at least some bottled water if you can’t find that. And gauze to stop the bleeding.”

  Jack left the room and returned quickly with the items and I went to work cleaning the wounds. The patient winced and moaned. I touched his arm, speaking in the most reassuring voice I could. “I know, hon. It stings a little, but we’ll have you fixed up in no time. My name is James, by the way. What’s yours?”

  He sniffled and shut his eyes tight. “Andy.”

  “Can you tell me what happened, Andy?”

  The boy turned and moaned without an answer.

  “I’m going to leave you here for just a second and see if we can’t do something about your pain, ok?”

  He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You’re coming back, right?”

  I squeezed back. “Of course. I promise it will just be a minute.”

  I headed out of the room and nodded for Jack to follow. I made my way down the hallway, poking my head in each room until I found one with a cabinet that looked like it might have meds. “What the heck happened to him?”

  Jack shook his head, “Not too clear. He went out hunting alone far as I can tell. Came running out of the woods near the church. Was screaming and nearly scared the poor Sisters in the convent to death.”

  “So they called you.”

  He nodded. “Yup. I’m pretty much 911 around here.”

  “Any ideas on what made those gashes?”

  “No clue. Animal maybe? Or maybe an old hunting trap someone forgot to take down? Hard to say.”

  I wasn’t terribly comfortable treating wounds, particularly ones of unknown origin, but the options were limited.

  I pulled a few things out of the cabinet, and headed back to Andy. We turned the corner to find Andy laying there, his lips moving in silence.

  “Andy,” I laid my hand on his, “I’m here now, just like I promised. I’m going to give you something to relax you a bit and help with the pain.”

  He held my hand, but didn’t answer, just continued to move his mouth.

  “He’s praying,” Jack said quietly.

  I slipped my hand away and filled a syringe. “Just a tiny pinch.”

  Andy winced a little, still praying. I turned to the counter and opened a suture kit.

  “You’re gonna sew him up? Shouldn’t we just bandage him and wait for Doc Matthews?”

  “He needs stitches. If Matthews didn’t want me stitching him up, he should have dragged himself out of bed.”

  Jack stayed quiet, then looked at Andy. “Hey, did he fall asleep?”

  I shook my head. “He was in no condition to be awake for this. I sedated him. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get to work.”

  Jack nodded and pointed to the door. “I’m going to step outside. If you need me, just yell.”

  I gave him a nod as I numbed the area around the wound and went to work suturing. There were four gashes in a row, almost looking like a huge claw had swiped at him. The cuts themselves were clean, no jagged edges or tears. Partway through stitching the third gash, Andy started to move his head a little and mumble.

  “Andy, are you okay? Can you feel anything?”

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Andy.”

  He didn’t respond. I finished closing the final gash and checked his vitals before tossing my gloves in the waste can by the door and heading to the waiting area. Jack was sitting on the couch, eyes closed.

  I sat down beside him and gently shook his arm. He jumped slightly and he blinked a few times. “How is he?”

  “All his vitals are fine. He’ll probably sleep for a while longer with the sedatives in his system.”

  “Well, sun should be coming up soon. I was thinking I might go pound on Doc Matthews door again and get him down here.”

  I shook my head. “He gets here in a few hours anyway. May as well let someone get a full night of sleep. I can stay here until he comes in.”

  “Then I’ll stay here too.”

  I yawned, “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I’m your ride home.” He gave me a sleepy grin that kept me from insisting he go home.

  “Okay.” I settled into the waiting room couch, closing my eyes, the adrenaline of the evening wearing off. I let my head fall to the side against Jack and drifted off.

  ~~~

  I opened my eyes and looked up to see Doc Matthews standing in front of me. I nudged Jack, who sat up slowly, casually stretching before greeting him. “Morning, Doc.”

  “What’s going on here, Sheriff?”

  “Had a patient last night. Couldn’t get a hold of you, so Miss Quinn here had to help us out.”

  “A patient?”

  I stood up, rubbing my eyes. “Yes. He’s back here.”

  The three of us walked to the room where Andy was resting. Matthews checked his vitals and looked over the sutures.

  “You did this?”

  I nodded.

  “I thought I was clear that you wouldn’t be performing any procedures here as a volunteer. Paperwork, cleaning up, no heroics.” He looked at Jack, then at me, his face reddening, “What is this? Are you trying to take my job? You don’t even have the necessary qualifications. How dare you walk in here and—”

  Matthews stepped towards me but Jack stood up, placing a hand on his hip next to his holster. Jack towered above Doc Matthews, and spoke to me without breaking his stare from the round, red-faced, little man. “James, why don’t you wait outside while Doc and I have a little chat?”

  Discerning from the tone of his voice that this was not a request, I slid out of the room and a little ways down the hall. I tried to make out what they were saying, but couldn’t hear more than the low hum of their voices. I gave up on eavesdropping and went out to wait in the car.

  Moments later, Jack emerged. He jumped up into the Jeep and slammed the door. Without a word, he turned the key and we headed to the house. The ride was short and silent. As we exited the Jeep, I spoke up.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

  He shook his head. “No, don’t be sorry. Did you see his eyes? Bloodshot. Probably passed out drunk last night, which is why you had to be pulled in, and then has the nerve...” Jack trailed off and shook his head, “I don’t care how long he’s been the doctor here, he shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

  I stood by my door thinking about Dylan and that day I came home from the hospital. How he thought I was being dramatic and barely showed any concern, let alone any desire to protect me from whoever dosed my drink.

  “Thanks, Jack. You didn’t have to stick up for me like that, but it means a lot.”

  Jack stood in front of me frowning. “Yes, I did.” He slid a piece of my messy, unwashed hair behind my ear. “You deserve at least that. I’m sure Andy will be grateful for what you did.”

  His hand lingered, and I stood still, not wanting to move from my own doorstep. He pull
ed his hand away and stepped back. “I should let you get some rest.”

  “Right. Of course. You should get some rest, too.”

  Jack nodded and turned to head to the house. I turned as well, heading inside and up to bed.

  Chapter 16

  “What can I get you?”

  “Grilled cheese with the tomato soup. And a small side order of fries.”

  The waitress, Doris according to her name tag, set off to the kitchen to put my order in. I was hoping to see Emma’s friendly face, but she was nowhere to be found when I showed up for a late lunch. I sat twisting the paper from my drink straw and staring out the window.

  “James?”

  I turned my head to see Emma standing there, her eyes red.

  “Emma, what’s wrong? Sit down.”

  She sat down and looked around. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”

  I looked around, seeing nothing but the usual diner customers, but thought it was best not to question her reasons right then. “I have food coming. I’ll get it to go.”

  “No, I don’t want to spoil your lunch. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Ridiculous. You’re upset. Just give me a sec.” I flagged Doris down on her next drink refill run. “Can you make my order to go?”

  Doris frowned, but nodded.

  “See? Not a problem at all,” I said to Emma, mimicking the face Doris just made. “Seriously, though, we’ll get the food and go to my place, ok?

  Emma forced a grateful smile.

  ~~~

  “You sure you don’t want anything?”

  I had laid out my lunch and a bottle of water on the coffee table, but felt awkward diving in with Emma sitting beside me on the couch. She shook her head, so I started in on my fries. “So, what’s going on?”

  “There’s this guy that likes me. And, honestly, I sorta really like him, too. He’s quiet and sweet and I’ve known him forever, but my mama doesn’t approve.”

  I nodded while I ate, giving her the okay to continue.

  “I was ‘sposed to meet him the other night. I usually make somethin’ up about going to see my friend. I know I shouldn’t lie, but it’s the only way. Well, I went to where we were gonna meet and he never showed up.”

  I patted her leg, “I’m so sorry. Sometimes guys can be real jerks.”